Remarkable…who? Those ladies in Taos! Part 2

This year Taos Tourism dedicates the entire marketing campaign to the RWOT (Americans love acronyms, only insiders get them though). Let me help you: R for remarkable, W for women, O for of (a small “o” would have been more accurate..) and T for?  Taos!

Susan Shelby Magoffin

My plan to write about my enthusiasm for most of them has changed. Too much is too much. On www.taos.org/women you find all you want to know about them.  But I can’t refrain from offering my five cent tip: if you believe that behind every great man (I’d add: behind great legends) there is a great woman, then go behind the man to discover amazing female characters.

Josefa Carson

When in Taos, check-out Kit Carson’s wife or Lucien Maxwell’s daughter, and read Susan Shelby Magoffin’s diary describing her extra-extra-ordinary experience on the Santa Fe Trail (and in Taos!), also an important feature in the life of the Sisters of Loretto. The poor nuns traveled and suffered everything one could possibly imagine for three months, two just on the Santa Fe Trail, before landing in mid 19^th century Santa Fe. 
What amazes me is how beautiful they were! No make-up, no hair stylist and yet their beauty went hand in hand with their strong personality and intelligence.
The list goes on and on. I found so many wonderful female spirits along my wanderings through the Four Corners area, women with guts, creative spirits, independent mindsets, courage, whether they came on covered wagons, worked on archaeological digs, or went out there looking …looking for something different.

Remarkable? They were! Part 1

On my first visit to Taos, in the early ‘90’, I was surprised to find an eclectic grand dame, who by the way also lived in Italy, in Fiesole, near Florence, of the caliber of Mabel Dodge Lujan able to adapt to the small rural community of early 20^th century Taos.

So I went back to her home, Los Gallos, many times, on my own and with my clients to whom I couldn’t resist expressing my admiration for this woman. I read her books and heard stories about her, good and less good. But nobody can deny that she practically put New Mexico on the international cultural map and transformed it forever from a frontier to a sophisticated society. Among the many “outrageous” things Mabel did was to marry an Indian from the Taos Pueblo. The marriage lasted until their demise and together they created one of the most vibrant cultural salon that even today has no one like it.

Los Gallos

Mabel and Tony

Northern New Mexico has attracted adventurous spirits for a long time, a couple of centuries at least. It is far and scarcely populated, it is beautiful, it inspires. Artists have been charmed by the light and colors of Northern New Mexico, others for the authenticity of the place. Most visitors didn't know that coming to New Mexico would change their life and make them decide to stay in one of the West’s wildest places.
Many of these visitors were women who came to explore or in search of a more independent way of life, often attracted by the cultural heritage and the connection with nature. A common denominator is the spirituality that this land induces.
What I believe attracted so many extraordinary people is Taos’ authentic spirit of independence, privacy, and creativity that lived outside of mainstream societal boundaries – and lives on today.

More about other remarkable women of Taos coming soon.

Airstreams are very cool.

Airstreams  are not only found in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But here they are becoming a trend, I think.

When my fridge is empty (why is it either too full or too empty?)  I go to Le Pod, a curb-side cuisine as the owners describe it. A nice conversation in French (the owner-chef is French), something to eat on the spot, and something to take home. Because I can never make up my mind on one menu item only.

Having just returned from Italy where

• either you stand up in a crowded bar trying to get the attention of the busy guy toasting bread-making espresso- smiling at everybody, all at the same time, and where the high-pitched customers’ voices desperately try to get his attention yelling “panino!”, “piadina!”, “no foam!”,
• or you comfortably sit down at a restaurant and get the best meal you ever hoped for,

I find the airstreams’ options quite amusing as well as worth the sort of uncomfortable situation. The food is good! People are nice, the conversation goes on.

This one, Le Pod, is always at the same place, near my casita. That’s why I like it! Location matters! Others wander around but can be followed on Facebook (where else?) or by chance.

But airstreams are also vehicles for art, as a space and a medium. Axle Contemporary is moving around town since 2010 surprising aficionados and not with its shows and interesting artists, the two founders included. Most established, all “out there”. One of the great ideas of the duo is to use the mobility of the gallery to bring art to people that otherwise would not get to see it.

I just found out that one of them, Matthew Chase-Daniel, worked on a very interesting project, back in 2000, in Gubbio, in the heart of beautiful Umbria region. 

quintessential Santa Fe, old and new

Really, Really Dark

Natural Bridges National Monument

In our world at times light is not a good thing. It doesn’t allow enjoying the universe at night when the stars twinkle in the sky, the planets are visible (I love Saturn and its bright rings!) and the galactic Milky Way enhance our imagination.

Well, there is a place where you can sit under a massive natural bridge and stare at the stars with such a bright light to cast a shadow! I never imagined before visiting Natural Bridges National Monument how beautiful a night sky can be. Here I really understood the meaning of “in the middle of nowhere”!

This particular spot in Southern Utah is the world’s first certified International Dark Sky Park. The darkest and the starriest.

Be in the Southwest on June 5 for the Transit of Venus across the Sun’s Face.

If you don’t want to wait until 2117, make a promise to yourself, I did! We have an appointment with Venus! Here in the Southwest we are in a great spot to observe the transit.

On June 5-6 our brightest planet will be visible as a small, dark dot moving in front of the solar disk. This rare alignment occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and earth.

• If you live in the Americas you can see this in the late afternoon of June 5th.
• If you live in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia or New Zealand wait until the early morning of June 6.

You have about seven hours, don’t miss it. We may not be here in 105 years!

Find out when it’s visible near you at http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/where-to-be

Did you know? Women share with Venus the same symbol!

I’m not at all involved in astronomical studies and I know very little about it. However, since I moved to the Southwest I can’t forget about the sky, as I did when living in big cities. It’s now part of my days and nights because it’s an important presence in my everyday life.

And since I got you involved with the sun, consider a visit to the National Solar Observatory- http://www.nso.edu , that not surprisingly is located in Sunspot, New Mexico, to find out about the relationship between the sun and the third rock from this nearest star, Planet Earth, only some 93 million miles away.

Take Something Authentic Back from your Tours in the Southwest

A good spot for meditation

I may come back on this subject many times, a few tips at a time!

Since we are all different, we also travel differently. If you like more than just take pictures for your photo album and enjoy learning first-hand about the places you visit, embrace whatever comes your way. It may not be on your travel book but it’s real.

In the Southwest two things are always fantastic: the land and the people. Plan for some time in nature as far as possible for the beaten tracks. Fifteen minutes on your own (or with your significant other…) can change your life. More time, better results.

Also, speak to people, without immediately taking a picture! You may not encounter Indiana Jones every day but real people with incredible stories to tell.

Indians! Find out about the Real People

Puye pueblo on the mesa top

Puye village on top of the mesa

Before the last snow storm that covered the land with a spring white coat I went with a client and his young daughter to an archaeological site not far from Santa Fe: Puye Cliffs.

The drive itself is worth the trip thanks to the majestic sacred Black Mesa and the magnificent ranges of mountains and tuff walls once home of the ancestors of today’s Santa Clara people. It is not difficult to be captivated by the history of the ancient pueblo emphasized by the dwellings and petroglyphs along the rock walls.

But what I really enjoy is for people to get it all. For those coming from other countries or regions of the US this is not easy. They frequently ask “to see the Indians” without any idea of their past and present life. It’s clearly just a nebulous concept.

I asked our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Michelle, if she could also take us to her pueblo. As she pointed out, Santa Clara is not the most beautiful of the 19 pueblos of New Mexico but has an interesting past, important acclaimed potters, and a modern life that balances the old traditions with the 21st century.

When I saw how engaged my client's young daughter was and how many questions she asked I knew that this visit helped me accomplish my mission.

Life in New Mexico as a newcomer and custom tour designer

Wisteria and Adobe

If you are not born in New Mexico but as many people over the centuries did, you fall in love with it, beware! It’s not at all easy to become part of it and feel comfortable. 


We all moved here, from the notable women of Taos, to the internationally famous artist Georgia O’Keeffe, the writer Cormack McCarthy, and the actress Jane Fonda (the list is long…) attracted by the special light and pure air, the easy and yet exciting way of life, the amazing characters and independent spirits, the spicy delicious food, the rich blend of people (here is what Oliver La Farge wrote: a wildly assorted population which has shown itself capable of achieving homogeneity without sacrificing its diversity), and the connection to this beautiful magic land.

Santa Fe Indian Market

However life here is really different. When I arrived here eight years ago proud to have been able to leave everything behind I first realized that I was one of an army of people that had done exactly the same thing. My pride was hurt. Then when I started bragging about the big change I made by coming here from a big metropolitan city the remark I often heard was:  if you are still here three years from now, then you can believe you may be able to consider yourself at home. I was pretty shocked! I thought: not me, I’m not like everyone else, this is already my home, I know! No you didn’t, Patrizia!

I learned to speak a little Spanish to better communicate with the large Hispanic population. If you don’t, you will have a hard time. No problem here though, I’m a Latina too, somehow! What about then calling people and hearing back from them a week later? Why is everybody meditating? If you try finding a home where you have been invited for a social gathering, the directions you receive sound more or less like this: pass the road that turns dark brown, then take a left at the big stone that looks like a pyramid, not the first one, the one nearby. Then look up in the sky for the electrical wires (they may have fallen but you can still see them on the ground). Take an immediate turn to the right, not exactly to the right…kind of, then go a mile and you see three houses, one is not really a house…and so on. Usually your cell doesn’t work in any of these places. It happened to me a few times when it was pitch dark and snowing!

Sunflower truck in Santa Fe

To make a long story short, there is a great book about the oddities of Santa Fe called Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog that says it much better than me.

On the other hand people are very kind. What really struck me was that they SMILE at you when you go pass them on the streets. They even wave at you from their cars, or more commonly pick-ups (with a load of dogs, big ones, in the back). Unbelievable, isn’t it?

I am at home, I know. I can recall the stories, most truly amazing, of a lot of people. Women here are of the best quality! A great book of my friend Athi-Mara Magadi, Santa Fe Originals, is all about this: the extraordinary women who came to New Mexico to meet the challenge of building a new life for themselves or pursuing what is at their heart.

I found for myself a new work, creating journeys for different kinds of people, which couldn’t be more interesting. I absolutely must meet interesting people and experience new adventures if I want to be able to offer the best and most unusual custom tours in the world!