In September 1970, two sites vied for the privilege of being considered the center of the world: Picadilly Circus, England, and the Dam in Amsterdam. But not everyone knew that, if asked to most people, they would have answered, “the White House, the US and the Kremlin in the USSR”. Because these people are informed by newspapers, television, radio, the media has completely overcome and that never again to have the relevance they had when they were invented.
In September 1970, the plane tickets were very expensive, which allowed only an elite travel. Well, not exactly like that: a huge crowd of young people that the old media focused only on external appearance: long hair, colorful clothes, which did not bathe (which was a lie, but young people do not read newspapers, and adults believe in any news able to insult those they considered a “threat to society and good manners”), threatening an entire generation of young men and scholars girls looking to succeed in life with their terrible examples of debauchery and “free love “as liked to say with contempt. Well, that increasingly large crowd of young people had a system to disseminate news that no one, absolutely no one, could detect.
However, the “Invisible Mail” was not care to disclose and comment on the new model of Volkswagen or new types of powder that had just read launched worldwide. Your news summarized to what would be the next big track to be traveled by those cheeky young, dirty, “free love” practitioners and wearing clothes that no person of taste would be able to wear. Girls with their hair covered in flowers and braided her long skirts, colorful blouses without a bra to hide her breasts, necklaces of all kinds of colors and accounts; the guys with hair and beard without cutting the months jeans faded and torn so much use, because jeans were expensive everywhere in the world,
The “Mail Invisible” existed because people were always these concerts, exchanging ideas about where they should meet, how could they discover the world without going into a tour bus where a guide was describing the landscapes while younger people are bored and old slept. And so, through the so-called word-of-mouth, everyone in the world knew where it would be the next concert or the next big track to be traveled. And there were no financial limits to anyone because the favorite author of all this community was neither Plato nor Aristotle, nor the comics of some designers who had gained celebrity status. The great book that hardly anyone traveling to the old continent without it, was called Europe to $ 5 a day. It all could know where to stay, what to see, where to eat and where were the meeting places and places where you could watch live music without spending almost anything.
The only mistake Frommer’s was having at the time limited guide to Europe. There were other interesting places, by any chance? People were no longer willing to go to India than to Paris? Frommer would correct such failure a few years later, but meanwhile the “Invisible Mail” was in charge of promoting a route in South America toward the former lost city of Machu Picchu, warning everyone not comment on a lot with those who did not know the hippie culture, and soon the place would be overrun by barbarians with their cameras and extensive explanations (quickly forgotten) how a band of Indians had created a city so well hidden that could only be discovered from the top – something they thought incapable to happen because men do not fly.
Just let us be: there was a second and a huge best-seller, not as popular as the book Frommer’s, but it was consumed by people who had lived his socialist phase, Marxist, anarchist, all ending in a deep disillusionment with the invented system those who said it was “inevitable takeover of workers worldwide.” Or that “religion is the opium of the people”, proving that those who said so stupid phrase did not understand people much less opium. Because among the things worst dressed man young, different clothes, without bathing etc. They were believed in God, gods, goddesses, angels and the like. The only problem is that such a book, called The Awakening of Magicianswritten by two authors, the French Louis Paweł and Russian Jacques Bergier – mathematician, former spy, tireless researcher of the occult saying exactly the opposite: the world is made up of very interesting things, there are alchemists, magicians, Cathars, Templars, and other words that meant that it was never a big hit bookstore because a copy was read by – at least – ten people, given its exorbitant cost. Anyway, Machu Picchu was in the book, and everyone wanted to go there, in Peru, and there were young people from around the world (well, the world is a bit of an exaggeration, because they lived in the Soviet Union had not so much ease to leave of their countries).
But anyway, back to the subject: young people from all over the world who could at least one invaluable asset called “passport”, were the so-called “hippie trails”. No one knew exactly what the word “hippie” meant, and it did not matter. Perhaps its meaning was “a great tribe without a leader” or “marginal that no assault,” or all descriptions already made in the opening of this chapter.
Passports, these little books provided by the government, placed in a pouch attached at the waist along with money (or very little was irrelevant) had two purposes. The first, as we all know, was able to cross borders – from the guards did not let him take the news they read, and solve sending the person back because they were not used to those clothes and that hair and those flowers and those necklaces and those beads and smiles those who seemed to be in a constant state of bliss – usually, but wrongly attributed to demonic drugs, told the press, the youth consumed in increasing amounts.
The second function of the passport was to rid its bearer extreme situations – when the money ended up completely and he had no one to turn to. The so-called “Invisible Mail” always provided the necessary local information where it could be sold. The price varied according to the country: a passport from Sweden, where everyone was blond, tall and pale eyes, was worth very little – since it could only be resold to blond, tall, clear-eyed, and these were generally not in list of the most requested. But a passport from Brazil worth a fortune on the black market – as Brazil, as well as blond, tall and pale eyes, also has high black and low dark eyes, Oriental slanted eyes, mulattos, Indians, Arabs, Jews, finally,
Once sold the passport, the original carrier went to the consulate of his country and, feigning terror and depression, said he had been robbed and stole everything – was no money and no passport. The consulates of the richest countries offered free passport and return ticket to the country, which was immediately rejected on the grounds that “someone owes me a good amount, I must first get what is mine.” Poor countries usually low to severe systems of government in the hands of the military, were a real poll to see if the applicant was not in the list of “terrorists” wanted for subversion. Once were finding the girl (or boy) had clean slate, they were forced, against their will, to provide the document. Even offered return ticket,
Returning to the track: After Machu Picchu was the turn of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia. Then Lhasa, Tibet, where it was very difficult to get in because there was, according to the “Invisible Mail”, a war between the monks and the Chinese soldiers. Of course it was hard to imagine this war, but everyone believed and would not risk a very long trip just to end prisoner of monks or soldiers.
Finally the great philosophers of the time – Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr – who just had separated in April of that year – announced that the great wisdom of the planet was in India. It was enough for young people worldwide were directed to the country in search of wisdom, knowledge, gurus, vows of poverty, lighting, meeting with My Sweet Lord.
The “Invisible Mail”, but warned that the great guru of the Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, had tried to seduce and have sex with Mia Farrow, an actress who over the years had always been unhappy love experiences, and had gone to India the Beatles’ invitation, possibly to heal the traumas related to sexuality that seemed to chase her like a bad karma.
But it seems that the karma of Mia Farrow would also travel to the same place, along with John, Paul, George and Ringo. According to her, he was meditating in the cave of the great guru when he grabbed her and tried to force her to have sex. By this time, Ringo had returned to England because the woman hated Indian food, and Paul also decided to abandon the retreat, convinced that it was not going nowhere.
Only George and John remained in Maharishi Temple when Mia came to them, in tears, and told him what had happened. Immediately the two packed their bags and when the Enlightened came to ask what was going on , Lennon’s response was blunt:
“If you’re so f *** lit, you know very well”
Now, in September 1970 women ruled the world – rather, young hippies ruled the world. The men walked from there to here knowing that what seduced was not fashion – they were much better than them on the subject – so they decided to accept once and for all who were dependents living with the air of abandonment and implicit request for “protect me, I’m alone and I can not find anyone, I think the world has forgotten me and love left me forever.” They chose their male and never thought about getting married, just to spend a good and fun time with an intense and creative sex. And both important things as superficial and irrelevant, the last voice was even them. Therefore, when the “Invisible Mail” spread the news of the sexual harassment of Mia Farrow and the phrase of Lennon,
Another hippie trail was created: Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Kathmandu (Nepal), on a bus which cost about 100 dollars, and across countries should be very interesting: Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India (well away from the Maharishi temple, by the way). The journey took three weeks and went through an infinite number of kilometers.
***
Karla sat on Dam wondering when the guy who should accompany her on this magical adventure (according to her, of course) would come. He abandoned his job in Rotterdam, which was just a train time, but as needed to save every penny, had come along for the ride and the journey had taken almost a day. Discovered the bus trip to Nepal in one of dozens of alternative newspapers that were made with a lot of sweat, love and work by people who thought he had something to say to the world, and then sold for an insignificant amount.
After a week of waiting, he began to get nervous. I had approached a dozen guys coming from all over the world, interested only in getting there in that square without the least attractive addition to a monument in the form of talk, which at least should encourage manliness and courage. But not; none of them was willing to go to such places unknown.
It was not away: most were from the US, Latin America, Australia and other countries demanded money for overpriced plane tickets and many border posts where they could be stopped and have to go back to their countries of origin without knowing one of two capitals of the world. Came there, they sat in the square bland, smoke marijuana, were glad, because they could do so in the view of police, and began to be literally kidnapped by sects cults that abounded in the city. Forgot at least for a time they lived listening: my son you have to go to college, cut that hair, do not embarrass your parents because the others (others?) Will say we gave him a bad education, what you hear NOT music, it’s time to get a job,
Far from the eternal litany of the family, were now free people, and Europe was a safe place (provided they do not ventured to cross the famous Iron Curtain, “invading” a communist country), and they were happy, because traveling to learn all that will be necessary for the rest of his life, since they need not explain it to parents.
“My father, I know you want me to have a degree, but that I can have at any time of life, what I need now is experience.”
There was no father to understand this logic, and only remained even join some money, sell something, and leave the house when they were sleeping.
All right, Karla was surrounded by free people and certain living things most was not having the courage to live. But why not go by bus to Kathmandu? Because, answered, not Europe. It is completely unknown to us. If something happens, we can always go to the consulate and ask to be repatriated (Karla did not know a single case where this had occurred, but it was the legend and the legend becomes fact when it is repeated too).
On the fifth day hoping that she would designate as his “companion”, started to get desperate – was spending money in a dormitory, when he could easily sleep on the Magic Bus (that was the official name of the bus 100 dollars and thousands of kilometers) . . Decided to enter the office of a psychic wherever he went always before going to the Dam The seer, as always, it was empty – in September 1970 everyone had paranormal powers, or were developing. But Karla was a practical woman, and although also meditate every day and was convinced that had begun to develop a third view – an invisible point which is between the eyes – so far had only found wrong guys, even if your intuition guarantee they were right.
Therefore, decided to appeal to the seer, especially because that endless wait (had passed nearly a week, forever!) Was taking her to consider moving forward with a female company, which could be a suicide, especially because would cross many countries where two women alone would be at least frowned upon and, at worst, according to his grandmother, would end up being sold as “white slaves”.
