Sitting On Top of the World

When is a cheese sandwich not a cheese sandwich?

No, it’s not a riddle, it’s the opening line to a piece I wrote when I was in Mexico in 2006.

I had gone to the mountains for the weekend, to the Sierra Norte in Oaxaca (the state I was living in for 3 months).

I went on a long hike through the mountains and the woods, accompanied by a local guide.  We ended up at a spot with a huge panoramic view over the countryside, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

This is what I wrote at the time:

When is a cheese sandwich not a cheese sandwich?

When it’s a Mexican torta, made from ever so slightly toasted bread, two halves of a roll laid flat on the warm top of the oven, insides spread with beans, stringy ‘quesillo’ cheese from Oaxaca, then layers of tomato, onion, lettuce, avocado, and a couple of slices of chili.

When you´re having a picnic in strong alpine sunshine in the Sierra Norte on the last Saturday in November.

When you’ve travelled 2 and a half hours in the bus to get to Llano Grande and walked for 2 and a half hours to get to this rock.

When you’re perched on the rock looking out across pueblitos, woods, mountains, high above the clouds, sitting on top of the world.

And what do I learn, now, from re-reading those words?

That I am glad I took myself off to Mexico, away from the busy world of work I used to inhabit, to start something new.  The start of my hero’s journey.

That you don’t have to climb to the top of a mountain to feel like you’re sitting on top of the world.  The shift in perspective, the knowledge that you’re somewhere special, the awareness you have of the distance you’ve travelled… can create the same effect.

That it’s important to capture the details of an experience.  When I re-read those words, I can taste that sandwich.  I can feel myself there, on that rock, in that strong alpine sunshine and cold November air.  I feel the sense of wonder once again.

That travelling to these far flung corners and high up places is what got me started on this writing journey.  It’s when I first learned how to construct and frame a post.

That words can transport us.  And although I sometimes give myself a hard time about it, I’m glad that I write.

~~~

This post is a contribution to the Middle Zone Musings Group Writing Project: What I Learned from a Mountaintop Experience.  Thanks once again to Robert Hruzek for running this project and giving us the chance to share our words and stories with each other.

You are very welcome to join in, just make sure your entry is posted by this Sunday (7 June).

Tagged as: Mexico, Oaxaca, WILF, writing