Departures by plane seem to suck some of the magic out of tangible travel but they do usher in other spaces and ways of life in a rush and blast. Today departing to Peru with a similar minded crew to film and breath in portions of the network of roads and pathways that scurry through the Andes known collectively as the Qhapaq Nan, and more specifically in cases, the Inca Road.
Mountains matter….the world over, they matter. And so too the life within and upon them.
So much of the route runs a similar thread to the beloved Tea Horse Road through the Himalayas. An epic route through the sky that sought to humanize some of the most magnificent and tortured spaces, and of course the fact that both have a stimulant leaf woven in: in the Himalayas it was tea, upon the Qhapaq Nan, it is Coca. These routes were specialists in linking, binding, and accessing (and in many cases subjugating) others. Mountains provide the motivation and the inspiration
We seek too, to link the mountain tale-tellers into this narrative for, like mountains and remote landscapes throughout the world, the power and patience of the oral narrative is vital. Without the tellers and the time to take them in, things and ways are lost.
One of the treats will be serving teas to elders as a form of tribute to them with an old pot of mine from Taiwan.
Back in mid-May with updates on where and when to view the result. It is part of our project “In From the Outpost with Jeff Fuchs” focusing on story-tellers, the environment and of course why mountains matter.
About JeffFuchs
Having lived for a decade in Yunnan, Fuchs’ work has centred on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories along with an obsessive interest in tea.
Fuchs is the author of 'The Ancient Tea Horse Road' (Viking-Penguin) and he was the subject of 'The Tea Explorer' documentary based on his exploration of the Tea Horse Road.
His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in publications such as Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post, and UNESCO amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America, and Asia. Fuchs served as Asian Editor at Large for five years at award-winning Outpost magazine.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
Fuchs partnered with Wild China to create a journey along the Tea Horse Road which National Geographic Traveler called one of the "50 Trips of a Lifetime".
He is co-founder of Akahiao Nature Institute on the island of Hawai'i along with his wife, Julie Rogers.
