Today's post is a little sidestep from my usual nature photography to share with you how I spent my day today. It started by leaving the house at eight am to head for the Panamanian border to renew my visa to stay in Costa Rica. This is not usually a lengthy or problematic task. Today however could not have been more different.
        The border crossing was heaving with bumper to bumper lorries and coaches of people off to Panama Christmas shopping. Getting through the Panama entry office is usually a short, reasonably fast moving queue of 5-10 people. Today there were literally hundreds of people waiting, crammed together in a small space on the roadside next to where 3 lanes of lorries , buses and cars sit waiting eternally to pass through with engines running, diesel and petrol fumes filling the air.
        Being in this atmosphere for any time is unpleasant but instead of the usual five or ten minutes to process passport and paperwork, today we stood for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS in the slowest moving queue I have ever had the mis-fortune to stand in.

        Inevitably about half an hour into this experience my head began to ache as the poison went first into my lungs and then to my bloodstream. On the wall was a sign in Spanish saying Turn off your motor. Nobody there turned off their motor and when we questioned this with an employee his attitude was far from polite or helpful.
        I dream of the day when all vehicles are electric, clean and quiet. It is as close to being a reality as it has ever been but it really can't happen fast enough! Here is a great post on that very subject by fellow steemian @icedrum - electric trucks are now in production and they look incredible!

https://steemit.com/life/@icedrum/tesla-semi-truck-and-roadster-supercar-launched

Now sitting at home again nine hours on and the pain is still in my head and I can't get rid of the smell of fumes even after showering and swooshing out my nostrils so I know there must still be residue in my lungs. It is horrible. I feel nauseous too not surprisingly.
        I suppose the worst aspect of this ordeal was that there was no alternative. It had to be done and this was the only place and method to do it. Being poisoned was grievously unavoidable. The local indigenous Indian children stand there every day begging for pennies and it pains me even more to think of the damage being done to them.

It is so overtime for a change but we are at least blessed to live in an age where we can see a positive change on the horizon.

These were taken using my Iphone5s ( because small is beautiful)

Namaste

Do not seek love. Be Love.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev