Eye Opening Explorations and Adventures with Enkidu What does Eye Opening Travel really mean? An introduction by Lars Ivar Owesen-Lein Borge, anthropologist and General Director, Enkidu Enkidu – Mexico from Behind offers eye-opening educational adventures into the past and present of Central Mexico.. Our explorations and tours are tailored for small groups and are are based on a flexible interactive program, within a relaxed schedule, that allows for improvisation and a deep immersion into the ancient and contemporary worlds we set out to explore. An Enkidu exploration or a city tour has little in common with conventional sightseeing or tourist bus tours. We do not make you run from attraction to attraction all day, in and out of the bus. We give you time to reflect, enjoy, smell and taste. Our professional and competent guides will bring the many fascinating and colourful civilisations of the past closer to you and make them and their logics more understandable for the modern mind. To the contemporary visitor to the archaeological zones, the life experiences of the people and the world in which they once lived and loved, cried and laughed might seem distant and exotic at the first glance. An Enkidu Guide or Adventure Consultant, however, will open your eyes, make you participate in the past, and soon you will feel that the archaeological remnants are not just silent stones. The ruins will be filled with life again while you listen to your guide’s stories, and you will realise that once the impressive structures were the homes, workplaces and the setting in which actual human beings, not that unlike you and me, were living their lives. Believe it or not, you might discover that their everyday hardships and pleasures were perhaps not that different from your own. In addition the Adventure Consultants and Enkidu Cultural Guides will give you an introduction to the contemporary indigenous cultures in the region. When important markets or celebrations honouring the local saints or other important events are held in the communities in the area, we will attempt to integrate them into the program to the largest extent possible. What does Eye Opening Travel really mean? Our adventures and explorations are designed for individuals who are prepared to open their eyes, see and experience new worlds from behind, but also from within. We take you off the beaten path and the overcrowded tourist venues and introduce you to the realities of the region. You will have the opportunity to learn first hand about contemporary traditions, native costumes, forms of artistic expression and rituals that are not just modern revitalizations or reinterpretations of the past, or staged representations of native life and performances for tourists. We will take you to the places where few other visitors ever set their foot. Yet, we do not come as intruders, but as guests. An Enkidu cultural expedition or adventures may often demand more of the traveller than ordinary tours for tourists in particular when we visit markets and rituals in indigenous communities. The distinction between “tourist” and “native” can hardly be eliminated altogether during a weekend exploration. We do, however, expect that our guests approach the unknown and exotic with an open mind and are prepared to experience different worlds without prejudice. Whether or not you agree with what you see, accepting differences is an essential part of learning about another culture. Equally impossible to overlook when visiting a society like Mexico are the economic disparities between the "native" and the "tourist”. Sometimes participants in our adventures have expressed discomfort, and almost been aggressive when confronted with beggars, shoe polishers or local children or old women following foreigners, trying to sell everything from odd plastic artefacts to handicraft and perhaps even chewing gum. Sometimes they can be quite insisting and hard to get rid of. Please remember when you attempt to get rid of them; Do never loose your temper or react aggressively. Often a smile and a simple “no” is enough and they will leave you in peace. Never forget that most likely, each and everyone of the individuals that you may perceive of as annoying and disturbing really would like to do something else. They do what the circumstances force them to do because they see no alternative. What they really want is probably just to sit down and rest, perhaps sharing a good meal with their family and certainly not to disturb you in your dream vacation. However, they are too poor to escape the hard realities of their lives in the place which you have chosen to visit. They on the other hand see few choices in their lives. They know, however, that you most likely do have a couple of more choices in your life. Being a Northern European in Mexico, I have often wondered how they would react if they really knew how we live in that part of the world… We therefore encourage the participants in our adventures and expeditions to behave respectfully, respecting the sensibilities of local culture (remember you are the one entering their reality). Never forget to show respect and good judgment perhaps in particular when photographing or videotaping people. Enkidu is committed to reciprocal tourism. If you would like to find ways to support a good cause while being in Mexico, Enkidu will provide you with addresses and contacts in organisations that really help improving local conditions in the communities we visit. | 
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