What are you gunna do with Brian?

It would be difficult to look after a cat in the wild, nutritionally etc.

Nutrition? Don't be crazy. Cats are one of the deadliest hunters on earth. The wild for a cat is like the supermarket for a human... and enough dry cat food for a week is not heavy.

Not a concern though. We mutually parted ways already.


Peace,

kowalski

Today I, more or less, walked up the embankment then watched bullfighting with some old guys. There's an 80% chance I'll move on tomorrow.

I poked fun at the ridiculous clothing, did impressions of the dumb faces they make, cheered everytime a bull gored or stamped them, called the fighters faggits and argued loudly that it is just theatre and not even good theatre for fuck's sake! I was not a welcome member of the group.

Meanwhile, I've been burning doodles into my walking staff. So glad I packed a USB soldering iron.


Chai (Jewish symbol for the lowest / most physical emanation of God a.k.a living / life force)
https://image.ibb.co/eGrtkz/IMG_2018...401118_HDR.jpg

Self-portrait (me in my hammock)
https://image.ibb.co/izc5yK/IMG_2018...134082_HDR.jpg

The evil eye (cross-cultural symbol believed to protect against people giving you the evil eye)
https://image.ibb.co/gWEeAz/IMG_2018...915791_HDR.jpg

Nazar Battu (Indian symbol believed to ward off evil)
https://image.ibb.co/e3yCfz/IMG_2018...022145_HDR.jpg


Peace,

kowalski

Building bridges with the locals I see

I could revive the popularity of bull fighting single-handedly, if they hired me as commentator.


Peace,

kowalski

I’m not sure I’d pay to listen, but I’d supply weed and crisps

Also, any tips on learning spanish?

I wrote up a big thing on Spanish learning resources a while back, but Noah didn't bring a copy into the ark and it was lost in the great forum flood of not that long ago.

Will write you up something. To begin with though, I read a lot of people saying it is best to learn your third language using your second language as the base. So, on Duolingo, for example, select French to Spanish. It is supposed to work better.


Peace,

kowalski

The Córdoba Skyline
https://preview.ibb.co/c2keCe/IMG_20...915969_HDR.jpg

Kokopelli (an American Indian fertility deity / magical trickster).
https://image.ibb.co/nxy5kz/IMG_2018...T000_COVER.jpg


Peace,

kowalski

Waiting near the bus stop. About to move on to Las Posadas. 10 days in Almodóvar is a lot. Lovely sleepy little place, mostly friendly folk, but only one restaurant worth eating at.

Got a lot of new friends around about the town. I made one of them a gift. Got one new enemy. He made me the worst burger of my life on Sunday when nothing else was open.

Most notable event here: suddenly being surrounded by at least 100 grazing goats whilst watching walking dead. I banged my staff on a tree and they moved away. Except the bull of the herd, who stared me down and grunted. I grunted back and banged my staff a bit more. He went left, so I went right and he passed by. I saw the herd a few more times after that but they knew about me and kept their distance. (Also, there's lots of river turtles.)


Peace,

kowalski

My staff exists originally to help me walk. A dude got weird with me a few days ago and it got me to thinking. Now I pretend to limp so I have an excuse for carrying my staff.

Today a fat guy was angry that I dozed off in his bar. I tried to leave peacefully but he wanted to say things. He had bad teeth so I offered to remove them for him with a swift blow to the jaw... cheaper than the dentist you obviously can't afford. He said "put the stick down and I'll fight you" Yeah.... Errr... No... I'm not carrying it by accident... what a silly fat old cunt you are... and clearly I don't need it to walk... plus, if you think that's the only weapon I've got on my body... and that was the end of that.

Don't test me, old fat man.


Peace,

kowalski

"Plodding through *Las Posadas*, all armed as I was, with a quarter Ashe staffe on my shoulder." (1590)

Today I went to another hospital to see what they think about the foot. They think I'm moving too much and slowing the healing / potentially worsening the badness. What to do?

Yesterday, today and tomorrow is Shroom Fest. An international thing, you don't need to go anywhere you just eat shrooms wherever you are. It's been going about 4 years now. I have an unweighed mass of shrooms in my pack that I'll be eating tonight or in the morning.

I'm not deciding anything till after that.


Peace,

kowalski

I could do shrooms. Since, even though I've long ago quit taking amphetamines and psychedelics, shrooms are technically natural.

I'm going to think about that.

Oh, Dan! You are so disgracefully ill informed it's hard to know where to start correcting the dumb shit you say... because I'm a philosopher I'll start with "natural".

There can not ever be an objective dichotomy of natural and unnatural. Therefore, when people use these terms it is merely an expression of their personal prejudice.

If you intend to mean by natural that it is safe or good for us, then I urge you to look at what in the world is unsafe or poisonous to us and define how those things are not natural... and you don't have to go far... there are many highly poisonous mushrooms that even appear indistinguishable (to the untrained eye) to some tasty nutritious ones or to some fun time psychedelic ones. You can't have a definition of natural that divides the world into safe / good for us vs unsafe / bad for us.

If you intend to mean by natural that it is something that has been processed in some way by humans, you are going to very quickly run into equally insurmountable difficulties in creating an objective definition that works... not least because nearly every living thing that humans are interested in has been selectively bred to "work better" at whatever it is that makes it useful to us.

The same goes for any way you try to slice it. You will always fail to provide an objective definition that works in all cases to satisfy whatever your instincts are telling you. Why? Because your instincts are mere prejudices. Human instincts were evolved to help us identify predators and throw sticks accurately over long distances, etc., etc., it's ridiculous to expect that the world is anything like our instincts or intuition. Just take a look at quantum physics. It is totally counterintuitive up to the point that we can't even tell a sensible story that any human can understand about what is actually happening at the scale of the smallest things in the universe.

And, without getting into the rest of how dumb your comment was, adding "technically" is nothing more than a linguistic confidence trick. "Technically - according to the facts or exact meaning of something; strictly." But you said nothing according to the facts nor exact meaning of something: nor strictly.


In other news: You should definitely stop confusing being a recovering speed addict with thinking it is not ok to consume shrooms or weed meanwhile consuming alcohol and caffeine. Eat shrooms at appropriate doses and start reading proper books, both'll help you.


Peace,

kowalski

It was worthwhile participating in Shroom Fest.

I laid in my hammock in la sierrezuela and drifted in and out of a light sleep, intermittently being woken by my own voice telling me things: First, that I should continue with this journey despite being told to stop by the doctor lady. Second, was about being more patient with how inertia effects change. Third, I spoke to myself about fear being a poor indicator of danger.


Peace,

kowalski

Might have to participate next year...

Los Hornachuelos has, on balance, the best landscapes, animals and people of my journey so far. I spent a long time there going to the dam, the old king's farm, the monastery, the eagle route and the cave route. There's so much more that I didn't get to see. I saw deer, but was too early to hear the rut.

Now I've arrived again at Posadas. Tomorrow is the first night of their feria. Ferias are great even if you have a bad time.

Tonight I'm gonna sleep again in La Sierrezuela. I kept hearing woodpeckers up there, maybe I'll see one in the morning. Last time I never spotted one. I was close to one but it was on the other side of the fucking tree.


Peace,

kowalski

In a BnB and they told me - no rooms. I knew it was a lie, it was all throughout her. Got WiFi in a nearby bar, told the owner I was looking for a room because La Melchora is full. He also knew it was a lie. He said "que va" [no way] and that "she... maybe she thought you are homeless but that's stupid you have an expensive hat and sunglasses". Made the reservation on booking.com and went back and checked in. I knew that if they refused me without good reason booking.com would pay the difference for me to stay in the best place in town. It was win / win.

Now I'm freshly showered. Unencumbered by my pack. I need to find a laundry place and a shoe repair place and take a long siesta.


Peace,

kowalski

I did a 20k hike recently. Starting to feel like I could get back to moving good distances in a day, instead of orbiting villages.


Peace,

kowalski

Back in Cordoba today to pick up some decent Mary Jane. I met people in the villages that had good hashish, but I don't like to consume that, and really bad weed, which at best means you have to consume more plant material for the same effect or more often means that you can only get half high off it no matter how much you consume.

Before I was heading west for a bit. Now I'll head east for a bit.


Peace,

kowalski

Being not too far from where we last were, I decided to go see if he would be there and interested.

So, last night I headed towards where Brian and I parted ways. I set up my hammock in that exact spot. Called and whistled for him in the evening and in the morning, then set off again.


Peace,

kowalski

a little over a month until legal MJ here... I like the people I use, they deliver and have good products at good prices. What's the culture like for it in Spain?

Do you miss Brian?

A lot of people consume and those that don't really couldn't care that you do. Prices are good and people will deliver and you can openly ask strangers to hook you up and they will but quality is all over the place and you can easily get fined.

Sometimes I miss Brian. I had hope when I went looking for him. Whenever he hasn't seen me in a while and I call him and he comes running and meowing which makes his meow vibrate up and down with each step. Was really looking forward to hearing that again.

I've come across a couple of stray animals on my journey and considered bringing them along. One dog that was very skittish and I realised quickly it would've taken too long to get him to follow me. Just 2 nights ago though a kitten came out of the shadows and started following me through the woods, then onto a busy road in the dark. It didn't want to be picked up and just kept getting caught between my ankles as cars zipped past. Eventually we came across a hunting reserve and the guard dogs scared it off from following me further.


Peace,

kowalski

A common conversation fragment on this journey...

Person: you can stay at mine.
Me: do you have 2 trees?
Person: no
Me: then no

Except the other night when it was heavy raining and I stayed in this guy's (Andres') hunting lodge... the canyon and lake is on his land too. After knowing me for just 2 minutes he drive me up there, gave me the keys and left me there to do as I pleased.


https://image.ibb.co/f1WvsU/IMG_20180914_203348688.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/mraMXU/IMG_2018...404626_HDR.jpg


Peace,

kowalski

It's starting to get wintery here, as in cold AF. I take it winter in Spain ain't so bad, if you're cool with sleeping outside in a hammock?

That canyon looks awesome.

If I was in a different region, like Asturias, it'd be cold and rainy already. Their weather isn't that much better than Manchester's. Down here it gets cold eventually but except for a random rainy day you can wear shorts and a T till November. If you go down to the coast or up above the tree line, it's cooler. There aren't many spots on the planet where the weather is almost perfect for hairless apes. This is one.

However, you can sleep in a hammock in any weather, if you have insulation rated for that temperature. Currently I just use an underquilt rated down to 0°C but only use a thin sheet on top. On a couple of nights I've added a space blanket or poncho when there's been a cool breeze. I have a tarp too but it hasn't been needed yet. Then it rarely ever gets below 0 here even in January. So, I could add an equivalent overquilt, if I was gonna stay out all year.


Peace,

kowalski

Arrived in Malaga yesterday. Hung out in the city last night with a polish guy. We had great chat. Was the first time in weeks that I've not had a staff in my hand and a knife strapped to my thigh. I felt a little naked without them.

Going forward I might keep carrying a staff everywhere I go. But not this one. This one I just cut from random wood, it is too light, short and stiff to be really effective.


Peace,

kowalski

Automatically pictured you fighting off bears or weirdos with it.

Isn't Malaga one of those party-central places? Sounds like it.

Thankfully, there's no bears. But I have been woken a couple of times by a wild boar sniffing at some cheese I carelessly left in my pack.

Yeah, Malaga is party central. I don't like it. I was just there to catch a boat. It wasn't fun.


Peace,

kowalski

Now I'm in Africa.


Peace,

kowalski

I hear the drums echoing tonight

I'm not a fan of Morocco. Just listing the good: It's cheap, there's nice food and the cats, because of the way people treat them, are awesome. That's all.


Peace,

kowalski

What you gunna do now then just keep making your way from country to country?

I'm stopped in Rabat for now doing a little writing and starting to apply for jobs / organise what to do from November onwards.


Peace,

kowalski

Morrocan girls are nuts

I haven't met any. In Tangier there were hardly any allowed out in public and those that you did see were ugly as fuck. In the other cities I've seen a few attractive girls, like 10 in as many days.


Peace,

kowalski

I met an English kid here. He's 22 and has a Moroccan girlfriend. She is a headscarf wearing muslim. They've been seeing each other since he was 16. He comes to visit her every summer. He's a virgin as they can only kiss and hold hands.

I find all that weirder than the plot of a Korean movie.


Peace,

kowalski

The morrocan chick I was knocking about with told me that being affectionate in public can land you a ticket or an arrest. She had weird hangups with the whole religion/culture thing...

Yeah, is pretty crazy here. Just random girl things like - You never see a girl's ankle or shoulder. They only got rid of their 'Marry your rapist' law in 2014. Or just random everyone things like - You can ride motorbikes with neither helmets nor lights. You can shit or huff glue or both in the street.


Peace,

kowalski

One of my Moroccan friends told me that he wore a friendship bracelet on his ankle one time and his father saw it.

His father waited till he was sleeping. First he cut it off with scissors, then he heated a key over the gas stove and burnt his son's ankle with it and made him sleep in the street for 2 weeks. He was 21 at the time (22 now) and his father, from photos, is not strong enough to fight him. His reaction showed that it had never even crossed his mind when I asked why he didn't.

He did move out and now lives independently.


***************


I've met a lot of dumb yanks here. Oh my lord, they are the worst. So much self hate.

They say shit like "you're actually safer here than in the UK or US". This clearly isn't true. Maybe the official figures say that but the official figures here are fake as fuck. Most people have multiple stories of times people tried to pickpocket them or pulled a machete and mugged them in just a week here. But they have 0 equivalent stories from travelling or living in the UK or USA, where you can casually leave your phone and laptop on a table and go for a piss.

And they say "isn't everyone friendly" yet all locals try to double the price on any and every item as soon as they spot you are foreign and, unless you go to a bar, every conversation you get in with a local will end in them asking you for money. It'll end at that point because they either get some or not but they are done talking to you either way. I don't call that friendly.

One yank fuck started saying that women have it worst everywhere in the world. I pointed out that men die around 10 years younger in nearly every nation. If women get the shitty end of the stick, why doesn't that negatively effect their life expectancy. I don't see any other measure that can stand against life expectancy. In any other fields life expectancy (deaths by any causes) is the ultimate measure. So it should be here too.

I did also meet a kid from Philadelphia who was legit and, of course, the Canadians are cool.


***************


As for the truly friendly Moroccans, i.e. only those who give less fucks about their disgusting religion and therefore drink alcohol, they will have an honest conversion with you and let you criticise their culture from an informed standpoint. Because, if Islam is so great why are all majority Islamic countries poverty ridden shitholes where the people treat each other badly. They have no answer for that.

Last night I was talking about UFC (but not about Conor v Khabib) with someone and a local interjected to say that Conor crossed a line by saying things about their religion. I went off on him starting with "for starters, we aren't even taking about them but more importantly our culture is better than yours because we don't kill people for drawing a picture of our favourite paedophile... we don't even have a favourite pedophile, we think they're all bad" and I got progressively more vitriolic as I went on. After which the other kid tired to translate my words into a softer sell.


Peace,

kowalski

All I can visualise is market type areas, very densely populated with people carrying things on their heads and men playing a flute of some kind summoning a python from a basket.

I get this image from one of the episodes of Derren Brown's Trick or treat. In it, the guy chose a trick card, and as a result Derren hypnotised him, transported him to an airfield, flew him to Marrakesh, and left him there to wake up in a photo booth with cash to get home and his passport.

I thought that was cool as fuck. It would have been totally crazy to just wake up in another country like that.