Boa Onda

After a few days of relaxation in Altura I decided it was time to head off to new adventures. I was very grateful for the hospitality shown me by Madelena and her daughter and I hope I expressed that gratitude while in their company. I used the money left over from the past couple days to buy a couple bus tickets to Largos on the South Atlantic tip of Portugal. When the bus arrived I began walking out of town to reach the highway. I turned down a dirt road and walked until the sun set. When the sky darkened I stopped at a run down barn which was apparently still functional as that night my neighbor was a giant pig in the pen next to where I slept. When I woke up the next morning I packed my things and proceeded to the highway. I was picked up shortly after I started hitchhiking and asked the driver where I could find a cool beach surrounded by cliffs. He took me to a huge surfing beach where giant cliffs rose out of the ocean on either side of me. Relaxing there for a little while I was hoping to find some people to hang out with. After being around people who spoke little to no English over the past couple weeks I was starting to feel the desire for company. I pulled out my guitar and started playing hoping that someone would arrive and relieve me my loneliness. After a couple hours I realized I wouldn’t find what I was looking for there so I packed up and moved on. A couple rides later I was picked up by two young guys both of whom spoke English. They were part of a small punk-rock band and were heading to a jam session. They invited me to join them and I immediately took them up on the offer. While waiting for the drummer to show up I pulled out my guitar (whom I named Jana ;) and they each proceeded to take her for a little “test drive”. The three guys were all very good guitarists. They taught me a couple of chords and gave me some good tips on guitar playing. The drummer finally arrived and after we smoked a couple joints they started jamming. Being the talented musicians they are they played several songs, all very entertaining as I sat back and listened. When they finished we all went out for drinks. They took me to a bar down by the ocean where we drank, and drank, and drank some more. By the time the bar closed we were pretty smashed. No one was able to put me up for the night so I wandered down the street in a drunken stupor and passed out on a dirt road.

Waking up the next morning with a headache I made my way to the road where I could hitch a ride. Hitching with a hangover is difficult enough, standing in the hot Portuguese sun as trucks fly by, but once I came close to Lisbon there were no more small roads to hitch on, only the freeway. In Portugal, as with most countries in Europe, it is illegal to hitchhike on the freeway thus people are very unlikely to pick a hitchhiker up. After waiting at the freeway entrance unsuccessfully I started walking up onto the highway. I figured I could at least make it to a service station or something where I might have some luck. After walking along the highway for a bit I was greeted by a large road sign that told me the next service station was 20 kilometers ahead. Disparaged I could do nothing but continue walking. A couple kilometers down the road I saw a small delivery truck pulled over on the side of the road with his emergency lights flashing. I ran to it. Upon arrival at the truck I looked in the window to see a guy on his cell phone. I tapped on the window and he looked at me with a most quizzical look. Although he didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak Portuguese I managed to get across that I was in need of a lift to the next service station or something. I jumped in the cab and we had a very limited conversation. I asked where he was going and it turned out he was heading near Sintra, a place I was recommended to check out by one of the guys the night before, so I asked if he could take me there. After a long ride in the quiet cab we arrived in Sintra. After saying goodbye I proceeded up the hill to the city. By this time it was well after the sun had set and I was just looking for a place to sleep. Walking up a large hill I saw a guy leaning out of his ground floor window smoking a joint. I walked up to him and asked if he spoke English. After telling him I was looking for a place to sleep he asked me how much I wanted to spend, I replied, “zero”. He thought for a second then told me to meet him in the front of his house. He came out of his house and after introducing himself as Bruno we got into his car. We drove up a large hill way back in the forest and he led me to an abandoned house. Apparently this house had been built a few years ago by a drug dealer on this preserved land. Now the dealer was in jail and his house was often used for parties on the weekends. There was no one there this night so it was a good place to stay. Since it was on top of a large hill it had a beautiful view of Lisbon and the surrounding waters. I slept soundly amongst the broken glass and profane graffiti tagged on the walls. I awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise above Lisbon. I walked around that day enjoying the beauty that is Sintra. As the shadows lengthened and the day grew darker it also got colder. I didn’t have many warm clothes as I wasn’t anticipating being in cold weather anytime soon. I put on all the clothes I had and tried to keep warm under a small structure. I then went up to Bruno’s house again to see if he was home. I waited about half an hour for him to return and he found me huddled beneath a street lamp using my sleeping bag to keep warm. He invited me into his car and had me wait there for a half hour while he went to eat dinner with his family. He came out half an hour later with a bag containing hot soup, a roast beef sandwich, juice and sweet bread. He also had another bag with food for breakfast. He drove me back up the hill to the abandoned house where we smoked a joint before he left. Another night in the creepy house followed.

I arose the next morning ready to move on. I got a ride straight away off the road with a professional Judo martial artist. After dropping me off I was shortly picked up by a 24 year-old named Antonio. He invited me to come hang out with him and his girlfriend. Since they lived with their respective parents they would spend their Saturdays chilling at the back of a grocery store. Antonio took me to the store and left me there. He only had a two-seater car so he left to pick up Miriam, his girlfriend. They arrived a few minutes later and he parked the car at the edge of the deserted parking lot. We spent several hours together drinking beer, smoking joints, playing music, and talking about everything. They taught me some really cool Portuguese phrases such as “foda-se”, “paz e amor”, “tenho saudades da minha familia”, and my personal favorite “boa onda” which means “good wave”. Boa onda is the feeling you have when everything is just as it should be. About halfway through the day the clouds broke open and started pouring down rain. We moved under the shopping cart return cover of the parking lot where we continued our conversations. Antonio pulled out a huge binder full of guitar tablatures and told me to take whichever ones I wanted. I went through and picked out songs I knew that I would be able to play. Miriam, Antonio and I spent another few hours under the meager protection of the shopping cart cover until it was time to continue on. I said goodbye to Miriam and hoped in Antonio’s car with him. He first took me to the grocery store where he bought me whatever groceries I wanted. Then we drove down the highway a few kilometers where he dropped me off at a nice service station. We said goodbye and he drove off.

The service station had a kitchen and everything and seeing me come in with all my things out of the rain one of the attendants gave me a nice hot bowl of soup. As I sat slurping up my soup a man came over asking if I wanted a ride up the road. He was only going a few kilometers but he could at least take me to the next service station. I agreed to go with him and after finishing the soup hopped in his really nice Mercedes. The 60 kilometers we traveled took only about 10 minutes at the speed he traveled. He dropped me off and I headed inside. A furious game of football (or soccer if you prefer) was underway on the tv and the station attendants were caught up in watching it. I set down my things and joined them in enjoying the game. When the game finished one of the attendants told me I could pull out my guitar and start playing if I wanted, so I did. He mentioned he played a little guitar himself so he picked up Jana and started playing a bit. He taught me a couple things such as the intro to Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. Then he and the other people left leaving only me and the night attendant. I pulled out my sleeping bag in the corner of the station and managed to catch a couple hours sleep. I woke up and hung out with the other attendant playing guitar and teaching him some English. After a little while he handed me a paper bag full of sandwiches and drinks. He also gave me a nice blanket and scarf. By this time my bag was about ten times heavier than it had been in the last month from all the food I was carrying. When morning arrived and people began filing into the station I packed up my things and set up a note indicating the direction I was going and asking for a ride. I sat there for hours reading and playing Jana. At one point a woman walked up to me and handed me three euros thanking me for the music. Eventually the same attendant who taught me some guitar said he was leaving for the day and could take me to the beach town of Nazré so I decided to go with him there. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beautiful beach watching the waves crash against the cliff faces and seeing children play in the sand and sea. I played more music while sitting on a bench. A young boy walked by with a little toy guitar and his mother. He was fascinated by my guitar playing, as simplistic as it was. He pulled on his mom’s sleeve and she gave him some change. He walked over and handed me a euro and a half. After playing for a little while I made my way to an alley where I prepared a wonderful meal from all the food I had. While eating a guy came up to me and started speaking in French. He invited me to the bar right next to where I was eating for a couple glasses of Portuguese wine. After that I walked back down to the beach where I set up camp for the night.

After awaking I made my way up the hill to where I could continue hitchhiking. I was picked up minutes after I stuck my thumb out and within two rides made it all the way to Coimbra, a nice city with the oldest university in Europe. As it was a descent sized city I decided to catch a bus out in order to begin hitching again. I went to the station and bought a ticket for as far as I could go on the four euros I had. A thirty minute bus ride later left me on the side of the road in a small town. I tried hitchhiking for a couple hours until the sun began to set. Just as I was about to stop for the night and find a place to sleep a car pulled over. In the driver’s seat was a middle aged woman and in the back seat was her two daughters, one 13 and one 3. The woman, Margarida, spoke English and French and so we were able to communicate fairly well. I asked her if there was a nice park or some other place I could sleep in the town they were heading to. She said she didn’t know of any but that she had plenty of room in her house and I was welcome to stay with them. We arrived at her place and she made dinner as I took a bath. After eating we said goodnight and I slept in an incredibly comfortable bed beneath the skylight. In the morning I ate breakfast with Salome, the three year-old, on the porch as we watched Safira, the other daughter, walk off to school. That day as the girls were in school and Margarida was working I relaxed in and around the house. When they returned we went out to a nice restaurant where we ate Portuguese food including an appetizer of pig’s ear. The following day Margarida took Salome and me to the local market where she bought me a couple pairs of really comfortable socks. That evening I played guitar and taught Safira a little bit about playing as well. The four of us had a great evening together and I really felt like I was part of the family. The next day Margarida and I took Salome to school and then she took me to Visseu. Visseu is a beautiful old city, most of it built on huge granite rocks. After touring the city we proceeded another 200 kilometers east to the border between Portugal and Spain. Margarida and I ate lunch then she bought me a nice fleece jacket. I couldn’t thank this woman enough for all she had done for me. All I could do was try to express my gratitude in the most heartfelt way possible. She then looked me in the eye and sincerely said “Thank you for everything you have done also.”

I left Margarida and walked across the border into Spain. I was stopped there by border police who checked my bag and passport to make sure I wasn’t an illegal American immigrant smuggling pounds of hash from Morocco. After sending me on my way I set up at the edge of the highway to catch a ride. About an hour after I started a man pulled over and took me about 150 kilometers to Salamanca. I spent a few hours on the outskirts of the city trying to catch a ride but was unsuccessful. Darkness fell upon me and I went in search of a place to sleep. I found a plot of grass in between a couple apartment buildings where I brought out my bag and fell asleep. The night was very cold and upon waking the next morning I found my sleeping bag wet from the dew that gathered on the grass. As the sun rose so did I, setting my things out in the sunshine to dry them off as I put on every piece of clothing I had to keep warm. Once the day did finally start to heat up I set out in search of another freeway entrance. I found one and sat for a few hours trying to catch a ride. With nothing forthcoming I headed into the city. Walking around a bit I found the bus station and decided to check on a bus to France though I had no money. The only bus to France was going non-stop to Paris that afternoon and cost 95 euros. So it was either raise 95 euros by six o’clock that evening or try my hand at hitchhiking again. Naturally I tried to raise the money. I went to Western Unions and travel agencies seeing if I could send myself the money or use my mom’s credit card number to book the ride. Nothing worked. So I sat down on a bench and played with Jana for awhile. I then realized I was on the road which led to another freeway entrance. I started walking. Past car dealerships and shipping warehouses I finally made it to the highway. I set my things down and stuck out my thumb. About a half hour later a guy in a van picked me up and drove me to a service station about 200 kilometers down the road. There I made myself dinner and made a half-attempt to hitchhike more. I figured I could spend the night there at the station and at least be warm and dry but if someone picked me up to take me further down the road I’d be happy also. Just as the sun was setting I decided to stop for the evening but just before I put my thumb down a couple pulled over in a car. I hopped in and they took me about 15 kilometers down the road. They pointed me in the direction where I’d be able to catch a ride with some truck drivers so I walked that way. I found myself at a freeway entrance with no place for anyone to pull over and cars passing way too quickly to even consider picking up a hitchhiker. The sunlight faded quickly and I found myself beneath a streetlamp in the cold night. I realized that no one would pick me up there, at least not tonight so I set off to find another place to spend the night. Being surrounded by fields and very few buildings this was not an ideal place to spend a cold night. I walked behind a large feed store and found a place to sleep in the large field behind it. As the night wore on it grew colder and colder. I had layers of clothes on within my sleeping bag and still felt chilled to the bone. A restless night followed and as the sky became lighter I found myself under the dark grey skies with a sleeping bag soaked through by the moisture in the air. My back pack and I were also soaked. With no direct sunlight and cold, wet air there was no chance for my things to dry so I packed everything up still wet and headed back to the freeway entrance. That early in the morning there was very little traffic and fortunately I was picked up by a couple and their three year old son. I really didn’t care where they were headed as long as I could get a ride away from that spot. They took me way out into the country and dropped me off at another freeway entrance outside of the town where they were stopping. I set down my bag and waited. At this entrance I waited about eight hours hoping for a ride seeing one car pass me every hour. Eventually I gave up waiting and picked up my things. I began walking along the highway just trying to get to a place with more traffic. I then realized just how out in the country I was for I walked a half hour without seeing coming across an exit. I kept walking and at one point I arbitrarily stuck out my thumb. I saw a car screech to a halt in front of me and start reversing along the freeway in my direction. These three Hungarian guys were headed to Burgos and offered me a lift.

Upon arrival in the city I just prayed for a warm dry place to sleep that night. I walked and walked through the large city in the direction of the highway praying with every step. When night fell it was apparent that no one was going to invite me in to sleep in a house. When I grew too tired to walk anymore I found a tree next to the road and pulled out my bag. It was still wet from the night before but I couldn’t do anything about that so I set it up beneath the overhanging limbs of the tree anyway. I continued to pray that I would be warm and dry that night despite the situation I was in. I squeezed my way into the bag and found that as soon as I got in it the bag became dry. I lay down and was soon so warm I had to remove layers of clothing. Though my sleep was erratic due to passing cars and people I didn’t manage to sleep a bit. When I awoke I found dew covering the leaves of the tree above me and the grass around me. The fog was so thick it was difficult to see something ten yards away. Despite all the moisture surrounding me I touched my sleeping bag to find it completely dry. My backpack was completely dry. I was completely dry and although I could feel the chill in the air I was extremely warm. My prayer from the previous evening had been answered although not as I had expected it to be. I felt this was truly a miraculous experience and had a great feeling about the day ahead.

I continued walking along the road until I made it to a good hitchhiking spot. I stuck out my thumb and was picked up minutes later by two Belgian brothers, one looking like Michael Moore and the other like Wallace Shawn (the “inconceivable” guy from Princess Bride). They took me all the way across the border into France and dropped me off. I was shortly thereafter picked up by a really nice French guy. He asked if I had eaten yet and invited me to his house for lunch and a shower. At his place as he prepared a fantastic lunch of duck and potatoes I showered. After the shower and food I felt so much better. After playing a few songs for the man on my guitar we packed up and he drove me another 70 kilometers down the road. Right after he dropped me off I received another ride followed by another. Then I was picked up by an older couple who drove me well past Bordeaux. As night fell they asked where I was going to spend the night. When I told them I had no idea they invited me to stay at their house. They took me to their home in Saintes where they few me a great dinner and set me up on their couch. I slept very well as rain splattered against the window pane. I felt so blessed to be sleeping comfortably inside that night. When morning came they fed me breakfast and took me down the road to another highway. I was soon picked up by a guy who took me further down the road and dropped me off. As I was walking along searching for another place to hitchhike I noticed a designated hitchhiking spot marked by a sign. I stood there for a few minutes with my thumb out when a young woman pulled over and asked me where I was headed. I told her I was going to Paris and she said she was also. A few hours later we arrived in the city of lights. After hopping the metro gates I made my way into the city. I showed up at my old apartment where my friend Devon was living after taking my old job. Needless to say, he and his girlfriend Sara were quite surprised to see me as I hadn’t told anyone I would be in Paris. I surprised quite a few people during my weeklong stay in the French capital. I was in Paris because I had a flight leaving from Paris to the United States. After spending a week with Devon, Sara, Etienne, and other friends I illegally hopped on the train for the airport. Spending eight hours cooped up in an airplane from Paris to Washington DC was quite difficult, especially after having lived outdoors for the last three months. I finally arrived in DC and was met at the airport by my parents. My dad knew I was coming but my mom had no idea. When she saw me her jaw dropped and she was speechless. She had no idea when she would ever see me again so when I showed up in front of her she believed me to be a hallucination. I spent a few days with them in the nation’s capital and was able to see my aunt and my good friend Janet before we got on another plane to Colorado.

We arrived in Colorado just ahead of a large snow storm. That night I slept in my own bed at my Colorado home, the one place that has always felt like home to me. This was the best night’s sleep I had received in the last year or so. I woke up the next morning to snow blowing against my window. The trees and ground were covered with the white purity of the icy precipitation. I couldn’t have imagined a better homecoming.

Although I am not traveling at the moment and have no idea how long I’ll be here in Colorado this is not my last entry. I have the itch to continue traveling but for now am content to stay here with my family in an environment full of love and support. Until next time, peace!

Star Peace Episode VI: Return of the Hippie

The past few days have been terribly difficult and extremely rewarding at the same time. Last night I was walking by a church in this small town in southern Portugal when the church bells chimed that mass was about to begin. I was extremely tired and pretty hungry but decided to attend mass anyway. It had been awhile since I had been to church and I thought the spiritual sustenance would be beneficial. I walked in and the usher offered to watch my bag and guitar at the back while I attended the service. I sat down and immediately started to pray. Mass started and with the first sign of the cross I became emotional nearly breaking out in tears right there and then. Though the mass was in Portuguese I participated to the best of my ability. When I couldn't understand what was being said I prayed. Mass ended and the people filed out. I was one of the few left within the church when a woman walked up to me with her daughter and told me how much I resembled Jesus and that it was nice to see Jesus attending church (at least I think that's what she said). All I could do was smile and nod and she walked away. After leaving the pew I knelt to genuflect and just lost it. Kneeling in the middle of the church I began bawling and praying that I would have reprieve this night from mosquitoes, torrential beach wind, and prying eyes. After a few minutes of open crying I stood up, wiped the tears from my face, and started towards the door. The usher was standing there talking with the woman who told me I looked like Jesus. She had placed a card on my bag of St. Rapahel, the patron saint of travelers. I looked at her and smiled. In my best Spanish (which is pretty limited) I asked if it was possible to sleep there in the church. The usher, Madelena, told me that it was not. She then started speaking in Portuguese to the other woman. Madelena told me something that I didn't quite understand and proceeded to lock up the church. After locking up she turned to me and made the motion for me to follow her. She led me to a house and opened up the door. The place looked like a guest house for traveling families as it had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and television area. She took me in and motioned for me to put down my things. She then proceeded to make up one of the beds for me and left. She returned minutes later with her daughter who spoke English. They invited me to stay here as long as I wanted. They brought me fresh towels and soap and took my clothes to be washed. The "Jesus" woman then came with bags of fresh groceries. I have not been able to stop thanking God for this amazing manifestation. After a wonderful lunch with Madelena and her daughter and a spectacular dinner of split pea soup and pizza I am now sitting in their office writing.

Thinking about the month that has passed since I last posted I am wondering how to put many of the experiences I've had in words. After my last post I ended up staying in Madrid for a week as I met up with some friends of mine whom I met at the Running of the Nudes in Pamplona. Javier, a wonderful Argentinian with whom I connected on a very deep level had given me his address in Madrid and Dingo and I just showed up at his place. When he returned home from work he was quite surprised to see me there but proceeded to make us a fabulous dinner. The next day Dingo left to continue his own journey but I stayed in Madrid. Dingo has been a fabulous traveling companion and we experienced a lot together. I am truly grateful to have had his company for such a large part of this journey. The next evening I stayed with Sophie, a woman from France, as Javi's then-boyfriend was coming back to stay with him and was quite jealous of mine and Javi's relationship. Sophie and I had a great time together practicing my french, cooking vegan food, watching animal activist movies, and sunbathing by the pool. Javi, Sophie, and I hung out with another cool guy named Mario named after the famous brothers. After a week of relaxing in Madrid and eating completely vegan food I was off on the road again.

I caught a few rides heading south to Grenada including a ride with a beekeeper from the Pyrenees on his way to Morocco. I bought some honey from him and went on my way. I soon made it into Grenada and walked around the city a bit. I sat down on a bench in a small park and started eating some bread with the honey. A man walking by stopped and looked at me. He then sat down and began speaking to me. Alcohol dripping off his breath he asked me, "Do you know what the difference is between humans and animals?" Without waiting for a reply he said "Curiosity, man is curious as to why things work out such as they do." He talked about many things as I listened. After a couple hours passed he showed me to a nice cheap hotel where I could stay the night. I said my farewell and checked in. The next morning making my way to the bus station I sat down on a bench to eat my morning meal of dried fruits and nuts. The same man walking by stopped and sat down with me again. When it was time to go to the station he took me to the best bus stop to get there. We wished each other the best and parted ways. Upon arrival at the station I hopped on a bus bound for Orjiva, the town located near the hippie community. On the bus I met a young guy from Germany with long blond dreds. Benjamin was heading out into the mountains to do some camping and I told him of Benficio. Thinking it sounded like a good idea he decided to join me. When we arrived in Orjiva someone pointed us in the direction of Hitchhiker Corner where the Beneficio inhabitants hitch up to the commune. We waited there maybe five minutes before a woman stopped and loaded us into her car. She took us up the hill and pointed us in the direction of Beneficio. We walked a ways before we ended up in a dirt car park full of campers and beat up cars. Not sure what to make of it we headed up a trail which led into the woods. We saw many tents set up to our right so we found a spot and set up ours among them. After dropping off our things we continued up the trail passing tee pees, houses made of many recycled materials, and marijuana plants.

Continuing up the trail we climbed higher and higher into the mountains. At the top of a hill we stopped and chatted for a bit before heading back down. We climbed down a ravine and ended up coming into the camp of a man named Roi (pron. Roy). Roi looks as though Gandhi would look if he had the head of Groucho Marx. Standing there completely naked he invited the both of us to join him for tea. We agreed and sat with him in the outdoor carpeted circle used as the center for Roi's home. We spoke for awhile on enlightened topics and life in Beneficio. We had heard about a meditation group meeting that evening so we told Roi we wanted to go attend that. He said, "Welcome, you are here". We stayed for the meditation session where we focused on opening our chakras then remained for dinner. After dinner we said thank you and made our way down to the main lodge which was a big outdoor circle with a fire pit in the center. Musical instruments were abundant including guitars, drums, flutes and others. People were gathered around singing, playing, smoking marijuana, and thoroughly enjoying themselves in the relaxed and open atmosphere. The full moon that night provided a lot of beautiful energy and people were very happy. Ben and I sat and smoked joining in on the fun. I stayed up all night meeting new people, having amazing conversations, playing music, dancing, and soaking up the incredible energy of the place. A couple hours before dawn Sam, a talented young guy from England with whom I had spent most of the night talking, said goodnight and headed to bed. I found myself alone in the center of the circle playing with the fading coals of the fire and with no desire to go to sleep.

As dawn approached I decided to hike up a hill to catch the sunrise. I started out barefoot as I had no desire to wear shoes at this point. I had nothing with me but the shorts around my hips, the shirt on my back, and the camera strapped around my shoulder. I began walking and didn't stop until I reached the top of a large hill. From there I caught the sun coming over the mountain across from me on the town above Beneficio. Now that the sun was up I looked around and soaked up the beauty of the community in the valley below. I turned and saw that the mountain continued upwards and felt the desire to continue on, so I did. As I walked I found the earth turning more and more brown, the plants becoming drier, and the day growing hotter. I passed ruined buildings and with them the last signs of civilization but I continued on. Sometimes the heat would become so intense on the rocks below my feet I risked life and limb to run across steep gradients just to find shade and reprieve for my feet but still I continued on. I would find a tree from time to time under whose branches I relaxed in the shade as much as the hot day would allow. I would meditate under these trees for what seemed like hours. When I was ready to bear the heat of the sun soaked rocks I continued on. As the sun began its descent so did I. I started walking down into the valley but my way was soon blocked by tangles of brush. Light was fading fast so I found a place to sleep amongst the bushes. That night I stayed awake again praying, meditating, and receiving the most amazing visions. That night I communicated with nature. I listened to the wind speak to me through the trees. The crickets chirped a sweet song for me and the moon shone between the bushes to enlighten me and my surroundings. Believe it or not I watched as several spiders gathered together to create a web right next to my head. I realized that this web was a natural dream catcher and that I was dreaming while fully awake. That night I experienced things that I never imagined possible. I saw gateways to other dimensions and I traveled them. I felt time itself. We see the effects of time's passage around us but before this I had never actually felt time. There is no way to describe in words what I actually experienced but suffice to say I found the divine light within which is exactly what I had been searching for. I have no idea how long that night lasted. It could have been minutes or hours, it all felt the same to me.

Dawn crept over the horizon and I crawled out of my shelter. I began my decent further down the mountain trying to get back to Beneficio. When I heard water I would try to find it as I knew there was a river running from the mountains straight down through the community. I would traverse steep rock faces holding on with only the tips of my fingers and toes. I would climb down to areas of green thinking there must be water nearby only to find my passage blocked by thick bramble choking off any passage. The day wore on with no food or water to be found but as unusual as it may seem I was neither hungry nor thirsty. I realized that I had everything I needed within me already and that if I only kept going I would find my way. The sun crossed the desert canyon and started to dip behind the western canyon wall above me. By the fading light I made my way into a copse of trees. As I tramped through the small forest the light became more and more dim. Soon I couldn't see where I was going so I felt my way around. I came to a point where the way ahead was blocked, both sides were closed around me and I could not see from where I had come. I decided to stop there for the night and continue at first light. This night was the coldest and darkest night I had experienced in this lifetime. I spent most of the night curled in a ball crying. I may have slept a little but there was no way to tell for sure. I prayed and cried until the sun came up. When I could see my surroundings I noticed a small passage ahead of me. Crawling through the dirt with thorny vines grabbing at my back I slowly made my way between the branches. I have no idea how long I was crawling through that mess but by the time it opened up and I could stand I felt as though I had never before stood upright. The sun was shining through the trees and I could hear running water, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I pushed past bushes not caring about the thorns and the blood they drew. I climbed up and over trees and saw below me a pool of water, orange in color and smelling of disease. Needless to say I did not drink. I came out of the woods and noticed above me powerlines I had passed on the first day. I decide that instead of attempting to continue down into oblivion I would climb back up the mountain following the powerlines and go back the way I had come. I climbed and climbed running from the shade of one tree to the shade of another that my blistering feet would have relief. I found the path I had taken the first day and followed it back. The late afternoon sun was beating down on me by the time I saw my first glimpse of humanity in three days. A woman in her late 50s was washing her dishes in a hommade sink. I walked over to the ledge above her and managed to croak out, "tiennes aqua?" She looked me up and down and said "Of course". She handed me a bottle and I drank the sweetest tasting water that had ever touched my lips. She said to me, "You look like Robinson Crusoe. Didn't I see you pass by here a few days ago? What on earth have you been doing?" I didn't say much but recounted my tale to Sula as best I could. She showed me a fig tree which I immidiately climbed and began eating fig after fig right there in the tree. After some time had passed I went back down the mountain to the main commune area. I thought I would try to find Benjamin as I was sure he would be worried about me. Sure enough I found notes posted all over Beneficio in his hand writing asking if anyone had seen me and that if I returned to contact him as soon as possible. He had taken my things up to Roi's place and had left that morning. I walked all the way up to Roi's and found him sitting there in his circle with a smile on his face as though he were expecting me, which I'm sure he was. We didn't say a word to each other, we didn't have to. He knew exactly what I went through as he was right there with me. He had no worries that I would return and tried to convey that to Benjamin while he was there. I sat down with Roi then colapsed completely.

The sun was past the canyon wall by the time I awoke. Roi was humming as he placed stone and clay for the house he was building. He looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile whole-heartedly. Roi then proceeded to make dinner for us but oddly enough I wasn't hungry. In fact my appetite didn't return until a few days later. For the next couple weeks I spent most of my time with Roi, meditating, cooking, hauling stones from the mountain, picking fresh figs, grapes, and almonds, tending the garden, and enjoying the nature that surrounded me. Roi gave me a traditional north african dress and said "This is how a servant of God should dress". I put it on and immidiatly fell in love with it. Since he gave it to me I haven't worn anything else. It just fits me. I met some other amazing people including our neighbor Randy. Randy was from New Jersey and was a huge Jimmy Hendrix fan. One night I helped him take a used bench seat down the hill for trash and we spent the evening sitting in the back of his van smoking ganja and listening to Hendrix tapes. Other interesting people included the homosexual biblical couple Simon and Paul, a crazy Italian named Jesus, the bundles of wood-toting Mohammed, and too many others to name.

After two and a half weeks in Beneficio I thought life was perfect and couldn't get any better. I was spending the day with Randy smoking and watching over his garden guarding against the heard goats that sometimes came down to eat his plants when a woman passed by on her way up the mountain trail. We invited her to come over and relax for a bit. Jana (pron. Yana) was from Prague and within her eyes I could see an entire universe. She and I shared a strong connection instantly. She stayed for dinner with us and that night she and I slept arm in arm within the circle at Roi's. We spent the next couple days together enjoying life around Beneficio. One day Jana's friend Alesh showed up as well as Roi's brother and his friend. We had a feast of many wonderful foods all prepared right there in Beneficio including some fresh sourdough bread Roi backed in his clay oven. Alesh and Jana were heading out the next day and I wasn't sure if I'd join them or not as I was enjoying Beneficio so much. I really felt at home there. In the morning Jana and Alesh gathered their things and started saying goodbye. I looked at Roi and he said to me, "don't leave anything unfinished." With that I knew I wanted to go with Jana. I packed my things quickly, gave Roi a huge hug, and ran down the hill after them. By the time we reached Orjiva we had missed the bus heading south so we decided to hitchhike. In my experience hitchhiking with two people is difficult, with three there was no way we were going to get a ride. Someone did pull over but said he could only take one and was heading to Grenada so Alesh left us and went with him. Jana and I then spent the day slowly making our way to the coast tropical of Spain. By early evening we arrived in Nerja and found our way to the beach. We set up camp amongst the rocks and spent a beautiful night together sharing love as I had never experienced before. The next day we relaxed on the beach singing and playing guitar. We swam in the surf and soaked up the rays of the sun. That afternoon we made our way further up the coast to Marbella and spent another night on the beach. The next morning Jana took a bus to Malaga where she was to catch a plane bound for Barcelona. There she would meet her boyfriend and they would hike the Pyrenees together before heading back to Prague.

After an emotional goodbye at the bus station I took off down the road. I managed to catch a few rides and ended up in Tarifa, the southern most point of Spain. Here I could catch a ferry over to Morrocco which would have been very cool. However, the ferry cost 30 euros which was about ten times what I had to my name so I stayed in Tarifa. I saw a guy sitting on a bench with a drum so I went over and started hanging out with him. That evening he showed me a place to sleep out of the driving coastal wind in an abandoned worksite. I didn't really sleep that night. I spent the night thinking of Jana, writing poetry, meditating, and doing yoga. In the morning I left and made my way west towards Portugal. The first ride I received took me to a really cool beach on the coast where we tanned in the nude and smoked just enjoying the beautiful day. When we were leaving a young blond british guy ran up to me and handed me a plastic bag with rice and tomato soup within. He said that they were heading home that evening and that he was going to just throw the stuff away so if I wanted it I was welcome. After my ride dropped me off in the andalucia region of Spain I was shortly picked up by three young beautiful Spanish women. When they dropped me off the one I had been sitting with in the back said, "You look like Jesus Christ". Continuing on my way I made it into the town of Jerez. I spent the night there and attempted to hitchhike in the morning. To give you an idea I spent the next three days hitchhiking and made it about 200 kilometers. This means I spent about ten hours each day on the side of the road walking with my thumb out in the blistering heat of the southern spanish sun and two hours in cars. A van pulled over and handed me a watermelon. So for these days I was surviving on rice and watermelon. The places I slept were laden with mosquitoes so it was very difficult to actually sleep. I finally arrrived at the border town on the Portuguese side of the border where I met a group of homeless guys sitting in the park. I hung out with them awhile and connected well with a guy named Paul who barely spoke English. That evening he took me to a homeless shelter where they gave us coffee and ham sandwhiches. I am not usually one to eat meat and I never drink coffee but the coffee was delicious and I ate about four sandwhiches. Paul then took me to his home underneath a ramp to the municiple swimming pool where he invited me to stay the night with him and his companion, a dog named El Niño. The next day he took me to a place where I had a nice shower then we returned to the shelter for a great meal of soup, rice, salad, and honeydew melon. After that I attempted to hitch further into Portugal. I walked down the street, set my things down and stuck my thumb out. Scant minutes passed when a woman walked up to me and gave me a bag full of fruit. She told me I reminded her of her 24 year old son. She said I would be hard pressed to get a ride there and gave me 20 euros for the bus and whatever else. She walked into her house right there and returned shortly with another bag full of food and a picture of her son. She then wished me a good journey and left me there. I hopped on the bus and headed up the coast a bit. I arrived in another beach town where I attempted to sleep on the beach but was agani bombarded by mosquitoes and coastal wind. The next morning instead of hitching I decided to walk along the beach to the next town. About halfway there I stopped to rest and met a lonely old German guy. I played my guitar for him and we hung out together for awhile. When I got up to leave he handed me ten euros and wished me a good journey. Shortly thereafter I arrived here in Altura where I met this amazing family. They have taken me in and treated me so well. I cannot believe the things I have been through on this journey and the experiences that I have had thus far. I am extremely blessed to be here and surrounded by love. I know this would be even more difficult without the support of family and friends so I wish to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. From here I haven't decided which direction to go but I'm sure it will lead me to even more adventure. Until next time, até a vista!

Drug dealers and a new guitar

Waking up to see the beautiful San Sebastian bay below me with the surrounding city behind it was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately when you are awakened by rain at 6 in the morning you don’t have the opportunity to really appreciate it.

Budapest was an amazing city with its huge castle jutting out of a mountain and the Danube running down its center separating the Buda and Pest sides of the city. Dingo and I had a fantastic time staying with our friends there but decided to get out of the city for a bit and see the countryside. There was a PsyTrance festival going on down south so we went to check it out. Hitchhiking out of the city we were shortly picked up by a woman and her 11 year-old son. They were heading in our direction so we went with them for awhile. About an hour into the ride she invited us to come stay at her house with her and her two other children. Dingo and I looked at each other and said, “Why not?” so we went. We arrived at a small country house near Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Europe. The house was surrounded by wine vineyards and cornfields. We met the rest of the family including the grandfather who gave us homemade wine from his vineyard. Dingo and I cooked that night for the whole family by candlelight in the old pig shed. After dinner Dingo performed his fire show for the family who loved it. The following day we went to the lake with Julie, the 20 year-old daughter. We spent a few hours sunbathing and swimming in the beautiful body of water. In the evening we were invited to go to a friend’s house to hang out. We thought we’d meet a few people, maybe four or five, drink a few beers, and just chill. When we arrived we were greeted by about thirty-five to forty smiling faces. Apparently the family had told all their friends about Dingo’s fire show and they gathered to see it. Dingo did his performance to a wide round of applause then someone broke out a guitar and started playing while I sang. We entertained and were entertained all night long. As much fun as we were having we took off the next day to go back to Budapest. After singing along to the guitar player my flame for learning to play the guitar was rekindled. The day before my birthday, back in Budapest, I started searching for a guitar. Dingo and I went to a great musical instrument store where I found the perfect semi-acoustic guitar so I bought it for myself as a birthday present. The store didn’t have a hard case for it so I wrapped up the cardboard box it was in and prepared it for travel.

On my birthday Dingo and I took off. We debated about heading north to go to Germany, Norway, and Sweden but the weather up there was horrible so we decided to head to a surf competition on the Southern Atlantic coast of France where we knew it would be warm. Outside of Budapest we were picked up by a guy in a beat up car with enough room for the three of us, our things, and about two square inches left over for breathing room. The guy had just spent the last year in a Romanian prison for drug trafficking and was on his way to Portugal to see his family. He was heading all the way to Torino, Italy and although it was cramped and uncomfortable we went with him the whole way stopping in Tarvisio (where I began my hike through the Alps) for a nice birthday dinner. Switching off driving throughout the night we arrived in Torino at about 5 a.m. the following morning. After catching about two hours of sleep at the back of a gas station Dingo and I began hitching again. We caught several small rides through the Italian Alps and into France. South of Toulouse we caught a ride with a French guy and his girlfriend who had just come back from Morocco with cartons upon cartons of cigarettes. He was buying them cheap down there and selling them in France along with other substances he picked up there. He offered to give us a ride all the way to Hossegor where the surf competition was for fourteen euros. We figured that was a good amount for gas and everything, although fourteen is a weird amount to request, so we agreed. About three hours later around 2:30 in the morning we arrived at the beach. We got out of the car and gave the guy 20 euros since he went through a lot of trouble trying to find the place and we figured he could keep the other 6 euros. He looked at me and said, “Where’s the other 20?” I asked him what he was talking about, that he demanded 14 euros but he claimed that we had agreed upon 40. We thought that 14 was a weird number but before we agreed I tried clarifying with him that it was indeed 14 euros and he agreed on that. Well we gave him the last of our money which was another 7 euros and he went on his way. Dingo and I then crashed on the beach to the sound of the ocean surf. We awoke a few hours later to hot sun with sand in our sleeping bags and ocean spray hitting our faces. We got up and starting checking out the small surf city. By noon clouds rolled in and the wind picked up. It became cold and threatened to rain. We were walking up the boardwalk when we met to young dudes from Southern California who were quite typically SoCal. They invited us to stay with them in the small hostel place they were staying as there were only two of them but they had five beds in the place. So we took our stuff over there and hung out with them for the rest of the evening. They were kind enough to buy us food and drinks throughout the night and provide us with a roof over our heads which was very fortunate as it rained a lot that evening and the next morning.

When noon arrived on the following day and the weather hadn’t gotten any better, nor with the weather forecast would it, we made the decision to head south into Spain. Walking down the road with our things I stuck my thumb out and immediately someone pulled over and gave us a lift. We got a couple rides soon after that including one that then we were picked up by two really cute French girls heading to San Sebastian. They asked if we wanted to go and naturally we gave them an enthusiastic “yes”. Upon arrival in San Sebastian we found a large fiesta going on and joined in the fun. We spent the night dancing and partying like it was 1999. At about 5 in the morning we decided it was time to get some sleep. We snuck into a giant mountain park by scaling a 12 foot high wall that curved around the gate with steps worn into it. We then climbed up the mountain overlooking the town and found a great spot to set up camp. We slept about and hour before we were awakened by rain pouring down on our heads. If you have never been woken up by rain after an hour of sleep I must tell you it is an awful experience, trust me. Dingo and I were both in a fowl mood so we went our separate ways for awhile. I went to a beautiful church to meditate and pray then found a guitar case, finally, ate some food, checked email and things then went to find Dingo. I had no idea where he was so I just wandered in the direction I thought he might be saying to myself that if I find him, great, if not, oh well we’d probably meet up later. Walking down the road a tall blond guy stopped me and asked in English if I was looking for someone. He told me that my friend was in the internet café on the corner so I walked in and found Dingo. Had the guy not stopped me to tell me I might have never found him. I told Dingo about it and he didn’t recall mentioning looking for me to anyone that morning… weird. We relaxed on a bench around the corner and I pulled out my guitar to play it for the first time since I had bought it nearly a week prior. We had siesta on the sidewalk then walked around the city a bit to check it out. When evening came around we watched a spectacular fireworks display then ran into a young couple from the Czech Republic drinking cheap wine next on a bench with their giant backpacks at their side. They didn’t have a place to sleep that night so we invited them to stay at our “Mountain Hotel” since it was a clear night and didn’t look like it would rain. It was still too early to sneak into the park so they invited us for a couple drinks. They and Dingo drank some beer while we watched a Basque dance party. The bands played Basque folk music to an upbeat tempo while the young and old performed traditional dances together. When the time had arrived to head to the mountain the Czech guy, Adam, was pretty smashed. We found our way to the gate and Dingo and I proceeded to scale the wall again. We turned around the corner behind the gate and waited for a few minutes. When the other two didn’t show up we decided to investigate. We dropped our bags then went back around the corner. We found Adam lying on the ground below the highest part of the wall unconscious with his girlfriend hovering nervously above him. He was still breathing and after about a minute he woke up with a chipped tooth and no memory of the incident but with no other injuries. Since he was drunk and had a heavy bag on his back when he fell he was relaxed and the bag absorbed the impact. We half-carried half-walked him up the mountain to our sleeping spot. While they got settled Dingo and I checked out the view from our place and saw the lights of the city down below along with the darkness of the bay. We slept quite soundly that night to awake the following morning to sunshine and a loud Italian guy singing above us at the top of his lungs. Adam was fine but still couldn’t remember what happened. We spent a little while basking in the sunshine and absorbing the view of the beautiful sights below us. Deciding to head out of the city that day and head to Portugal we took the couple to the train station so they could make their way back to Prague. Dingo and I then made the attempt to leave San Sebastian.

With no luck hitchhiking along the freeway we caught a bus for a euro that took us just outside the city. We then caught a ride with a guy in a camper who was heading to Madrid, so we figured, why not go to Madrid. We arrived in Madrid yesterday afternoon and checked out the city for awhile. Although we had no intention of coming to Madrid I’m glad we came. This is a gorgeous city though huge and would recommend it to anyone. Last night while searching for a place for Dingo to perform and earn some cash we came across a giant park. We heard many drums and cheers coming from a section of the park and headed towards the music. Upon arrival we found a huge drum circle with about 50 people or so drumming, dancing, drinking, and just having a good time. We joined in and Dingo performed for the crowd. We hung out for awhile meeting really cool people. That night we slept in the park but were brought out of our slumber quite suddenly by sprinklers. It isn’t as bad as being awakened by rain but its pretty close. We found another area as dawn was approaching and caught another hour or so of sleep before the park security woke us up and told us we had to leave. Now we are on our way to Grenada to see what the artistic city holds. After that I will be heading to a hippie commune about an hour south of there and I think I might stay there for awhile. So if I do not post again for a long time, do not fear, I am in safe hippie hands. Until next time, adios!

Budapest: The enlightened rodent

While reading the following entry one may notice something missing compared to the other entries. This text has no accompanying photos. Your first guess to why is probably the correct one. A couple nights ago as I was sleeping someone went through my bag right under my nose and took my camera and mp3 player without my being aware. The mp3 player I don’t really care about and the camera itself isn’t that important, however there were photos on there that cannot be replaced and it is for these photos that I mourn.

The last two weeks have been quite eventful as you might imagine. After spending a few days sleeping on the couch of the apartment in Tricesimo Italy, biking through the hills and eating gelato I decided it was time to be off onto my next adventure. I chose to hike through the Alps of northern Italy into Austria. Adequately preparing myself for such a journey I bought a small camping stove, a cooking pot, rice, hard plastic utensils, and snickers bars, you know the essentials. In Tarvisio (a small town just south of the Austrian border) I bought a hiking map to help plan my route. Wednesday morning I left the small hotel room I had stayed in the previous night and started hiking. After about two hours on my feet I reached the Austrian border and walked right across. From there I took a gorgeous trail following the ridge of the Carnic Alps. Beautiful jagged mountain tops greeted me around corners while I was surrounded by huge pine trees and the songs of birds echoing through the forest. I came across mountain streams of fresh spring water about every hour or so where I could refill my water bottle and refresh myself with a quick splash to the face. During the day I would push myself from sunup to sundown only stopping for a quick rest by a mountain stream or to pick wild raspberries along the trail. When evening came I would set up my tent and write in my journal by the fading light of dusk while waiting for my rice to cook and listening to my growling stomach. For three and a half days I hiked finally arriving in St Jakob, Austria around noon on the fourth day. The afternoon of the third day and the morning of the fourth were very difficult for me. For some reason it seemed that every road I chose led me in the wrong direction. Now I wouldn’t say that I am an expert navigator but I do know how to follow a map and I have a fairly good sense of direction. Even with the map I continually chose wrong routes or missed turn offs having to turn around and make my way back several times. As in the desert of France I was about two thirds of my way to my goal but just could not get there. Even when I had reached the small village just outside of St Jakob it seemed that the roads I chose only led me around in circles. Finally, after hours of mindless wandering I arrived at my destination. I took a trip to the grocery store to buy anything that wasn’t rice then lay in the grass under the afternoon sun relaxing and eating fresh fruit.

From St Jakob I hitchhiked my way to Vienna, Austria to see what the city had in store for me. I made it there with a few hours of daylight left so after calling my parents to let them know I was still alive I took a small tour of the city. I set up camp under a tree in a park and slept quite soundly. The next morning I arose and started wandering around the city taking in the sights and sounds. I walked through the beautiful gardens taking my time to stop and smell the roses, literally. The botanical garden had so many rosebushes each with a unique look and smell. I had no idea so many different kinds of roses existed. After my garden tour I laid in the grass of a nearby park and fell fast asleep. What must have been a few hours passed as when I awoke the shadows of the surrounding buildings and statues were significantly longer. I got up, grabbed my sack and continued on down the road. I entered an area known as the Museum Quarter, a group of more modern buildings where more of the local Viennese hang out. While passing by some benches a large guy with tattoos and a shaved head called out to me and told me to come over. I walked over to him and he started speaking to me with his heavy Australian accent. The man’s name was Dingo, or so people call him, and he has been touring Europe and other places for the last two years performing as a fire breather. I hung out with him for awhile and we were shortly joined by a Hungarian and a Czech whom Dingo had met the previous day. The Czech was a young guy named Roland who had been living on the streets for God knows how long. The Hungarian was a beekeeper whom we called “T” as we couldn’t pronounce his real name. He was also living on the streets of Vienna and new the ins and outs of getting everything for free there. We went to the main square and spent the afternoon watching break dancers, jugglers, and magicians entertain the tourists. That evening T took us to a small park where several other people were gathered. At about 8 o’clock a van pulled up and started serving free hot soup and bread. Although I have volunteered at soup kitchens it is a completely different experience to eat at one, especially one like this. Being surrounded by other homeless people asking for more soup to satisfy their hunger is an incredible experience that not many people would choose to try. It was pretty nice to eat and have live entertainment without paying a cent. That night we slept in the foyer of a museum on leather couches with carved faces looking down on us from the ceiling.

We awoke the following morning to rain and cold outside the foyer. Dingo and I packed our things and caught a bus that afternoon to Bratislava, Slovakia. Dingo was to play drums in a band there on Thursday but we decided to head up early to check out the city. Before going there, had you asked me where Slovakia was I would have replied, “Over there” and pointed my finger in any arbitrary direction. We arrived in Bratislava Monday afternoon to be greeted by an empty city. There were no tourists and most of the locals were on vacation or something because the capital city of Slovakia seemed like a ghost town. We wandered around for a couple hours then decided to get some food. We went to the grocery store and bought fresh vegetables, beans, bread, and drinks for the equivalent of about two euros. Searching for a place to cook with my camping stove out of the wind we walked down an alley and found some unused tables and chairs at the back of a restaurant. People passed by looking at us but no one said anything until the owner of the restaurant came out and started speaking to us in Slovak. Dingo stood up and said he was Australian and that he didn’t understand a word the guy was saying. The man switched to English and told us that we couldn’t stay there because his customers walked past that spot to use the toilet. He helped us move around the corner setting us up with a table and a couple chairs. He left for a minute and came back with a beer for each of us. We talked with him for a time while our food cooked and it turns out that he spent a lot of time in Australia and loves it there. After we finished our meal he invited us out to his front patio for a couple more beers. We drank and talked, Dingo performed a fire show in front of the restaurant, we drank some more and just had a great time that evening. We finally said goodnight and Dingo and I took off to find a place to sleep. We found a small copse of trees where there was no foot traffic as it was by the highway and we figured it’d be a good spot to set up camp. We laid out our sleeping bags and were soon fast asleep. I awoke in the middle of the night to hear the sounds of wrestling near by. I sat up and saw Dingo holding a guy against a tree. The guy was yelling something in Slovak and Dingo was yelling in Aussie, neither understanding the other. I looked at my bag right by my head and noticed it was wide open with many of my things strewn about the place then looked at Dingo’s to see the same of his. The man was emptying his pockets trying to show that he hadn’t taken anything. Dingo searched him and found that he in fact hadn’t. After attempting to tell the man that stealing was wrong and that it wasn’t a good way to go through life he let the guy go, obviously terrified. I searched through my bag and noticed that both my mp3 player and camera were missing. We believe that somebody had come up before this guy, searched through my bag without me hearing, took the electronics, and left before this other guy came up seeing that we were easy targets and tried the same. Obviously he wasn’t as skilled as the other guy because Dingo heard him and woke up right away before he could take anything. We attempted to go back to sleep but I don’t think either of us actually slept at all after that. I woke up the next morning in a pretty bad funk trying to tell myself that it was only “stuff” and things could have been a lot worse. Dingo generously gave me a camera that he had been in possession of for awhile that only needed some slight repair. That morning we decided to go sightseeing at the castle but as much as I tried to enjoy it, it seemed that nothing would sink in at all. While at the castle we met a young Austrian woman traveling on her own so she joined us as we toured the town. As she and Dingo talked the day through about Australia and life ambitions I felt tuned out. I had that sinking feeling of abandonment again and that I was really in need of guidance. After a while things settled down and I moved into a complacent state. Dingo wanted to check out the club where he would be performing so that evening him and I left Tenya (the Austrian) and made our way to the abandoned bunker under the castle that had been renovated into the SubClub.

Upon arrival at the venue we met the only two people there that evening, the bartender and a DJ. They invited us in and the bartender poured us a couple of shots and gave us a few beers. Me, I’m not much of a drinker so by the time we left the SubClub about two hours later I was already feeling pretty pissed. The bartender locked up after us and started walking with us in the direction of the old city. He told us to come with him and led us into downtown Bratislava. We walked into an alley then down some stairs into another bar where he greeted the waitress with a big kiss. We sat up at the bar and he ordered us a round of beers. He offered Dingo and I a shot of some kind of crazy Slovakian drink but I refused as politely as possible. After he and Dingo had a few more shots and the three of us had had about four more beers we stumbled out onto the streets of Bratislava. The bartender said goodbye and pointed us in the right direction to god knows where. Dingo and I, barely conscious, wandered down the streets stumbling with every step until Dingo said, “This looks good”. We were at the corner of an old building right across from the main church. We subsequently passed out on the cobblestones not waking until the sun was beating down on us and tourists were staring at the two drunken hobos in the street. We sat there waving and saying “good morning” as the people in the little tourist tram took pictures of us. Finally the heat and light of the morning sun became unbearable to our aching heads and we moved into the shade of the church outcroppings When I felt up to it I went to the market to pick up some good hangover food and checked my email at the local tourist office. I received an email saying that my friend Sarah, in Budapest, was going to be home for the next couple days and I was welcome to come crash on her couch. After feeding Dingo and myself I told him that I was leaving and that if he was coming to Hungary after the band played he should let me know. I packed up my gear and headed out of town determined to hitch my way the 200 km or 125 miles to Budapest within the next couple hours. After five hours of waiting at freeway entrances and walking down the highway itself I was finally picked up by a Hungarian who spoke fluent English. He brought me all the way to Budapest and I showed up at Sarah’s door late that evening to be greeted by her roommate. I spent the next couple days relaxing with Sarah, her husband Peter, and their roommate Sanyi. Sarah and I went to the market, saw the new Harry Potter movie, went to the library, and saw bits and pieces of the city. I told them about Dingo and how he wanted to come to Budapest. As wonderful as they are they invited him to stay with them as well though they didn’t even know him. Dingo arrived Friday evening and shared a delicious meal with us as it was Peter’s birthday. Sarah left the following morning for America but Sanyi and Peter invited us to stay as long as we want. So here I am with a roof over my head in Budapest reading Sarah’s copy of the final Harry Potter book. The simplest things in life, such as sleeping on a couch, taking a shower, washing clothes, eating a hot meal etc. have become the greatest pleasures. I have now been on the road for over a month but am not close to stopping. I love this life and hope to be able to continue for as long as I want. Thank you for all your prayers and support, it really helps. Until next time, Szia!