Spain

Life is so random. Shanti is the new WWOOFer who has also come to stay with Roser and Alfredo. She is a slender, dark-featured young girl with bright, soulful eyes... (you can tell I have been reading fantasy novels). She is 21, and from Winnipeg! Both of our parents are teachers... we have some other shocking similarities as well. She is very down to earth, and open... she has only been here two days and we have talked very frankly to one another about some very personal stuff. It feels great to have another young person here to explore and do things with. Today she taught me some guitar chords after a fabulous session of cutting away the tall cactus hedging in towards an area cleared for a chick coop to be built.

Recently, I have explored Telde, which was kind of a seedy town. I visited some very old churches and streets, and got chills down my spine from the sense of history in these places. I learned that construction workers and toy stores are the same everywhere. I´ve also seen from a higher point, the volcano on who´s outer side we are on. There is a single house in the middle of the volcano, where a man lives with his cow.

I´ve done a lot of work clearing and lifting and levelling and piling. Physical work is so good for my body, mind and soul. It seems so strange because I am so arts and intellectual oriented, but at this point in time I would rather be a labourer for money.

I think I am ready to move on to my next WWOOF place, which is an olive and almond farm in Orgiva, which is south of Granada. It sounds very exciting, but I would also like to enjoy some time here with Shanti. I think she may want to move to Southern Spain as well. I finally recieved my new bank card, so I have freedom to do as I please... however I will not speak before I have money in my hands.

I hope everyone is doing well. Email me if you want to chat further, for the moment I have good internet access. And also, I would like to add a sentiment epressed well by my well-travelled friend, Graham S. If you find yourself wishing you could travel, or that you were me, or you are envious of any of this, then have it for yourself! Travel! Come with me! Meet me in Spain! By all means, do it if you wish it.

Water, water, everywhere. It´s in us, in our food, our air, and completely essential to the manifestation of life. So simple, and so important. It is often used to represent our emotions; it can be calm and reflective, or turbulent and agressive. A heavy rain can bring either disaster or the most beautiful blessing. Right now it is the latter. It´s so different because in Canada, rain comes often and is usually something that inhibits activity; ¨The picnic is cancelled, it´s raining.¨

Here in the Canaries it is so precious, so joyful when the sky gives an offering of rain to the plants and the animals. The thick layer of dusy covering the houses, leaves, and animals is washed away, and the plants swell with greenery. Roser and Alfredo have built some kind of system, which recyles the water that goes down the sink drains and from the washing machine, to be put into permanent hose systems, which water the plants overnight, and to be used from the hoses. Water, ye precious commodity.

It seems that lately in life, the big lesson for me, the big thing to learn and to adopt, is moderation. It is very interesting, this idea of rain. At the same time that it is such a blessing here, too much is always a bad thing. The Barranco, this area was are in, is like a long crack, a valley between two tall and steep mountain ranges. The valley area is only the width of a road in most places, so all the houses are on the mountainsides. And when the rains come, there is always a danger of a river washing through the Barranco, flooding away the cars and sheds parked along the valley.

Over the past two days I have worked hard, my project being to dig up this tremendously overgrown garden that was planted with tall pots into the soil... there were about 50 of such pots, grown over by vines, grass, and a few trees taller than I was. At first it seemed so futile, literally scratching at the earth with a pronged tool, but soon I was deep into the soil, and I have been covered in it since yesterday morning. It was satisfying. I thought a lot about life and truth, and my mind has cleared, just as I have cleared this little patch of land on such a big earth, ready to be filled with some seed and growth.

Also worth mentioning is a dance group I attended with Roser, they practise traditional Canarian, Macedonian, and all kinds of folk dance. I didn´t understand the words, but I learned the steps... I love dancing, I really do.
¨Dancing is what to do,
Dancin´s is when I think of you.
Dancin´s what clears my soul,
Dancin´s what makes me whole¨
-Dancing, by Aaron Smith (feat. Luvli)

The past few days have been great. Life is very relaxed here, and time flies by very quickly. Roser and I have had so many long talks, about society, people, her country, our lives, emotion and just.... life. Last night was one such talk, joined in by an Argentinian man who had come to see this video of Krishnamurti, a wise Indian man. The video posed all kinds of topics for discussion... we mostly talked in English, which was a little difficult at times for Fernando, but worked for me!

A large part of the work I am doing is watering the many trees and plants, since the soil is so sandy, and everythig is growing on this hillside we are on. Avocado, mango, mandarin, goyabo, peach, plum and banana trees are all so new and exciting to me. We also do a lot of cooking, making soups, jams, and big lunches, which is the main meal of the day for the Spanish.

I went to the south part of the island a few days ago, and swam in the ocean on this very tourist infested beach. The water was quite warm, and I got a very good look at the crazy tourism.

Today I have a cold. It has been growing in me over the last few days, and last night I was unable to sleep well, getting cold and hot flashes. This is the delayed effects of last week´s airport adventures, no doubt.

Being here, and talking with Roser and Fernando last night, and thinking and reading has really made me question my direction in life. University? Ahck! It seems to be so contrary to everything I am begining to learn at this stage in my life, not just on this trip, either. The value of moving slowly, eating well, leading a simple life.... being open to the value of new experiences without pressure or stress. Ah well. Cést la vie.

By the way, listen to Bloodsport, by Sneaker Pimps. I have had it in my head for a week,