Aljezur to Zambujeira do Mar ...

Amazigh experience shows lots of young folk from Eastern Europe about ... Dimitri and friend from Russia on staff, Thomas and friend from Hungary surfing for a week or two, a Ukrainian couple at the cafe in Arrifana, a Latvian couple arrived on foot from Zambujeira ... today at Hakuna Matata a Polish pair check in along with other hikers on the Vicentina, some going North, most going South ...whilst iaround town folks from further east in evidence ... Nepalese finding work picking the fruit and veg grown on the sandy soil hereabouts. .. nutriments added with the water ...

An early start enables 40 km day ... out in the dark along known route, waking the dogs at the shelter, past the campsite before dawn seeps in slowly, due to cloud cover, which produces a little rain before Odeceixe, making the cobbled descent into town rather tricky ... fast pace on firm tracks means the first 18 km is done by 10 am ...

After crossing the Seixe, the border between the Algarve and Alentejo, rain turns heavier and wind picks up, making for a challenging stage on soft sand tracks close to the cliff edge ... and a change of clothes plus picnic at the closed restaurant 9km before Zambujeira, though a missed marker means an extra couple of kms via a very large field of lettuce, easily entered, but needing a fence climb to exit onto a road, leading to Brejao and finally back to the coast ... exactly the unintended diversion from last time, learning process clearly slowing down ...

Finally at the hostel for 4.30, tired and ready for a hot shower ... weather not conducive for a swim ... perhaps as well ... storm forecast to pass by tomorrow, whether to stay a day or head for Almograve is a question for the morning ... evening meal at restaurant overlooking sunset seascape needing extra imagination or return when the sky is clearer ... divine chocolate mousse may influence the decision ...

Messages for today ...

Early start in ten bed hostel room means silent exit and an hour before dawn for FB and You Tube ... Dennis Skinner on why he always opposed joining the EU, Yanis Varoufakis on why he favours reforming it from the inside ... whilst a mainstream theme from the department of mass manipulation seems to be promoting a rerun of the referendum or a General Election with the in or out question the main item on the agenda ... just another drama inviting our attention and opinions and distracting us from other possibilities ... like the Nature of Reality ... capitalist bogeyman Warren Buffet posts insightful information that as long as we allow words to evoke our emotions we are at the mercy of other people's agendas ... Jordan Peterson, identifying as on the political right, offers brilliant analysis of what's going on through psychology, mythology and other ologies, an insightful tale of limit breakers risking all to push past current levels ... his style compellingly emotional, since the pretence may engage our attention more than cool logic ... meanwhile, over at Findhorn live, information at another level from compelling cosmologist Jude Currivan amongst others ... the webcast freely streamed, though Findhorn folks still struggling with money question, maybe influenced by North American notions of abundance, missing the essential element of simplicity ....friends find the events expensive, the webstream initially offered for a fee, presumably with low response ... an experiment with Charles Eisenstein's Beautiful New World event offered within Gift Economy frame, though not repeated ... perhaps it's a question of trust in the process ... feelings here in line with Land of Joy model, common in Buddhist retreats, though far from ubiquitous ... Plum Village, for example, with a clear pricing structure ...

Amazigh crew of volunteers as always enthusiastic and owner yet to be seen ... many hostels employing the work for bed and board model enabled by Helpx and other platforms ...undermining paid employment for local youngsters, creating opportunities for itinerant youth from around the world ... including a Russian couple this time round. ...new economic forms inevitable in swiftly changing world, opinions rather redundant, better maybe to move with the creative edge and help shape the version of Reality we seek ...

Morning walk rehearses tomorrow's extra early departure, planned for pre-dawn to enable double stage to Zambujeira do Mar ... and loops round to Armoeira beach for 10 am coffee and blogging at otherwise deserted bar ... weather, and more importantly, weather forecast, deterring Sunday swimmers and surfers ... there is some cloud about and Sun too ... van load of surfers finally arrive and return route follows cliff and pine woods for brisk walk to Amazigh and lunch ... Mona has left in her hire car, accepting that it has become her cage on this holiday, swiftly moving from town to town, beach to beach, hostel to hostel, safe and secure in her isolation ... which is not to be confused with solitude ...

Nitram, previously known as Christian, from Bulgaria via Suffolk and London stops by en route for Shambala, a project nearby ... philosophy ensues for an hour or two ... more of which another time ... plenty to process!

Arrifana circuit ...

After yesterday's sedentary day, a proper walk is called for and the Vicentina Arrifana Circular, despite previous experience, turns out to be longer than anticipated on a rather warm day ... heady herby perfumes for the first stage, coffee at beautiful, surfy Arrifana, ozone and seascapes for the second, tough enough on soft sand tracks ... at Armoeira and low tide, an exciting river crossing, despite safety signs advising against ... below waist high at its deepest ... an hour on the road back to the hostel ... good training for proposed long stage to Zambujeira do Mar on Monday ...

Before which, a warm encounter at the market, recognition from the Dutch woman running the fruit and veg stall, a reminder of her Christmas present in 2016, a purple sweet potato, with instructions on how best to cook it (boiled in its skin and spooned out with a little oil and salt) ... and a lesson on the value of small acts of kindness, since she has forgotten about the gift, having given it from the heart ... how many smiles, cheerful greetings, sharing of food and stories have been offered without expectation of reward and yet resound throughout the universe?

Today's philosophy is with Mona, from Germany, on holiday from her work as a midwife, with a childhood in a Protestant Christian cult, resonating with K's phrase: Truth is a Pathless Land ...

At the hostel a family from Germany with four small children check in to liven things up and just maybe quieten things down later ... though first they need feeding ...

At the seaside ...

The Isle of Tavira offers a wonderfully quiet beach, approached by ferry at one end and bridge at the other ... between the two a three or four kilometre expanse of sand, perfect for barefoot walking at low tide and discreet enough for bare body sunning and swimming to top up the vitamin D ... after two days of which today's elemental experience includes walking west into the approaching storm, wet but warm enough ... and a welcome coffee at Barril, albeit dear, due to logistical issues, what with vehicle free facilities there ... miniature railway the main option ... at Barril, Andrea, Italian room mate, on short break from job in Lisbon, the 300 km trip done by scooter ... and a discussion on Portuguese economy, currently picking up and attracting workers from around the world ... specifically evidenced at the hostel by Andrea, Lokinder from Nepal and Arbi from Brazil ... low wages and tax breaks drawing in multinational corporations, low wages made up by warm climate and friendly locals ...

On the dental front, implants accepted by host bone which has grown around it, meaning much chipping and scraping for next stage of vanity project ... impressions finally taken and two weeks free before final fitting ... so, how to spend the time?

Options, as brief stormy period clears the air, include walking the Algarviana from Alcoutim and a trip south to the Guadiaro ... yearnings for camino postponed awhile, with thoughts of Portugues and return via Santander ...

Stanhope to Tavira

Early evening flight from Newcastle leaves lots of time for leisurely trip via Crook, Durham, Newcastle and the airport ... 4 different buses and four different bus companies ... just over three hours and time for lunch at Dobbies, with Christmas shopping delights on display ... slightly gentler ambience than the portal to another world which is the airport and its own shopping opportunities ... an hour delay increases exposure to frazzling electromagnetic pollution, sensitivity to which perhaps raised, or maybe it's the increased pollution all around, especially in urban settings ... flight a delight with sunset lingering on the horizon for most of the way ... quickly through passport control and baggage reclaim to find city bus waiting ...

Faro Pousada da Juventude located and straight to bed on the top bunk with snorer beneath and lights overhead until late night younger folk settle down ... some adjustment required for sleep, but it comes and early waking leaves an hour before dawn to wander Faro before a cafe is found for cakey breakfast then first bus to Tavira ... which feels like home again ... a warm greeting from Joana, pleased with previous Krisnamurti book and delighted with next one, The Limits of Thought, where two of the greatest thinkers of the age, K and Bohm, explore those limits and what may lay beyond ...

Now for a walk to the beach ....

Tavira to Aljezur ...

This question of power continues to fascinate ... at every level ... if it's right "as above, so below" as intuited and expressed by Hermes Trismestigus, along with "as within, so without", coherence requires a perspective broad enough to integrate it all ... and while the perennial wisdom may be pointed to for a conceptual glimpse, coherence demands experiential knowledge, the babbling of second hand opinions soon seen as inauthentic ... well maybe, though the gullible in search of gurus to do the work for them may delude themselves for a while ... perspective allows time to define "a while" broadly ... time itself, it seems, a relative concept allowing a workable frame, along with space, in which to taste each incarnation ... eternity and infinity being beyond even the cleverest minds to comprehend ...

As usual, the hostel produces philosophers for discussion, notably Celeste from Austin, Texas, via Seattle ... seeking deeper meaning after romantic heartbreak and heading for nearby plant medicine retreat with yoga and meditation ...  plant medicine, in case you wondered, is a euphemism for psychotropic tripping ... a route described by inner space travellers from a previous age ... Terrence Mackenna, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts amongst many others ... and on the subject of coherence, premature experience of plant assisted parallel worlds often unhinging the psyche .. after agreeing that everyone has a story and is potentially fascinating, a shyer, older woman, Pasquale, from Quebec, tells of her Camino from Le Puy and much wandering around Portugal ... her pack an amazing 3 kilos .... an earlyish night, leaving Andrea and Celeste fascinating each other and planning the beach for today ... happy to discover only Andreas' stuff in the room, though woken later by newcomer climbing to top and squeaky bed ... and snoring ...

Yesterday's expressed options change this morning, since Aljezur appeals and Lagos train plus direct bus enable simple enough trip and friendly hostel for wander up the Vicentina Way, coastal variant ... sunny and busy in Lagos and surprise earlier bus means the delights of town are skipped ... the centre of West Algarve and with undoubted charm ... the benefit of not being Albufeira though not quite Tavira either ... Amazigh has friendly welcome, lower bunk bed for three nights, booked and into restaurant opposite for 1.35 lunch ... quite an efficient trip across the Algarve ... having left Tavira on the 9.38 ...

Arundhati Roy's wonderful second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, inspires with very broad perspective, radical political analysis, glimpses of the numinous to offset the otherwise desperate story of Kashmir in recent history .... stories told from different experiences helps explain how barbarity may beget barbarity ... though cycles of violence have to be broken or transcended sometime .... when will they ever learn? And who are they if not us? 

Chaostabilty

Life, it seems, is best lived at the fine line between chaos and stability ... the creative edge and maybe the eternal present moment ... balance essential as psyches teeter on the brink, momentarily resting in the place to be, sometimes frazzled in chaos, other-times bored in stability ... this observation retrieving memories of a brief enterprise with three directors and many associates, having fun challenging the inertia that is so often the public sector in this region and maybe in general, since bureaucracies tend to evolve to meet the needs of their staff above those of their customers and the key need for the staff who stick around and rise to their level of incompetence is security ... salaries, permanent contracts, paid sick leave, holidays and finally the hard earned pension ... the business cards had: Director of Chaos, Director of Progress and Director of Order, playing with the image of the three legged stool ... one of the drawbacks of this provocation was the resistance of the potential customers, the public sector staff rather than the end user, the public themselves, to anything likely to upset their security ... and whilst sympathetic individuals encouraged us, the layers of bureaucracy stifled most of the action, their power being of the negative type ... unable or unwilling to risk security for excitement the power of no held sway ... maintained by slowly decaying forms, organisations transparent and opaque. ..

Fine Autumn weather inspires a trip to the Land of Joy for the weekend ... joining a woodland working party trying to eradicate a particularly persistent invasive species of rhododendron to make space for native trees ... some interesting folks in the party and two days of hard physical work makes a nice break from the gentler regime in Stanhope ... getting a little deeper into the community at the Land of Joy, though not especially into the more esoteric forms of Tibetan Buddhism practised there ...

Just one week before the flight south to Faro, some sunbathing to top up the vitamin D between dental appointments, then maybe a walk to Santiago from Lisbon, Coimbra or Porto ... FB sends a reminder that two years ago the walk from Irun began ... Ivar's Camino Forum reports attacks on pilgrims and others in Santarem and other places, mostly south of Porto ... opening the question of whether reading such material is wise ... fear being the main obstacle to overcoming excessive attachment to stability ...

As for attachments, walking the Caminos may be one ... though the time will come soon enough when that is no longer possible ... meanwhile, the joys of putting one foot in front of the other all day for a month, the physical, mental and spiritual benefits continue to inspire escape from the simple security of Stanhope ...