Alive and kicking (part 2): BXL - Halle

photo by Rosa

But I think that the most random weekend so far was in Brussel. Me and my friends Margaux and Rosa were looking for a place to eat and then to have a beer. We ended up in this pub that I still don’t know the name when two guys started talking to the Little One and the Curly Hair One. Long story short they ended up taking us to a couple of other pubs, one club that we didn’t go inside because there was a cover charge and finally to a pub that I had been before and that I never remember the name. We had no idea where the fuck were we nor how to get back. One of them gave us a ride home. The second day was by no means less random than the night before. My friend Wim told me about a house party somewhere in BXL. The three of us took the tram to the center and were going to see what would happen next. I saw a big mess in the back of the tram, someone with a Thor helmet, people in costumes… It was Kat and Jeff and Gert! We went to this awesome house party that only God knows (and them) knew where it was. We left, drunk with a rough idea where to go, we had a hand drawn map. In the middle of my drunkeness I started to hitch… at 4 in the morning and drunk! Then suddenly, a taxi stopped. My first reaction was “we don’t have money!”. He didn’t care, he drove us to 3 or 4 street from home and of course, for free.

Wim’s flat is in the North of BXL, it’s actually on the road that leads to Antwerpen which is where I was going next. To meet Johanna, whom I met in Granada. I also met with Janne; I met her in Estonia last year whilst working in the same hostel. I spent only a couple of days in Antwerpen. Wanted to meet with other people but, well, they were busy.

There I was, standing next to a McRubbish, resisting the urge to go inside and eat some of the most delicious rubbish I have ever eaten, but I didn’t do go inside, I refused to do it. Instead, I found a ride to the first petrol after the Dutch border.  The guy was going to Rotterdam. I have never been to Rotterdam I said to myself. It was still early and I still had time.  Why the hell not stop a few hours and then continue my way to Utrecht? That’s what I did. I was very surprised about Rotterdam, it’s nothing like I experienced in The Netherlands. Everything is very modern, basically no old building. Not that it’s bad but I’m used to see really old shit in NL. The building and bridges were really nice. After a few hours I decided that it was time to leave. I was not far away from Utrecht, a mere 60 Km. but still took me a few hours to find a ride. Two good looking girls stopped for me and asked me where I was going but unfortunately for me they were not going in my direction.  Pity, there were really cute. So I stood there for a couple more hours. A couple of drivers stopped but all where going everywhere but Utrecht. Finally a Spanish speaking Dutch guy stopped and drove me to Utrecht. I mean, some drivers tell you “I need to be somewhere so I’m letting you off here”. I’m not complaining about this, they did me a huge favour bringing me there but this guy was like “I just need to make a quick phone call”, this phone call was to his colleague telling him that he was going to be late because he was driving me all the fucking way to Edy’s house! He spoke perfect Spanish with an Argentinian accent. His name is Ariel (well, that Latinoamericanized version of his name, the version he told me).

The time I spent in Utrecht, as always, was really nice. Catching up with one of my best friends. Eating a frozen pizza (like the ones I used to eat in Tallinn) while having a beer: priceless. I spent the weekend and met with Livia whom I met in Tallinn. I also met with Tami. She did a semester in Spain but we couldn’t match our schedules.  I did nothing else than relax in Utrecht. Siemen, a guy I met in Granada took one day to visit Utrecht and drink a few beers with me and Maria who was also visiting town. All in all was a great few days spent in NL.

photo by Livia

There is a place that I always use when leaving Utrecht. Is the entrance of the ring road A27; I’ve used this place to go east to Berlin and South to Antwerpen. I thought it was still the best place. It’s not as perfect as before. Before there was a broke down lane, now it’s a two lane on ramp. Still a few cars stopped before finally getting a ride with a new mum and her 8-week-old baby girl. A Mechanical Engineering asked me where I was from and agreed to take me to the next petrol station. After a few minutes of conversation he mentioned that he lived 10 minutes from where we were and asked me if I wanted to stop for a coffee and a sandwich before continuing. I had still about 500 Km to go but it was relatively early so I thought why not? After an hour we were on the road again. A couple of years ago I was on the motorway near Hengelo, stuck on my way to Berlin. It was not only before a couple of hours of asking people and thumbing that a polish lorry driver took me to Magdeburg. This time was exactly the same. Slow but steady ride. When I made it to Magdeburg it was already dark exactly like a few years ago. What was different was that then, is that I found a straight ride to Berlin in a matter of minutes. This time, eerr, well not exactly. I even scared a woman and her daughter when I asked them for a ride while they were walking to the shop, but when they came out, they wished me luck. To not make things longer, after maybe three hours, I went inside for a coffee. I heard some people talking behind me. I asked politely if they were going direction Leipzig to what they answered that they were in fact going that way. They agreed to take me but warned me that the car was small. I though they were riding a VW Golf or maybe something even a bit smaller… it was a fucking Audi A5! That’s a semi sports car for fucks sake! The 120 Km between the petrol station and Halle were done in about an hour. There were construction works that slowed us down from 180 KPH to about 80 KPH in some parts of the motorway. One of them used to work for a company that was doing business with a Guatemalan company. "I don't know any Estonians but I do know some good Guatemalans" he told me when we talked about Estonia. They took me to Halle HbF and by 22:00 I was already having a Sternie with Anna.

Alive and kicking (part 1): Leaving Granada - BXL

That’s right, I’m alive. My life has been intense since the last crap I wrote. Met some wonderful new people that I wanted to take with me. I met someone very special the last weekend I was in Granada. I am indeed the King of Bad Timing. I spent more time in my second home (or first?), oh yeah, that place is Hamelin. That pub became a very special place for me. The barmen became my friends, I did some crazy shit there. I slept at the bar more time than I would like to accept. I would be in a position to deny that but unfortunately there are a few photos of me sleeping. Since I started traveling I don’t listen to radio and I don’t what to look for on youtube, I mean new music. My music library has grown very, very slowly. But despite that fact along the years I managed to came to know some really great bands. I’m not sure if I knew them before but in Granada I became a fan of The Black Keys; and I specially like one song: Lonely Boy. I’m not sure who was it that changed the name of the song to Lonely Ron but I liked it. From then on I sang that song, let’s say a lot.  I even managed to get a shot named after me… yup, you guessed it right, the name of MY  shot is Lonely Ron. The last beer I had there, the Sunday before I left was very, very emotional.

 (photos courtesy of Syrmo Kyrstopoulo)

photo by Cristina

I needed to be in Paris fast and given the fact that hitchhiking in Spain is utterly unpredictable, I decided not to hitchhike whilst still in the country. I found myself in Bilbao 12 hours after leaving Granada. I had been there before, 4 years prior. In Bilbao I met with my friend Cristina. She spent 5 years in Australia. I haven’t seen her in the same amount of time. We talked about of love stories, about traveling, about traveling and love stories. We had a lot to catch up… a lot! Although, 3 days was not enough to get up to date for the last 5 years, but we have an idea of what we did in that time. Sometimes some people tell me “life has taken us different ways, you are traveling the world. Distance tends to drive people off". Not in this case, I felt like the last time I saw Cristina was a month ago (a 5 year 30 days ago, if that makes any sense. It does in my head).

The route that lorry drivers take from Portugal/Spain to Northern Europe “goes through” San Sebastián. So there I was, at 6 in the morning looking for a way out. I decided to share a ride to the first petrol station on French soil. The driver didn't charge me... it ended being sort of hitchhiking. Once there, 5 minutes later I was inside a Portuguese lorry on my way to Bordeaux. I think that Granada turned me uglier. I spent 7 hours stuck in that damn petrol station! Nothing was working. I was asking people near the pumps. No one was going to Paris. In December I was on the other side of the road, going to Madrid and I found an straight ride after less than 30 minutes (we had breakfast in those 30 minutes of waiting). Why on this side was different? Dafuq should I know! I just knew that no one was picking me up. I was desperate. I was anxious. I was hungry. I only had one apple, one peach and one pear in my stomach. Finally, by 17:00, a Belgian car drove me to Paris… super fast! I was very scared but I didn’t care, I was finally going to Paris, for the third time.

Paris, the City of Light. Twice before I had been there and twice before was nothing special. In fact, I’m not a big fan of Paris but I was supposed to meet someone there, someone that never came. Therefore, third time was not the charm.  I met some nice people there so it was alright. I met with my good friend Lempi and everything was alright.

Leaving Paris is always a major pain in the ass; this time was not the exception. The distance between Paris and Lille is not that much so I decided not to start as early as I normally would. After four hours of sharing the spot with four other people, I finally left and was having a beer with my friend Chloé by 17:00. The first thing I noticed when I saw the beers on the table was, where the fuck is the food? Oh yeah, I was not in Spain anymore. Summer of 2013 I met a nice Moroccan in Tallinn. A year later I was meeting Abde in Lille for a coffee.

I was standing in the entrance of the motorway. A place I had been standing twice before. The first time I was there I was going back to Belgium and I found a ride straight to BXL. The second time I was going South, I was going to Saint-Loubès and found a ride to the first petrol station on the motorway. Both times it took like maybe an hour or two. Both times I was with a girl. This time though, I was alone. This time it took me I think more than four hours. Not one single car even stopped to ask me where I was going. I didn’t remember that hitchhiking in France was that hard. I saw a lorry with Belgian number plates and immediately showed him the “BXL” sign I had been using. Suddenly, the unexpected happened: the driver agreed to take me! After introducing myself and talking for a bit he told me that he was not going to BXL but to Antwerpen through Gent… Fuck it, I was on my way to Belgium, I didn’t care. As long as Belgium was still as easy to hitch as it has been in the past, I could be anywhere and still make it before dinnertime to my destination. He offered me to take me to Antwerpen (it would’ve been as easy to go there and hitchhike down to BXL but why bother to add an extra 100ish Km) but I asked to be dropped off before Gent, right before the crossroads on the motorway leading to BXL. 10 minutes went by and I was offered a cigar whilst being driven the petrol station on the motorway. There I asked a few drivers but they were going not quite to Brussel (by the way, for those of you who do not know: BXL = Brussel = Brussels). Finding a ride in 10 minutes is super cool, especially after being stuck for 4 hours in the same place. Belgium is the country where I had the most rides in luxury cars. I saw a fancy MercedesBenz S-Class, the driver looked (and was) a businessman. He changed his name to Dries when he converted to Islam, over 20 years ago. He used to hitchhike and told me that Spain was once easy to hitchhike and that Guardia Civil had always been assholes. Oh yeah, he told me this while driving me to BXL.

what's next?

Exactly! And I don't know.

I have three weeks left in Spain and I have no idea what to do and where to go. I don't think I have been this confused about this. 

It all started one day when I was having dinner with my friend Julia back in the hostel. A week later I received the news that I had to leave. It felt like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge... or even worse. Yeah, maybe worse than that.

That was over a month ago. At the moment I felt that the world was crushing me. I didn't want to leave. I almost cried. As much as I love Granada and actually, almost became my new black hole, Estonia is still very deep in my thoughts. I started again with the "when I was Estonia" stories.

Days went by and not only I started to accept the fact that I couldn't stay but I started to embrace the idea that I had to leave. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to leave. Maybe it was a sign from a superior being that I needed to move somewhere. That I needed to pack my stuff. That I needed to get going. That I needed to start using my thumb again because it's getting rusted because of the lack of hitchhiking. But where to, Germany? Poland? Lithuania? Russia? Back to Estonia? Finally leave Europe and go East? Pavel is already in Iran and Matthieu is hitchhiking to India very soon...

Some of my good friends left. I don't know if I'm ever going to see them again. I sure hope so! I still have good friends here but we don't hang out as often as before. There was a very special group of volunteers working at the hostel but they are all gone. Then two more came but they soon will be gone. I, soon, will be gone too. The hostel way of life: people coming in and out of your life. But some, well, they a leave a mark on you. Really looking forward to meet with the little one, the curly hair one, the skinny one and the Swedish looking Aussie guy really soon.

I'm starting to think and to "plan". That is not good. Never works out. I have my life "planned" for the next month. I mean I do like how this plan looks like. No, I love how this plan looks like but what if doesn't work out? You see, I'm thinking too much. I don't like to think this much. I even thought about going back home. Home as in Guatemala. Stop traveling for good. Or go to the forest and live a naked life. The naked part seems interesting but I need internet to keep writing crap, crap like the one you are reading right now.

My room is a mess. I need to clean it up. I'm leaving this flat at the end of this week and I have no idea where I'm going to move in! I will be literally homeless for two weeks. Maybe I could camp in Sacromonte?

Anyways,  I'm back to where I started, asking myself what's next? I guess the answer is that I'll see what happens next...

Note to self

I always tell myself NOT to plan. Most of the times I listen to myself. But it has happen that in a few particular occasions, well... I don't.

Most of the times I listen to myself and just go with the flow, no plan. It has worked for almost 5 years, except in four occasions. The latest one was a couple of days ago. I planned to stay in Granada for an indefinite period of time. I came to like and the love this city. For the first time I found a place I could stay for long. Well, second time. Tallinn was the first one. And then, after the planning, the shit came in! YAY FOR ME!

"Here I am. Life has taken an interesting turn". I found this quote last year. Now, I think that life is playing its "funny" tricks on me once again. Life indeed has taken a quite interesting and specially unpleasant turn. Shit happened and now my days in Granada might be very limited if I don't come up with a solution. My mum always said that things happen for a reason.

"My past known". I have been living in Granada for the past six months. And I love it here, I don't want to leave but...

"My future unknown...". Should I swim against the tide? Should I hit the road once more? I have no idea what to do. I wish my dad was still alive, I could really use his wisdom right now.

"The present is up to me". But he's not here. No one is going to help me solve the crap I'm in but me. "I took a shot to the chin" by some motherfucking cunt. But I managed before. I know I will now. I know me. Time to pick myself up off the floor, shake the dust from my trousers and find a solution, regardless of what that may be. I still have more than a month. Anything can/will happen in this time.

As I was finishing this post, I was about to click "publish" when this song came on iTunes:

Hang Tough by 80s glam metal band Tesla

Took a shot to the chin.

Looks like you just can't win

In this do or die situation.

And it's harder than it seems

To survive, keep alive and make your dreams,

Make your dreams all come true.

You gotta, you gotta give it your best shot.

Give it everything you got.

Oh, you gotta hang tough.

Hang tough. Hang tough.

Sometimes love can make you blue.

A heartache made just for you.

But you can't let it bring ya down.

If you should stumble, if you should fall,

Pick yourself up off the floor.

Fight for what's right and stand your ground.

You gotta give it your best shot.

Give it everything you got.

Oh, you gotta hang tough.

Hang tough. Hang tough.

When the goin' gets rough.

Hang tough. You got to give it all you've got.

Hang tough. Keep your head above the ground.

Don't you let it get you down.

Oh, you gotta hang tough.

Hey! Oh! Hey! Oh!

You stay locked away inside your room

'Cause you don't know what this world is comin' to.

Hummingbird hums 'cause he don't know the words

And the piper will play 'cause he don't know what to say.

He's alot like you, yeah. Oh, he's alot like you, yeah.

He tries hard ev'ry day to be free and fly away. Yeah!

Hang tough, oh, when the goin' gets rough.

Hang tough. You've got to give it all you got.

Hang tough. Keep your head above the ground.

Don't you let it get you down.

Oh, you gotta hang tough.

Hang tough. Oh, you got to give it all you got. You gotta

Hang tough. Don't you let it get you down.

Hang tough. No! Oh, you gotta hang tough.

Hang tough.

Hang tough!

One thing is sure: I'm not ready to go back to Guatemala...

Granadian? Granadese? Granadino facts!

These are some of my facts I came up with and some of the things I think about Granada.

- People with dreadlocks in Granada are as common as people with noserings: you can see them everywhere! I'm no longer crazy about girls with dreads. Pity.

- I loooooove girls in tights/leggins. Never seen so many like in the South of Spain. You looked so good in them!

- Guys with beards are also quite common but I'm not going to shave tho. I shaved not long ago. I'm starting to think that I do it once a year.

- Awesome free tapas is a Granada thing. In Cádiz they were not free nor awesome, they were actually quite expensive. In Madrid there was only one place that had great tapas but the drinks were quite expensive.

- Most things are more expensive than Estonia but the few "important" things (if you know what I mean) is way cheaper!

- I don't think I will ever go to Alhambra, at least to the paid areas. The Spaniards spent 800 years trying to get rid of the Arabs and now they are making a (huge) profit with what they left behind? This is not to open a debate. If you don't like this, keep it to yourself.

- It's painful to walk on the cobble stone street with shitty jandals. Even with Chuck Taylor's is painful.

- I will NEVER get used to going up and down Albacín. NEVER!

- Who the hell had the idea of putting slippery stones on the sidewalks, even if it's drizzling it's super slippery! Don't even think about going out wearing jandals... or be prepared to spend most of the time either on the floor or walking funny. 

- The weather is as crazy as all the women in my life. During the day can be really warm and at night can get chilly. Then it was warm throughout the day. Now it's chilly throughout the entire day! WTF! Granada., you're drunk!

- Did I mention the tapas... Oh my God. They're great! The other day me and my friend went to this restaurant and for only 1€ we had a 3-piece (?) tapa!

- It's a hikers paradise. There are many hikes to choose from. Too bad that's not my strong.

- With the exceptions of Poland and Estonia, where I had a bunch of local friends, in Spain all of my friends are not Spaniards and I'm the only whose native language is Spanish. But I ask ask them quite regularly how to say some things in Spanish...

- Outside sitting is called "terraza" (terrace) but a "terraza" is also a real "terraza".
- There are many things that are quite similar to Latin America, for example: you can buy movies on the street. Or sunglasses. And while you drunk a beer in some pub you can see a guy selling roses inside!