At last, I am reunited with my creative outlet. All the pouches are with me and I am already sending out.
What went before: we lived in Spain before we left for an extended South American travel. While traveling we sold the house while our haphazardly selected stuff in boxes awaited us in Spain. But due to Corona we could not go back so easily. Instead traversed via Germany to Hungary. When we saw a chance, we took it and flew to Spain. There’s a short window where the borders are open and where we might manoeuvre our truck back to where we want to be for the moment. That was a week ago.
The truck has stood still for a year. In the harsh sun. Floods gota fria gripped around the wheels. I have no faith this vehicle will drive us back, therefor I joined my husband; when the journey becomes a failure, he is not alone in it.
Mobile diary notes of day 1: Driving a truck fit for African roads makes us the slowest among the overall presence of new trucks, stable on the road like blocks of concrete. We swirl with wind coming from the Mediterranean ocean and keep concentrated while I am in a continuous struggle with the discomforts of the safety belt.
Mobile diary notes of day 2: Visiting truck stations in the 37 degrees heat of France is the highlight of faceless tourists, being among folks anonymous. Many prefer the outdoor toilet and so it happens we pick-nick among dried-up poop and toilet paper sticking against prickly scrubs.
The speed at Italian viaducts and tunnels is too much for me. There’s a changed perspective too, cars not aware of the cumbersome truck we’re in making moves spiraling my adrenaline grade. Its an unpleasant experience, driving an African sort of truck, living a truckers sort of lifestyle. Having sorted our belongings, hauling them through 5 countries as quick as we can.
The loads of trucks show the disgust of consumerism, the dependence we believe we love. Being on the highway and through cities is seeing the American style example people crave for: malls, shopping centers and abundances. And we… we are part of the disgust, but with our hopes aimed at the opposite sort of lifestyle.
Mobile diary notes of day 3: Geo his feet swell. Headache prevails for me. Doubtful campsites. Great Italian macchiato’s. Wild figs. No, I don’t like this sort of travel. Neither does Geo but this is our tiny house on wheels which has to be brought to where we want to be for now.
Bye bye old, welcome to the new. Bye Spain, with your bleached colors and stark mountains. Bye to the people and authentic eateries. Bye to the beautiful land and a language we can make ourselves understood. Traveling is escaping.
Who wants to be in a building filled with music not his choice? Having breakfast at highway restaurants is sometimes coping with insane sort of music. Besides eating questionable ingredients. We witness transportation on a web of once natural wonder. We wash in toilets with loudspeakers so eager I can’t really handle the ‘nightclub’ sound. And so, traveling in a truck of 7.5 ton is anything but escaping reality. Its being right in the disturbance. Spot on into the insanity. Seeing prisoners loving the shackles of security.
Mobile diary notes of day 4: Cotê d’Azur and its built up jungle is a hideous view. Maserati’s and Lamborghini’s taken out on a Sunday linger behind us in the traffic jam. I liked seeing this Italian car though:
I can’t help noticing blurring of cultures, going from one border so quickly to another. ‘Universities killing diversity’, is a segment of a song of Mike Love, coming to mind. Clustering the big players, succeeding easily in pushing away the authenticity. Times have changed when I last drove here (as a child with my parents on holiday), but toilets along tourists routes have greatly improved.
The smells in the truck mingle, shirts worn without being able to wash the body they clothed, wet by rain and sweat. The vetiver, sandalwood and lavender soap from the Italian supermarket. The unwashed feet pressed into the muddy camp spot. A wet towel used as fridge and washing cloth. Washed underwear. Gorgonzola. Our truck is not as immaculate as many other truck cabins.
Mobile diary notes of day 5: Slovenia looks attractive, if only for the high feel of normality. Driving its highway is pleasant, if we assume driving on highways pleasant. Its neighboring country is where we are heading. I went with Geo, as letting him do this unpleasant task alone would leave me feeling utterly unfair, irresponsible and even guilty. And isn’t shared suffering half suffering?
Mobile diary notes of day 6: Hello Hungary. Hi to the new. Hi to Hungary, with their Lada cars on patched-up roads and back-in-time atmosphere. Hi to the people and large patches of woods. Hi to the agricultural land and a language we can not make ourselves understood.
And, remarkably enough, once back, glancing over my shoulder, I kind of liked the truck trip. I have admiration for that beast, who made it effortlessly, droning its motor-block like a big buzzing bumble bee.
Only Instagram photo’s
CINDY Needle Art 
Oh my that picture looks amazing.
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Uh, which one exactly? The Fiat 500 or in between trucks?
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Ah the mountain peaks, it’s the second one I think. But having said that, all of your images are fantastic. Where are you thinking of setting? I thought you found a rustic village in I think Portugal. High up in the mountains. The motorbike almost did not make it. You wrote about it maybe 4 post ago. It may have been in South Americas somewhere. Anyway best wishes for your and Geo’s travels.
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We are going to settle in Hungary, that is the plan.
We were never in Portugal. It was Ecuador you probably red in a previous post. We were in Ecuador with the motorbike, that is correct.
I wish you a pleasant stay around the house and soon a travel so that you can test your Caldera. You must be itchy to get out!
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Ah I see yes Equador, the first village was ok at the start but not so much as time went on but then you stayed in an abnb with a farming family and I gather you loved it. I really though that was the place you’re thinking of settling at. Love to know more about Hungary if you want to share. I come from Slovakia so it is just the next country down from memory. It was incredibly poor when I travelled through it in the 70’s. Desolate, barren fields and incredibly run down houses but that was then. Hope things have improved since. 🤞 Yes doing good things for all my plants. Just got a load of cow manure to give them even more love for the coming spring. Happy resting/recovery.
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You got it right!
1. Vilcabamba was nice, but we stayed in a hotel with much coming and going touristy guests.
2. Piuntza. We could have lived there but were not seriously thinking of moving to Ecuador.
Though we actually did take in it the list of possible places to live. You are correct! Ecuador and Paraguay were our beloved countries. Geo was more for Ecuador, I more for the Chaco in Paraguay but since we want to live a more self sustainable lifestyle (I imagine you have this going on too?) and we took in to the equation:
1. our parents who are older and who we could more easy visit from Hungary than from South America.
2. the soil which had to be good for farming.
3. the polictics played a role (for Geo) and the times we are in made certain countries not desirable.
4. It had to be an old fashioned country with NORMAL standards.
So, going through the list, we had actually only Hungary coming up. It is not stunningly beautiful like Ecuador, it is probably more like Slovakia.
I think things have improved also in Slovakia. In Hungary many houses are now renovated (often by Germans) and as elsewhere, people leave the villages to settle in the city. Though, things are still more normal here, with many people having their own big vegetable garden. Agri culture is a big business here and goes very well. Patches are reasonable small, and farmers still work independently, I think. You never know which evil is really going on, but it seems it is still in place. Hungary is a rather poor country with people in the countryside who are living a normal, simple lifestyle. Families are largely intact. The bicycle is a favorite mode of transportation. There are quite some Roma people, some of whom look straight from India (which is where they originated from). The Hungarians are a nice folk, much less confident than the arrogant Dutch or German ; ) though the language is a real tough cookie!! I think Hunagry is struggling, probably much like Slovakia, but maybe only when you put it into comparison to countries like Germany or the Netherlands, where things really got overboard…. Well, I haven’t lived in those countries for long, so my opinion is based on feelings more than actual knowledge (whatever that is of course). I avoid politics and anything television so, it is based on what I see and feel. But if you ask me, THAT is what counts, not what the media wants us to know…
But, I feel very good in Hungary. Things are not settled here for us, we are still in waiting, but I do want to live here. I think Slovakia is similar. More poor. More pure. Morer simple. More close to life. I am pretty sure the desolate fields you’ve seen was in winter time? I imagine farming is the only thing they do out here. Its very fertile ground, unlike Spain where its rocky and dry. Or Chaco in Paraguay where its void of anything. Chaco manages to have peanuts though.
Well, that was it for now. Hope I succeeded to answer your question ; )
Greetings Cindy
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Hiiii, thank you for your detailed reply. Yes I am quite interested in how and where people of similar types of priorities chose to live. To follow the herd, in my mind is to accept the life and consequences the herd considers normal like mortgages, concrete lined cities, climate chaos and chemical food production to list just a few. You seem to have ruled out Spain yet I hear lovely stories of communities like the Sunseed Desert Community (http://livinginthefuture.org/episodes/5-spanish-sunseed.php), Ecoaldea Matavenero (I love this video https://vimeo.com/39583315). Also there is some moves to establish Fonfria (Eco Village). Mainly I look in Australia as it is close to visit family and existing friend networks. Yes I too consider the bike my favourite mode of transport and as I get older I may consider adding an electric conversion to it. It is just a great way to experience nature, elements and get to the places you want to with the least amount of restrictions and expenses. I hope this never changes.
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Psst what do you think of this article? https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-08-19/english-landowners-have-stolen-our-rights-it-is-time-to-reclaim-them/
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I went to the link, but honestly, I don’t think I am in for such articles. Its too technical written.
Its a bit like the natives in, say, Patagonia, who lost their land to the inhabitants of the country they now live in. It is not an easy topic. I have thought about this for days and days and days on end when cycing through lands with indigenous people. And asnwers I never found…
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yes it s a common but difficult situation and answers are hard to come by and tat is why I read such articles. They stimulate my brain by presenting other people’s thoughts. The best I can come up with is that it returns to the basic problem of power corrupts and those in power are almost always corrupted. We humans typically attribute power to wealth whereas wealth In my view should actually be seen as what it is an accumulation of resources. How would we view someone that has acquired one way or another all the milk on the planet until people were starving and desperate and had to fight for and pay huge sums for the last few remaining drops? Would we respect them? Would we put them on the cover of richest 100? Would we be outraged and “storm the bastille” instead? Have them tried for treason? Would the laws be changed and governments thrown out? Maybe even wars…. This is not my view exactly, I read it somewhere, perhaps even that article. It is a difficult topic because it touches heavily i to the guts of modern/western or european society structures a system I feel is strongly flawed probably by design. For example, why should we pay interest to the banks I mean their whole purpose is to lend out our money – that’s right our money. It’s like asking your friend whom you loaned your money to earlier but this person wants additional money for you to pay before it is returned!?! It’s just wrong. It used to be illegal for banks to charge interest on loans other than some small government set figure from memory prior to 70’s in Australia. That all got swept away in a so called “deregulation”. People argue for which party or political system to vote for but seem to forget all of them pretty much ripped off the common people and gave or advantaged the rich even the communists! And continue to do so to even today but this is a different conversation one for an evening camp fire. Cheery O. Stay smiling.
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You know what my thoughts are, perhaps a bit naive or negative but whenever you have power, or overpowering, there is corruption because the human is greedy. Power and curruption, as you said, go hand in hand. I think when someone has power, he or she discovers that he or she can have much more, just by implying that power.
It might be different when a very rich person is getting to power, like the presidents in the USA, although to rule a country that huge is of course rather an impossible task. Anyway, I think to have the want to become a president is already questionable?!
Even well meant people who truly want to change things will soon find themselves against a wall of corruption, and then, they either go with it or refuse, and will find out the very hard way.
Same with paying bribes or not.
Go with the system or not.
Banks, hospitals and insurances are only out to make money. Its sick. I honestly do not read these articles as they make me sad. I avoid all that is making me realise how terrible our state of living is. I rather be in a bubble…
I am now reading two books which kind of deals with this, N.T. Wright Simply Christian and History of Bees and that addresses these subjects very well.
Yes, it is of course wrong, how you described the bank system. So much is wrong. So very much. Human kind went wrong very early on… what could you expect? I think it can only go well when staying small scale, among a small group of people, none of them wanting to get to power nor become rich. Not neccessarily a moneyless system nor an exchange system, as it is based all the same, but a pure, smale scaled off the grid, out of society system… where each one is usefull to one another. Years ago I went to see such a system, Auroville in India, I thought. Well, it was just as corrupt and spoiled as anywhere else. What you and I think is food for many, and many try, but the bigger the project becomes, the danger is invited too.
I am not sure I want to discuss this around a campfire. My husband sure would, but I find it always depressive… wanting to change the subject ; ))
So, yes, stay smiling indeed. And dreaming! Good day….
Greetings Cindy
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Hiiii Cindy, I had to laugh when I read your comment “to have the want to become a president is already questionable?! ” Yes, you definitely have that right. It has even been proven that most presidents/prime ministers have indeed got a mental disorder. I am not sure if they start normal/sensible/principled and the sheer power and wealth somehow does something to their brain or they are already that way just by seeking all that…. I have read research on pot smokers and apparently a very large percentage get a mental disorder from it. It somehow unbalances the brain chemistry and if it was not healthy to stat with it is enough to not return. So maybe all that power would certainly play with the many hormones and neurotransmitters and may very well send them over the edge. I can certainly see why you prefer a bubble. When I connect strongly with meditation and yoga and spend lots of time alone there is an excellent experience of strong grounding, calm and connectedness. I very much prefer it that way but find the city problematic. Too many people following the news so I eventually do the same and it is a drug by design. The news is designed (even the leading music and the voice) to induce fear and awe and other things (mind control). It takes me time but it is good to drop out of that entirely.
Anyway, it is so good to know you are working hard at your new place. I wish you much energy and joy in setting it up and much satisfaction from it all.
Ps hello to Geo. I hope he too is very happy.
Miro
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Hi Miro,
Is that so? That many prime ministers and presidents are having a mental disorder? Maybe the mental disorder is what differentiate them from the normal bunch but is not necessarily making them ‘mental cases/retarded’… Ego must have something to do with it as well.
Anyway, a bit late to thank you, but nevertheless, thank you for your kind wishes. Yes, Geo is happy too. After so much traveling it is quite a delight to have all my/our stuff in ONE place.
The work is going well.
Next is the vegetable garden. It is a bit daunting I find… well, now the winter comes so it’ll be extra challeging. I never did something like this before but I feel a strong desire. I also want to visit less often the supermarket. You know, everythime we visit the supermarket, I get drained so much! I need to recover from every visit to town. Now, we need to go a bit more often to get material and stuff, and its always a drag. I much rather go out in the woods!
Well, what a luxury it is anyway…
I wish you a great day, greetings from Geo and me,
Cindy
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Hah ah ah Hi Cindy! I was searching for info on Fonfria (Eco Village), an abandoned village in Spain I read somewhere was being reinvigorated by alternative living people. And, I found your blog entry instead. I like how you posted lots of beauty and the beast photos. And then after it all you say you admire the beast. Made me laugh out loud. How are you lovelies going? Have you set out on any other trips?
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Hi Mirosan, ‘beauty and the beast’? ‘Loving the beast’? I don’t get that : ) While it was the post on Atelier and Pouches Reunion?!?! Hmm… I am not sure whether you mean …. ah yes! Loving the ugliness of even such a trip! Yes, right!
Well, no, we are not on any trip. We are fully into the House and Alternative Living Project! Its a beautiful project, as now the warmth starts to give way to new life to things we can eat later on. I am sure you know all about it, but for me it is a new happening. I am also learning how to naturally dye cotton, and use roots and other stuff for food ingredients .
And…. TATAAAA, we have new life in the house in the form of two kittens! Judah and Leah! Ah, so cute! Do you have pets?
Of course, a pet could have the downside that one wants to stay at home, and a flourishing garden is said to keep the ‘farmer’ homebound too. Well, I do feel a HUGE urge to explore the surroundings, so once the kittens are able to go outside and the weather is fine, I am off for a little round again. I don’t see any outbound travel for the two of us, since we have these restrictions, I am sure you are aware of it ; ) and frankly, I don’t desire it greatly. The thing is, once the House and Alternative Living is set up, the attachment to its flourishing and even the slowly changing of the season does have a pulling effect. I reckon we first want to have this thing here straightend out before we decide to go on a trek, or something.
Also, Geo and I have had so little attachment with anything, we had nothing to settle down, we had no place to call home and we were longing for it. We had the feeling that everything we did was half, had no effect other than feeling it was done half heartedly. I had strongly that feeling and want of: SETTLING and having something we could work for. Right now, I am digging a lot of deep beds.
But, when working on a post like Atacama desert, then I want to be back there! Reality is that would I be plunged back, it could only work when Geo would not exsist, when my desire to be a partner and to have a beloved would not be there. Growing older means shredding the jacket that was once fitting.
Anyhow, the bicycle is tuned up, the food supply of tinned tuna is there and the route is in the making. Soon off for a tour around the Balaton lake!
Sorry for the long diary entry ; )
Greetings Cindy and undoubtedly Geo as well. Hug back!
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I was pretty sure it was you but just had to click and reread your great post. Big hug.
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You mean this post came into your newsfeed, or something? Well, I am working on another post right now, as the weather is rainy and…. a new pouch needs to have a ‘Story’. Its going to be…. a feeling of missing out on some serious desert riding! Greetings and hug back from us : ))
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