Federico Cavazos de la Frontera

From DQLM

Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless."

"What giants?" asked Sancho Panza.

"Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length."

"Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone."

The First Setback

is quite difficult. As the day wore on today, my knee felt less and less comfortable - just behind the right side of my right kneecap, something ain´t right, alright? In Villahurta, I consulted my Finnish friend Veera´s Runes. My draw: 7, 6 (reversed) and 23. The verbatim descriptiong: Standstill and Ice. Booked a bed in a wild albergue run by Brazilian hippies, which has given me a nice opportunity to get a leg massage, plenty of advice from the free spirits staying here and a long, long nap on the hammocks outside.

I´m surprised about why this is difficult, because the pain itself is very bearable. I struggle with unmet expectations. Stopping yourself now to be able to complete the rest of the camino is much, much harder than walking on. A strong community develops; one that travels together each day. Staying behind means losing that group. I´d become especially close to my man Eduardo from Colombia, Veera from Finland, Paulo from One-ness University (and Brazil) and Heinz LikeTheKetchup from Austria. The stay in Villahuerta has been quite rewarding in other ways, though: I received a personal tour of the local cathedral from a sweet old lady. I have three "angels" looking after me in Carmen, Marialuisa and Maria Ilda, three Spanish retired sisters I ate dinner with, and I was able to upload photos. Enjoy!

Two Days in Five Minutes

Conceived and written in the five minutes of internet I have today:

I have now walked a total of 75 km and each day has been uniquely challenging but consistent enough for me to give a few ideas about what this experience is like. I want to temper everything written by saying that this time has been absolutely amazing - I have not a single complaint. The Way is difficult to describe because each phrase I would like to use is contradictory. The journey is an omnivorous experience, its dpeht in terms of how much time is spent means that you experience the entire spectrum of emotions and feelings. Often times I feel like I am part of a real community, an Adult College who´s members are from all over the world and who have decided to enroll at all different stages in their lives. Each person brings something that is particularly unique - those traveling alone moreso than others. At the same time (here is where contradictions arise), there is a certain consistency to our presence here. We were all ¨called¨ for lack of a better term , and made certain sacrifices in our lives to make this possible. The way is soothing and strenuous, hot and cold, time consuming and time allowing. It is great. And yes - you and and should do it. Out of time - au Revoir form Pamplona!

A Day in the Pyrenean Clouds

I just completed the first stage of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela - a 27 km hike through the Pyreness from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. Today´s hike conisted of climbing 800 m and scaling 200 m back down to this sleepy small town just south of the Spanish French border. The entire day was spent walking through a dense cloud, a surreal experience. I´m staying in a renovated monastery, in a room with about 300 beds in it (photos to come). There´s no real type of person that completes this camino, as the crowd seems diverse both in age and in nationality. No blisters or large aches yet, and I attribute this to my light pack weight and superior genetic makeup (thanks Mom and Dad). All facetiousness aside, I´ve not much time to type but I promise, if you are reading this blog, I´ve probably thought about you since I´ve been here! One thing I have a lot of time is time to think. Cheers!

Dear Switzerland,

Our fiery relationship was enigmatic, thrilling, beautiful and charming. Our time together in Interlaken was a dramatic ride of thrills, slides, jumps and ill-timed, late night interventions with young Americans. My alter-ego, Guava, emerged, and he, Guava, carried me through your rocks and glacier water off waterfalls, lagoons and light filled precipices. Off your stones he flipped and through your canyons he swung. Luzern was a pleasant time, and our night-time bike rides were endearing, but I just couldn't get as excited to see you. Like all things passionate, the fire passed, and your grey side was revealed. We tried one last time to make it work in Zurich, a dynamic place painted neutral by the weather and my cold. In the end, though, you were not cheap or strange enough for me. There's someone out there for you. Don't call me, I'll call you.

XOXO
Fede

UPDATE: Added Canyoning photos.

Swiss Canyon Jump

We'll hike afterwards, right? How often are you in the Swiss Alps ready to hike? That's right, not often. You can jump off high things anywhere in the world. Sure, sure I'll film you. You too? Would you rather have pictures or a video? Video. Great. I've found the best angle now. Nope, I am just filming friends jump - I can't afford to do this. No I don't think it is worth the money. Yes, my money needs to last me 7 more weeks. I didn't have the best angle with Josh's jump but now I have it. I stand right here and you get the full depth of the swing and you can see the canyon walls on either side and the river beneath. I even keep the videos to 30 seconds or less to save camera memory. You'll need that space if you keep traveling. Buy a few more SD cards just in case. Yes Australian stranger, I will film you as well. Yup, yup I'm technically savvy, I can figure out your camera. Everybody has some version of the Canon Digital Elph - 400, 450, 550, 650. Just delete some old pictures so I have enough time to film you. Video mode is _right here_, just turn the dial. Photo first, then video. That looks like fun. Darling tiny Swiss girl, you are jumping too? Eleven people jumped. OK we are done. Me? I can still sign up? Yes yes. A reduced rate? Even better. Where do I sign up? But I have everybodys' cameras in my pockets let me just I need to put them somewhere maybe in this bag up here can you please take that down lady to the bottom of the cliff I promised everyone I would take care of their cameras but can you film with mine video mode is right here yes yes I will calm down. 73 Kilos, written right on my hand. This is the harness? Great, three ropes. Yes I'm in a green shirt. Why do you need my shirt color? To identify my body? I'm in, clipped into the swing. Smile. Wave. Dont think just...I'm off, in the air. This isn't so fast. Not unlike my other jumps. I'm still accelerating. Stil accelerating...I'm screaming but I can't even hear my own scream and it makes me want to scream louder to reassure me that, yes, I can scream. I'm starting to enjoy this and now I'm, yes, I'm swinging now and the free fall is over. Swinging through this Swiss canyon, I turn to my new friends and can only think of one thing to say: "It was worth it."

Entrevaux

Its main draw was a citadel, a "proper medieval fortress" as some call it, or "a splendid prison" as I call it, sitting on the crown of a "proper burgeoning Alp mountain" as some call it, or "a splendid hill" as I call it, but these are just semantics, and the time for name calling has passed, so that it is time to describe this place that buries dungeons in its peaks, and reveals courtyards behind its thick walls so that there is something urban in this place, this place that zigs and zags through arched thresholds, this place called Entrevaux.

An Evening with the Elements

Like two characters in an archetypal novel,straight to paperback, accessible, and thick enough to validate the efforts of the reader, the Moon and the Sun faced each other and there was A Great Wind. And as it rose so did the waters, and the People Who Were Brave with the People Who Were Ignorant and the People Who Watched the Brave and the Ignorant enacted a fanciful game of theater, so that the water threatened to lick the clothes off of their bodies, sometimes from below but usually from above, with the night rising from the East and the sun dropping opposite, which might suggest victory but no, it wasn't, and the water churned with such rythym that it was possible to be trapped in its pulses until it was time for the ocean to rest and the tourists to arrive in a spot where people meet, on this beach with rocks not sand and Yes it was entertaining, remarked Yves, and Yes we agree.

Scenes from Nice

I've spent quite a bit more time in one of the great international areas I've seen: the French Riviera. What's keeping me here? Every time I inch towards leaving I'll have an amazing experience, such as spending the evening on a superyacht off the coast of Juan les Pins watching fireworks and eating pizza, or jumping off a 4 story flat rock face, or inpromptu water hose fights on the hilltops of Eze. Its a place that filters through people very quickly, meaning people have to accelerate friendships, so two days with someone means they feel like family. I've no idea how I'll schedule the next two months, as I've considered everything from starting the camino soon to taking a job picking grapes at a local vineyard or as a bartender at a hostel. Now taking suggestions!

Spotted in Nice

This little guy and the city worker were good friends, the cat waiting to see what he dug up from each manhole for food.

From Nice

People not Places

Portions of my time will be about people, not places.

People like Yves the Belgian Michelin-star chef and his right hand-man Hannes, who speaks with an excitement, a contagious belly of a conversation they often are, that cultivates instant familarity. People like Lava the Swedish Masseuse with her Lady-In-Tow Daria, whose identity is shaped parents biological and legal, and their respective islands and provences around the world in Greece, Sweden, Russia and Poland. Kelly the Australian longboard-skater and her partner Jas, a gift to the apartment I'm shacking in, who will sign their French marriage license soon before beginning their long journey hopping around this rock. Stefano the young Brazilian, who will speak to you in Porteguese without realizing he is not speaking English. Karina, the Costa Rican princess who insisted, against the strictest of odds, that she would go to school in Germany and she would have the university pay for her stay. Adam, the soft-spoken, wandering Australian, who frames the concept of "ambition" in a purely experiental mindset. How about Mitch, the Australian surfer, who will straight break your arm if you cross him. Ian, the sure-minded Canadian, who will run your 24 million dollar yacht operation and always be able to tell one more joke than you. There's more to this cast and its characters will arrive in due time.