After spending a full month outside of the U.S., I can say with certainty that we are the most fortunate, most technologically advanced, and most free civilization on Earth.
Nowhere else do I know of a place where people are as free to organize, to protest, to defend ourselves, to write and think differently, to ascend from our lot in society, than we are in America.
While there are those that would try to divide us, to usurp and overthrow us, to pit neighbor against neighbor, we are a united people.
We must be, or those who wish us harm will surely prevail, and the American way of life could be cast away and unwritten from history, for the benefit of endless ages of tyrants and evil.
We cannot realize how lucky we are without stepping away from the country and viewing and experiencing the way of things elsewhere. We are so immersed in our freedom and the benefits of our society that they have become commonplace, a given, invisible to us.
We share a history, the good parts and the bad. We share a way of life, an American philosophy, that binds all of our independent actions into a single rope that lifts up all the things we hold dear.
How many people have died so that we could live this comfortable existence, that we could become such a great nation? They died for you as they died for me. They died for liberals and conservatives. They gave their life for the bible-thumpers, the baby boomers, the entrepreneurs, the rocket scientists, the gangsta rappers, the neo-nazis, every man woman and child that has ever had the honour and the privilege of being borne onto American soil. We owe everything to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for that which they believed in. Who devoted their life to a country full of thinkers and doers and fighters and writers, and people strong enough to stand up for what is right, and to put in the hard work of building something grand, something that the entire rest of the world looks up to and idealizes.
We have something great here. America is a great country already–always has been–and there’s nothing any bad-haired scapegoat politician or multi-national corporate conglomeration can do about it.
In this global age, those who produce the best media (music, movies, books, TV) are the ones who decide which direction the world moves in. And right now, nobody produces media or has as vibrant of an entertainment industry as America. We must realize how much influence we have on a global scale. What we do now, what we produce and broadcast and publish today, influences all future generations to come.
The world is listening. What do you have to say?
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Today I woke up to the sound of Spanish people talking. Because they camped. Right. Next to me. Oh well. I slept really well in any case. 20km of mountain walking will do that to you. Really resets the old circadian clock. Puts you on nature’s time. Falling asleep is no longer a chore, or work, it is only a blessing.
It was foggy and the entire tent was soaked. Nonetheless, I got it all down and walked off around 8am. I made good time to my first stop (5km), and had some coffee while waiting for the fog to clear. I didn’t walk all this way to see fog! Ugh. Better here than in the true high pyrénées.
Around noon, I met a group of 5 Scottish people who saw me walk off at the refuge! They said they got some badass shots of me fading into the fog with my trekking pole umbrella, like something out of an old Japanese samurai movie. They are doing the section of the high route to Gavernie, so hopefully I’ll see them a few more times over the next week. They told me about this awesome place called Auberge, from which I am writing this sentence right now.
I carried on and made it to the beautiful Ibon du Estanés. Well, almost beautiful. I felt I was tantalized all day by half-views, beautiful things opaqued by the mist. Ah well, there will be plenty of beautiful things where I’m headed.
Then, I met another hiker named Samuel from the Canary Islands! He is doing the HRP as well, and was originally with 2 others, but they said it was too hard and went back to Barcelona, lol. So now he is stuck with some big gear that was meant for three people. Ouch.
In any case, we walked the last few km to Candanchu together and got the fully loaded burger from the Expeditionista Bar! It was legendary! He also helped a lot with finding out where refuges and supermarkets were in town. It is very useful to have someone who can speak Spanish in Spain, believe it or not.
Later on, I checked out two of the refuges in Candanchu and wasn’t impressed with their hospitality. Then I walked on up the trail to the Auberge place the Scots told me about! I almost said “eff it” and moved on to camp somewhere, but I walked in and asked for a bed. Just 15 euros, with breakfast included for another 6! I’m sold. After unpacking on my bunk and hanging things out to dry, I went upstairs and had a few beers while writing today’s post.
I hope you have enjoyed the tale thus far. It will only get better from here as we enter the magical haute pyrenees! Stay tuned!