tune it out: granada wrap that

Spain steppin up the alt energy... drive to Granada sipping on some spanish product I managed to snag the camera in time... green dreams my friend.
Gatos gatos here and there, gatos gatos in the air.
Granada was flowing with sly cats chillin and soaking up the rays or climbing the trees by the river. Gatos running the town.
John Good this ones for you buddy... enough said.
White washed emissions of the Granada peace of mind.

The streets were flowing with vagabond vibrations: trippin Granada

Granada has some really insane artists... some of the most creative graffi ive seen. Throwing down in the urban jungle with some unique takes on whats nature-al.
Some skater flare...
La Alhambra architecture is amazing... so ancient and so artful. Photos seemed inadequate but I snapped some into digi history anyway.
Old school gnar

Forget the bus pass im walking to the sea: pensive sprouts of the three night global warming conference in Alicante, Spain

long hair
beards and moustaches abundant
sweaters, jeans, stripes and flannel
feeling right; at home
it is as if all that would care; all ready knew
as if they were part of the same net...
converging on the same point in the same time
they understood
the shower can wait my friend
grab your funky shoes
lets go down and listen


nights pass
attendence grows
word of mouth spreads
here there was something to be said
exactly what...
depends not on the ears that recieve the vibrations...
but the mind that recieves the seed...
the thoughts that grow

limitless, fertile canvas

Shred!!? .... gnar?

Street art check in Alicante produced a few not so noteworthy notes of the Scribble scrabble Genus species. Local skate crew?... the search continues in all directions. Valle.

Nothing like Williamsburg (Brooklyn if you had to ask) but its something. There are only a couple of recurring tags here and the rest is political messages... Pics and pensive presents will be under the tree waiting to be unwrapped as well as the Spanish view of Americans. Some time is needed to shake it all down and sift out the nuggets from the 3 night environmental conference I attended... more than a few choice words were used.

There's rabbit hair in my soup... do you have any dumplings?

Everything is great but I have to note the negatives too. My host family Carmen and Carmino are both grandparents with a youngest son who is 30 something and works for the Guardia Civil in Spain. They talk faster than I can speak in english. Carmino doesnt really say much but when he does he says it 4 times in a row and waits for you to respond at least twice. Carmen talks my ear off about everything; especially food. She thinks shes a dietician or doctor or something... she tries to tell me what I can and cant eat on a daily basis. First of all they say everything will make me fat... "vas a engordarte... engordas un poco... engordas..." They say before and after every meal and during the meal sometimes that I am going to get fatter while eating and that I should weigh myself so they can monitor when I gain weight.... Anorexic Americans BEWARE!... Alicante is not the place for your. For instance we were making a pie the other day and she said fruit and nuts will "make me fat" and so I shouldnt eat too much. I must admit I am not used to the food. Skim milk is "bad" for me she says but bread soaked in oil and fried is very good for my intestinal tract. I have to get used to the way they eat... she doesnt bake anything she only fries the food... explaining the again oil is good for digestion... and yeah there was pigeon liver, pigeon neck, and rabbit hair in my soup yesterday. Things here are just different and I dont mind it I just need some time to adjust to the changes: theyve never heard of guacomole and as I said tortilla chips dont exist... if you want a tortilla you get an omlette. This isnt bizarre foods on food network or anything but it is an adjustment... mental and physical. More to come as the voyage continues... as for now I need to go get some supplements because my madre says that dinner makes me fat and I should eat an apple or an orange with a cup of water and some magnesium carbonate (a can of powder with a picture of an intestine on it.) My new name is Keri or just eei according to the padres... I wrote down E-R-I-C on a note for them and when I returned the note they wrote me in response was directed to Kevri. Who knows?

ps. there are spanish chinese people and chinese restaurants and they have no idea what a dumpling is so dont spend 6 minutes trying to explain what it looks like or how to make one... its a waste of time.

MAD and the pano views

There is a castle (El Castillo de Santa Barbara) in Alicante on top of a mountain. With a few hours of free time I began walking from the hotel and snapping pictures along the way and eventually arrived at this photo destination.

Have you ever looked at something and knew that the mind behind its creation was a little tweaked out? Welcome to Madrid Airport... where you seem to wander aimlessly from level to level never really knowing where you are until your there. The floors are transparent in some areas and you watch dark human-like figures diffusing in MADness as the vertical scrolling signs terminate into the cieling or the floor or just stop in the middle of the air. Nothing makes sense and people are snagging duty free Marlboro reds off the shelves like they're tickle-me-elmos with a 50% discount and a $10 mail-in-rebate. Truth adds better step up your game... Madrid duty-free is making a killin!

View off the other side of the castle as the city continues up the costa.
Notice the old woman in the doorway; emphasis on the "way" and not so much the door. This was a back road in the old section of the city where sheets are sufficent for front doors and the roads the houses and living rooms are pretty much the same space.

Alicante: I guess I am really in Spain

Shock doesnt really describe the past few days and denial comes close. The plane ride was so confusing with dinner beer and wine during a showing of Rush Hour 3 and then maybe three hours later was breakfast with orange juice. I didnt sleep so it seemed like time had passed faster than it did. The airport was a blurr of non-functional abstract architecture and 2,41 euro zumo de naranja (oj... and yes you can imagine the dollar value). Customs was strange as well with armed officers staring at me surfboard bag and asking me to stop what I am doing put the bag down and open it... "Surfar; surf; en las olas." No shots were fired. Bus ride in seemed promising with political graffitti blanketing every available wall, window, tree, door, rock... people here even tag cactus. But hey Im on the Mediterranean so who cares. A way too expensive hotel, some cold beer and a three in the morning sauna visit was soon to follow with yet another Spanish speaking police officer with a bright flashlight. Who knew the sauna closed at 11pm? The views are amazing and mullets are all the rage... dread locked mullet dude is the way to go. More to follow regarding the Los Padres... there's a rabbit in my freezer and tortilla chips dont exist.