I'm writing this post on the train from Truro to London. I’m paying 3 x more to ride the train than the bus because the train is so much nicer. In the UK trains are generally overpriced unless you get lucky or buy your ticket way in advance. I got a barely acceptable price on an advance purchase so it’s more for luxury than anything. Busses are cheap but can take twice the time, if not longer, and are inconsistent in quality. The bus will get you to where you want to go, eventually.
I’m happy to
have taken on and to have done my proposed hike along the South West Coast Path
but it wasn’t quite the experience I was hoping for. In part I think it was due
to the fact that I had already been traveling for a awhile. It’s as if I kind
of stayed a little too long at the party to really appreciate the walk as much
as I should have. One real distraction, while hiking, were lots of the villages
and towns along the way. It’s not that they aren’t lovely and nice it’s just
that they were so packed with tourists. It was nearly impossible not to be an
ear shot away from some screaming kid having a meltdown. Some places I couldn’t
get out of fast enough. Also, there were lots of day walkers along certain
stretches of trail which added to more distraction. Meditative and reflective
moments were often interrupted with a step to the side or a barking dog that
should really be on a leash. Everyone’s kid and dog is and angel in the parents
eyes yet an obstacle to the passerby. By the end of the walk I vowed never
again to travel in Europe during July and August unless I have good reason to
do so. The best time to travel in the UK and Europe is mid-May/late June, or,
September/October. I once spent 2 weeks hiking along the Welsh coast during
late April and May with hardly seeing anyone. The villages were a treat and
nothing was overbooked if I desired a B&B.
Right now I am
really ready to go home. With all of the uncertainty and crazy stuff going on
in the world it will be nice to be back in the USA. America really is
geographically removed from most all of the world’s problems. American's love
Canada even though some Canadians don’t think too favorably of the USA. The problems
with Central America revolve around drug cartels. The only real political
problems between South America and the USA are with Venezuela. Cuba is the odd
one. Kind of an old issue that just can’t be dropped until Fidel Castro passes
away.
What’s
happening in the Middle East is truly scary and having been to Israel and
Jordan it makes me even more aware of the uncertainties within the region. The Arab
Spring turned out to be an autumn. The West really needs to be objective about
the whole situation and realize that people in Arab world have customs and ways
of thinking that are profoundly different. Whereas I believe most of the Arab
Muslim people want nothing more than to live a good life and avoid any kind of
conflict there is an element within the population that embraces radical ideology
with a warrior mentality that the West has a hard time believing really exists.
Look at where the West was 100 or 200 years ago. Look at what happened in
Germany during WW2 and look at where Germany is now. Different societies are at
different stages of cultural evolution in my opinion. Be very skeptical,
discerning, and open to all sides of an issue before coming up with any
conclusions. The problems of the Middle East are very complicated. Is Peace possible?
I’d say maybe but not likely in the near future. It could take a couple of more
generations. Until the violence stops and people behave humanely in an honest
fashion there will be problems. Right now things are getting worse. And to
think, it’s all in the name of God. How much more crazy can things get?
Anyway, the
Middle East has been on my mind quite a bit so that’s why I addressed it in this post.
In the
meantime it’s 2 nights in London then I’m homeward bound. Back to Texas, the
Lone Star State.
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