From there I’d most like to head back up to the Dolomites. On to Switzerland. And north to Arctic Norway to start the LONG ride I had planned for last summer. CANCELLED when SAS Airlines failed to deliver my bike.
Paul Theroux is a jerk — but still my favourite travel writer of all time.
He’s age-81 as I post. Still going strong.
Theroux says he’s mellowed. And I’d admit his most recent books are much more positive than his scathing critiques of the past.
In 2015, he published “Deep South” detailing four road trips through the southern states of the United States. Excellent.
In 2019 he published OnthePlainofSnakes: A Mexican Journey, his account of his extensive travels in his own car throughout Mexico.
In some ways it was a continuation of his Deep South investigation.
Near the start he recaps the deaths and damage done by the drug trade. The insatiable American market. The brutal competition in Mexico to supply it.
He does a terrific overview of illegal immigration before the pandemic. Mexico a net zero. Now mostly more desperate folks from Central America as well as many from India, the Caribbean, and even China.
Over the decades it’s gotten more and more difficult to cross the border illegally. And not because of any wall. Walls are considered a joke in Mexico.
In another instant, his comments come across as self-serving, as when he longs for a simpler Mexico with “inexpensive meals that were delicious, cheap motels that were comfortable, and friendly people who, out of politeness, seldom complained to outsiders of their dire circumstances: poor pay, criminal gangs, a country without good health care or pensions, crooked police, cruel soldiers, and a government indifferent to the plight of most citizens.” …
I was amused to read of all the time Paul paid bribes to crooked cops. An conspicuous car with Massachusetts licence plates — a sitting duck.
Theroux is mostly critical of ReTrumplicans. I like that too, of course.
“The per capita income in Oaxaca is the same as in Kenya and Bangladesh,” Theroux says.
“You’re dealing with people who have very little money and get very little help from the government. But they have a great culture they’re very proud of, their family values are very strong, and they’re very self-sufficient and creative. They mend their clothes; they fix their shoes; they’re actually able to take something that’s broken and repair it; they have a lot of cottage industries.
I admire that, and I admire the ones who pick up and go to the border. Most of the people I’ve met who crossed the border just wanted to earn some money to send back and then go home; they weren’t here to go on welfare or be the parasites they’re identified as.”
In fact, Theroux says, “the book was inspired by everything that Donald Trump and other people were saying during the presidential campaign about Mexico, Mexicans, and the border—their uninformed opinions and stereotypes.”
He adds, “One of the great reasons for traveling is to destroy stereotypes, to see people and things as they really are, to see the dynamics and the complexity of a country. As soon as he started saying things like, ‘There’s too many of them, they’re coming over the border, they’re rapists,’ I had a great reason for taking a year or two to get to the bottom of it.” …
Though I claim to dislike Europe — I’ve sure spent a lot of time there over the past couple of years.
When European guidebook author Rick Steves was age-14, his family dragged him to Norway to visit relatives.
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t want to go.
YET he documented what he saw and experienced on the backs of postcards which he numbered sequentially. He still has all of those cards stored in a wooden box.
I’m the same age as Rick Steves. And did much the same thing. My first trip was to West Berlin, age-16.
He studied European history in University. And is today one of the main speakers on European travel for the North American audience.
This was actually my 3rd time stopping in Seville. It’s the essential transit point between southern Portugal and Andalusia, Spain.
I really do enjoy the city.
Seville got very, very rich after being named the royal monopoly port for trade with the growing Spanish colonies in the Americas and the influx of riches from them.
I’d walked the famous Cathedral in the past, so this time signed up for therooftop tour. Very cool.
The technology in how they made this massive structure is fascinating.
I’d recommend rooftop over the regular tour as you actually do walk through the Cathedral coming and going to the top, as well.
My guide swears this is the REAL tomb of Christopher Columbus. But there’s another in the Dominican Republic. One or the other might be the brother of Columbus.
Hemingway in his short story Death in the Afternoon:
“There is one town that would be better than Aranjuez to see your first bullfight in if you are only going to see one and that is Ronda.
That is where you should go if you ever go to Spain on a honeymoon or if you ever bolt with anyone. The entire town and as far as you can see in any direction is romantic background.”
Of the places in Andalusia I visited November 2022, Cádiz is the least popular tourist destination.
I was still pleased to have seen it.
Cádiz is a rocky, long, narrow peninsula, popular with sailors and fishermen for thousands of years. In fact, that Italian (Columbus) set sail from here on his second voyage to “India”. He was financed by the Spanish Crown.
By far my highlight was the Castle of San Sebastián, the fortress in the sea. That connecting levee was built 1860.
At dusk I’d take my wine to enjoy sunset.
There are good beaches, deserted in November.
Cádiz Cathedral was decorated for Christmas
Clearly they don’t have the budget of the BIG European cities.
The central food market is a highlight for sure. I’ve never seen so many varieties of fish and seafood. PHOTOS.
Most days I simply wandered the old town. Snapping photos non-stop. Here are a few samples.
I love the look of the simple fishing boats at low tide.
I got lucky having one day of overcast. Rare here. But it makes for more interesting skies.
I would recommend you visit Cádiz.
P.S.
The longest bridge in Spain is here. La Pepa, opened 2015. But I didn’t cross it nor could I even get close enough for a good photo. This pic is from Wikipedia.
Rick McCharles 