In Tariffa I met a girl who was working in our favourite wifi-beach-bar.
with her i got in conversatoin and she gave me a contact from Carlos in Sevilla who is very active in the Couchsurfing-Organisation.
so we were interested and contacted him.
in cause he had to go to Amsterdam over the weekend he sended us further to a friend of him in Punta Umbria, which is south of Huelva.

We recognized that this girl contacted and invited us long time ago in Couchsurfing,
but we forgot this offer, cause we planned to drive a different route.
it was really funny to meet Aviva, thats her name, over this way again, and the circle closed through the bar-girl in Tariffa.

Me and Anja stayed there for one night,
after that we have to leave the flat cause she went to a party over the weekend and we didnt know eachother so good that she would trust us.
its also not her flat,
its the flat of Carlos, he dont live there but he gave it for free to Aviva for some month,

so me and Anja wondered around for some days,
at the first of may there were strange traditional fiestas with drunken spaniards who drive around in horse-wagons, followed by the police, very funny,
we never came in the situation that an old guy jumped to our car, give us both fresh and cool beer, infront of a police-blockade funny situation.

(anja: they found us in our crazy hippie bus as exotic and interesting as we found them i suppose )

we stayed for 2 nights and days in a empty house in the middle of nowhere in the countryside between miles of corn- and potatofields.
we read a book together and i build a rocketstove,
a rocket-stove is a very simple construction where you can cook with minimal need of wood.
you just take a metal-can from food, cutting in the top and the bottom-sides holes for air-circulation and a hole in the middle to put small wooden sticks to burn the fire,
on the top you put your cooking-pod, pan or coffemashine,
you need really just so much small sticks for cooking, like you normally would use for starting a fire.
this is also very ecological cause you dont need much of wood you have to collect from the forest or surrounding,
you dont need gas for a campingcooker or electricity,
it is also perfect for travelling with a backpack, it weight nothing and is easy to (re)build.

after that we went back to Avivas flat
and stayed futher few days there to meet Carlos, who was very interested in meeting us and exchanging ideas.
we cooked together alot,
we were able after a long long time to sit and work on the computer and in the internet again,
enjoyed the beautiful few on the entrance of a small fisher-habour,
behind a beautiful swamp-naturalreservate and behind that
a much more beautiful gigant paperfabrik and a oil-raffenerie
nice contrast,

Punta Umbria is a terrible and small town,
the picture is made of uncountable big grey and boring living-blocks as well like one big beach-villa beside the other,
it is a very touristical place,
and in the summer crowded from spanish people who has a holidayhouse there,
out of the mainseason the most of the city is empty,
but there is as well a school (where Aviva jobbs) and everything what you need for a normal life.
it remembered me on a american subburb near the beach where rich and chick young people running everywhere around.

after 2 days Carlos came one evening,
at this evening were also coming 2 other french couchsurfer, as well as 3 german friends.
also the other Carlos, which we got to know in Malaga came spontaniously to us in Punte Umbria, which surprised us alot that we are again 3 people travelling further.
at this evening we had a very nice international gathering of people and talking alot of the european union , our projects and ideas aswell like many other things.

at the next days me anja and the Malaga-Carlos were allone in the flat for the afternoon
and had along discussion and exchange about experiences and ideas,
his way how he got to know Couchsurfing, and how we can network our ideas of educational projects and networks like couchsurfing.
it was also really interesting to get an impression about the organisation in couchsurfing,
it was very interesting to see how they are organized,
on the other side we were also a bit shocked, how much money they spend for a small leader-elite and paying flights all around the world which is no way ecological.
Carlos is the Manager of the CouchsurfingShop and it was also interesting to see how this works.

carlos offered us also to come in september and october back to his flat and organize some skillsharing, workshops, exchange or networking between tsolife and couchsurfing,
we will see what we will do and how this contact will help us further maybe in the future,

at the next morning we packed all our stuff, had a last nice cup of tea on the huge terrace with few on the sea,
and left the place,
all in all we had a great time there where i really like to look back,
and maybe come back sometime.
we didnt know so good how we should go on and where we should go next,
we had many different possibilities,
but in our route-map appeared suddenly a contact which i never saw before, and it ly on the way,
also malaga-carlos knew this people and we saw that they are a part of gaia, our partnerorganisation.
so many things pointed on this project to visit, so we started our journey in the direction …

Last 5 posts by Sam

• puente del arcoiris - January 7th, 2009
• Valencia - January 5th, 2009
• Christmas! - December 26th, 2008