Naked Soul Kitchen

Allow life to take you wherever it may lead you and don't be afraid.  Fear is the only thing anyone should be afraid of, nothing else!  The rest is just moments, so go enjoy them!!  Be courageous, be daring! We go through life with a constant fear of rejection, failure, disappointment, heartbreak and a million and one more things that lock us away from truly living out our dreams and fantasies. We are so used to hearing negativity and people asking us "But what if this happens?" and "What will you do if this doesn't work?" and other things that lock us to our fear of the unknown, of something that could be but might never actualize itself. But why?!? All these things; rejection, failure, disappointment, heartbreak, tragedy and other unpleasant circumstances might still happen but what is the use of worrying about them before they even take place? It's counter-productive and it takes away from those moments of pure joy and freedom. ...

Well, what do you know, California knows how to live. My last few days were spent smiling, breathing and living a carefree, happy lifestyle. I'm not surprised that I loved it so much here in San Diego, but I could even see myself living here. Now that's rare knowing my vagabond ways.  There was beach time, bar hoping, bicycle riding, scary and fun Halloween wandering, as well as pure silly joy. But most importantly, there was soul and there was music and my soul was movin' to the groovin'!  The night of Halloween I decided to paint my face for the first time ever. I've never done face paint, I've only done costumes so I was super excited to try something new. When I finally painted my face while sipping on a yummy cocktail dancing around the room, I was completely happy and exited about my creation. Then came Jamie's turn and I made him into a scary crazy face. No title really, although Jamie's friends were talking about Valhala or something.  The night ...

 It's my last day in Porto Cristo. I get an early start as I did on the other days while being here. I do my yoga and other stretches and complete the "Seven Minutes" exercise app which yesterday sarcastically told me to take a shower... I have a bit of cereal and pack my little lunch for the beach. After a quick "Buenas!" to Diego and Ana, the landlord's girlfriend, who had both just woken up, I set out to have my final beach day. I decided to go to my favorite little cove beach which is a nice ten minute walk through streets and then about fifteen minutes through rocky paths draped with reddish brown earth and desert like flora.  I see a little baby quail the size of a small chicken's egg, lazily crossing the path. He gets startled when he realizes I am near and starts quaking for his mother, who responds somewhere to the right of us in the bushes. The little fluffy baby stumbles and runs to his mother. I smile to myself and continue walking.  When I f...

Ok so seeing this cartoon, reminded me about the time when I was still at the farm in Sineu. I was in the car with Bob on the way back from Palma when it was my day off. I had went to the beach that day and turned myself into.a walking lobster. Well, that is besides the point and a painful memory... After Bob picked me up from the beach, we headed back to Sineu. We passed many beautiful fields with olive and orange trees and mountains in the background. And lots of sheep. But one field had more sheep than any others did... And right in the middle of it was one black sheep!  "Are you sure you don't want to be in the group photo" It was the funniest thing to see, because I didn't know that black sheep actually existed in real life. I've always thought it was just that metaphor! As it turns out, they do exist, but they are very rare. The common colour trait is white or cream rather but once in a while, two white sheep produce a little black sheep. Poor family, just l...

A little song I improvised in the evening at the farm in Sineu, Mallorca :)  http://youtu.be/ihhz3e-Hdpg In Russian, there is a perfect saying to describe what I am singing about... то что вижу, то пою  That which I see, I sing.  So there you go, singing about people, life, the world and then about the sun and the sky. Silly fun :) enjoy and please, you can laugh :D  Much love from the seaside! :)

Oh my... This new book of mine is stirring up some long forgotten memories of past lovers, mystery, passion, and intrigue. Bits and pieces of the past suddenly come rushing in, making me smile, giggle and at some of them, even question my own memories as some of them seem so surreal and exaggerated in the best way possible. Some of my memories surely can't be real, because now that I am in the future compared to those memories, or my current present, the past seems like it's a part of another woven web of sultry novels that I've read and not something I actually experienced first hand... Hmmm... Granted, all of those memories are in the last which means all that passion which I do remember, ended nonetheless. Yet still, the finality of them all, doesn't seem to erase the memories attached to them and the feelings that are brought up by revisiting those moments in my head. Mind games. It's funny how simple words on a piece of flattened tree bark can be so powerful. I...

Mallorca turns out to be unlike any other place I've traveled to on my own. I quickly learned that this island is not really geared for lone travelers who are simply seeking for a simple escape, including accommodation and roaming possibilities by foot. Of course, it's not like there are signs saying No Walking Aloud, but this island just isn't made for that. With the exception of the west coast where there are trails which are quite touristic as they are in every single guide book. This island is made for the following tourist types: young families with children, older couples in their golden years post retirement and then the eager young kids and couples coming here to party and go crazy. Of course, there are the royal families who come here but that's beyond my world and understand of theirs so I can't comment on that. After backpacking through Asia, South America and India, Mallorca is certainly a plain destination compared to the rest. It's a beautifully br...

This place which I've been calling home since Friday afternoon is truly a little piece of heaven. It's surrounded by crystal blue Mediterranean Sea waters, impressive beaches and views that are truly breathtaking.  On Friday, I left the other place I called home for nearly three weeks. A little farm near Sineu where I worked and played with the array of animals happily roaming around. I do miss that place a lot and wish that the many great qualities of the farm, could be combined with the beauty and tranquility of the seaside, to make one beautiful, lovely place. Unfortunately, you can't have it all.  So I've moved on from one to the other. Missing the simplicity and the routine of the farm; early mornings meant feeding the animals first and then having breakfast. Playing with the dogs everyday and the love of all the animals, and then doing some things around the house and then getting my hands dirty with a project outside. The quiet evenings before dinner, sitting out...

Another little fun ramble on my patio in the evening :)  http://youtu.be/yv2El9b5oTw Now looking back to my first few days on the farm, I remember my feelings of anxiety and unrest because of how time passes here. I was uncomfortable with the slow pace of things and didn't know what to do with myself. Clearly, those were the side effects of a life lived in too much of a hurry at all times. That's not good. We need to keep moving of course, because in movement, there is life. However, having said that, the constant clock watching and rushing of our so called "civilized" society is absolutely unnecessary and even unhealthy. We need time to stop and enjoy the moment now, rather than urging through the now only with anticipation of the future.  So remember to slow down a bit and enjoy life because before you know it, it will pass you by and you will wake up one day asking yourself, "Where did my life go...?"  Enjoy the small moments, don't rush and stop worr...

A silly little song I improv'ed while sitting on the patio off of my room on the farm. It was yet another beautiful evening with the sun still high up and the mountains standing tall in the distance. You can hear the nature bustling in the background and some sheep bells, creating a a perfect setting for practicing my guitar and being silly :)  In the song I mention things biting me a lot because I had so many bites since I've been and they haven't been Mosquitos because there aren't any here... The rest is just silly fun! Enjoy :D  https://youtu.be/axOiz16lAXo  

Another day off from the farm went splendidly! Pat was leaving back to UK for a couple of days so Bob dropped her and me off at the train station right near Palma. After saying goodbye and bon voyage to Pat, I went off to enjoy the sun and the sea at beach closest to the city. To my pleasant surprise, the proximity of the beach did not mean it was touristic at all. It was mostly locals and only a few loud mouthed tourists. I went swimming quite a few times and the water seemed to have warmed up since the last time I was down this way.  A perfect sunny and cloudless day, with my book and sunscreen! And amazing views of the Palma Cathedral in the distance, framed by the Serra de Tremuntania mountains to the west. This day couldn't have been better. And I didn't have to take the train and then walk home because Bob picked me up after work.  I needed this day off to just relax and rest my bones. I will work tomorrow and then I'll have one more day off right before I move to Por...

It's nearly seven in the evening and I am on the bus going back to Manacor, from where I will take the train back to Sineu. As I contemplate the turnout of my day, I realize how brilliantly amusing  life can be! The sun is shining on my face now and I take a deep breath as my lips curl up into a big smile. What a beautiful day I had... As it was my day off from working on the farm, I decided to set out to the east coast of Mallorca. Pat, my host was driving that way to do some errands and so she offered to give me a ride in the car, which saved me a train journey to Manacor. Unfortunately, the buses were not in my favor today as I was waiting at the bus stop for over an hour. I wasn't the only one waiting as a crowd of people was getting bigger with anticipation of the bus finally arriving. Although there were many people waiting, I definitely was the only one who made everyone at the bus stop make a face and wince as I decided to ram myself into a pole. How and why did I do th...

As the evening went on, the barbecue at the Marina was going full swing with a nice band playing happy tunes and me feeling a heady buzz of the wine combined with the excitement of being on this beautiful island and a complete feeling of freedom. The sun was shining, the music was swaying everyone to its catchy rhythm and my mouth seemed to be stuck in a permanent smile.  I was invited to come to dinner with the guys from New Zealand, from Bob's boat and with a few others from other boat crews to a nice steak restaurant in the old town in Palma. Met a few more interesting characters there, like a guy from Cornwall on a boat whose owner supposedly wrote one of the first checks to Google as a silent investor before it was called Google and he actually suggested the name Google. Sounds like a far out story but if you would have seen some of the boats there and the sheer magnitude of their size and luxury, you might think that stories like those could be absolutely true.  After di...

Sineu is like straight out the Truman show only the Spanish version of it. Its such a small town! It's an early Sunday evening and the sun is warming the last few corners of the town before it goes away for the day. The children are running free and playing their games, while the parents and their friends are at nearby cafés and restaurants having a glass of wine and tapas. As I make my way down the winding old streets of Sineu, almost everyone I meet says hello to me as if I am just another local having a stroll through the town. I imagine you must have grown up in a place like this in order to truly understand it and to appreciate it.  Everyone seems to be on following the same rhythm which is a slow, relaxed and a no-worries attitude. Not bad I guess but the only stimulation I recognize here is gossip about who did what and about something that she said which then he heard, etc. No one walks around alone either, everyone is in pairs at least and the only time they are walking al...

My first full day on the island of Mallorca is proving to be just as slow as the last day when I was half asleep after sleeping on the floor of the airport. I ended up moving from the comfortbale bench outside to the floor inside as it got colder with each moment I laid there. Anyway, I've slept in worse situations while in Asia so now looking back, it wasn't that bad. Well, here I am, on this little island where Mallorcan is a whole other language and my knowledge of Spanish will not be improved since this language here sounds like a mix of Portuguese and funny Spanish. The little island where the concept of time gains a new meaning and the day stretches out incredibly due to the lack of everything having a time constriction, as things are in the cities...  I am staying at a little farm 2.5km away from a small town called Sineu. When I say little, I mean two little supermarkets and two main squares kind of little. However they did manage to have an unreasonably large amount of...

As the days to my departure from London were getting fewer, I started to reflect on my time here more with each of their passing. Having spent here almost a year, I realize how easy it is to get used to a place! Luckily I found a nice house to call home and shared that house with really nice people. From other's unfortunate housemate stories, I learned that my story worked out quite remarkably well! :)  There are many things that I will miss but there are some things on that list which I won't miss at all. But that's life for you hey?! You float along this river of happiness, pain, sadness, excitement and discovery taking things, giving some, borrowing knowledge and sharing all those experiences with the world. After all, we're all in the same boat aren't we? Hope you can swim! :)  Leaving the house today felt strange but I was excited to embark on this new journey. A short one compared to my previous ones but nonetheless, a lot to look forward to! Some fresh air, w...