🇪🇸🇦🇪 Catch and Release

Hello Adventurers, 

Look, I don’t make the rules — so don’t hate — but all good things must come to an end. And for me, this means that my three weeks of fab time with fam in Spain is now done-zo…and I’m back to my ole solo snail ways (i.e. alone, marathoning, inching forward slowly, and with everything I need strapped to my back). Said another way, I’ve left Europe to begin my push through the Middle East as well as Asia.

For newcomers to this newsletter, this is my second time to this easterly part of the world on the Marathon Earth Challenge…and I mention this to acknowledge the continued tragedy unfolding in Palestine and Israel; war, violence, and terrorism are all terrible — and that shit always disproportionately affects civilians — and IMHO every single human being deserves peace and freedom and opportunity, period. For what it’s worth, I marathoned Israel and Palestine earlier this year…so newbie subscribers may want to read my dispatch ‘bout that experience (should you be interested in a pedestrian perspective ala me marathoning content / not me manufacturing consent).

Anyhoo, I’m not here to direct your moral compass (that’s your wayfinding work to do, bb) nor co-opt someone else’s crisis (that’s despicable), and I merely mention this so you don’t think I’m an opportunist — or — naive enough to put myself in harm’s way (hence why I’m going to the far more safer / stabler United Arab Emirates — as well as Oman — before dipping to Asia proper). Furthermore, I hate those non-journalist ‘conflict chasers’ monetizing misery through self-serving video views / book sales…and would be truly embarrassed if you thought ya boi was that (i.e. so morally bankrupt that I’d try and profit from others’ pain / painful predicaments). And that’s precisely why this newsletter is free for everyone (and is something that hasn’t made me a penny…like, it actually costs me money to make it…because this whole project is self-funded after all). But, I digress…

I don’t know anymore…I guess I’m just making my anxieties known because of my proximities to some hot spots…but man, the world just feels like it is uncomfortably heating up with even more consequential / intersectional conflicts…and I wish us earthlings could / would turn the temperature down a helluva tad (and chat this shit out with cooler heads over a warm cuppa). But hey…I’m also getting rung-out and roasted by unforgiving sun and hellish humidity on marathons right now…so I’m likely a Nervous Nellie because I’m overexerted and overcooked…ergo emo sensitivo (until I get a good night’s rest and recover my resilience).

But moving on…this issue of the newsletter recounts things seen and felt on a handful of marathons across Madrid and Dubai; two vastly different capitals — both with monarchical ties — and each an Islamic Emirate (well, at least at different points in their histories…sorta wild, right?). So let’s get into it,

- Ben Pobjoy

2023 TREK TRACKER

Where in the world...record am I?

• Countries visited: 62

• Flights taken: 64

• Kilometres flown: 92,493

• Marathons completed: 193

• Kilometres trekked by foot: 9,175.6

• Total kilometres trekked since 2015: 72,267

RAPID WEEKLY RECAP

A speedy synopsis for time-crunched readers

• The Wildest Thing: Being in a busy art museum in Madrid and seeing a naughty museum goer physically part a crowd (i.e pushing them out of the way) so he could photograph his companion looking like she had a popular painting all to herself🤨

• The Biggest Obstacle: I’ve been in Goblin Mode for much of 2023 because I’m marathoning near-daily, live in earth-stained running apparel, and have a gnarly ugly beard. However, I’ve now upped the ante and entered Vampire Mode — where I sleep by day / marathon by night — because the Middle East is too damn hot to tackle any other way😵‍💫

• The Lesson Learned: Contrary to how this project may present, I actually don’t know what I’m doing. Like, this whole project is self-produced ala best guesstimates, and I lack the guidance of coaches / don’t have a road crew with me (because I can’t afford it). As such, the Marathon Earth Challenge is becoming more overwhelming the deeper I get…because I’m moving further away from home / comforts of places known…as I visit totally-new-to-me places…as I become more worn and weathered with each and every marathon (so the fight to stay sharp is a real one). It may seem counterintuitive, but I’m not actually becoming more confident with each marathon bagged. Rather, I’m just continually surprised by what the human body can endure. So I don’t know how to put this lesson into words…but this project has taught me that personal systems / little mantras can help make hard things easier / keep worries at bay. Like, these days I often find myself reminding myself that ‘marathoning abroad is my happy place’…and it brings me inner peace in parts unknown…and I hope you have your own version of this kind of thing in yer toolkit🧐

FIELD NOTES: MADRID, SPAIN

Highly livable and vaguely European

I’ve never inadvertently used religion — nor AI — because ‘life as mystery for me to solve’ is my existential video game of choice…ergo no cheat code needed. Like, life — for me — is something I wanna make sense of over the course of a coarse lifetime…because life is way longer / more boring than I thought it would be (and I need mental activities to fill and kill the time / have something to think about while on the loo).

However, in Madrid, I found myself thinking about AI a lot — and not about the technology itself — but how Madrid feels like something an AI program would generate if a North American user gave it a prompt like ‘Make me a livable city that’s sorta European-y but full of quasi North American stuff…with some historical eye candy fixings…but loads more emphasis on being modern — and having conveniences — and oh, stack it with some good amenities.’

Said another way, Madrid IMO feels less culturally Spanish than Andalusia, and basically I was taken aback by the internationality / modernity of it as well as the million Burger Kings there, the handful of Taco Bells, and the one Tim Hortons as well as the one Tony Roma’s I saw…all feeling so out of place / unnecessary for such a culinary country / quite down market for Europa / so cheap looking amidst the historical high-end aesthetics. And TBH, I didn’t love Madrid as a tourist…but when I changed my lens / marathoned its neighborhood-y periphery — and evaluated its livability — the capital became hugely compelling. Like, it’s not a swipe right / rocks off city…but is akin to a deeper jiving candidate suited for a long-term relationship (i.e. less pulse, more sustain).

Now, I don’t want misrepresent Madrid…because it is an old city with a monarchy and therefore has the associated historical hoity-toity palaces, plazas, and parks (and these hyperlinks should be visited IRL). However, it also presents as a place of population growth and evolution into the present; there are loads of cranes on the outskirts erecting modern multi-storey residential buildings, and many of the bygone buildings in the city centre have been retrofitted at street-level with today’s types of shops. So ‘new’ and ‘old’ are in eternal battle…and there’s an erasure of sorts. Basically, I wish I could’ve visited at an earlier point in time — maybe like 30 to 40 years ago? — because the old facades and hand-painted signage (one example being pictured above) delighted me the most…and they’re a rarity that you gotta keep an eye out for ‘cause they seem to be going extinct.

While I lack the money — as well as the luggage space — to shop on this project, I’m always down to hit a market (because they reveal what locals value / are reliable portals to culture). So in Madrid, the standouts — at least for me — were the Mercado de San Miguel (pictured above…being a thriving food hall full of picturesque lux grub…where crammed eaters eat and drink on any available surface), the nearly 300 year-old / crazy busy El Rastro Sunday Flea Market, and the Cuesta de Moyano (a strip of secondhand bookstores in wonderful wooden stalls). And while it’s not a market, I’d be remiss to exclude the open-air Librería San Ginés (being a standalone bookshop that opened in 1650). Oh, and me and the missus fell head over heels for this nearly 130 year-old bodega that Christine identified…which is super unique, hyper local, and must-visit.

On the Marathon Earth Challenge, I’ve done two tours of Europe…and have visited / marathoned nearly 40 of its countries. Given this large sample pool of mine, I have a lot to compare and contrast in terms of the data set…which is why I can confidently say that — in comparison — Madrid is super peculiar in how little public art it has. That said, I gotta acknowledge / celebrate the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; a world-class art museum in the capital city where Dalis, Picassos, and Mirós (and much else) are near stacked on top of one another…it really is something, and sorta makes up for the lack of art everywhere else. Plus, it is free to visit most evenings (and is nearly €10 cheaper to visit during the daytime than my city’s ‘too provincial, not cosmopolitan enough’ majorly underwhelming art gallery…which I’ll refrain from naming, LOL).

Furthermore, as I exit Europe, I want to acknowledge how much more pro-civilian and pro-pedestrian this continent is in comparison to North America (where corporations and cars rule everything). Like, look at how many European names make the cut on lists about sustainability or green spaces.

Europe genuinely values the collective experience (designing for the bottom up majority rather than for the top down minority), and Madrid stomped the point for me; giving me hope for what a healthier city can / could be. And while I marathoned 170+ kilometres around this capital, I think you’d get the same takeaways on a much shorter stroll; noticing the garbage receptacles everywhere, passing all the free-to-use metallic cubed public toilets, seeing the crazy amount of primary-coloured playgrounds for kids, enjoying all the car free zones / wide promenades (where you don’t have to worry ‘bout getting run over), being shaded by the many trees…like, I could go on and on. If anything, just stroll the path along the re-naturalized Manzanares river and be gobsmacked by the public amenities that flank it…it’s next-level stuff.

Lastly, I’m from a traditionally brown and bricky place that’s going the way of the green and glassy aquarium-looking condo…and it’s largely drab and depressing stuff. Europe? It is the complete opposite. It ain’t afraid to embrace colour — see below…or just take note of the punchy colour palette used continent-wide (and note how it makes you feel IRL) — because it has such an uplifting effect on one’s spirit; life feels that much more vibrant when things are literally colourful as people exude vitality in third places overflowing with community / the urban planning encourages leisure and exercise. Europe ain’t perfect, but it does do this sort of stuff exceedingly well (and me hopes it’ll be exported worldwide for our collective benefit).

FIELD NOTES: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES*

A mirage-cum-miracle in the desert

There’s no other way to say it, Dubai is a total flex; a modernist skyward metropolis that has been stood up in mere decades, and which is smack dab in a desert-y terrain — and a brutally hot and humid climate — that many of us Westerners wouldn’t / couldn’t survive (if not for the structural shade, the blasting air conditioning, and the availability of water on tap). And while I was warned that I’d dislike it, I’m glad to have gone. Like, Dubai isn’t suited to my personal interests (i.e. I’m an outdoorsy marathoner) — hence it’s not my cup of tea — but it nevertheless fascinated the hell out of me (ergo not a bust in the least).

But man, it is / was hard to marathon due to the 40°C / 100°F temperatures (even at night sans sun), the 70% and above relative humidity, the dusty air, and just because of things like no public water fountains / few public toilets / drivers not often giving pedestrians the right of way at crosswalks (I’m unsure what the traffic laws are here).

This Emirate is an Islamic absolute monarchy…so I respectfully erred on the side of caution as a foreign visitor (minding my Ps and Qs, and being even more mindful of where I pointed my camera…so as not to offend anything or anyone).

But what is interesting to relay, is that — according to Wikipedia — the government here subsidizes 95% of mosques as well as employs all Imams…so the delineation between church and state is different than it is in the West.

Architecturally, Dubai is legitimately mind-blowing…and I felt like I was regularly being transported into the future (especially when structures like the 160 storey-tall Burj Khalifa or the Burj Al Arab — being a sail-shaped structure raised atop an artificial island — came into view like neo-futuristic lighthouses in the hazy, dark skies).

And TBH, I only experienced a sliver of the city because I couldn’t afford to visit things like the Dubai Frame, the Dubai Glow Garden, and stuff of that ilk…but I did slip into the Mall of Emirates on one marathon to check out Ski Dubai, being 22,500 square metres of snow-covered slopes cooled to -1°C (which IMHO exemplifies the conceptual project that defines these parts).

Mostly, I just cruised along the shores of the Arabian Gulf to observe the night beaches — which are illuminated by massive spotlights — where people were swimming at like 1AM and 2AM in the morning. Dubai is a beyond nocturnal place — because of the heat — and it continually spun me to see people doing daytime-to-me things like grocery shopping or hanging with friends in cafés in the middle of the night.

Because I lack wealth, I didn’t get to meet any Emiratis — because I was outdoors as they were probably indoors — but I rubbed shoulders with lots of really hardworking Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalis who were in service jobs, waiting for buses outside of the cement factories after shifts and/or doing road work. But, I did see Dubai’s Sheiks; not in the flesh, but in framed photos on the walls of many, many businesses, and even saw Fazza on one mural. Here, the presence is always felt.

*These field notes on Dubai are high-level because I am currently in another absolute monarchy (that greeted me thoroughly).

BEST LOCAL THING-Y

Guys, I think I might finally be maturing!!! Like, not in my personality (that thing is doomed)…but in my tastes. Historically, I’ve been a lifelong child when it comes to my preferences in sweets and desserts; I like spongey vanilla cake with vanilla icing as well as soft chocolate chip cookies. Things like adult-y pastries and tarts? GTFO!

Anyhoo, in Andalusia we stayed in someone’s home, and the homeowner kindly left us a spread of regional fare to welcome us. Included within the spread were a pack of Inés Rosales tortas; specifically the ‘original sweet olive oil’ variety. I ate ‘em in Andalusia…and they were a staple by the time I got to Madrid (and now something I’ll def hunt for back in Canada). Plus, they're beloved — as well as available — in like every grocery store in Spain.

Basically, this torta is like a thin, stale pita with a 5” circumference. I know that doesn’t sound appetizing — but it works in reality — because there’s notes of sesame and anise flavour in the dough which is baked / finished with a sorta caramelized sugar patina. This torta is really simple in both ingredients as well as taste, and I dug it because it satisfied my ripping sweet tooth / didn’t leave me feeling guilty (the way crushing a full box of junkier cookies does…like the 32 Oreos I ate last night…not kidding).

TBH, I don’t know how yer supposed to eat these things — like, I just jammed ‘em in my mouth — but ya, big co-sign of ‘em on my part / my slow evolution into adulthood continues!

POBJOY'S GLOBAL PRICE INDEX

This is an on-going documentation of how much things cost in different places around the world. Here are some of the things I bought in Dubai* (all prices converted to USD):

• The public transit train fare for a one-way, 22 kilometre-ish ride from the airport to where I was staying in Dubai: $2.86

• A 300 gram bag of muesli, a 400 gram block of tofu, a 300 millilitre can of Kinglsey zero sugar cola, a 946 millilitre carton of soy milk, a 220 gram tub of hummus, a 2 lb bag of carrots, two 1.5 bottles of water, four small apples, and six bananas from a grocery store in Dubai: $10.62

• An eight ounce coconut latte from a café in Dubai: $8.44

*I haven’t included anything ‘bout costs in Madrid ‘cause I previously touched on some other ‘costs in Spain’ in the last issue of the newsletter…and presumed you would be more interested in knowing more ‘bout the expenses in the Emirates. That said, Madrid was broadly 25% more expensive than Andalusia.

MARATHON MUSINGS

On refusing to be fooled

I don’t know if it is weird…but I like to visit places where my favourite photographers have made iconic photographs. And I don’t visit these places as pilgrimages per se…nor to re-create the famous images that were made there (that’s generally lame-o stuff). Rather, I just like to stand where these masterful photographers did, and wonder what triggered their decisive moment. And maybe, I just hope — as silly as it sounds — that some of their magic remains in the air…and sticks to my grimy marathon’d body. Like, to absorb…for my creative betterment (because I’m a self-taught photography hack after all).

So in Madrid, I visited a house that was bombed by the Nazis in the 1930s (done to support Franco the Fascist) where the legendary photojournalist Robert Capa made an enduring image during the Spanish Civil War. And as I stood there today, I couldn’t believe that the structure remains damaged all these decades later. Like, seriously?

These days, it feels like the predatory hawks at the top of the political food chain are rushing our world into war…done with complete disregard for the lessons of history; where wanton destruction can occur in a flash (of a bomb), and reconstruction lags thereafter as an afterthought (or becomes a diminished priority as other wars begin…and resources are reallocated and redirected).

War ain’t a quick fix. It’s a quick blitz…and to believe otherwise is foolish. Said another way, wars end…but the destruction remains; on structures, on the psyche of the affected, and in the collective memory that metabolizes as this animalistic need for cyclical revenge. And truly, fuck all that. Like, I refuse to buy what’s being sold, and I genuinely hope you do too.

In Madrid, I also had the privilege of laying my eyes on Picasso’s anti-war Guernica masterpiece — created a year after the one Capa photograph mentioned herein — and me, I just had a moment…lamenting how a species that’s so wise and creative is simultaneously so fucking dumb and destructive.

So I’ll finish as I started; reiterating how I don’t make the rules…but do recognize the paradox of history’s ugliest moments producing some of the most poignant art ever created.

And when the last city is levelled in retaliation for some gripe. And these lesson-ignored artworks protrude from the piles of corpses and rubble, may their unheeded warnings be internalized by whatever inherits this pale blue dot next…lest us earthlings embrace ceasefires, peace, and learning to live with one another — regardless of our differences — on this one shared planet of ours. Y’know, the only one we got.

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