Gerald had bought into the Dream. He had been sold a fantasy for what appeared a bargain. With a small investment he could live the very dream that had been pumped out of the unpleasant orifices of British media since the mid 1990's.  And one guy called Gerald had not been immune to such pumping , who indeed had been? 

• Who would not want to swap their 2 Up/2 Down for a ramshackle villa on the Mediterranean coast? 

• Who would not want to exchange 9 months of cloud and drizzle for 9 months of sun and warmth?

• Who would not want to swap a luke-warm mug of Sainsubury's instant freeze-dried for a steaming glass of cafe con leche?
  

Listen to Part 2 Of Gerald'S Jungle here and find out if the swap turned out to be any more substantial than a Timeline on Facebook... 

Missed the first part? Listen to Part 1 Of Gerald'S Jungle here. Or subscribe for free to the podcast in iTunes and listen to the whole series.

Now some may say: what's a Guy like Gerald to do with me? I've only got a flat with a small balcony, what can I do to live a more balanced life? I can't feed myself from a aspidistra ! Well,  Id suggest watching anything by Bill Mollison on growing a vertical garden in a flat (Watch the video below) 

And if you don't even have a balcony….or you'd rather work with others, perhaps to convert a nearby unused empty plot - then maybe a little bit of guerrilla gardening is called for:  Check out the excellent TED talk below for ideas and inspiration.

Alan Watts is not often quoted amongst writers on Spain, yet he, perhaps of all the social commentators of the last half century, could help us see a way through the quagmire of the 21st century, if we were to let him. 

Watts on the Wisdom of Youth: 
As Spain reels from austerity cuts, ideological bankruptcy and leadership corruption, the youth of Spain has been exploding onto the streets, re-defining the art of politics, political representation and social priorities.

• The Street demonstrations known as "Escrache" whereby politicians or bankers are publicly called to answer for their decisions. The writer Isaac Rosa called the movement: the ultimate recourse by those that the system has abandoned. 
• Desahucios  - where collectives of citizens protect residents from being evicted by demonstrating outside their homes and impeding the entrance of bailiffs. Over 250 evictions have been stopped in the last 2 years. 
• 15M, Democracia Ya... and the Indignados have shown Spain, and the rest of the world what other forms resistance can take. Demands are clear and precise and include...proportional representation, a reform of the Mortgage laws, the right to housing, an end to fiscal off-shore havens, nationalisation of "saved" banks, access to main stream media, horizontal political structures, reduction in defence spending and closure of arms factories, transparency of political funding, abolition of monarchy... etc etc

It is the youth that have shown us that ideas are not as stagnant as the political leaders appear to be. They have shown us that answers are not so difficut to find as the Political parties insist, and that alternatives to a globally tied econonmy based on debt-growth-debt capitalism have been with us for a considerable while. 

We have simply chosen not to listen.

Many - suspiciously far too many - argue that the answers are not clear amongst these new social protest groups. Even the Political left is scrambling to try and defend the system whilst simultaneously wanting to be seen to criticise it at the same time. They argue that without a politically structured party there is no clear way foreword. Yet if one takes the time to read what the protesters are calling for, one can easily see that a comprehensive platform already exists for a very real and necessary call for change.

Watts tells us that we cannot expect the answers to come from above. He had a different answer. His answer was to let the next generation teach us, for real wisdom - as he points out in the short video below - always comes from the ground up.

"Gerald was not your usual expat..."

• But what  possessed him to buy a house on the Internet, on top of a mountain, with only wild goats,  wild boar and wild hunting parties for company?
• Had Gerald - like so many others -  fallen for the Spanish cliché of Living the Dream?
• Or had Gerald other plans to fulfil.....

Follow the mind set, the mountainous life-style and the mysterious musings of Gerald on this weeks investigative 2 part serial: Gerald's Jungle

Grab the jungle sounds of the and accompany Gerald on this special 2 part podcast from the Gazpachomonk: 

Living the Dream: Gerald's Jungle (Part 1)
Listen below, download or subscribe for free in iTunes....