It’s imperative for The Idiot to be flexible, footloose and fancy-free on the unpredictable and uncertain MedTrek path in countries like Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Trying to control things, like the weather or trail conditions or local military, is a fruitless pursuit.

But put The Idiot in one his favorite downtowns in the United States — A is for Arcata, California; B is for Burlington, Vermont; C is for Chico, California… — and he’s predictable and structured.

Take Arcata, the very liberal hub of Humboldt County, home to Humboldt State University and in the vanguard of social activism and environmentalism. The Idiot has been frequenting the Starbuckless city of less than 20,000 people for forty years.

His delightfully rigid routine always includes:

A visit to the Finnish Country Sauna and Tubs which opened just over thirty years ago.

The Idiot’s first stop in Arcata is a long soak in a Zenny hot tub on J Street.

The hot tub is followed by a relaxing chai in the spacious, pond-filled gardens.

A stop at Arcata Plaza which unites a downtown community that’s as green, hippie, dopey and laid-back as you’ll find in the United States.

The Arcata Plaza is zippy even when there isn’t the weekly farmers’ market on Saturday morning.

The Idiot spent time in the Arcata Plaza on Halloween to check out creative pumpkin sculptures.

The back of a pickup truck parked on the Arcata Plaza conveys one citizen’s political and social stance.

A movie or two (he caught “Steve Jobs” and “Truth last weekend) at the old school Minor Theater, said to be “the oldest building in the United States designed for feature films that is still open and showing movies.”

The Idiot enjoys movies in the small Minor Theater in Arcata.

Shopping at Pacific Outfitters, the North Coast Co-Op and Wildberries Marketplace.

The Idiot buys much of his MedTrekking kit at Pacific Outfitters and other camping/hiking stores in Arcata.

The 12,000-member-owned North Coast Co-Op promotes organic farming and the importance of supporting local products.

The Idiot usually leaves town with a freshly squeezed juice from the WildNectar Juice Bar at Wildberries Marketplace.

Then, when he’s done all that, he returns to his family home in Trinidad to catch another unique sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Catching another sunset from his family home above Luffenholtz Beach.

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."