Pilgrim Walk
What happens when you mix a curious mind with a deck of cards? Well, let me tell you about my latest walk with Pilgrim Cards.
Pilgrim Cards is a flash cards app we’ve been working on since 2022 at Locus Praxis. The cards give you tasks and directions to follow, making each journey a bit of an adventure. Some decks are more structured, with dramaturgy and storytelling twists, but others are all about random exploration.
Maverick is my favorite deck in the app. With over 100 cards, it helps you break out of your routine and discover new places. I use it often to shake things up, and this time it took me through the streets of Batumi, a beautiful coastal town in Georgia.
Here’s what happened on my walk with Pilgrim Cards one hot and sunny day in July 2024.
1:26 PM
“Walk forward for 5 minutes”
I walked forward into a green yard, crossed the street, and took a selfie in a mirror covered with graffitis.
For some reason, there are plenty of mirrors on Batumi streets. A mirror is a perfect psychogeographical object: it makes one stop and take a moment of self-reflection.
Moving forward I notice a signage of the old atelier, and another graffiti. It all rhymes in my head – mirror, atelier, graffiti on both of them, reminding me of vanity.
5 minutes pass, and I’m taking another card.
1:36 PM
“What is the first thing that comes to your mind in this place? Write it down or memorize it.”
I look around and see a cafe. Dissident cafe.
It reminds me of a place in Hollywood with a relevant name.
It immediately reminds me of a place in Los Angeles with a relevant name! Take a look at it - Intelligentsia Coffee in Hollywood:
Are all dissidents = intelligentsia, and vice versa?
1:40 PM
“Find an item or an object that cannot be found in another city.”
Hunting for unique things then. I walk and look around the surroundings.
Could it be this tree of wires?
Or maybe an old iron gate with a “good luck” horseshoe?
Or this used-to-be-luxurious Pontiac?
Or some authentic yard?
I like this one: a shop selling sinks, ladders, fans, shovels, and who knows what else.
Or this quirky display wall?
My attention is captured by piles of freshly cured tobacco which look like tall fur hats. Pretty unique!
I end up finding a street vendor who’s selling Soviet-era double-edge razor blades (I use safety razor for years and can’t get enough of it). And these blades are as rare as it gets! So, I’m finally satisfied and consider the task done.
I see Maverick as more than just a fun way to walk and explore – it’s also a great way to sharpen your senses and awareness. Take Batumi, for example. The city has been colonized many times, and you can find traces of different cultures layered throughout. But you have to look closely to spot them.
For example - signs from the Soviet era are still around, though they’re becoming rare. Like this entrance sign I found with elegant numbers and a Russian inscription. It reads “Entrance 3, apartments 51-74”.
By 2:30PM I found myself in the old city center, and the closer I got, the more aware I was of how near the Turkiÿe border is. Time for a new card.
2:32 PM
“Listen to the people around you talking. Memorize any three words. It may be a future clue along your way.”
I’m looking at Orta Djame – Batumi Central Mosque built in 1866, the oldest building in town. The surrounding streets are packed with small cafés, shisha bars, tea and baklava shops. The air is filled with sounds and chatter, though I can’t recognize a word, since I don’t know Turkish which prevails in this part of town.
The sounds of rattling forks and the smell of food made me realize that I had been wandering for over an hour and was quite hungry. I rarely go to Turkish places, but as far as I got here, I could not think against having a plate of hummus with a cup of tea.
It turned out that hummus goes for free with any dish, so I had to order chicken shawarma. It resulted in three dishes. First harissa, then hummus with cucumbers marinated in lemon juice with herbs, and cabbage salad (like coleslaw).
I was already full before I even got to the salad. Then came the chicken shawarma with cream sauce, fries, and more pickles! And of course, the tea. Plus, a can of Pepsi, which I quickly regretted. The whole meal cost me 21 ლ, just over 8 USD.
Right before I left the cafe, a group of English-speaking tourists sat at the table next to me and I managed to complete my task.
Lunch break was over, time to move on.
3:15 PM
“Open a door and take a peek inside.”
In Georgia, it’s pretty common for doors to be left unlocked, even in residential buildings where people leave their apartments open. It says a lot about the sense of safety here. Even in the old town, with plenty of tourists around, I easily found a door left ajar – maybe it’s a thing in Ajara (see what I did there?), the capital of which is Batumi (pronounced ah-JAR-ah)
Inside was a stairwell with old tiling and a modern chandelier handing from a suprisingly well-preserved moulding. Another mirror is found.
3:32PM
“Flip a coin. Heads - go left. Tails - go right.”
I didn’t find change in my pockets, googled a digital coin flipper, got heads, and walked to the left.
3:36 PM
“Do something funny”
I sat down on a bench to rest and sip some water, wondering if I should tell a joke to a stranger or maybe recite a limerick. Just then, a man in his late 60s appeared and politely asked if he could share the bench. I didn’t mind. He lit a cigarette and started talking, I was mostly listening. His life sounded like an adventure, full of unusual situations and colorful characters. He made sharp comments about the law, corruption, business, and culture. “I just got back from my seventh tour, and I realized there’s no place like home in Batumi,” he said. Given that Batumi is an old Black Sea port, I figured he must be a sailor who’d traveled the world and returned home after years of adventure. So, I asked, “What kind of tour was that?” With a smirk, he replied, “Prison, of course!” Then, after finishing his cigarette, he left just as quickly as he had appeared.
4:19 PM
“Feed the birds”
I didn’t see any birds or a bakery to get breadcrumbs from. Postponing this card, I get another one.
5:11 PM
“What is the warmest place in this city? Visit it today.”
It’s 30°C outside, and the last thing I want to do is find a warmer spot. Then I see a bird pecking at breadcrumbs, and I mentally check off the “Feed the bird” card!
I love when such coinsidences happen. Sometimes, tasks come together after you’ve put them off, and it feels like a nice surprise, as if you’re perfectly in sync with the world.
I got tired and decided to pull the last card in this session.
5:30PM
“Build a tower”
I spent a few minutes wandering around, trying to figure out how to build a tower. After having no luck, or imagination of how to make it creatively or metaphorically, I gave up. So I skipped the card, and grabbed a scooter to head home.
A few days later when I was going through the photos I had taken, I noticed this shot. It was one of the last pictures I took, but I didn’t realise the tower at first!
Results
- The walk lasted a little over 4 hours.
- I found a spot that really gives off Hollywood vibes.
- I definitely need to visit Turkish cafés more often.
- Batumi is full of beautiful numbers hidden around the streets.
- I got sidetracked and ended up climbing my first circus dome (but that’s a story for another time).
- Once again, Pilgrim Cards took me to places I never would have found on my own. Randomness is truly amazing!
