Where to even start- Since leaving on the 20th, I’ve ridden over 6000 kilometers through 7 amazing countries, seen Mayan ruins and experienced Montezuma’s revenge, eaten amazing food and eaten bad food, experienced incredible hospitality and my camera stolen, been lost and been slightly less lost, experienced phenomenal generosity, and if I’m not mistaken, padded a border official’s wallet…
The miles covered over the last few weeks have offered me a lot- They’ve given me solitude. They’ve given me time to think and time to reflect. They’ve afforded me opportunities to experience incredible joy and incredible frustration. But it’s all been different- and that’s what I came here for. I’ve been given more than I know what to do with- Opportunities to see places that look less and less like home- And chances to see faces that look less and less like my own, yet share a common ground that I feel less and less capable of articulating.
There’s more to see than I’ll ever be able to write or even remember- The horse-drawn carriages laden with either dried palm leaves and fresh fruit or old engine oil and transmission parts. The aged women in the traditional Mayan dress carrying massive baskets of clothes on top their heads into their homes in the mountains. The orange groves that stretch for miles up terraced hills gradually disappearing into the mountains. Children with dirty faces begging for money on the side of the road just as they do day, after day, after day… I’ve seen wonderfully modern cities and blink-and-you’ll-miss villages that look as if they haven’t changed for generations. It all has a certain National Geographic familiarity to it, a familiarity that comes from images and pictures caught while flipping between channels over the last 25 years of my life. I have to remind myself that this is something I am actually experiencing, and not just watching on an informative cable TV special.
One of my favorite songs has a line in it that says, “Alone in Miami, and yet here I am, it’s funny how life seldom turns out how you plan.” While I’d have to change the name from Miami to some other city name I can neither spell or pronounce, the sentiment holds true. This trip has looked nothing like I had planned or expected. It’s been infinitely more stressful, difficult and exhausting than I could have imagined, and rewarding in a way I never could have hoped for. But I suppose that’s the nature of an adventure like this.
Thank you for bearing with me as I collect my thoughts. I do promise I’ll get to the details of my adventure, with stories of the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen, but wanted to put up a framework for what was to come, like a doorway through which to experience the images, video, and stories from my trip thus far. This has been one of the most physically demanding, mentally taxing, and emotionally draining things I’ve ever done, and I wanted to make sure I captured my thoughts in broad strokes before I concerned myself (or you all) with the details.
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3 comments:
You should write a book at the end of the ride!
I'm enjoying following your journey. What an amazing opportunity. I'll keep praying for your safety as you progress......Nick Filippini
Love your adventurous spirit, Andy! And I love reading about your trip. Enjoy every second!
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