Tuesday, May 14 5:00 p.m. MDT La Paz, Baja California Sur
Hello All:
No exciting travel, as such, to report . . . just some thoughts on the nature of
footloose travelling. A few months before I left on my grand adventure, a friend bought me
a book entitled "The Size of the World," as inspiration. The author -- a local
Berkeley boy, as it turns out -- set out to circumnavigate the globe travelling only on
the planet's surface, no flying allowed. He gave himself a year, and allowed any
mechanized means so long as it stayed at ground level. In this way, he hoped to counteract
his years of travelling by plane, whereby he lost his sense of "the size of the
world."
My sense of the same is being messed with a bit. Here I am over 1200 miles from home;
800 of which I have traveled by bicycle, and 8 weeks from setting out from Hayward on
March 13. Were I to hurry home as fast as my cycling legs could carry me, it would take a
minimum of two weeks, realistically. Yet, next week I will hop on a plane, and be in
Oakland less than five hours later -- including layover! No for those of you wondering (or
the more evil amongst you thinking you have won the "when will he come to his
senses" pool), the journey is not over. My return flight to San Jose del Cabo is June
4, and the bike is staying put here in La Paz.
The two dental hygienists on this list (and you know who you are), will be pleased to
know I am returning for my semi-annual teeth-cleaning, and various other business. It was
unplanned, but low airfares and the chance to visit with friends were too powerful a
combined lure.
It is very weird: when I set out on this journey, I imagined myself as some sort of
latter day Lewis & Clark (ok, with hotels) . . . that it was one-way only, until I
reached the end and had to turn around. So it is certainly strange to just decide, oh,
what the heck, lemme see what's up in California for a few days. On the other hand, it has
adjusted my sense of the size of the world -- it is BOTH large and small, and I like that.
I think I had written (and if so I apologize for the repeat news), but for the last
three weeks, (and the remainder of this), I have been, and am, attending Spanish language
immersion school here in La Paz. We attend class from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. We then have
a half hour break where the students from the three small classes (about 8 or so students
total) socialize and snack on home cooked mexican food set out by the school, then we have
two more hours of class from 11:00 to 1:00, with a second teacher. There are three
teachers at the school, and over the weeks we have cycled through being instructed by all
of them. In the afternoons and evenings, we study, attend the Cine, relax by La Paz Bay
watching the sun set over the mountains on the far north shore, or stroll along the
Malecon (beach walkway) with the Pacenos. Often I'll look up from my drink and think,
"How the heck did this happen, and please don't let it stop!" On the weekends I
and classmates have visited Todos Santos, a little bit of Santa Fe/Marin County right here
in Baja Cal. Sur; and crashed poolside at a five-star resort in Cabo San Lucas, where the
mexican boyfriend of a classmate works. (THAT was certainly a far cry from the
"roughing it" I had imagined when I began the trip.)
The language program is excellent. That combined with the local family with whom I am
staying, who speak only Spanish with me, are beating my Espanol skills into shape. Today,
while waiting for comida -- the large midday meal (mandatory siesta to follow) -- my
"mother" had me watch television. I was quite surprised to find I understood
well over 70% of the lecture being given local public station regarding human
responsibility for the environment. Prior to beginning my trip, my only exposure to
Spanish had been a computer program I bought at Best Buy for $20. I feel like it augurs
well for my visit to mainland Mexico, and Central and South America (if it actually ever
happens!)
Summer here should be interesting. The only possible fly in the ointment is that June
is the beginning of the rainy season. Everyone here as warned me that it WILL rain, almost
every day, and sometimes very hard. Bicycling should be interesting. In addition, the
weather/emergency service is predicting a minimum of 3 to 4 Pacific hurricanes, and about
9 Caribbean hurricanes for this year's season. I have decided to see what it's like. If
it's intolerable, the thought is to head up to the U.S. eastern seabord, and maybe do a
down-east (Maine, New Hampshire, etc.) and Canada trip, then back down to Mexican and the
Americas in September/October. Of course, I presume by now, that you all know to take my
plans with a large dose of skepticism.
I think that's about it for now. IF things go as planned, the next update SHOULD be
from Mazatlan or Guadalajara, or some such.
