Chiwawa

Full circle: I'm right where I was when I began this blog and so its a fitting place to close it.

But the journey's not over and Colombia lives on, the memories are growing and fading, expanding and expounding. When I left Bogota 10-days ago I felt as though I'd gotten to know the country so well, but now that I'm back home I realize how many questions I left unanswered. Literally and symbolically. An obvious point of conversation and I still don't really understand the political-guerilla situation in Colombia to the degree that I should, however I probably understand it about as well as the average local who don't seem to concern themselves over what doesn't effect them. I tried to get more out of them, but instead I did the same as they and ignored the extraneous: I just rode my bike, traveled, and lived the life of the road.

When I left Bogota I had the feeling that I'd spent a good amount of time in Colombia, but now that I'm back it all seemed so fleeting. This is why its important to record your journeys and rehash them from time to time: how soon we forget.

The Chiwawa! When I left here for Colombia winter was still in full and there was 3 feet of snow in the yard. Today it was 80F/27C-degrees and instead of having to shovel to keep from being burried, I have to think about mowing every couple of days to keep from being overrun by greenery. Instead of my quiver of skis I go to my rack of bikes. Instead of splitting wood and stoking the fire I pull weeds, water the yard and try to keep the bugs from getting in. Sunsets at 9pm instead of 3:30!

My final weekend of winter before leaving for Colombia I did a cross-country ski race, and my first real weekend of summer after arriving home I did a bike race. Race report: nothing worth reporting because unfortunately I did as expected. I generally set unrealistic goals for myself but not this time: I'd been sick the previous week and didn't get on my race bike until two days before Stage 1 and so I was little help to my teammate and proved small threat to my competition. Any racing goals or expectations that might arise this summer will come from a hope that I can convert the long miles and power of my touring in Colombia to something more race productive: all-day power to snap and speed.

The final ride tally for Colombia was something over 3400-kilometers. I feel pretty good about that considering that I had a couple extended vacations from the bike.

I've got a few more items to post so I'm not quite through here... last week I typed up a lengthy essay and was in the process of uploading a bunch of pics when it all came crashing down and I'm almost emotionally ready to retry after that initial failed effort. Here's a sampling of pics still on the camera.

Pictures:
--(Below) I can only dream: that guy there is the Guanabana man. Look at all those plump, prickly guanabanas! -- Huge ride with "Mathew" out of Bucaramanga during my final week in Colombia: 110-kms for me, 160 for him. This kid can ride! -- On the Chumstick in Plain.

--(Above) Up the Icicle!

Seattle

I'm back! The trip is over but the adventure continues. Work? Race? Live? As always, lots of uncertainties, but for today its good to be home. Last night home was at my sisters place in Snoqualmie -- the family picked me up at the airport and we did Mexican for dinner -- but I'm about to hop on the Surly for perhaps its last ride in awhile since I've got other bikes that will probably take precedence now that I'm back: the race bikes will be used next week at the Wenatchee Omnium and I'm dying to hit the Chiwawa on the 29er.

The weather is Spring-perfect in the NW... 75' and sunny! The Tortuga -- my RV, my casa rodante, casa coche, vehiculo de recreacional, su casa es mi casa -- is parked on Brent's farm in Sultan so I've got about a 25-30 mile ride (thats like 200 kilometers) ahead of me and oh how many espresso stands between here and there (where a doble costs about $2 which is like $200,000 pesos).

More pictures and tales from the road forthcoming -- my Colombian journey's not over, it's constantly evolving. Have fun out there, and maybe we can keep in touch at the Dougnog Blog in the future. To my amigos still out there on the road, and to the luckiest ones still in Colombia, keep on rolling, drinking jugos and livin the good life!

Bogotà

Time's up, I'm coming home! It will probably surprise no one that I wanted and tried to extend my stay here, it doesn't look like I'll be on a BA trip for awhile longer than expected so it was a possible reality, but for a variety of reasons it just didn't work out. But just like every other time that I've been on my way home, regardless of if I'd been traveling years or just a few months, when your time is due and you resign yourself to going home you remember what a great place home is, your friends and your life there, and you always look forward to it.

I'm seeing Bogota this time with different eyes. With the eyes of someone who's seen enough of the country to be able to put so many things in perspective that were just not possible before. The architecture, the food, the faces of the people, all seem to have a region from which they come, if I can't place it then it must be uniquely Bogota. The weather is, for one. Its actually not much different right now than a bad winter in Seattle... rainy and cold, with the exception that the sun does come out, and when it does it gets quite hot.

I'm staying at a hostal called the Platypus and it has quite a reputation in Colombia and even South America as the place to be when in Bogota. It was just a fluke that I ended up here in the first place and I'm back mostly because I left some things behind here while I was traveling, because besides all the deserved hype for the owner of the place, Herman, who is a stellar guy and is incredibly helpful, the place is really a dump. I read in someone's guidebook along the way that its considered one of the best hostals in SA -- the hell it is. I've been to half a dozen better here in Colombia alone. Worst of all, for me, is that the kitchen and hang out areas have that rotting, damp wood smells of the fishing boats out of Hawaii, and this is enough to turn my stomach. And I'm not a stickler for cleanliness, I prefer character over it any day, but I don't think the Platypus is chèvere enough to overcome its filth. This is one of the reasons that I hate the guidebooks (Lonely Planet especially), because they can make or break a hostal or restuarant, often times undeservedly so, and this is one case. Just feel like ranting after trying to whoop up a fruit jugo in their worthless kitchen.

I've got more pics to post and stories to finish; this site isn't done yet even though the travels nearly are. I was just thinking how nice it is to have this blogsite as a sort of monument to my travels to compliment my journals and photos which are most important to me.

Tomorrow is my last full day here in Colombia and I've got some things to do: I am meeting up with the family of my long time bike racing buddy, Pablo, and I've got a few last minute things to buy that I haven't had time for yet: music, cookbooks, football j, and a couple blocks of panella.

Ciao for now!