I know a couple named Jeni and Jimy (I misspelled their names to keep their identity secret). Jeni was one of those Catholics who followed the word of the scripture to the letter and although she was 27 she was still a virgin, or was she?
Through a firsthand friend source I found out that she was saving herself for marriage, BUT, and this is an important but, they would have anal sex. Hmmm. Ok, I like the religious loop hole. No vagina, but taking it in the ass in the name of the Lord is quite alright.
Caption: ¨One of the churches in favor of Anal.¨I can see in my mind`s eye a tear welling in the corner of Jeni`s eye as she gives a furtive smile to the cross hanging over her bed as Jimi is hunched over from behind. The Bible is opened on the bedside table with a highlighted passage that reads, ¨Hell hath no fury for the unwed vagina, turn thy other cheeks and endure.¨ Ok, I have too much time to contemplate these things.
Well instead of being wrapped up in a religious world I have been wrapped up in traveler biker world. I realized that I was so focused on biking and all the dangers that come with it that I was missing out on the most important part: the people. I just finished Colombia but I feel as if I did not open myself up to the people as much as I have in past trips and I think this is due to feeling vulnerable traveling alone and trying to create this comfort zone around me. I have managed to build a little wall around myself.
I do not want to be too hard on myself because after all, I am still learning how this bike travel thing works and I think it is natural to start off a bit defensive. I am also sure that I will realize that I have met some great people, although I say ¨hi¨ and ¨bye¨ to them so quickly because I am always moving that I do not get to create strong bonds with the locals.
Caption: ¨I had breakfast in their home. More ¨hi´s and bye´s¨. All this became even more clear to me when I met Dan yesterday in the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcán. A 50 year old good-hearted affable American who teaches 8th grade. As simple as he is likable. He has been biking 15 months down from Alaska with his dog in tow. He travels slow, takes his time even while speaking, and does not worry about something going wrong until it does.
Caption: ¨Dan, my hero. He bought and biked with 200 USD worth of weed that was the size of two bowling balls all through Colombia.¨I went over my daily biking routine of taking breaks to eat every couple of hours and his response was, ¨Ya, I do the same thing, but instead of food every few hours I smoke a J. Next thing you know, 3 days later, I am there.¨ This was in reference to his leisure pace of 3 days in what took me 1 to get from Pasto to the border.
He chats with the locals with a child-like innocence and curiosity. No rush, no where to go and no where to be. I realized there was much to be learned from him, as usually seems to be the case with the older travelers I meet. Over a Chinese food dinner we talked about America, travel, life, houses and marriage.
¨How about those views between Popayán and the border?¨ was my open ended question.
¨Ya, amazing. I want to write people back home about them but how do you describe it? So I figure why even try,´´ Dan says.
¨Ya, I know what you mean. The hills make me feel like an ant. So why is it you have never been married? Was it because you do not consider yourself the marrying type, or was it a matter of not finding the right lady?¨ I asked him.
¨Ah, it was me. I couldn´t give up my freedom,¨ was his straight blue-eyed response. ¨I see so often in my friends that they have to be with someone else, jumping from one relation to the next, and I prefer my independence.¨
¨Ya, I think that humans are social creatures though, and it is normal for people to want to be with someone else. After all, you have your dog as a companion on the trip. Everyone needs someone in their life,¨ was my reply.
¨Yep, I don´t think I could have made it 15 months on the road without her. She is old I worry about the black smoke coming out of the buses when they go by. Hell, I can take it. I am a smoker, but I worry about her.¨ Dan cares more about the dog than about himself, that much is clear.
Caption: ¨One of those views. An ant tunnel. Nah, I had to bike through it in pitch darkness.¨
Caption: ¨Big man eating hills. Fun?¨The conversation continued with moments of over laughing that was needed by both of us. It was a sanity break for us and Southern Cali colloquialisms were thrown back and forth like a game of catch with an American football.
We parted ways with an exchange of emails and a hearty handshake. After this mad 7 day scramble from Popayàn to Quito to meet up with Gigi on the 8th of Nov I am going to take a deep breath and start pulling down those bricks I set up of a wall that does not protect me so much as keep me from even more experiences than what I am already having. Time to make the little world a little bigger.
