Tag Archives: biking
bloody terroists! You better get your ass on that bus!
Email – So Im having lunch and a man turns round and ask me what country, we get chatting and he tells me further down the road, I wanna get a lift and not ride it, its dangerous, he lowers his voice ´there are terroists´ ..be carefull. Continue reading →
Wasted and recovered on liquid Gold
Email – firstly Im wasted so Ill keep it short
I was doing good 1$ in four days, 2 free dinners, blagged some free sandpaper, made my 3rd didge this one is a beauty, I used watercolour paint in tranparent varnish to give some slight gradient changing colours, while still keeping the natural integrity of the wood, sounds better than my other as well…… Continue reading →
I am the Banana man!! Peru, the jungle side
Email - New thing..all the kids are shouting gringo like crazy, the first village I was gonna spend the night but had kids literally following me shouting gringo gringo, was doing my head in, so I left…but now after a few days all the kids shout it, but the kids here are super cute, these sun burnedraggyscracgy types, they mean nothing negative, it was annoying, now I`ve kind got used to it..
peru is much more eddgier, its like mexico, just has that feel, that grittyness…I like it, the people are just that bit realer, well a lot more real than in Ecuador, back to cities and towns being crazy, pigs raoming around the streets etc Continue reading →
Tigres, clouds, plantains, rain, mud, and waterbombs
Email -
finally left velcrobamba, they dont call it that for nowt.good goodbye, my old matey raf gave me 20 bucks and cleaned my chain for me, top lad. Continue reading →
Ecuador – biking the Amazonia
Its been a while, but I`m back!
Unfortunately I lost all my photos from Ecuador and parts of Peru and Colombia due to a virus, internet cafes are now gaming places for kids, and with downloaded games comes viruses, bummer, but maybe I can pull a matrix restore when get the chance. So with the help of emails to my sister my battered memory and random journal entries, I bring you Vagabumming in Ecuador. Continue reading →
Vagabiking through the Andes
Where to start, the now, or the past, or the great big blur, lets start with the blur. Im talking the kind of blur you get from lack of oxygen, thinking actually requires thinking, concentrate….was that this morning or was it yesterday, if that village on the map is not there in real life, what have I got to eat, think damn it, this is important. The head pounds heavy, the heart is in competition, I thought these coca leaves are supposed to help with this, maybe they are. Wait a minute I`ve been here before, yea I remember, yea it was beautifully desolate back then as well….
wait, time to think again, I cant have been here before, ok…time to sit down and breath for a while….Why is the sun lingering in the same place for so long, seriously, I mean as long as it stays there I can make it to the next goodies wrapped in plastic, you know, the water, the biscuits, the oats, the bread, the mayonnaise, we can do this, the song said keep moving so that’s what i`ll do, but if the sun is not moving, why should I?
Wait.. now this I have seen before, for sure, there is rain hidden in that dark cloud over there, and over there, and over there…ok, now is the time to stop moving, and start looking, there movements are predictable, in an open sky of vastness, I can see enough of them to start judging…well played my friend, we dodged the wet…godspeed
Wait…I mean wait…just hold on a bloody second, is that snow? it cant be, its been so long, waiting…knowing this day would come, you promised me my day would come, the day, the field full of boulders, the hurt from the fingers, the foraging for firewood, the designing of ways to move my limbs across rocks, you cant take this away from me….Think damn it…everything is gonna get wet, quick..cover firewood, emergency pack everything, get the tent up, and get everything in…now what?…cant believe its bloody snowing…
wait….but lets go back, before the rain clouds, before the abandoned new rocky home and before the blur. There was a gas station, a story and a plea..your crazy the boss shouted…hey lads, bring me a knife, lets kill this poor guy, he crazy, we`ll dig a hole in the corner, leave his bike in the street and, job done..lets put him out of his misery, I mean, look im wearing 1,2,3,4,5 layers, and this guy is dressed like its boiling, in sandals and shorts…hes lost it! My story must have gone down well as an invitation for chicken and chips was offered, and four walls displayed…Later that night I opened my eyes to what looked like a short woman, holding a full sized matress, I tried my best to say something, in an attempt to gauge reality, estoy bien, gracias, (im good thanks) you will be with this matress the woman said…The morning brought the beginning of a change, boots, socks, hat, and a frailty of life that only the seriously cold brings. You know my granddad makes porridge just like this, and with bread, and olives, what a start to the day…the woman, doesn’t walk, but shuffles from side to side, her hair is braided in to two ponytails, which are tied into a knot just below the waist, her bowler hat makes me think of magic tricks and I drift of in a morning glory…awaked by a presence, it is the woman, she is reaching her hand into her blouse, I knew it, she is gonna do a magic trick…you read Spanish? …of course…I said, and I she revealed a book…first eat, and then go with God….
Wait…what time am I in, I mean I feel like im in the roman ages, where people said things like that…before going into battle or on a conquest…A person of God can be known not by their words, but by their actions….the people of the mountains, through remoteness, have helped them remain most connected, connected to what is most important in life, the basics….
wait…you have a good point there…What makes me most happy, the wood found, the soup made, the hot bowl of soup gifted, the wall blocking the wind, the sun, the night sky, the blank morning page, the basics.
