The Merry Blues

After being scared and tired, suffering from a sore knee and getting bored to answer always the same questions from curious people, climbing unterminable mountains for kilometers and kilometers, I'm here.

Travelling is never easy, you have to fight many things, especially inside yourself. The isolation and weather extremes and many other situations. But in a certain way, it helps you getting better (after all).

The last 4-5 days since Cumaná were though, harder than I could imagine. I encountered many problems, in particular with the bike. The "stand" just broke in 2 pieces after a long fatigue. Installing the bags on the bike with no support to hold it become a true pain in the ass. Also when i removed the broken "stand" of the bike, i realized that a spoke was broken in my rear wheel, and it made my wheel look like a "S", no more perfect round shape. I arranged those problems for 4 hours in my dark and humid and putrid hotel room, in San Antonio, after an incredible day of biking in a hardcore mountain. 1200m of climbing, on 15km. While working on the bike, i had the hands full of grease and i was making everything dirty around me. I went to bed after a shower and made some nightmares about mechanical issues for all the night, désespoir!

Arrived in Maturín, after 93km of bike and an incredible pain in the left knee, I just made an overdose of this. I took a bus to Ciudad Guayana, to get rid of the damn problems. The crazy driver (they were 4 of them only in this bus, 3 doing nothing except to smoke and make the people uncomfortable around) had a fucking insane face with a mouth deformed and he was talking like a mentally retarded bastard. As always, they had to put their damn out-of-context SALSA music at an incredibly ridiculous volume level, blowing and distortionning the cheap dolorama speakers, and damaging permanently the ears of all passengers inside. A true hell of mental and public misery, chaos, humidity and bad smells and ugly people.

Today I really thought about stopping everything, sell the bike and buy a normal backpack to continue the trip...it was too much bullshit. I passed the whole day to ask around and look for information. I wanted to send by Fedex the stuff home, and a place here to sell the bike. Unfortunately (or maybe the destininy wanted it?), nothing happened, i was not able to accomplish nothing about it. Every situation sucked.

I was seated on the bed tonight, listening to the merry blues from Manu Chao, in concert and looking the TV with desperated eyes, empty. All the luggages were separated in the room: In one corner what i keep with me, in the other the thigns I want to send home.

But like a thunderbolt, a clear and pure crystaline vision of happiness like it happens sometimes without reason, I woke up dancing with the music and i made 20 push-ups to make the craziness go out. I drank a great glass of cold water and decided suddently it was time to stop being ridiculous and pack all the things back at the correct place.

I cannot abandon this project, after 640km done, impossible. The next part, I know, will be harder. The Grand Sabana, quiet and distant. 600km of tranquility, of small villages and mosquitos. I will need to sleep in the tent for many nights, there will be probably no hotels on the road to Santa Elena. I don't care, i will do it, that is what i really want anyway.

I just need to respect the body limits and mind fatigue and avoid to bike more than 65-70km by day, especially if there's mountains. Too much stress went down on me, for now, I want to get the ganesh good energies and good fortunes from all the people that I met on the road. When i think about all the places i went with this bike, since 15 days, I still consider it was an amazing trip. Amazing but really tiresome. It is time now to stop worrying and start the inner revolución.


So many nights, with your shadow in my bed
So many nights, baby you whispered in my head
So many nights, sing alone the merry blues
...
I cannot sleep, haunted by your pretty body...

To be continued pronto.
Hasta luego y cuidate.