Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[Dwn]

I’ve come to this very late indeed but over the last couple of days I’ve been catching up on your travelogue (I’ve got to the point when you are arriving in Mexico City).

I’m sure that you’ve been told this many times, but what an absolutely amazing trip - and very brave to be heading into places off the beaten track.

I’ve driven a few times in the USA and it’s always struck me that the level of aggression from other drivers is just appalling; I’m not surprised that you were treated to badly on a bike. I love the USA, but it can be a very odd place in many ways; familiar through language and culture, but quite alien in lots of other ways.

Your experience of Mexico and its citizens absolutely chimes with my own (in a much smaller way, of course). In 2014 I was doing quite a lot of international travel with work and many of the cities I visited were not as exotic or interesting as I hoped. Mexico City was the big exception; I expected a sort of third rate Los Angeles but it was one of the best places I have ever been to, and utterly different to Europe or the USA.

I had been in Sao Paolo a few weeks previously and didn’t enjoy the place at all; it felt ugly and unsafe at night. I I expected that Mexico City would feel the same, but in fact my wife and I walked all over the centre at night without ever feeling at risk. And everyone was super helpful; we would go back in a heartbeat.

Of course, it was very hard to square this with the savage butchery going on in many parts of the country. You wonder how such a friendly people can harbour so many horrors amongst themselves.

Looking forward to catching up on the rest of your travelogue!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Whoah!!!! @Dwn
Two days to get to CDMX?? I suggest you slow down!

I don't want to spoil the rest of your reading but CDMX does not disappoint!

Here's the funny thing about touring (at least for me), I'm struggling to recall any aggression in the US at this point. Or, to be a bit more accurate, I can recall some details, but there's precious little emotion. On the other hand, I have a vivid, warm recollection of a little Hispanic boy trying to give me some money outside a petrol station.
Only this morning I was thinking about the lady (ooops! forgot her name😊) who welcomed me into a campground after a really bleh day on the roads. She gave me dinner! And beer! Ah, you gotta love Texas!

As for the darker side of this great land, I'm working on something on paper. I'm no sociologist and can't claim to understand it. Conversation with people is still Covid limited. There are some desperately brutal events, some terribly sad and others that are beyond scary! I deliberately don't dwell on it for fear I'll never move again and don't write too much because some people are already worried enough.
Big lesson though, as you already know, is that we normally only get the bad news.

I think you've got your first tour coming up? Belgium, I think?
Be careful! That was my old stomping ground! You never know where the road will take you!

By the way, I highly recommend keeping a travelogue (publishing is up to you). It's a great way of keeping track of all the little details that otherwise get forgotten.

Thanks for the kind words and enjoy the rest! Slowly!

 

[cwskas]

I’ve driven a few times in the USA and it’s always struck me that the level of aggression from other drivers is just appalling; I’m not surprised that you were treated to badly on a bike. I love the USA, but it can be a very odd place in many ways; familiar through language and culture, but quite alien in lots of other ways.

According to Wikipedia the contiguous United States occupies an area of 8,080,464.3 km2 (3,119,884.69 sq mi).
Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi).
The 27 member states of the EU have a combined area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi).

From https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-to...formation/dimensions/australias-size-compared

My point is that when talking about any large area as an entity, it is so easy to miss the vast variation of people, topography and culture.

Willie

 

[Dwn]

Just reading about your dilemma on which way to go, given the continued prevalence of COVID-19. It’s difficult to see how countries will vaccinate a large proportion of their populations this year - unless they happens to be wealthy states. And I’m getting the sense that vaccinated countries are going to do an Australia / NZ and heavily restrict international arrivals for fear of new COVID variants.

Personally, I’d head for whatever seems most like home, since I don’t think South America is going to see mass vaccination until 2022 - at best. However, I also wouldn’t have been bold enough to head off on your tour in the first instance - so what do I know!

A tough decision for you, but I’m sure you’ll make the right one.

 

[IaninSheffield]

I made up my mind on one of the (many!) walks between the Immigration offices and home

May I refer my right honourable friend to the subtitle of his travelogue?

I have two basic options:
Back to Europe or continue.

Only two? Might there be some middle ground?

México, from what I can see is pretty open so I could move around here. That's still a risk though, riskier than my current lifestyle, and always the risk of lockdowns kicking back in.

How much more risky than being in the city?

I'm not thinking of going back to Europe yet.

A smart move!

I don't have anywhere I really want to go

Do you need to revisit why you set out on your Big Trip in the 1st place and to what extent those reasons are still valid? Maybe you've achieved many of the things you wanted ... and more? If there are still places you want to see, the possibility or likelihood that you'll be able to do, at least in the forseeable future, are sadly small. So what can you do that is manageable, achievable, fulfilling and mitigates risk? For example, could you (afford to) stay where you are, but do some small-scale, relatively local, short-duration touring? See (a little) more of Mexico, push your boundaries somewhat, gain new experiences/challenges, yet have the stability and safety net of a base to which you can return?

Going to Columbia, Ecuador, the Andes, or even Europe, don't really appear to be viable options (yet) so perhaps you just need to freshen things up and revitalise your touring desires to stave off the staleness for when things improve?

 

[Shadow]

Good post, Ian. Something along the lines of what I was thinking, more eloquently put!


HobbesOnTour said:
I don't have anywhere I really want to go

One of the main themes you often re-iterate while you have been in CDMX has been your desire not to follow the road you are on if you wanted to go up a side street, only to discover some other magic. Could you knot follow this own instinct of yours over a wider area, e.g. more of mexico, it is a large and diverse country by european standards or a journey back north into some of the lesser known states of the US or even further north into canada? (This last option is probably too far to go by bike because it would be time to head south again by the time you got there to avoid its impending winter!)

 

[HobbesOnTour]

May I refer my right honourable friend to the subtitle of his travelogue?

That made me laugh!
Thank you!

I do think getting back on the road is riskier. I'll have a lot more contact with people, for one, and I won't know where the nearest hospital/clinic is for another.
Now, whether that risk translates into real harm is another discussion.
(I'm not forgetting my potential to be a spreader either).

You're absolutely right, there is a middle ground and it's no harm to shake myself up and and ask the "why" question again. I have ticked off nearly everything on my (loosely organised) list. Perhaps that needs to be redone.

@Dwn , thanks for the positive words. On my bike there are no right and wrong decisions I'd do terrible damage to myself if was cycling along thinking about my wrong ones!

@Shadow thanks for pointing out the (very obvious) contradiction in my thought process!
You're right, of course, but on a day's rambling I always have the safety net of the apartment to come back to (when I eventually find it!) Loading up and rolling off "feels" different this time. It feels a lot more of a trip into the unknown than when I was leaving home.

It's interesting, a year ago the USA (and Canada eventually) were an option, but the idea barely popped its head up this time before I dismissed it. Sure, I'd go back to Texas in a heartbeat, but I can't drum up any enthusiasm for anywhere else.
In my original plan, the US and Canada were going to be big parts, I know the places to go, the general routes to take, but I can't drum up an ounce of enthusiasm for them. Rightly or wrongly, my focus is south.

And that's the troublesome word - focus.

I need to adjust my focus!

I'm off to give that a shot!

Thank you!

 

[rich p]

I don't know if you have underlying health conditions but what are the consequences of heading south in truth.
All right, you may get Covid and suffer badly from it!
Or you may not catch it if you're careful or lucky!
Or you may catch it and have something similar to a bad cold for a week!
The latter is what happened to me, by the way, and is the most likely consequence.
Take a punt?

 

[Dwn]

I’m not sure that I’d worry about catching COVID-19, since for most under 70’s it isn’t too bad. My worry would be another health issue or an accident happening in a place where the local health systems were in disarray because of the high incidence of COVID cases. And not sure about border closures as you work your way south. A horrible cliche, but no easy answers

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I don't know if you have underlying health conditions but what are the consequences of heading south in truth.
All right, you may get Covid and suffer badly from it!
Or you may not catch it if you're careful or lucky!
Or you may catch it and have something similar to a bad cold for a week!
The latter is what happened to me, by the way, and is the most likely consequence.
Take a punt?

I can understand the instinct to just hop on the bike and ride off…..
But here are some of the things I'm weighing up;

While I am reasonably confident that Covid may not be fatal for me, any (non Covid) event involving medical care is a whole lot more complicated;
A dose of "long covid" scuppers everything;

I am not in my natural environment. Temperatures this weekend are due to hit 45C. If I go to Colombia and continue south, after a few weeks I climb to 3500 meters and pretty much stay there for a few months with occasional dips and peaks above 4000 meters. I'm not a medic, but even a "mild" dose at those heights can't be pleasant;

I'd imagine there's a difference between suffering a dose at home and in a strange country, possibly on the side of the road. A sweating, coughing, foreign cyclist may not get the greatest of welcomes.
(Peru, a country of great heights has one of the highest per capita death rates.)

There's logistics too. In a constantly changing situation it's important to stay on top of news. Crossing in to a "no travel" state could annul my insurance. Because my current policy predated Covid I have pretty good coverage, but I do have to be careful. And I will need new coverage shortly. New policy, new rules.And staying up to date in a (still) foreign language? Not the easiest.
Throw into the mix the fact that I will most likely have to pay up front for any medical treatment (then claim from insurance), and the fact that oxygen cylinders, as an example, are in such short supply that people have to pay large amounts as a deposit simply "having" insurance may not be such an advantage.

Crossing borders has become tricky. Ignoring the increased criminality inspired by border closures, rules about vaccines/quarantine/tests can be changeable. Currently the Belize & Guatemala borders are closed to all but essential traffic. Sure, I might be able to bribe my way across, but pay for it at the next border.

Finally, there is the general security situation. All over these parts criminality has surged in the past 12 months. Cartels have used the desperation of people to expand territory, more desperate people flee for the border. (I'm not necessarily talking about the US border. México is doing huge work with people surging up from Central America, Colombia is making similar efforts with people fleeing Venezuela. These are stories barely mentioned in mainstream European/US media).
Very simply, those who made their living robbing travellers (mainly in RVs) have a much smaller market these days. A cyclist may not have been worth the risk or effort before, but now who knows?
Or, if before, 1 out of 100 touring cyclists got mugged (or worse) what are the odds now with practically none on the roads?
And a lot more people are a lot more desperate than before. Two hurricanes and disastrous flooding last year have left many, many people in Central America, Guatemala especially, in circumstances I can't even imagine. Ditto Venezuela, Ecuador & Peru. I'm well aware of horror stories from the last two.

Colombia did seem the safest bet. No real security risk until the south (although that can change quickly. Anyone know that the Colombian Government is dropping bombs in its own country?)
Up to three months (possibly extended) before crossing a border, at least two large cities en route, well connected, for bail out options. Weather that won't kill me.
But an effective dead end at the Ecuadorian border.

Apart from all that, there is the possibility that I could carry the virus and spread it, not something that sits well with me.

Finally, what would the touring be like? After a year (365 days today!) of teaching myself Spanish I can think of few crueler fates than being shunned or avoided on my journey.

However, latest news today is that it may be possible to buy a vaccine in México from the middle of the year.
Negotiations have taken place, terms are being trashed out - the first movement since the first week of February.
Given that time here is much less precise, even later in the year still leaves some options open.

Thanks for making me set it all out.

 

[IaninSheffield]

I particularly enjoyed this mural on a (double) garage door

I'd have that on my garage door!

 

[cwskas]

this is México - normal rules don't apply.
Maybe I'm being conned by most of the people all of the time, but I really don't think so. There's a genuineness here that is not common.

For a place with next to nothing this restaurant has got atmosphere.

Your last post really brings back memories.

Willie

 

[Dwn]

According to Wikipedia the contiguous United States occupies an area of 8,080,464.3 km2 (3,119,884.69 sq mi).
Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi).
The 27 member states of the EU have a combined area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi).

From https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-to...formation/dimensions/australias-size-compared

View attachment 579743

My point is that when talking about any large area as an entity, it is so easy to miss the vast variation of people, topography and culture.

Willie

That’s a fair point - my driving in the USA has been on the west coast, so it may be pretty unrepresentative. And even within that, LA was definitely a worse place to drive than San Francisco (in my limited experience).

For what it’s worth, even in the UK there are quite big variations regionally in terms of driver courtesy.

 

[IaninSheffield]

Pass up a chance for some doggy time? Not me!

If I remember rightly, podcasts aren't your thing, but Episode 201 of 'You Are Not So Smart' involved an extended interview with Kate Leaver, the author of 'Good Dog'. The interview - and presumably the book - involved a number of incredibly touching stories which perhaps go some way towards explaining our desire canine connections and companionship.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

If I remember rightly, podcasts aren't your thing, but Episode 201 of 'You Are Not So Smart' involved an extended interview with Kate Leaver, the author of 'Good Dog'. The interview - and presumably the book - involved a number of incredibly touching stories which perhaps go some way towards explaining our desire canine connections and companionship.

Thanks Ian.
I tried to listen last night but I fell asleep😊
I'll try again tonight!