“Are you
alone (solita)?” The aging man´s face wrinkles into the mid morning glare. The
scent of fresh daily bread fills the shop. The man raises his hand and begins
to wag his index finger in disapproval. Like
an itch I can not scratch people here in Chile asking me if I am alone has
reached epidemic proportions.
“You know…”,
I mumble to myself as I look away and down at my wrist. It is empty of an
actual watch but a great focal point to spend the passing seconds in silence
and muffle my sarcastic outburst.
“… I prefer my daily lecture after my coffee, what
time is it, (que es horar)?” I chuckle to myself as I look up at the man. His
wife, who is standing next to him, is now listening and curious. She adjusts her
black faux leather shoulder bag. Her tight skinny jeans are tucked neatly into
her brown shiny ankle boots.
“I am
originally from Canada but I had been living in Alaska… in a town named Machismo”
I say for I really cannot help myself. My warm bread bag dangles on my wrist. This
will not be my first lecture but it might be his I chuckle to myself. I wonder if knocking people in the head with bags of warm bread is appropriate here? I laugh to myself
“Umm, umm, umm… sorry?..umm….I am riding my
bicyce around the world. When I reach La Serena, Chile on the coast it will be the
official westerly point of me riding across the world in a western direction”
The wife
is now grinnin, a sisterly comederia and energy that quickly melts all language
barrier has formed between us.
“How old
are you?” She says (in spanish).
“I turned
41 last month, there are lots of women like me on the WOW(Women On Wheels) Wall” I say
The women is standing behind her husbands shoulder. She is grinning over the shoulder of
his blue and white stripped polo shirt grinning at me. He is standing there
waging his index finger as the scent of girl power permeates the walls of the olfractory
rich bread shop.
She steps forward around her husband, and with a gentle nudge positions herself slightly
in front of him.
“Congratualations”
She says in english as her husband rolls his eyes, I crack a huge smile and
instantly realize that this one woman easily makes up for all my chilean
lectures about being alone.
“Congratulations
to you too, thank you, you have truly just made my day.”
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| Photo from Ireland 4 Years Ago when it all began |
I made it to the coast yesterday with a face full of tears at La Serena, Chile the official westerly mark of me cycling west across the world. 4 years ago, I had never cycled anywhere. This is my first bicycle tour..who would of thunk it? I will cycle north from here, check the right side bar of this website for daily updates. My aplogies for the lack of posts and photos lately, my laptop giggled to death on the bicycle so I am mostly communicating daily/bi-daily through my smart phone.
(Photo from Ireland 4 Years Ago when it all began)
(Photo from Ireland 4 Years Ago when it all began)
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5 comments:
amazing post Loretta, it shows that its you VS the stuck perceptions of the world at large, yet how one person as you say can give a final better impression of it all
Enjoy you trip, we follow you closely. You just entered a land I want to know morea bout, especially how safe is it for women but also its culture.
4 years and still rocking along I luv your posts as they make me laugh you do have a way with words ,keep smiling hugs from Australia.
Well done. Very impressive. Its great to hear the updates. Keep your chin up and never let anything bring you down for long. :)
"All things pass"...keep rollin' love!
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