Nomad just lost in place

After an enjoyable train ride where I spent the whole time engaged in conversation with someone born in Tolosa, which happened to be where I inadvertently made a stop on my last trip to Spain, I found myself in Pamplona. A short walk led me to a beautiful hotel and being tired and hungry, I decided that this would do. Once satisfied with accommodations and dinner, I ventured-out to explore the old town of Pamplona, even though by now it was 10 pm. Of course I lost my way, but that’s part of the excitement of traveling. Today I returned to  and wandered among the narrow streets and alleyways, just trying to absorb as much as possible. It seems a bit more difficult finding folks that speak English as well as in Barcelona, but that enables me to practice my Spanish. I have to say that Spain is quite the modern country and appears to be very ecologically minded. As much as there is to see here, tomorrow I plan to leave to journey by foot toward the western side of the country. And hoping to stay slightly ahead of the changing weather, I will have to use my remaining time well in Pamplona, and that’s no BULL.

Well, after what seemed like forever, I finally made it to Spain. I’d been planning this trip for a couple of years and so far it has been worth the wait. Since I’d been here before I found myself familiar with the airport as well as connections to downtown Barcelona. Surprisingly, I have not experienced any of the symptoms of jet-lag. The media states that unemployment in Spain is around 20% but I’ve seen no indications of this.
Yesterday was spent roaming the areas around the old district, which included La Rambla, characteriized by all of the old structures and modern shops mixed together and the Barri Gotic, which happens to be one of my favorite areas. But my number one is with out a doubt the La Boqueria Market right off La Rambla. A hugh outdoor market that has pretty much anything related to food that one wishes. Having said that, I believe I will head there now.

Darn! Is it 2 months already? Here I sit kind of bumbed since it is almost time to leave. My backpack is all stuffed and waiting for me to pick it up. I am doing my last sightseeing around Quito and the time seems to be flying by. I can say that I have had a super time here in South America. I have met the most interesting people from all over the world. My only regrets are that I stayed in some places a little longer because I was enjoying them so much, which meant that there were some things that I had to skip. I would have loved to do a jungle tour and even more I found out only yesterday about an animal rescue organization that is about an hour from Quito where I would have liked to volunteer for awhile. Since starting my trip and especially after going to the cloud forest, I have been more aware of the need to get involved in trying to have a positive impact as far as the abuse of wildlife is concerned. There is a bit of a problem with people capturing the wildlife for pets or to ship out of the country, but also this facility has these beautiful creatures that were used as entertainment and just plain abused. I managed to see some photos of several macaws that were removed from the nest and are now not able to be released back into the wild. Also, a Jaguar blinded by someone using a cigarette who will never know what its real home is supposed to look like. So, I guess I can say that this trip has been much more than just adventure travel. It has also had a lasting effect in a number of other ways. Hopefully, I can look to the future as a chance to contribute in some way, if not with my time, maybe some other way. But for now I suppose I will head back to the US and see what the next couple of months have in store for me. My next post will be from home.

Just a short note to test my blog.

Tuesday I left for Bellavista Reserve. It was already nice as far as the weather in Quito. It took maybe an hour and a half to arrive at the lodge. At about 4500ft. the weather changed to mist with clouds surrounding the entire area. The lodge is built in what looks like jungle to me ,but is actually a cloud forest. I had a comfortable room with hummingbird feeders on my balcony that were already getting activity. Outside of that I could see nothing but forest. My first day was spent hiking out to view the avian activity ,which included going to a hummingbird sactuary where not only were there maybe hundreds of hummingbirds, but also some parrots as well. The next morning we were up at 4am. for the trip to an area where it was necessary to hike down in the forest to get sight of the national bird of Ecuador, which is called The Cock of the Rock. This majestic creature is mostly crimson with a beautiful crest and is somewhat difficult to spot. I managed to see 3 of them. I am glad it was worthwhile since the trail was very slippery and dark and any mistake along the way meant a nasty slide down into the forest below. The dining area of the lodge had a 360 degree view and the food was excellent. The last day was spent on an early morning hike during which I saw a Tucan among the vast number of hummingbirds again. I got to see the smallest one I have ever laid eyes on. We had an excellent guide by the name of Gabriel who was not only extremely knowledgeble but very patient and willing to answer any questions we had. Everyone seemed commited to the preservation of the forest and wildlife that lived there. I could not help coming away with more of a concern for the damage being done by the destruction of the habitat not only here but all over the world. I can only say that this trip has become somewhat of an eye-opener for me. Now I get to spend my last days here in Quito and hope to relax and digest all of the sights and information I have been exposed to the last 2 months. The people I have met along the way have been a bonus and always seem to be a hugh plus in my experience. Now it is time to sign-off and blend into the city life. Here it is, Saturday, and I decided to go to Otavalo, which is a town about 2 hrs. north of Quito to visit the largest outdoor market in Ecuador with some people I met at the hostel. This is something I wanted to do for quite a while and what better time than right before I leave.As usual, the bus ride was an adventure in itself. The market spans about 10 square blocks with everything one could hope to find. I managed to get a couple of things,but just enjoyed walking around and also having a nice lunch. I find myself making the most of my remaining time here. Two months seem to have flown by, but the image in the rear view mirror always seems smaller than what is ahead. I know I must have mentioned it before, but the view of Quito from my hostel reminds me of San Francisco and the weather is very similar as well. I guess it is like a little bit of home while far away. Anyway, Time to get out of this chair and sample more of Ecuador.

Well, just wanted to stay current on my posting. Thought I’d write a short post to get back in practice, since it’s been quite a while. I’m sitting here reading the latest blogs as I have done frequently the past several weeks. It has been several months since my last trip, but I’m gearing-up for my return to Europe. Of course, the planning is part of the fun. But until I actually walk out the door, ticket in hand, this has to be my escape.

As it turns out, the Peace Corps is a no go for now. Quite possibly, I will have another shot in the future, but at this time I’m locked into Plan “B”. I’ve decided that since I love to travel and have a passion for bicycling as well, the next step should be to combine the two and do a North American tour on two wheels. I have been planning this for a a number of months because I always try to have a back-up. I have the touring bike and all related equipment and hope to pull anchor around the middle of July, which is a bit later than I would have liked to start, but since I was at the mercy of the government, it’s necessary to accept the time frame and just do it. Having done a backpacking trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic, which was back in the 70’s, I feel somewhat familiar with the concept. This seems ( the bike trip ) to offer a little more flexibility on where I am able to go. I’ve checked other sites ( related to bike touring ) that offer blogs by members , but I prefer BnA, and plan to use this as I go. Now comes the most difficult part, waiting until I can ride away on a new adventure.

Here it is, 3 months since I’ve returned from South America and I’m stiil waiting to see whether or not I will be headed to Africa with the Peace Corps. I’ll admit, I was never good at waiting on something that may or may not happen.  It’s one thing to  wait for transportation that  is slow but you know will eventually  arrive. But I can say that this is quite annoying. I’ve decided on a plan “B” if my trip to Africa does not workout. All I can state at this time is that it will involve travelling again.  My belongings are so few that I will be able to leave in an unbelievably short time. The last sentence translates into how liberated I’ve become. Whenever I pass a gas station, I know that the best thing I ever did, aside from casting off the ball and chain which was my career, was to sell my automobile. I’ve realized that instead of basing my success on what I can consume, I now define success on how little I need to live a happy existence. But I digress. I feel that there are many places I wish to explore before I am unable to. And since travelling seems to be my first love I will embark on another journey as soon as I am able, either with the aformentioned P.C. or as a nomad just like my heading implies. Since I am currently in the local library I will now venture to the travel section to digest some information and to dream about my next adventure.