After my adventures in Cocuy I was looking forward to some calm and relaxing days of riding to Venezuela… this of course was not meant to be. I think so far peace has been the hardest thing to find on my journey, as its occurrence is rarer than any other single element.The day before leaving Read More …
Author: tolchinsky
54. 12-31-13: Adventures in Cocuy
After Villa de Leyva and the wonderful pre-Christmas volunteering, I was overwhelmed by the constant presence of people. I could not remember the last time I had actually been by myself, and so I decided a few days alone in the mountains was just what I needed. And though I was surrounded by wilderness on Read More …
53. 12-25-13: Christmas Colombia Style
After giving up the job search in Medellin I made my way to Bogota to search in the bigger market. There I met Catalina and her family and was thrown head first into the novena period before Christmas. For 9 days before, and including, Christmas Eve, people go from house to house of their friends Read More …
52. 12-1-13: Down to Fumes
Medellin is an entire world contained, like so many South American cities, in lovely valley. It has some of the poorest and most dangerous barrios in the world, as well as fantastically wealthy people (on the scale of Pablo Escobar). There is plenty to draw in the tourists – the incredible women, the music and Read More …
51. 11-20-13: Colombia – First Steps
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I am where I am. Not so many years ago the world was a dream – the world beyond the U.S and Europe and Israel. But now it is revealing itself, one country at a time. I remember dreaming of Colombia without actually considering how or when I would Read More …
50. Counting Blessings
I feel the stiffness and soreness in my hands, my neck, my back… I feel the bruises on my legs, my hip, my elbow, my ass… I look at a torn apart Georgia, and my torn jacket and pants and broken helmet… I think back on the cold, the wind, the thin air, the shitty Read More …
49. The Crash – Peru
The Crash – 2 I wasn’t looking for adventure, just the highway. I left Yauri, half way between Cusco and Arequipa, with the idea that I would be in Arequipa in time for lunch. I had gotten off a nice paved road to spend the night in Yauri, and for the life of me could Read More …
48. 11-1-13: Life on the High Seas
Panama City A month in the states went a long way to my ultimate recovery from dengue. I was a few pounds heavier from my mom’s cooking, and my soul was satisfied with nights of jazz bars and the New York Philharmonic. I flew back to my Costa Rican family, fixed the clutch cable and Read More …
47. 8-1-13: Nicaragua/Costa Rica
Circumference of the World Nicaragua was only the 8th country on my journey, but it had taken 2 years and 40,015km (the circumference of the earth) to get there. As El Salvador and Honduras before, Nicaragua proved to have little to offer which could not be found in Mexico or Guatemala. After leaving Read More …
Poetry: Scent of a Woman
Gliding through valleys, around fields, up and down hills covered with wild flowers, I am engulfed in the scent of nature. When coffee trees bloom, their tangy smell overpowers me; when through strawberry fields I ride, the sweetness of the fruit penetrates to my very first memory of eating it. The salty sulfur of the Read More …