This is great, now let’s get outta here

Buenos Aires is fantastic, just like I remembered it. Great food, fantastic wine, cultured and relatively clean. But I’m ready to get outta here. It’s been two months. And I keep hearing that Townes van Zandt line in my mind…”there ain’t no prettier site than looking back on a town you left behind.”

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with BsAs mind you. I’m just ready to move on. I kinda got the same point in Medellin after being there for a month, but it was kinda different. The ladies at the lavenderia learned how to pronounce and spell my name, that to means that I’ve been here way to long.

The cool thing about traveling is that you are constantly forced to deal with a new and uncomfortable situation. It forces you to adapt. And every new experience changes the person you are, even by just sitting back and observing you affect change on yourself and the world around you. And yes that’s all true without traveling, but not to the same magnitude.

And Buenos Aires has just kinda become comfortable, a little more so than is desirable. Bolivia sounds like another world entirely, and that appeals to me. It sounds not at all comfortable and that kinda excites me. Plus Bolivia has this feel of being of the beaten path, which always captures my attention.

I’ve already figured out the combination of long-distance busses I could take to get to the border. And about ½ dozen different routes from there. All that’s left is start the journey and the clock is at one week and counting and I can’t wait. The regrouping is over, I’ve had enough structure, it’s time to start moving again.

After Bolivia things get thrown up in the air again, just where I like them. I’ve got two months to get to Ecuador to meet up with my sisters. And the various options are racing through my mind. and I love pondering the possibilities. Someplace new and uncharted, go visit friends I’ve met along the way, or back to somewhere I’ve been to tie up some loose ends?

There’s something about just looking at a map that fascinates me in a way few other things can. Looking at a map is like living in some fantasy world, where you can dream about what awaits you in every little dot and what lines will take you to what adventures.

I’ve had a lot of fellow traveler’s I’ve met on the road tell me the four month mark is key. It’s when the homesickness really starts to hit. And it’s true, mostly because I miss my nephews…and thai food. Not to mention the sushi I’ve had in South America has well, left me wanting. But I’m not heading home for a bit. I’ve got unfinished businesses scattered throughout Latin America.