11/25 Amazing scenery today. There was a nice long climb to start the day but it wasn’t too steep. Hit a small landslide where I had to hang out for 20 minutes until they took a break from clearing the road and let everyone through. Up at the top the views back down into the valley and even up into the higher elevations were spectacular. There was a place overlooking the Tunel de la Llana that was my favorite spot since Mexico.
The tunnel was kind of exciting. I waited until a semi went through and then rode like hell before anyone else came along. It was almost pitch black inside and maybe 200 meters long but the road was in good shape so it didn’t take too long.
Spent last night in the town of El Remolino. The place I stayed started off OK but when I turned on the shower the water came out brown. I ran it for 5 minutes and it cleared up a little but I used my water bottle when it came time to brush my teeth. The kid (14) that gave me the room wasn’t too concerned when I showed him in the morning. He ran it for a few minutes and said it was OK. It was the big hotel with the lit up sign for anyone passing through looking for brown water.
In need of actual drinking water before leaving, I ran over to a store to grab some. The guy running the place said good morning and then asked if my necklace was gold. What the hell is wrong with people? I know he wasn’t asking because he was planning on robbing me and he probably wasn’t intending to make me feel bad but this whole Latin American thing about asking gringos how much their stuff is worth is annoying. If it’s not my necklace it’s my GPS or my bike or someone wanting to know how I can afford to travel for so long.
This must be a common thing Americans complain about because there’s an iTouch App called Cultures and under Communication Style for the United States (and only the US which is odd…) asking how much something is worth is a no no because it’s considered rude and makes us uncomfortable. To me though it’s just common sense. Obviously a couple of the things I have are expensive. Obviously I’m from a country where the GDP is much higher than here. Obviously if I tell you that my bike is worth as much as you make in 6 months I’m going to feel like an ass. So what’s the point of asking?
At 1:30pm I was at my planned stop for the day but was really itching to keep going. The problem was the next place to stay was up hill for 9 miles (and another 2800 feet), there was a wicked headwind coming down the valley and rain was only a couple hours away. There’s no town here–just a little motel next to a gas station. Dinner will be Mountain House freeze-dried something-or-another tonight because there’s no restaurant and the little store just has chips and beer. Can’t wait until Florida where I’ll be able to get a working stove again. Except for the dozen little unidentified bugs in the room it’s not half bad for $5 but I think I’m going to pitch my tent on the floor and sleep in that.
Update: OK, so the lady that runs the motel came over and offered me a plate of food and charged next to nothing for it. I guess she thought I’d be going hungry tonight. Why do people have to be nice when I’m bitching?
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