25 May, 2017

Recalculating

Since Friday I have been on forced free time, so I have decided to write something. But, where to begin? It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. Should I start from the beginning or from the end?

Write thoughts on the blog? Do people really read the blog? This is a question I ask myself many times: Is anyone interested in what I write? Or do they just go into the web to see the photos? Or not even that?

Should I start by telling what happened and then explain? Should I explain and create some suspense?

Should I tell that I had an accident?

I have a theory that in my case it has come true almost like a prophecy. I’ve always said that if you travel for 15 days or a month, you go back home and you write a book. If you travel for three months, you can barely write an article for a travel magazine with some recommendations and tips. But, if you travel for a year, you don’t know what to write about. Although I have been completing my paper journal, which works as a faithful log-book of the journey, I was still unable to think about what to write about.

The truth is I have been somewhat stuck this past month not knowing what to write about. Although I wanted to write something about the 2^nd anniversary of the journey, I didn’t find anything I could put down in text solidly. I was also in bed for four days, feverish, so I thought that it was neither glamorous nor very adventure-like to write from bed.

You can blame me for being too romantic but I thought I would be writing from the feet of a volcano in the east of Java. You know those idyllic dreams that we make to ourselves and that never happen exactly as we imagined them.

Although the written posts have been more sparse between each other, I do keep routinely posting photos. The only reason I haven’t uploaded anything new this month is that I have the 2^nd year commemoration posters placed there that will help me add some funds to the piggy bank for Australia.

To the point then: I’ve had an accident with Athena. Between both of us, Athena got the worst hit. While I, luckily, only have a bit of road rash on my arm, Athena is at the mechanic and our plans on hold.

I have come to the conclusion, and I do not say this is always the case, that for some, the respect and attention they give to others on the road can be directly proportional to the amount of power and number of wheels they drive. I don’t know why this is but I believe that some believe that driving is a game and they are not in danger while doing so.

It all happen as I was on my way to get a ferry ticket to go the island of Sulawesi. I was riding on an avenue, the type that have trees line up in the middle, when a car advanced at a crossing without looking. The worst part is that the driver got scared when she saw me coming and braked, leaving he vehicle almost in the middle of the road.

With not enough distance to manoeuvre around, and with the trees as the other option, my escape tactic was truncated. As I tried to brake, I hit the backside of the vehicle. Athena’s front was badly damaged.

Now, thanks to fellow biker friends in Indonesia, Athena is at a mechanic being repaired. At the time of writing this I do not know the extent of the damage or the time it’ll take for us to hit the road again. I am hoping that my plans will not suffer a drastic change.

Today, besides writing, I have looked back at my notes. This month, while I was riding through Java in Indonesia and having in mind that I was going rather slow; I was working out numbers, calculating distances, days left, savings, possible income and costs of sending Athena to Chile so I know what my options are on the journey. This allows me to plan, improvise and make decisions on how the journey can develop and take decisions as to where to send Athena from.

So, just like when you miss the GPS directions, a voice is heard saying: recalculating.