Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Being Robbed In Peru

On January 26, 2013 in the city of Chimbote in northern Peru I had been riding with a Polish cycling couple for a couple of days and we were taking a "shortcut" to get back on the Pan American Highway from the city center. We unknowingly entered a bad neighborhood which was only five blocks from the police station and the main square (Plaza de Armas-the central area of all activity).

As we rode into the neighborhood two different taxi drivers signaled to us as if they were telling us to get out of the way but we thought it was because we were going the wrong way on a one way street (not something I do often but it was a super slow street). We even mentioned to each other how weird it was that they were making such a big deal about it since people go the wrong way on one way streets all the time in South America and this street was for sure wide enough and dead slow! In hindsight we realized that they had been signaling us to get out of that neighborhood, to turn around.

I had seen a guy running fast towards me from about 100 feet away. I didn’t know what he was running for until it became apparent as he got closer and I could see he had his eyes locked on me. I reached for my pepper spray which I kept in the outside net pocket of my handlebar bag but it was too late by then. The first assailant ran up and grabbed at my handlebar bag which caused me and Tankita (my bike) to be knocked down. I got up, and while I straddled Tankita, my entire handlebar bag was ripped off of its mounted holder and thrown off to the side.  I managed to hold onto the top map case and map which subsequently ripped away from the handlebar bag while I was struggling to keep the handlebar bag from being taken. I never thought the handlebar bag would release so easily from its mount from just being pulled hard.

The assailant then tried to grab more things like my GPS (hidden under a duck hand puppet made to look like a mascot) but he could not free that as it was attached to a mount and also looped around the handlebars by the strap. I don’t know if he even knew what he was grabbing, he probably just knew that cyclists kept things like that on their handlebars. He then started grabbing at the front pannier (fancy name for a bicycle bag) on the side of the bike that was face up. He couldn’t get a good hold on it fortunately because the quick release handle was tucked under the rain covers which I keep on them all the time to keep them clean. I fought with him punching him, albeit like a girl, but still with force and anger while yelling “no” and screaming obscenities at him and telling him to get the %$!* away from me and calling him a mother f%$!*er and such!! Aldona later said she didn’t know that I was being robbed at first she just all of a sudden heard me yelling obscenities and looked at me at about the time the other assailants got to her and then Marek.  

While I was fighting with the assailant I could see my handlebar bag a mere ten feet away from me where he had thrown it after he ripped it off my handlebars.  I kept everything important in that bag because it was the one thing that never left my sight. When I stopped somewhere I took the handlebar bag with me and it doubled as a backpack on my days off the bike. Because the bag could be transformed into a backpack it had all kinds of secret hiding places and I had money hidden in there. I had recently gone to the ATM to get money to cover the distance where I would be without such banking services so all that local currency and some USD dollars were in that bag. My passport and everything else important like my camera (fortunately I had backed up my photos the night before), credit  and debit cards, phone, journal, among other minor things like my head lamp, purse, riding gloves (I didn’t have them on at the time), and reading glasses were taken in one swoop.  I wanted to go and recover the bag so badly but I could not leave my bike because by now two guys were trying to loosen my front pannier. If I left Tankita I am sure they would have taken her and everything on her.

I managed to save my front panniers because I fought for them with everything I had but I guess a person is never supposed to fight like that and is supposed to just give up what a robber wants but I didn’t think of that, it was just instinct to fight someone trying to grab my stuff. Plus the assailants never tried to strike any of us even when we were striking them. At one point one guy was trying to take Marek’s stuff and Aldona, having lost all her easily grabbed stuff already, had joined Marek in the fight to fend off that assailant; even then the assailants never fought back.

Finally, the assailants just gave up and ran off with what they had managed to rip off of the bikes; which was plenty! I imagined the guy opening up my handlebar bag and realizing he hit the mother lode.

Aldona lost her handlebar bag and both front panniers when they easily "quick released." The attempt made on Marek's handlebar bag failed but he lost the camera that fell out in the scuffle. Neither Marek nor Aldona lost their passports because their passports were hidden in panniers which were more difficult in which to "grab and go."

Because of the high value of our things and the amount of money that was lost as well, we were passed higher up from the normal theft office to the First Commissioner, Victor Uceda Irribarren to handle our investigation/report. We struggled to explain everything in Spanish and then Victor’s daughter Lucero was called in to translate for us. 

After we gave our reports we had asked the police if there was a way to look around the pawn shops or some type of a place that sold stolen stuff. They answered that there was not such a place. We asked if there was a chance that maybe some insignificant/personal things would be thrown in a trash dumpster in the neighborhood. Because of this, and because we wanted to show them where the crime took place, they agreed to take us to the neighborhood. I began to think it wasn’t such a good idea when we loaded up in two police pick-up trucks with four fully armored police men in the back of each and the commissioner, Victor, his daughter Lucero and several other cops inside the trucks. The police carried full-on shotguns and wore bullet-proof vests. We proceeded to the neighborhood with me directing the location and once there all the police unloaded from the trucks and took position while Victor went and knocked at the door of one of the homes closest to the corner where  the robbery took place. I didn't like how this could go down. I immediately requested the open truck windows to be closed so that no one could see me inside. The neighborhood was still very busy with lots of people straggling around. At least seven people in the neighborhood watched the entire time we were being accosted and they did nothing and later would not help the police identify who had accosted us. The typical case of "I didn't see anything." The police said that this neighborhood was real tight with each other and they were all bad! In a news article written about the robbery (included below) the neighborhood was identified as “La Selva” in English “The Jungle.”

I don’t know what Victor said to any of the people in this neighborhood but all of a sudden someone fled out of one of the houses and began running away and the police gave chase. The truck I was in moved around a bit to position better and Lucero started to get very nervous for her father because she could no longer see where he was and because he was the only one out there not wearing a bullet-proof vest.  The folks in the neighborhood started to get very agitated and some threw rocks at the other police truck which held Marek and Aldona. That truck then left the neighborhood and I think it was because of the people getting worked up about Marek and Aldona (the accusers) being in the truck because their windows were down and they could be seen from outside.

Nothing was accomplished at that “raid” and it was much more harrowing of an experience than the assault itself. During the assault I was not scared, just angry, very angry. But during this little visit to the neighborhood I was definitely apprehensive (not scared, I’m never scared-smile).

We had mentioned to the police that none of the cyclist specific stuff was of any use to any Peruvians and therefore had no value to the thieves but was extremely valuable to Marek and Aldona. Apparently the police put the pressure on the neighborhood to turn over those invaluable things of ours (which for me wasn't much). Later that day, a policeman walked into the station with Aldona’s handlebar bag and both her side panniers. Inside of her panniers was their water filter, stove, and a few random other loose things including oddly enough my debit card, one of my sunglass lenses (second set for low light riding), one of my riding gloves, and my toothbrush; it was just plain random and weird! Pretty much only the food that had been in Aldona’s panniers was missing. Although most of Marek and Aldona’s stuff was recovered, their camera was not recovered but they said it was old and not of high value anyway (unlike mine). No one in the neighborhood was turning in anyone so the police could not catch the assailants but other members of the neighborhood could say that stuff was "found" strewn around. 

In a day or so I checked back at the police station and I asked Victor if he could somehow offer a reward for the return of my passport. The loss of my passport meant that I would have to return to Lima (255 miles/425 km away), apply for a new one, wait maybe two weeks, and hope that they give me a replacement passport instead of just one to get me home to the USA. I have heard of some embassies issuing a temporary travel passport that can only be used to transit home but not to travel on further. I told Victor I didn't care about anything else but would give $100 for the return of the passport. He responded through Lucero’s translation that he couldn't really do that as it would be bad for the police to condone that (or something like that) but we went again to the neighborhood anyway. This time it was just Victor, one other cop, and I in a taxi. Victor talked to a guy on the street who referred him to another guy whom he then talked to and then we left. I don’t know what was said but when my passport and journal was recovered the next evening Victor and Lucero delivered it to me personally at my hostel, I was so happy I was crying. Victor refused the $100 saying it was not necessary and then they took me out for a fruit shake! 

The police in Peru are notorious for being corrupt but I sincerely feel at least Victor was on the up and up. Victor and Lucero were both very helpful through all of this and Lucero doesn't even work for the police so she had come to the station on her own time. When all of us cyclists decided to leave town by bus Victor arranged the tickets (free) and arranged for us and our bikes to be transported to the bus station in two police trucks.

Of course I was kicking myself after the robbery for having everything important in one bag. But that seemed like the safest place at the time. I had not really anticipated this kind of robbery and I never thought the bag would come off the handlebar mount so easily. I had actually anticipated being robbed at knife point or worse and having an assailant make me give him things out of the bag. I figured that I could empty the whole bag in front of him and he should be satisfied with seeing an empty bag and not knowing of the other place where my money belt was hidden. I played the robbery over and over in my head wondering what I could have done differently. 

Peru is notorious for thefts/robberies. Lucero told me she has had at least three cell phones ripped out of her hands and stolen. Nadia had told me that someone once tried to rip both of her earrings out of her ears from behind but she saved them by grabbing them in time. There is no perfect way to be completely safe but I have taken some additional precautions since the robbery.  I now keep my passport along with some money and a debit card on my person again (as I had stopped doing that halfway through Chile because it was too friggin' hot to wear a money belt). I have always had a photograph of my photo page of my passport but I have since photographed each of my passport pages too because they are good memory/souvenir stamps and I would have been sad to have lost those. I attach the photos to an email to myself and update it each time I get new stamps. I have done that with each journal page as well. And I have now figured out a way to use a cable lock to lock the front panniers to my pannier rack to at least protect against this type of theft again.
 

I was discombobulated after the robbery. I had to figure out where to put the things I would normally have easy access to in my handlebar bag. It is like being used to having pockets or a purse and then going without. I had to repurchase a lot of little things as well as a new camera. I had to construct a “pouch” in which to attach my passport to my body because money belts weren't something I saw for sale in Peru. I no longer had my pepper spray but Aldona and Marek very graciously gave me one of their two pepper sprays which I made an attachment for so I could keep it on my person at my hip from that point forward.

My first night of walking outside alone after the robbery I was pretty tense. I looked at people in a different more suspicious way. Although I have always been cautious when walking around I felt like I needed to be more so. It crossed my mind that the raid of the neighborhood earlier that day would make the assailants angry at us and therefore a target for possibly a personal assault.

After spending a couple of days at the Ecuadorian border Jorge, a Swiss cyclist we had met after the robbery and one who took the bus with us, rode with me for about a day and a half while the Polish couple stayed behind for a couple of extra rest days. I felt a little comfort in having Jorge ride with me but it was obvious I was holding him up as he liked riding much faster. I knew I had to eventually get on the road by myself again so I told Jorge to ride on without me. For probably about two weeks I was very suspicious about people in general and I hated feeling like that, I hated not trusting anyone. I finally got over it and began to relax some more and I got back to normal.

I believe the robbery happened for a reason. In 25 years of traveling overseas in 50+ countries I have only had a traveler's check stolen once from a hotel room and nothing more. Maybe there was something further along in the trip that would have been more dangerous for me had I not experienced the robbery and subsequently "amped" up my awareness and precautions for theft and worse. Because of the heightened awareness I will avoid the other worse things . In the end it was only things I lost, there was no violence (except me punching them). It could have been a lot worse. I look at it kind of like the time I was attacked by Tigre' the ocelot I was caring for in Bolivia on another trip. She attacked me on the first day which showed me how potentially dangerous she was. That was a lesson I needed to learn in order to respect her and not get hurt worse. This robbery was perhaps a lesson I had to learn before anything worse happened.

The following are the photos of my time in Peru from my return to Lima (from the break in the USA) until the robbery. 

At Rico's and Nadia's place, I went through all my stuff and cleaned everything and prepared to roll on. Can you believe all of this fits on Tankita???

Rico and Nadia took me out to a traditional Peruvian dinner which included a nice cultural performance.

Nadia, her dad, Rico, and I

At the dinner, the waiter attached my camera bag and Nadia's purse to the back of our chairs so that we wouldn't have to worry about theft from someone casually walking by.

The dances included those influenced from the black Caribbean immigrants.

Rico and I were brought up on stage to join in one of the dances.

This little dance was so cute. Each person of the couple takes a turn trying to light (yes with fire) the piece of tissue that is attached like a little tail on the back of the skirt/pants while their partner is moving around dancing. Here the guy is re-lighting the candle he will use to try to set her booty afire!

Of course, I was pulled onto the stage for a try at the fire lighting dance.

At the finale the dancers went out into the audience for photos with attendees. Rico's eyes look as big as the eyes in the mask!

Party at Rico and Nadia's place with the theme being margaritas since that is my favorite drink!!

The not so big shoulder on the road getting out of Lima.

A typical beach town. This one is probably the closest one to Lima to the north.

I ignored this sign of course!

Another great camping spot. Except this one had indications of people going off the highway and driving into this little vista of the beach so I placed rocks around the tent and put my reflective things on the tent in strategic places in case someone at night decided to pull off where I was camping.

View from my camp.

The hand puppet duck I purchased in the US to cover my GPS. I later lost it :(. And the bike bell was a gift from my South Pole friend Marco.

Your guess is as good as mine.

It looks like sex sells no matter what country! In Peru I guess all farmers employ girls that spray pesticides while wearing a thong bikini.

I stumbled upon this reserve and it looked like a good place to camp since I wasn't finding anything off the main road in this stark desertscape.  

I was scoping out a place just off of the dirt road and a ranger stopped to ask me my intentions and told me I couldn't camp there. So I had to climb up to the official reserve on a dirt road for about 5 km/3 miles.

I was the only one camping in the reserve for the night.

I was in my tent in the reserve when I awakened to this guy bouncing around near my food pannier. I don't know what woke me up, his noise or that he was on my legs. Either way, I was in a fog when I woke up and only saw that there was something bouncing around outside of my sleeping bag on my legs.  I seriously thought it was a frog by the way it was jumping. I got my headlamp out and saw this little guy all stressed out at the foot of my sleeping bag. I couldn't figure out how he had gotten in until I saw the big hole in the tent screen (see next photo)! He then proceeded to try to jump out of that hole. It was hilarious! He kept jumping straight up into the air like a jumping bean. He was running up and down the length of the tent trying to figure out what to do. I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos then I unzipped the tent all the way and laid the unzipped flap down as low as it would go. The next time he jumped he made it out.
I stuffed a cloth in the hole and tried to think of what I should do with my food. I really didn't want to put it outside and have him gnaw a hole in my pannier. I didn't want to put the food outside without it being in the panniers because then he would get all my food! So I decided to see if maybe he was scared enough from our encounter that he wouldn't come back. NOPE, that little sucker was a brave one! He proceeded to try to come back in and I was “laying there with one eye open” and scaring him away any time I heard him. Finally, one time when I turned on the headlamp again I noticed the start of two more holes in my tent!!! This time they weren't in the screen but in the fabric! Well this had to end before I was left with scraps of tent in which to sleep.
So, I removed all the food from my food pannier and put the food in a bag outside of the tent. I went and got out my mosquito repellent and sprayed it all around the bag of food and in front of the tent. No, I was not thinking the mosquito repellent would repel him, I just thought it might make the food smell yucky. I took one bag of cereal and a banana and tossed it away from the rest of the food as a token offering to the Rat Gods.
I swear it sounded like he was dragging away a dead body when he grabbed the cereal and then it sounded like a couple of them fought over it. It seemed to appease them because I eventually got to sleep once I tuned out their noise (munching which seemed to be really close to me). When I awoke there weren't any new holes in my tent.

The rats must have tried to get at my bike seat too! 

The falcons seemed to be everywhere but apparently they weren't too successful on their hunts or else those rats were just one or two crafty buggers!!!

A ruin I passed on the highway. I didn't enter it,

There are always roadblocks where police question cars randomly. A Chilean cyclist I had met in Colombia had worked  as a driver for a traveling German/gringa woman in Peru. He was stopped often at these road blocks and the German woman always had to pay a fine/bribe to the police. He said he has never been stopped as a cyclist. I was stopped by Peruvian policemen more than in any other country and they always just wanted to know about me and my trip. This guy requested a photo with me and his partner took the photo with his phone so I decided to get one too.

Purple corn was popular in Peru. They also made a drink out of it that was yummy.

There was a guy by this sign who was kind of acting as a guard. He flagged me over to this yet unopened road and directed that I could ride on it. It was so beautiful. I didn't have to worry about any vehicles and it was so smooth. It went on for about 42 miles/70 km.

I met this Brazilian cyclist. He was drafting behind a truck going very fast down hill the opposite way when he saw me. He slowed down and crossed over to the unopened road where I was riding to say hello and share stories.  His journey was quite a bit shorter than mine and his load was significantly less than mine but he said he wouldn't trade in the air horn he had on his handlebars for anything.

Marek and Aldona met me on the closed road while I was stopped to eat a snack. We rode together for about a day and a half before the robbery.

The Brazilian cyclist had told me about a restaurant where I should stop for sure.  It was the only one for 18 miles/30km in any direction. The gentleman in the photo with us is the owner of the restaurant and he provided us with a fish lunch for free (shown below). He had a scrap book of all of the cyclists he had hosted in the 12 or so years he had the restaurant.

In Bolivia and Peru and even further north until Colombia all food plates seemed to consist of at least two or more starches and a meat. There was hardly ever any salad or if salad was offered, it was in the form of the onions shown above or maybe two slices of tomatoes.

Aldona and Marek pushing their bikes up this massive hill. As mentioned in other posts, I hate pushing Tankita, it seems like more work than riding. Instead I rest a lot but continue to ride. 

Peru is famous for its ceviche which comes with the orange spicy sauce typical in Peru. It was kind of expensive but I had to have it at least a few times while I was there.

As usual this is the map of my route so far up to the border of Ecuador. The last photo for this blog posting is just before Chimbote, Peru where my camera was stolen. The orange lines indicate where I rode and the black lines indicate where I used other means of transport.

This blog brings you up to date on my travels until January 26th, 2013. I am in Puerto Escondido, Mexico now as of this posting on July 31st, 2013.

Photos and blog posts to come:

Ecuador

Colombia and Stats from South America
Panama

Costa Rica-a.k.a. Gringolandia.
Nicaragua
Honduras
El Salvador
Guatemala and Stats from Central America
Mexico
_______________________________________________

Inaccuracies in online article below; Holly (not Hally), female American (not male), the date of robbery was January 26th, and the assailants did not have knives. Gotta love the press!!

Translated article:

Three cyclists foreigners were looted YESTERDAY IN "THE JUNGLE"
Tuesday January 29, 2013 00:39

Three foreign cyclists were assaulted in a place known as "La Selva", fortunately the police managed to recover their valuable documents.

An American and two Poles, three days came to our town in doing cross bike several months ago, however, left them bitter experience from our port.

And is that as he passed near the village young "Manuel Arevalo" in the area known as "La Selva", four criminals were intercepted with knives, were immediately stripped of their cameras, high-tech items such as phones, and purifying water, and most importantly their passports and calendar to their phones Peruvian friends.

Foreigners identified as Hally Lee Allin (47), Ochalek Aldana (34) and Marek Lemieszek (39), were assisted and transferred to the First Commissioner of Chimbote, where the effective commissioner got a translator to support them to express their complaint.

Thanks to the intervention of the translator, the staff of the Commissioner were able to determine the whereabouts of offenders and managed to recover some belongings of foreigners, including their passports.

Before going their way, foreigners, who had the opportunity to speak to the media, said that despite this have happened in our city, they spent a very enjoyable time in Chimbote, very hospitable people, also thanked the police for have done everything possible to recover their belongings.

I Get By With A Lot Of Help From My Friends

This blog post is not of my bike trip. It is of a separate trip (break) back to the USA.

In November, 2012 a friend of mine was moving to Alaska and was going to be driving up there alone. I wanted to do the drive so I offered to take a break from my trip to go to the US and help drive up.
I¨bought¨ a ticket on mileage points but I had to actually pay for a return ticket separately because all the mileage flights were full (because of a glitch in the computer system) for the date I wanted to return. In the end I tried to change the date for the mileage flight to a date sometime way out in the future to postpone it in case I would be able to use it. I explained the situation to Alaska Airlines about the glitch that caused me to have to buy a return ticket and they ended up refunding half the ticket mileage because of it. Then they accidentally refunded the entire ticket amount! This was the second time they had done this and I had called them to tell them of the error but they said it was not an error, so I took it as a gift. That means that when I flew from Anchorage to Ushuaia, Argentina to start my bike trip it was for free! When I traveled home to help my friend, it was free! This confirms that “When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it”  and sometimes it even works out for free!!!

I had an unexpected 22 hour layover in Miami because of Sandy (the storm that hit the east coast) which meant I could visit my friend Mo in Jupiter, Florida. Mo and I used to be roommates in Florida in 1992 and she always threw the best parties. She will be horrified that I posted this photo of her in her night shirt and her house in the aftermath of a huge Halloween party she threw! But what are friends for? :)

I hadn't seen my Aunt Pat (my mother's sister) and Uncle Dave since my father died in 2004. My sister Laurie who lives near them arranged for a surprise visit to see them while I had a short stay in Connecticut.

My older (by 2 years) sister Laurie and her daughter Kendra. I hadn't seen Laurie in about 6 years, much too long!

I absolutely love the fall on the east coast and I love Halloween! I was so happy there were residual pumpkins when I was passing through.

Ah, beautiful maples in full color, doesn't get much prettier!

I was able to stop off in upstate NY to see my friend Dean and his family (wife Kathryn, daughter Madison, and son Erik) AND to eat Thai food! Double bonus! Dean and I were roommates in the ghetto of Anchorage in 1988 when he answered a want ad when I lived in Alaska the first time and then a roommate in several places in Alaska after that AND he still likes me after living with me!  Dean, you are not allowed to comment on that!

Heather, the most bad ass pilot chick in the world, worked with me at Alaska Air Taxi as a bush pilot in 2003/2004 (?). She has since given up that glamour for raising a couple of cuties (seen below-raising the kids not the husband). A stop in Minnesota reunited me with Heather after about 6 years of not seeing her!

 Big Sky Montana

We're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy.

Yup, must be Montana!

Woohoo, hot springs! These hot springs are just outside Kootenay National Park.

Traffic stopper Canadian style.

Banff National Park, Canada. I hadn't been here since my drive up to Alaska from New Hampshire in 1987! I love this national park but unfortunately Mother Nature wasn't behaving that day.

One advantage to driving the Alcan Highway in the winter is that all of the wildlife is often near the road.

I read in a road stop that there was a herd of bison in British Colombia and the herd was 265 strong.  I think in this spot was at least half of the herd! This is only a small part of the number seen.

Somebody please tell me what type of animal tracks are these (close up shown next photo).

I love the Alaskan and Yukon skies in winter.

Erin, Jack, me, and Tenecia after I arrived in Anchorage. Erin worked with me at Alaska Air Taxi a good ten years ago and she hasn't been able to shake me since, Jack owns Alaska Air Taxi where I worked for about 5 years and he still remains a very good friend, and Tenecia worked with me first in 1997 and I actually recruited her for various jobs with me since. 

Jack took me on a flight to Seldovia. I really miss being able to hop on any available flight like when I worked at Alaska Air Taxi.  I have been so fortunate to have flown to so many remote places in Alaska on all different types of ski, wheel, and float planes. There is nothing like seeing Alaska from the air. It gives you a true sense of its vastness and unspoiled beauty.
This is the take off from the frozen Lake Hood, Anchorage float plane base.

The Chugach  Mountains bordering Anchorage and semi-frozen Turnagain Arm (body of water off of the Cook Inlet and Pacific Ocean). Turnagain Arm is home to the third highest tidal change in the world after Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia and Bay of Bristol in England. The difference between high and low tide can be as much as 39 feet.  It is pretty amazing to see.

Landing in Seldovia. Jack who has been flying since he was 13 has been featured in two episodes of National Geographic "Alaska Wing Men" (one of which I am in the background). Jack let me take off in one of his Cessna 206's in the past and it kind of made me want to learn to fly if it weren't so expensive and useless unless I want to make a career of it or come into a lot of money to have my own plane. Donations gladly accepted. :)
For a segment of Jack's episode see video on link http://natgeotv.com/ca/alaska-wing-men/videos/risky-landing

Seldovia, which is one of the many small towns in Alaska only accessible by boat or plane. In the summer months this place is booming with tourists. 

We flew home by moonlight.

While so many of my friends have played important parts in my life and have offered and helped me in many different ways, I couldn't do any of the traveling I have done had it not been for the Alaskan Brat Pack shown above who have managed my personal business for years now while I have been away from Alaska. They have each helped me out in so many ways, I don´t know what I would have done without them. And when I return from being away we all pick up right where we left off as if I have never been away and we share such good times. They are the best friends anyone could hope for!
Left to right: Vicki, Kim, Tenecia

Deana-hairstylist extraordinaire!  Deana is one of the reasons why I look so blonde now. Well, Deana and the sun. She suggested I go a little lighter so the grey wouldn´t show so much while I am traveling. I have so much grey now! Err, as Deana says, it is not grey it is Arctic Blonde!

Reginal and I met in high school in our freshman year!
Note: I cheated and used a photo of Reginal from 2008 because I didn't get one this time when I visited him :(. 

A layover in Seattle on the way to California meant I got to spend time with my friend Ashley who suffered the winter at South Pole with me. Ashley kept things fun at the South Pole Station and I never miss a chance to have a layover with her when I pass through Seattle.

As some of my blog followers and good friends already know, my visit to Alaska was cut short.  After being notified of an incredible turn of events in the health of my stepfather and mother I flew to California to be with my mom while my stepfather Joe recovered from his pacemaker surgery. The idea was that I would possibly stay with them long term to help them in their failing health situation(s). Joe's routine pacemaker surgery turned into a domino of events and the life of an exceptionally loving father and husband (of almost 30 years) ended on December 1st.  

My mom and Joe were extremely close and they lived almost like Siamese twins; barely ever being away from each other. After returning from the hospital where Joe had died my mom had a seizure in my arms on the stairs leading into her and Joe's house. She too was hospitalized and because of her already poor health, and subsequent catching of pneumonia in both unhealthy lungs (Mom was a heavy smoker), and most probably because of a broken heart and not much will to live; my Mom's life ended on December 5th.

I was extremely fortunate to be with both of them in their last hours and fortunate to be able to tell them how much I love them while they were each still lucid . This might not have been possible had I not already been in the USA when the turn of events started.  I know it would have been horrible to receive notice of their deaths while I was off pedaling somewhere. I was extremely close to my mom in spite of the distance that was usually between us. She was someone I could tell anything to just like a good friend. I could go on and on about how great she was but this is not the forum, suffice it to say, she and Joe will be greatly missed.

The rest of my time in California was spent with my sisters and step siblings, and friends. During this emotional period we had to deal with what to do with a house and all of its contents, vehicles, keepsakes and photos of two lives/families etc. We dealt with this right away since we were all together even though it was so soon after both of our parents' deaths. It kept our minds off of more emotional things and it was the first time all of us had been together in at least a decade so if nothing else, bringing us together was a good thing.

Mom and Joe in their younger years which is how I like to remember them.

Both Mom and Joe were always very supportive of my adventures although Mom worried a lot about me. She got much better as the years went on. Technology helped a lot over the years to let her know I was okay. With the internet and email I could correspond regularly. When I first started traveling I could sometimes find a fax machine that could send international faxes and I would touch base that way but usually Mom wouldn´t know where I was until she received a postcard or letter from me 2-3 weeks after I sent it!

Going through all of the old photos was really nice. This is one of yours truly in the middle and my twin Heather on my left and Laurie on my right. Geezum I was an ugly baby!

The whole group of siblings; left to right Heather, Joey, Laurie, Cheryl, me and Scott.

My twin Heather and I are starting to look more alike I guess. Heather with her full time glasses and me with my old lady eyes reading glasses. Yes, she has always been shorter, she accuses me of eating all the food in the womb. Our dad used to say we were wombmates! 

Mom and Joe's house in the mountains of northern California. There was a big storm while I was there.

Back in my ol' stompin' grounds of the San Francisco Bay Area and the start of a nice visit with lots of long term friends at a time when being around friends was absolutely priceless.

I have known Lori and her family since I was twelve years old. Her parents are my second parents.
Foreground  Lori and Mark's son Zachary then left to right; Lori, Mark, a family friend Mark, Mom and Dad and Lori's brother Scott. 

My friend Betty and her beau Fred.  Betty and I were roommates for a couple of years and together we did my first and only other bike trip across the USA in 1994.

Monterey, California

Monterey Bay Aquarium, a favorite of mine.

Gotta love the mini California surfers!

In the redwoods of Muir Woods north of San Francisco. Diane and I met during both of our first seasons working in Antarctica and then we traveled together quite a bit in the years to follow. 

The California coast-see I told you it looks like Chile!

Diane, Tara, and me on a hike in Marin County. Tara was my roommate in Antarctica for one season and now lives in the Bay Area. I love my Ice (Antarctic) friends. It seems like we all have an automatic bond with people we know from the Ice. 

Fungi that almost looks like coral.

I love these Madrona trees which I hadn't ever seen before.

These Madrona trees peel kind of like a Manzanita bush. 

My aunt Audrey (my Mom's younger sister) and uncle Dave (shown below) who live in Southern California. I was able to see them on another layover score (I always plan layovers real well)! 

My uncle Dave.

In southern California I was also able to see Marco whom I had also met during my winter at the South Pole. Marco skied or ran outside every day during that winter where the average temperature was -75 degrees Fahrenheit! Marco would put me to shame if he was on this bike trip! 

Seeing Mo was a perfect starter for my trip "home" and a perfect finish. But somehow we always seem to end up where I almost miss or do miss my plane for one reason or another. She is just such TROUBLE! We lost track of time chatting over Caipirinhas and the next thing you know I was late for catching the train that would take me back to Miami airport. I am not sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that Mo used to be a motorcycle cop and can drive like Mario Andretti but she ended up having to take me all the way to the airport which wouldn't have been an issue if she didn't have to go to work her second job within the hour. For sure if I had seen someone like her fly by me at 120 mph in her BMW sports car I would have been using some sort of profanity. It felt like I was in a racing video but I trusted her abilities 150%! It was impressive. 
Do not try that at home!

I am an amazingly lucky person to have so many wonderful people who have been and continue to be in my life. Thank you to all of you for all of the loving support you have given me during this time and throughout my life. Those who I did not see on this trip to the US were still with me in thought and are also so important to me. I treasure all the emails, hugs, regards, and thoughts sent my way when Mom and Joe passed and am sorry if I did not respond to all of them individually. Please know that I feel so very fortunate to have you!!

Special shout out to Super Sherpa Services for all of the logistical support too!

This blog brings you up to date on my travels until January 12th, 2013. I am in Guatemala just inside the border from El Salvador as of this posting on July 12, 2013. 

Photos and blog posts to come:
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Being Robbed In Peru

Ecuador
Colombia
Panama
Costa Rica (aka Gringolandia)
Nicaragua
El Salvador