@HobbesOnTour . How are you getting on, all well I hope?
I thought of you as we’re watching a Rick Stein in Mexico episode. His food, description and pictures, is making my mouth water and we have just finished a great pasta dinner!
Well,
@CharlesF if you were trying to drag me down by mentioning food you've certainly succeeded!
Between you and the bakery addict
@IaninSheffield I'm hovering on the brink of a food depression!
To be honest, it's been a bit like being on a roller coaster the last couple of months - a glacial rollercoaster - sometimes up, sometimes down and sometimes hanging upside down
just in very slow motion!
I have left the grounds three times until today, each time to go to a supermarket in the city. Tomorrow, I'm going to out on the bike for a while. There is wonderful country around here and I can't stay doing nothing.
My concern up till now has been to avoid bringing any hassle to the doorstep of my hosts but we've had a chat and all seems good.
Things in Mexico are not good. In fact the WHO is saying that the Americas are now the epicentre of the outbreak. It's not the worst hit, yet, but they're starting to open up despite the fact that the scale of the problem is underreported.
Guatemala is horrific. They were so overwhelmed that bodies were being placed on the street and left for days.
In Peru crowds tried to leave Lima to return to their rural homes because they were starving. Police opened fire.
Brazil is a basket case.
All of Latin America is suffering from extreme poverty due to the closure of the informal/micro-economy. When people can't work for a day they don't eat that day.
Just down the road there's an encampment of the "caravan", those folks en route to the US from Central America. They are flagging down traffic looking for money.
The ban on hotels etc. operating is being lifted so I am considering moving to Mexico city. My hosts need all the income they can get and I'm currently occupying their best room!
I don't see how my plans can survive. I'm reading as much as I can as to what is going on - everywhere.
From a purely selfish point of view Central America is a frightening prospect for the foreseeable future. In theory, I could possibly skip down to maybe Argentina by plane at some stage and hopefully things would have improved by the time it was time to head north again.
Another alternative is to head to the US. Certainly the run up to the election would be a very interesting time. Texas is plenty big to keep me amused for a while
However, it's a lot more expensive and the border will most likely be closed to me for quite a while.
I'm in no rush to go back to Europe. I'd need to get a job and that's not looking likely. So long as I can be safe, and not be a problem for others I'm happy enough to stay put. In the short term I'd like to see if I can sign up for some voluntary work and actually contribute something.
On a positive note, my Spanish is getting better
- or at least I think so! But so many vowels!! My tongue is getting a great workout!
Duolingo is a great app for the basics and practice. There's an element of competition to it which makes me do it even when I don't feel like it. There's lots of YouTube lessons too, so between the app, the videos and my own little stories it keeps me amused.
I really, really miss the journey. Different places every day, different people, wonderful food
. I was looking through old photos (Google Photos is great!
) for the inspiration thread and it both cheered me up and dragged me down!
I keep telling myself how lucky I am. And I really am.
Hoping that y'all are keeping well!
As Bruce would say, see you further on up the road
