Well I have a had a fantastic time. i did not do what i had hoped to do in that I only went part way up the via del Plata the reason is that mostly at least it is a track which at times  is very difficult to walk just might be possible to pass if you are a strong cyclist on a Mountain bike but out of condition me on my vastly overloaded touring bike no way. But I did get from Seville to Zafra and I learnt some important lessons. The first was that however determined I am to do something there is no point in pushing myself into exhaustion. I am actually required to enjoy myself. On this trip i was very fortunate to meet another plgrim who saw how afraid i was of failing when I should have been concentrating on the value of success.

He also made  me talk about my life and of course i talked about Lilly.He made me look at things through different eyes by asking me what I would want for Lilly  if I had died first and not her. Of course my answer was that i would want her to find a new life and be happy. my friend of course said that would be just what she would say to me.

He said I should stop feeling guilty and confused and get on and live life to the maxim. He also said that I should stop thinking Lilly was gone forever but that she was in a different place. This I had a lot of problems with but he said the body changes every seven years and this means  that nothing is left of us as children. that person has gone but the essence remains. he wanted me to accept that in some place there is Lilly and although we are separated. he said there is no difference between were she is now and her being at home in Caracas while I cycle in Spain.

well as you can see I have been thinking and trying to balance life a little.All the while peddling away. My children are everything but there are still parts of my life that I need to find.

In Zafra I was hosted by a young American couple, Savi and Levi, who are teaching English in Zafra. After I had been there a couple of days they said how Happy they were to see how I had revived. Apparently when I arrived they both thought I looked exhausted. They fed me great food and told me about their lives. Teaching English is a sort of boat they are using to sail around the world. They have a happy and relaxed little ship. Work seems to find them in that word of their skills spread through the community and walking with them in the street it soon became clear as a lot of people called to them to say hello. We talked a lot. Their next country will be tieland starting in September 2012 they suggested I come and see them there. They painted a very tempting picture of the English teachers life so there is another path that I might follow.

After Zafra I came to Madrid just in time to meet Alicia and Alvaro who literally the day before had finished cycling around the world.

Wow. It was a real privilege to see how they tried hard to remember what it was like to live in their own house. to go to the supermarket, to face family problems and the annoyance of a neighbors barking dog. Their kindness was immense and so was their wisdom. I told them about my battle on the via del plata and was told to be patient with myself. That was just another way of saying what the pilgrim had told me. Perhaps this time I will pay attention. They also repeated that cycle touring I not a race. Take all the time you need go the distance your happy with.

www.rodadas.net   will tell tou much more about this very special partnership

Now it is almost time to return to Venezuela. Was this trip a failure. No I don’t think so. It is amazing how we stumble through life now I am being forced to think about things and make choices based on simple things like having patience with myself. It was not the pilgrimage I intended but it was a pilgrimage.

I must also mention the others  who shared their thoughts with me and helped me untangle my ideas especially Edo Chris and Ben who filled me with happiness to see their happiness. Alberto who would like me to take a vow of poverty so i can better appreciate just how lucky i am, Anna and the joy and enthusiasm .she has in life. Katrina and Lucas for their warm supportive friendship and determination to find their way forward in life and Ester the highly indignant one finding solutions to some very tough problems together you all make my life wonderful.

There are other things to mention but let me do it in note form. I have two overfilled pannier bags on the back of the bike. Perhaps 30 kilos+. This changes the way the bike handles and bang over I went. I became dehydrated. This was a new experience. When I finally arrived at the farm I was unable to concentrate or talk. I just had to drink. Also my energy levels dropped way down. Edo´s Mother had a super dinner party arranged and that brought my energy level up again but I still got up four times during the night as I still needed to drink!!!

In the morning I left at about 10.00am. It was cool and overcast so there were no problems. I wore the same jeans I had had on the day previously. Ouch. I did not get to the end of the farm road before I stopped and changed into my special padded cyclist shorts as even on the first day I had a severe case of `bike bottom´. Without too many problems I found my way to the coast and immediately drank a litre of water so I would be ready for the day. My first error was to follow the ´bike path´ that ran along by the beach as this really take the longest possible route. Once again I toppled off my bike. Not sure why but by now a number of ridding difficulties had made themselves known. The bike has a tendency to pull to the right although this may be because it is not correctly balanced. I find I have to use a ´mounting block´ as there is no way I am able to swing my leg over the top of the panniers. (when I am able to send some photos you will see the reason for this). Also the tip of my saddle constantly gets caught in the back of my cycling shorts so that at times my bottom smiles back at those behind. I am still not use to the gears but that will come with time and yes my legs do hurt.

With all these problems I am not letting them upset me. Time will solve them. I have found that it is essential to stay out of the sun from 11 to 4. The first day I found a huge olive tree and slept on my new (wonderful) self inflating mattress. Today I was not so lucky so spent an hour in a bath of ice cold water.One other problem I have to solve is what and when to eat. Yesterday I had coffee and bread for breakfast and did not eat again until after five when I ate a large packet of honey roasted peanuts and small bottle of chocolate milk. Since I am trying to control my Diabetes 2 my idea was to avoid all carbohydrates which I still think is a good idea. However at times I feel weak from lack of food. Eventually I will sort this out too.

Virtually no planning went into this trip. I do not have sufficient time to do it all on the bike as I have to return to Venezuela. Eventually the pains in my legs will stop and I will learn to push the bike without the peddles trying to cut my feet off at the ankles.

So that is it. The first two days. It will get better.

There are other things to mention but let me do it in note form. I have two overfilled pannier bags on the back of the bike. Perhaps 30 kilos+. This changes the way the bike handles and bang over I went. I became dehydrated. This was a new experience. When I finally arrived at the farm I was unable to concentrate or talk. I just had to drink. Also my energy levels dropped way down. Edo´s Mother had a super dinner party arranged and that brought my energy level up again but I still got up four times during the night as I still needed to drink!!!

In the morning I left at about 10.00am. It was cool and overcast so there was no problems. I wore the same jeans I had had on the day previously. Ouch. I did not get to the end of the farm road before I stopped and changed into my special padded cyclist shorts as even on the first day I had a severe case of `bike bottom´. Without too much problem I found my way to the coast and immediately drank a litre of water so I would be ready for the day. My first error was to follow the ´bike path´ that ran along by the beach as this really takes the longest possible route. Once again I toppled off my bike. Not sure why but by now a number of ridding difficulties had made themselves known. The bike has a tendency to pull to the right although this may be because it is not correctly balance.l so I find I have to use a ´mounting block´ as there is no way I am able to swing my leg over the top of the panniers. (when I am able to send some photos you will see the reason for this). Also the tip of my saddle constantly gets caught in the back of my cycling shorts so that at times my bottom smiles back at those behind. I am still not use to the gears but that will come with time and yes my legs do hurt.

With all these problems I am not letting them upset me. Time will solve them. I have found that it is essential to stay out of the sun from 11 to 4. The first day I found a huge olive tree and slept on my new (wonderful) self inflating mattress. Today I was not so lucky so spent an hour in a bath of ice cold water.One other problem I have to solve is what and when to eat. Yesterday I had coffee and bread for breakfast and did not eat again until after five when I ate a large packet of honey roasted peanuts and small bottle of chocolate milk. Since I am trying to control my Diabetes 2 my idea was to avoid all carbohydrates which I still think is a good idea. However at times I feel weak from lack of food. Eventually I will sort this out too.

Virtually no planning went into this trip. I do not have sufficient time to do it all on the bike as I have to return to Venezuela. Eventually the pains in my legs will stop and I will learn to push the bike without the peddles trying to cut my feet off at the ankles.