February/March 2011
Sitting back in the light of an early morning in La Paz, Bolivia, praying that my wallet was still in 'missing' status within the confines of the Wild Rover hostel room and wondering what the hell my next move was going to be, I never quite imagined that it would lead to this.
Making my way back over the Pacific in early December I traced through a whole passage of events that had led me away and that had led me back home, all of them good decisions and all of them having lead to some interesting and wonderful experiences. Unfortunately my journey to South America had been gazumped at a critical junction. Bolivia had not quite squeezed the money out of me as much as it disappeared literally like a thief in the night, never to be heard of or seen again. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the plan was to get into Peru at some point and then in the final stretch of the journey head into Brazil with Rio de Janiero being the final destination. At that time the idea was, or rather what I had intended to do, was catch my friend Jet in Rio for one last wild throw of the dice, experience what Rio had to offer and 'review' carnivale for whatever it was that it could possibly offer a gringo crew like us. That ofcourse did not eventuate.
Fast forward a few weeks and I'm back in Sydney, lazing around generally, not really wanting to go out and find work at the moment as theoretically I should still have been out on the South American continent macheting my way through the Amazon somewhere near Iquitos or wherever else it was that I intended to catch some tropical disease. My great mate Jet rolls up one afternoon and conjures up his own plan to make an attack on some of the lands that make up the continent of North America. 'Ok' I said, 'I'm listening, please continue!'. As Jet therefore goes onto explain, the fact that I came home early and he didn't make it to South America to catch up with me obviously left a burning hole in his calendar that could only really be treated by heading off to another destination that he was interested in conquering. Whilst his idea of taking on the USA, Mexico and Canada sounded moderately appealing, they weren't destinations that were residing high on my 'to do' list (please see Peru, Brazil, Cuba, Oman, Yemen, Turkey, Nepal & Mali for upcoming A year full of Saturdays adventures) but.....but....the fact that I'd be travelling with an awesome friend sold me on the deal quite easily. The fact that in his infinite kindness and generosity that he found it in himself to actually pay for me also, well that something that's unheard of. So to Mr Jet Frichot I say this, thank you pendejo, for all your Aquarian quirks you're still alright by me, no matter what anyone else says either to you or behind your back!! 'Oh yeeeeahhh'!
So the idea was born and the little seedling rattled around our heads for something like two months until somewhere at the start of February Jet said to me, 'You know, I've already booked my leave, are we actually going to book some tickets and sort our visas now? And hey, what about money?' All this coming a week before 'showtime'. A few G'nT's, a few tequila bombs mixed with God knows what and a little internet activity had us booked, locked in with visas, fully funded and had JJ a bet down promising to wear a tutu, comboy boots and a Stetson (if I could find one) at our next sojourn to a whiskey sour Wednesday at the Shady Pines Saloon.
...and so it came to pass. On Friday, February the 18th, 2011, the 'Frelisher' touring party lifted off from Kingsford-Smith, hangovers in hand and with an insignificant 13hr flight across the Pacific to the City of Angels. What happens now is really anyone's guess!
