The second reason leaving became a difficult task, was the radio interview I did the day prior. At the end of the interview the host welcomed everyone in the small town to come out of their homes and bid me farewell as I rode out. So obviously, they did. I was shaking hands, holding babies, taking photos with grandmas… It was a circus. All of this, while trying to keep my criollos calm. Not so easy!
To make my departure even harder, two dogs began following us like they had been travelling with me since I left Barretos. They were beautiful, big dogs, but they were really stupid. Instead of walking next to the horses on the side of the road, they wondered right in the middle of the asphalt and crossed from one side to the other as if there was no traffic. They were nearly hit on more than one occasion. Trucks and cars had to slam on the brakes or swerve in the last second, coming inches from striking the animals. Figuring the crazy k 9’s were mine, angry drivers would hit the horn and curse at me. It was an extremely stressful situation. Those dogs came close to dying and or causing an accident several times as I cringed in the saddle.
Just before I got on the main highway, I rode into a police checkpoint and begged them to tie the dogs for an hour or two before releasing them again. The officers agreed to help me and I continued on relieved. I stopped at a gas station a few metres down the road and went in to put credit on my phone. I knew I had a two day ride before the next town and my pay-as-you-go tab was running low. But when I asked the clerk she told me they didn’t work with my phone company. I thanked her and headed outside.
“Are you on some kind of journey,” a tall man asked with a big smile.
“Yes sir, I’m riding to Ushuaia,” I responded.
“That’s so cool, my son is riding his bicycle with a friend through Africa,” he said.
He told me about his son’s adventures and his wife shared her worries. Asking me how my own mother felt about my journey. I told her she also worried.
“So many people help my son out on the road, we need to do something for you, what do you need? Food, water, just tell me,” the father said with enthusiasm.
“No, no I’m fine thank you,” I responded laughing with his wife.
“There has to be something we can do man, this is good karma for us,” he urged.
That’s when I remembered I didn’t have credit for my phone!
“Ok you can actually do me a huge favour, if I give you my number and money, will you please drive to a store that puts credit on a Claro phone,” I asked shyly.
Not only did he agree immediately, he did not accept my money.
“Be safe out there okay,” the mother said giving me a strong hug as if she had her arms around her own son.
I thanked them and continued south. Just a kilometre down the road my luck continued to soar. An older gentleman in a white pickup stopped and asked me what I was up to. I told him about my journey and he said he had a friend with a ranch 30 kms down the road. I could spend the night there.
With a place to stay and credit on my phone I rode south with a smile on my face. In the early afternoon we arrived at the ranch as the worker was about to head to town. He told me to make myself at home and that he would return in a few hours. I let the boys out in a nice pasture and went into an old, dusty home that seemed like it hadn’t been used in years. It was where the owner stayed when he spent the night at his ranch. By the looks of it, he hasn’t spent the night in a long, long time. I picked a room, cleaned the cobwebs off the bed, blew the dust off and laid out my sleeping bag. With the sun still shining, I closed my eyes to rest for a bit and the next thing I knew it was morning time.
