Cycling The Globe

As I walked the streets of Salta I was in doubt. Unfortunately my moms health had been a concern for a while, and the news I got from home were still critical. Being on the other side of the globe in this situation was truly difficult.

Some months ago in Patagonia I had faced the same dilemma; at the time I had continued to cycle, and had found that it was indeed a good way to deal with the whole situation – under the right circumstances cycling can be pure therapy.

This time, however, I didn’t feel much at ease with the thought of continuing on. Following the intuition, it was in fact an easy choice to make. I would take a month break back in Copenhagen. A few days later I had parked the bike with Manuel, a radio amateur friend in Salta, and found myself in an Air France plane over the Atlantic.

I prefer to travel with the speed of a bicycle – not sure I will ever get used to this jumping into an airplane in South America and few hours later being back home. On the other hand, the culture shock was not as big as one could expect. In fact I found everything in Denmark to be exactly as I remembered. Apart from the weather perhaps, which surprisingly showed itself from a very positive side. It was four years since I had experienced a Danish summer- how long the days were, and how green and lush it was everywhere!

Even though the occasion was not a happy one, I was able to enjoy spending time with family and friends again. One thing is to keep in contact over Skype, but nothing can really compare with ‘being’ there.

And so, as the month of May came to an end, I was leaving the summer behind to return to the Southern hemisphere again. Luckily the winter down here is not comparable to the Northern equivalent: I was welcomed back to Salta with 20 degrees and sunshine.

As I was once again walking the streets of Salta I felt much more at ease, happy that I had made the decision to go back; after all, what is more important in life than spending time with the people you love.

As I picked up the bike at Manuel’s place and packed my bags once again, I was ready to continue.