Delinquent, maybe, but happy

I have been terribly delinquent in posting since returning to Denver. I apologize. Imagine, though, how relatively quickly and quite silently, the bus brought me back to this parallel reality without fanfare. A distance three months afoot, two days motorized. I found zipping through the desert, backwards in a sense, through the view of sand and cacti, familiar yet sorrowful... no scents but the stale air in the bus; no sounds above the engine and road rumbles and continuous videos of violent movies shown on multiple screens of the Autobus Americano line. I wish I walked! I wish I were still walking! I like being a pilgrim. The bus returned me much too quickly to this orderly and predictable civilized life. Four weeks of silence from me reflects the challenges of the re-entry experienced by all foot pilgrims I know.

I persist in keeping the spirit of the journey alive - giving talks about my trip to school groups and others, for example - but how can anything match the level of excitement and discovery that a pilgrimage brings? The off-ramp is long between a life where every kilometer is full of new adventures and this normal life of familiarity and safety.

Enough whining... I'll post public presentations as I set up the dates and post trip statistics soon, too. I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm waiting for inspiration for the next trip... it occurred to me that autumn is coming to the southern hemisphere and winter isn't far behind =)