Arrived, but not without its complications...

Yes I have arrived, but not without its hassles. Let me go back to this morning and walk ya through it. Firstly I woke up with a good dose of the flu, a headache, runny blocked nose and sore throat. The I get to the bathroom and realised that because of my flu, my sinuses have flared up and I had a swollen right eye that made me look worse than normal. So we (that being Cami, her parents and myself) arrived all good and well to the airport in Bogota, said our farewells and despite of my flu I headed off with the enthusiasm I remember from the first time I headed off to begin the trek. Arriving a little late to Miami due to lots of traffic on the runway I hit the pavement running to get to my next flight. I got my bag and checked it through to New Orleans and arrived to my gate with 5 mins to spare. Arriving in New Orleans I was greeted by my old mate Matt Johnson and his lovely wife Batina. It was great to see them after all this time, was really good. We headed over to pick up my bag and after about 10 mins of waiting, laughing and catching up, we both realized that my bag had not come out. We focused our attention on the arriving luggage and after another 15 mins realized that there were no more bags at all coming out... my bag had not arrived, and to this minute, still has not arrived! We needed to wait another hour to speak to the head of the department who told us that hopefully, my bag will be here at 11pm tonight. So we are now waiting anxiously at the hotel for news of the missing bag, and considering that in my bag I have my life for the next one and a half months and that it is very important that we head off north tomorrow morning, I must say, I am little nervous about the safe arrival of it.

Well I am off to bed now. Hopefully I will get the call we are waiting for in the next hour or two so I can at least have a wash and brush my teeth. I will keep you guys in the loop...

5 days and counting...

Time has flown really when I look back at when I booked my flights back to the States to finish the last part of my trek. It seems like I only did it yesterday. But I have to tell you, I am really keen and looking forward to getting back and getting into it. This time is definitely going to be a different experience altogether. I will be walking through the deep south. I will be walking in the middle of summer. I only have 5 weeks to cover the 1000km or so that I have left. It is going to be more of a race against time and a battle against the harsh elements of the brutal summer of the south this time around. A different experience that's for sure, maybe one that will be more difficult too, but one I eagerly await.

Life has been so busy back here in Bogota that honestly I have had no time to really train. I have managed to get in 3 walks in the last two weeks, and they were only 16kms each. Considering I will need to on average cover 30 to 40 kms each day, it has not been the best preparation. But I will get a few more walks in this week and I am sure God will do the rest!

So I arrive on Saturday morning to Miami. From there I need to take another flight to N.O where good old Matt the legend will be there with his lovely wife Bat (Batina) to pick me up. We will grab some dinner and catch up and then head off  north the next morning towards Tunica, my final point from the last part of the trek. It is going to be great to see them again!

Well it looks as though everything is ready except for a few final touches back here and then getting all my gear together and packing the backpack. All the gear from the last stint is still in really good condition which is a big help.

A big thanks to my sponsors again for being so patient with the time it has taken me to get back onto the river again, you guys have been a great support, thanks.

Looking forward to seeing that river again....