Smelting 1, 2, 3

Dear future me,

It has been 8 years and 19 weeks since I have written you, but hey who’s counting? Finally, I got the spirit to take up my digital pen and start this new series of blogs. Reading my old blogs from the Alaska to Florida trip, I couldn’t help to notice that a lot of my travel preparations have been the same: non-existent. I tried though to put in the effort to structure stuff, but the chaotic Nennie inside of me kept saying that everything will fall into place once you get there. “There” in this case is the place I left at the end of my Alaska to Florida trip in 2014: Plant City, Florida. I got reunited with my little preciouszzzz bikey who was waiting for me while being pampered by Dennis. I met him on his motorcycle in British Colombia (Canada) and it has been the best decision ever to leave my bike at his house in Florida. Not only because I could come back every year to take it out for a spin and explore the east coast of the States. But mostly for the lovely American family that sort of adopted me as their giant Dutch daughter from across the big pond. And I’ve been lucky that I for once didn’t burn my bridges, which I normally do.

So here I am, in the summer heat of tropical Florida. Being very pleased with myself that I finally got my act together. It took me three weeks to get to this stage. I left Holland on the 21st of July and everything seemed to go smoothly. Okay, maybe my luggage was way to heavy although I still had to buy some more stuff, but I got the two most important things that you need on a journey: myself and my credit card. Well, I got one out of two, so not bad. I managed to make my parents become experts on international express shipments which is a tough profession: you need to pack the tiny mini card in a giant box to make sure that it won’t disappear somewhere in the mail streams between Delft and Plant City. I must say, it took several days of me being on the lookout for FedEx on the veranda of the Hair resident, before I could sit back and relax. Or rather, going on a shopping spree. Stuff kept coming in and soon I realized that my bike was turning into a mule again. Not only did it had to bear with my camping gear, tools, spares and loads of clothes. But also, with the extra kilo’s I put on thanks to the freshly baked cinnamon rolls, biscuits, ice creams, tarts, cheese cakes that my hosts had forced me to eat. That’s why I needed to test the bike and gear before I could even consider to start the new big tour.

Well, I can tell you that riding in Florida in August in full adventure gear is not a very pleasant experience. If you could see my face now, you would know that this is the biggest understatement of the century. Just before I left Holland, we had one day of 39 degrees Celsius and our whole country got into a state of emergency. Here in Florida, those temperatures are normal. Instead of trying to find out if my bike was up to the quest or seeing if my cases where well balanced, I tested if I could actually melt. And the answer is YES. Every time I stopped anywhere, waterfalls appeared from the sleeves of my jackets and the legs of my trouser. I marked my presence by leaving pools of water behind. Even testing my camping gear felt as one big mistake while I was swimming in a sea of sweat. The heat forced me to take it slowly and I rode for 2-3 hours a day, reviving some memories from 8 years ago when I finished my big tour here in Florida. But those days with great memories are gone and no travelers’ dwells here in the midst of summer. After 500 miles of torture and smelly days I was really happy to come home to an airconditioned beautiful house in Plant City.

So, what’s next? As I mentioned, I’m pretty happy right now being with my second family again and looking forward to the adventure that lies ahead. I did manage to get my luggage back into some reasonable proportions and my KLR is purring like a cat ready to hit the road. I’m getting into the mood by watching Itchy Boots in South America and Florida is a great state to be in if you want to practice your Spanish and eat taco’s. But now I will get into new territory. First of all: shipping my bike. Wow, I’m so happy that I did find a carrier who can air ship from Miami to Bogota (Colombia). Back home I came to the conclusion that I had to ride all the way from Florida to Panama, which is at least 6000 kilometers. It didn’t feel right somehow and thankfully I got some good advice and leads from friends and co-Overlanders to ship the bike instead. But it is a first time for me, so this Nennie gets a bit nervous about the idea of leaving her little preciouszzzz at some stranger’s place. But I checked it out on my test tour and the handlers in Miami seem to be very nice. This Monday will be D-Day. Not only will I face a temporarily adieu to my bike, but also do I have to part with Dennis and his lovely wife Karen. I got no idea where I will end up at the end of this big journey, but I’ll miss the southern accents and warmth they have given me these last three weeks and over the past 8 years. But first I have to survive a whole week of Miami Beach while I’m waiting for my documents to come through. According to my old blogs, I felt so out of place when I was there in 2014. But this time, I will not parade on Ocean Drive in my motor outfit while my motorcycle horn goes bananas. No, I will quietly sit in the elderly hangout gazing at the young ones while remembering good old times in another space continuum. Yeah right, I’m just starting!

See you later,

Annemieke