Tango at sea

As always,my departure took place in mixed feelings. True to my habits, I had postponed all the important stuff until the very last minute, which effectively forced me to pack my bags in record time. I am not a meticulous packer in the best of times,and under stress the activity becomes even more haphazard, as I am piling heaps of clothes, camping equipment and bicycle gear in the middle of my living room floor, then stuffing them in any way possible in the various bags that will be hanging about my bike during the following weeks. As I am writing this, I still have no idea what I actually packed but am confident that whatever it is, it will be enough!

Another feature that was to be expected was my reluctance to leave. I have lost count of the times when, as the day of setting off is approaching, I find myself searching for a way to cancel the trip without losing face. All of a sudden, the whole idea of yet another solo trip to some godforsaken corner of the world seems totally stupid, and the only thing I want to do is curl up in a tight ball in my bed, not showing my face to another soul until the planned return date.

But just as predictably, when I finally get going I can immediately feel the familiar enthusiasm pulsating in my veins, as the first kilometres roll out under my bike.

Me and Tango, ready to go.

Despite the hurried morning, I got to the boat in good time, and even had time for a coffee in town before riding into the innards of Viking Mariella, one of the boats that ply the route between Helsinki and Stockholm. Had booked a bunk in an all-female cabin,and although these low-budget booths are way down below car decks, this time did not feel the claustrophobic anguish that often haunts me in such places.

Have spent the evening staring out at sea and listening to some pretty sad but beautiful tangos on my Mp3 player. I can tell you, those argentinians know a thing or two about loneliness! Instead of a proper (and expensive) meal I decided to have a couple of inexpensive whiskies (booze is still a lot cheaper here than at land) and some very good Swiss chocolate. So by now, everything is a bit of a blur but the melodies are just getting lovelier :-).

However, after about 3 hours of misery I realised I was once again starting to enjoy the thought of biking with tango as my companion. I even caught myself planning the route which I suppose proves that I am getting back into travel mode. As I am writing this, my moods are still slightly blue, but I can clearly see that it is all part of the game. This will be a good trip, I can already feel it.

Comments

  1. Unknown09/05/2010, 20:10

    As long as it's high-quality whiskey and chocolate, everything is fine :-)

    ReplyDelete

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