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December 22, 2005 11:22 AM
Luggage Revisited
Personal possessions either break or disappear on a pretty steady basis if your name happens to be Ryan Henderson or Brian O'Neill. (Willie's track record thus far has been impeccable). I know, stuff breaks and gets lost no matter who you are, but our attrition rate is sky-high, something we can't keep up with now that neither of us is actually
earning money. Ahh but such is life; nothing stays the same. Never. I understand and accept it for the most part, and truth be told, no single item I'm travelling with is irreplaceable. Prohibitively expensive; Yes, but not irreplaceable.
As the money in my bank account continues to race toward that point on the horizon where everything converges on nothing, I can't help but dwell, at least a little, on the stuff I've left behind, broken or otherwise lost:
- Camera -
My poor camera. I may actually be cursed when it comes to cameras: In the year 2000 I had the opportunity to lead a 40-day canoe expedition down the Seal River in the far North of Manitoba and into Hudson's Bay. We saw caribou, whales, northern lights, fantastic sunsets, ferocious forest fires and wild rapids; I of course was carrying a beautiful SLR with dead batteries in one of the few places in the world where one can actually go 40 days without a store to buy replacements (The Canadian SubArctic).
This most recent camera incident happened the day before I was to head into some very photogenic places in Mexico and Central America. It broke in a 'freak' accident involving a violent game of ultimate Frisbee on Pacific Beach in San Diego and some pesky sand particles that mysteriously snuck into my pockets. That was October 25th, I sent it off to be repaired. Canon is still 'rushing' to get it fixed. I'm fairly certain it'll be ready the day after I head back to Guatemala. - USB Stick -
Not a huge deal, everything was backed up on the laptop, but I'd sprung for the 1GB card and it was less than a month old. The 256MB one I bought in Mexico as a replacement was a necessary evil if I was to continue using the laptop. I wish I had my 600 pesos back. - Sunglasses -
Ha! It's impossible to keep from losing sunglasses for even regular people, I don't know why I even tried. I've been without them for 2 months now and am hoping that the aged, leathery-face look comes into fashion soon. - Jeans, Sweaters, Socks
- As I look at the picture of my clothes, I find it hard to believe that I've been gone less than 3 months. My wardrobe has probably changed by at least 70%. I dumped or lost most of it before we left La Paz on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. I actually have nothing warmer than a t-shirt and a GoreTex jacke which is proving to be a problem here in Canada. It's okay though, Guatemalan thrift stores are among the cheapest (and best) in the world. For the price of a Subway fare in Toronto, I can outfit myself in some pretty stylish duds. - Foul Weather Gear
- As soon as we realized we weren't getting on a boat in NYC I shipped that ball-and-chain straight home. - Towel
- Officially it was the first thing I lost, I left it at a friends place in Brooklyn. It's probably for the best, I've never travelled with a towel that didn't reek like mould 95% of the time. - Laptop Computer
- My prized possession, the $244 laptop seems to prefer the humidity of the jungle to the Great White North. I'm hoping that it's not working right now because it's hibernating; like a bear.... It would be sad if this was it as Jon just set me up with the first 4 seasons of the Trailer Park Boys and 2 seasons worth of Arrested Development. I'll give it a rest and hope the problem fixes itself. For now I'm typing from a different machine.
While my electronic world is collapsing, I'm reminded of some wise, and taunting, words by everybody's favorite existentialist Henry Thoreau:
It is desirable that a man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on himself in the dark, and that he live in all respects so compactly and preparedly, that, if an enemy take the town, he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty-handed without anxiety.-Henry David Thoreau
Brian hasn't fared any better, he is currently travelling without pants and inisits that a monkey ran off with them sometime during all the confusion on the night we slept in the jungle near Pelenque. This is frustrating for him mostly because all the flip-flops/sandals that come within a metre of his feet explode. He has only leather dress shoes and giant hiking boots to go with his shorts. He's on a constant quest to buy sandals or flip flops that fit him; Size 13 shoes among a Mayan population that must average 5'5" tall are hard to come by.
I'm reminded of our time in Livingstone on the Caribbean coast. He was optimistic at finding footwear to fit him there because the population of Livingston is Garifuna rather than Mayan (a.k.a taller and presumably with bigger feet). He bought the only size 13 shoes in town; A pair of "4X4" branded shower-shoes. They lasted nearly a whole week before blowing out on the mean streets of Antigua week.
Comments
Looks like it's just you and me.
Hey Ry,
First off, I hope santa replaces some of, if not all of your lost stuff.
Secondly Jennifer and I are heading to T.O on January 4th because we are flying to cuba on the 5th. If you need a ride, just let me know and it will be there for you. Email me at fensketom@hotmail.com.
If not, maybe we will meet up in the airport.
...and Tom.
Yo Brian, do you have an address or postal box where we can send you some goodies? And by goodies we mean pants and shoes. Some people consider these necessities.
We will be happy to provide you with some oh-so fashionable items. Let us know.
If you can figure out how to get them to me, I can bring them down for him... I'm sure the two of you can pick out some beauts!
I'll be in Montreal, NYC, Sudbury, Toronto and of course Elliot Lake in the next week or so... I can find you wherever you are in any of these towns.
I am happy to hear that someone is thinking about Brian walking around without pants!! Lets hope that come 2006 he has pants and flip flops. It's too bad that you're not in Brazil as I once worked in a flip flop and candle factory. They might have been able to sponsor your feet! I will try to find a contact there that you could use in the future in case the shoe crisis continues. Good-Luck with the bikes!
Hope you both had a Merry Holiday.
Thanks for the update on all your stuff. My day is complete.