Flying south

Los Angeles, 10pm, 3 more flights to go before LaPaz. In the plane coming from Vancouver, I started reading "In the Siberian Forests" by Sylvain Tesson. The author spent 6 months in an isolated cabin on the Baikal lakeside, a dream he wanted to achieve before he would turn 40, in search of peace and hapiness. Knowing a few people living this lifestyle year-round in the Yukon, I'm always suspicious about these artists depicting their time-limited experiences in the wilderness on film or paper, but my godfather offered me this book and he's always been good at picking meaningful works, and the theme and context fit pretty well to my journey, so I decided to give it a try.

The theme of solitude only half-fits to my trip though, as I am also looking forward to meet other fellow cyclists and locals along the road. Still I'm aware that during the coming months I'll end up camping alone once in a while. Most people who know me would use the term adventurous to qualify me, still during all my canoeing, hiking or biking trips I've always been accompanied by at least one friend. In other words, I am a virgin when it comes to solo camping in remote areas. A part of me feels like I need to experience such level of solitude to become a real grown-up, like a ritual that will allow me to enter into adulthood before my 40s kick in, in a couple of years. I have to admit that as much as I am eager to discover the city of LaPaz, I am mostly impatient to hit the road with my bike, and start living in my tent; I feel like the sled dogs ready to start a race, pulling on their collars, jumping, begging to start running. Be reassured, this growing excitement doesn't show in the middle of LA airport (I just imagined myself jumping and barking in the middle of the crowd), it's well hidden inside for now.

Solitude is certainly not awaiting for me at my arrival though; Cristian, a German man in charge of a Casa de Cyclista (house for bikers) in LaPaz offered to pick me up at the airport at 3:30am to drive right away to the Yungas (north of LaPaz) where he'll help on a motorbike race. I guess I'll rest another day!

Comments

[cester celine]

Salut Stephanie, j'ai lu aussi le livre de Sylvain Tesson et j'ai beaucoup aimé.

[Stephanie Chevalier]

Je n'avance pas vite dans ma lecture, mais j'y retrouve beaucoup de similitudes avec mon état d'esprit, il avait le même âge que moi quand il l'a écrit et j'ai été surprise par certaines pensées qu'il exprime, je n'aurais pas pu les exprimer mieux que ça, c'est exactement où j'en suis!

[Sylvie Binette]

Stéphanie- pour une inspiration sur la solitude en forêt Walden de Henry David Thoreau, un classique.

[Patti Balsillie]

Bonjour Stephanie....Please contact me asap - it's Friday at 5:24 Yukon time...