Exactly four weeks ago I left Medellin. Four weeks, that feel like four months. And this is still only the begining of my trip.
A few days ago I entered Ecuador. Soon I will cross the equator, only by using my own muscles. I could tell you now, how many kilometers I have cycled, how many meters in elevation I have climbed or how many jars of Peanutbutter I have emptied. But this post is about the one thing, which has made me create Wheels Of Fortune in the first place: Emotions.
This trip is an emotional rollercoaster ride. But the day I crossed the border to Ecuador really hit me hard.
Europeans normally aren't used to border crossings that much. On my last trips I have done so many of them, but none of them has been as intense as this one. The first thing I see are the Unicef tents and then I see a lot of Venezuelans that are either waiting in line, to get another stamp that will get them closer to a new life, or Venezuelans that are sleeping on pieces of cardboard on the floor.
You can tell they are exhausted, only by looking at them. I feel so bad for them, while a security guard kindly sends me to a different line.
With a fresh stamp in my passport I start cycling on ecuadorian ground. It doesn't take long until I spot the first group of refugees. They are walking along the highway, carrying pieces of their lifes inside their backpacks, holding hands of their children. Every time they hear a car approaching from behind, they wave their hands and try to hitch a ride.
I pass them and wish I had a campervan, so I could give them all a ride. "They have been walking and hitchhiking a longer distance, than you have cycled..." thoughts are flooding my head, my throat starts burning and I burst into tears. These people have left their home, they are going through so much, to find a better life. This world can be so cruel.
After a while I am exhausted, not physically, but emotionally. I am on a trip, a trip I have worked and saved for, which has a good cause, but still I feel so western-world-spoiled, it is making me sick.
The next day I am still digesting everything, but I am feeling the importance of my fundraiser like never before. We all can make a difference together!
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