A shoe in the neck

Having run out of supplies, the trip has been made from El Triple at the Pacific Ocean to La Paz at the Sea of Cortez.
A city with friends, markets and diesel.

And suddenly the weather has changed.
Warmer in La Paz first but then a morning of dark clouds and high humidity.

A dinner in a small Mexican restaurant with no clientele but a running fountain.
Starting with ceviche, then a traditional spicy Mexican soup followed by grilled cabrilla fish with rice and vegetables.
Accompanied by two Pacifico beers and the owner wanted 110 Mexican pesos. ( € 6,70 / $ 9 )
Who turned out to be a man of erudition with who a long conversation developed about the similarities between Europeans and Mexicans.
And what was so good about the fact that the currency markets not only had the American dollar anymore but a strong Euro as well.

The night in La Paz was also different.
Because of a new pillow.
An anti-allergic one, extra firm with a cotton cover bought at La Paz' Wall*Mart for 95 Mexican pesos. ( $ 7,72 / € 5,80 )

Before, an awkward shaped Tempur-Pedic pillow had been used but over the last weeks strange pains raged in the neck and left shoulder.
The Tempur-Pedic pillow came under suspicion and now, with the Wall*Mart pillow, it will be found out who is guilty.

At the only trailer park still available in La Paz a large motorhome was spotted in which eight persons.
Involved in a project called "Walk a thousand miles in their shoes".
A guy from the UK called Ben has the intention to walk from the south of the peninsula Baja California, from the town of Cabo San Lucas, to the very north, to the city of Tijuana.
That's a thousand miles more or less and a couple of shoes.
Along the way he plans to get involved in helping the unfortunates by spending money on local social projects.
Money he hopes to raise from a website reporting about his walking trip.

The men and women in the motorhome are Ben's back-up team.
In shifts they walk with him to put on video how it is all going to show on the website.

By now Ben has reached La Paz from Cabo San Lucas: that took him 5 days.
They expect to reach Tijuana in a few months.

It is a challenge to walk to Tijuana from La Paz.
Very long stretches are through the desert and over the mountains with no people around for hundreds of miles.
Then there is the heat and the strong northwestern wind blowing in the face forcefully.

But the weakest point may turn out to be the back up team.
They are volunteers.
Some from Europe: two Spaniards and a girl from Lille in France.
Obviously they are involved because they believe in the project.
And are supposed to remain involved for several months.
Without pay.
But the particular aspect of believing, powering involvement, is that it can grow strong and it can evaporate.
A not so good sign is that from the website reporting on the walking trip, intended to raise money to spend on social projects along the way, not much is coming in.
Until now the way the whole project is set up is not working very well.

For Ben it might be an extraordinary experience to walk from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana.
Something he will never forget in his life.
But the dressing around his personal ambition, the back up team, have less fruits to pick.
How long will his charisma and enthusiasm be strong and effective enough to keep the team together?
Is that already causing him sleepless nights?

There were more pillows to buy in La Paz' Wal*Mart.
To stop pain in the necks.
This Ben might want to get one.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Project "Walk a thousand miles in their shoes": see www.theirshoes.org



.