South to the Border

I had a good haloween in Hollywood, i was dressed as a Zombie, but looked much more like a Tramp. Id bought an old tweed suit jacket and trousers froma charity shop. They do Halloween BIG in Hollywood... but its not very scary. Little Bo Peep, Postmen and Snow White. Theres a photo of me once ive fixed it up. The same Day Mattias took me out for a drive up Mullholland Drive, where you can see the whole of LA and it was quite spectacul;ar. I felt sick almost, being up there and just feelng the humm and immensity of it all. The San Fernando Valley side of LA wasnt there at all 60 years ago, it was apple orchards and we saw some old photos of it. Now its got all the fiml studios, Universal Studios and a good few million people living there. So that all happened fast then.

I got to see the Band i wanted to see which was magic, after we hung out with Arthur, Fernando and Ulysees outside the Laundromat and Liquor shop and drank drinks called Sparks and Stripper.

Ive ridden solo down to Sandiego over the 3 days. I had a half day cycling with Danish Claus, and a terrible nights sleep half way up a bumpy trail where i codulnt find the campsite in the dark and my legs were burning. Something was wandering around my tent at 12:30am... i had my pen knife out in a stupid try for a sense of safety. I imagined it might be a mountain lion which are around here, and thats what i should write here. There were a pack of dogs howling somewhere too. But it was probably a mouse wasnt it.

It was great to be riding alone too, it felt really liberating and free, but its good to be with a friend too.

I met Daisy Sam and Natalie in San Diego, and we went to Tijuana for the day. That was incredible! you can walk accross a bridge, go through a turnstile (no checks on the way in from USA) and in 10 minutes youre in a very different place. It was fantastic. Smiling mexican faces were howling and shouting at us to come over to buy some rubbish or other, and we loved it all. Tijuana isnt the place to 'Have Seen Mexico' at all, but it definitey wasnt America iether. We had 6 tacos each, lots of margharitas, and had a great night in a locals dnacing bar. It was Day of the Dead ont he 2nd November (which is All Souls Day), but we codulnt find much t do with that which i thought was a shame. We listened to Oompa Oompa music, but with fast drums and non stop spanish singing. Either it was the greatest DJ in thw world or the song lasted for 3 hours. I danced like i was in the Jungle Book and we spun around with the Mexicans till we had to go home.

If id met Zsombor from Hungary a few days earlier, we could have driven through mexico in his car, but he had just decided to flay back to Hungary and had bought his ticket.

Now im trying to decide where to go form here, but its all nice so far. Its sad to finish the bike ride, but maybe it will resume soon. Ive another week here yet, and ive got a new book to read, Last Tango in Aberystwyth. How appropriate.

Ive had that Gomez song Tijuana Lady (where did you go / make my way back to San Diego) in my head for days, itd be nice to hear it!

Its ups and downs isnt it. I write all the good stuff, but theres lows inbetween. But theres a lot less of that, and thats fine with me.

I need to buy a notepad, and I want to read some of the book today. Its neary lunchtime but i still feel ill from the pancake breakfast. My appetites still huge though, its all going somewhere i suppose.

PS i went to a photography exhibition titled Migration, which had some incredible heart stopping pictures of mexicans fleeing border patrols, hurling themselves over the border fence, groups running across car riddled freeways led by smugglers, and starving 10 year old kids riding alone ontop of freight trains into America to search for their mothers who had left them to find work. They say 1 Million people cross the border into north america illegally every year. It certainly put a new angle onto our easy Tijuana trip.