Wednesday, May 23
As I ate breakfast and noted how little food I had left, my focus turned to getting to Cuba in time for lunch! Usually I spend a few minutes each night studying the trail for the following day. I like to know if I'll be hiking on trail, dirt roads, or pavement and the amount of climbing involved. I also check on potential water sources and consider any possible alternates to the "official" trail. I did none of these things prior to my hike into Cuba, so I was surprised when the trail began a steep climb up the wall of a mesa. I felt like I was scrambling up the wall at times and was hot, sweaty, and out of breath when I finally reached the top. From here I followed a jeep trail along the rim of the mesa to a dirt road that eventually ended at Highway 197. From here I had a six mile road walk into town.
One interesting thing along the road walk was a rather large snake...can you find him in the picture below?
After a mile or two, a young man from Switzerland caught me and I picked up my pace a bit so we could talk. After a couple of miles I slowed down to my normal pace and watched him fade into the distance. We would see each other several times in town but with my extended break to see Eva coming up, I'm not sure I'll see him again.
I checked into the Cuban Lodge, ate lunch, retrieved my resupply box at the Post Office, and spent the afternoon cleaning the dirt, sand and mud that permeated everything I was carrying.
Thursday, May 24
After a satisfying breakfast burrito at the Cafe across the street and a trip to the laundromat to wash my clothes, I relaxed and waited for the bus to Albuquerque. Eva was flying into Albuquerque Friday morning so my plan was to stay at a cheap motel near the airport so Eva could pick me up when she arrived! The bus left Cuba at 3:30 from the McDonalds and I arrived around noon so I could eat and use the WiFi until my bus arrived. I ended up skipping the bus and accepting a ride from a man from Fremont, California who was in the area visiting his sister. He gave me a ride to the metro station where I caught the train to my downtown motel. I stayed at a Days Inn that advertised having a free highspeed breakfast...I'm not sure I can eat that fast! Counting the hours until I see Eva!
For additional content, check out Flickr for images, YouTube for video, SoundCloud for audio, and the Postholer Map with my most recent location.
Thanks for following along!
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