[ Ciudad de Guatemala ]
Buenos dias transglobalistas y ¡una cariñosa despedida del 2022!
In the final hours of this week, month, and year I’d like to reflect briefly on what we’ve accomplished together and what—¡ojalá!—is in store for 2023.
Before we get to the photos and their concomitant stories, let’s parse 2022 numerically:
Since this time last year, Fargo and I traveled over three thousand kilometers under our own power, representing three hundred hours in the saddle and fifty-seven thousand meters of ascent. To provide a sense of scale, I rode my bicycle from sea-level to the peak of Mount Everest almost six-and-a-half times (6.44 to be exact).
While riding and otherwise traveling about, I took nearly twelve thousand photographs in four countries (USA, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala), resulting in sixteen-hundred final edits. Conservatively assuming fifteen minutes per edit, that equals four hundred hours spent on photo editing.
My longest stay—nearly five months—was in Oaxaca de Juarez, where I was plagued by issues both medical and dental—the most memorable being orthostatic hypotension, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), two broken teeth, one root canal, and one crown. While those complications were definitely unpleasant—triggering a longish bout of self-doubt and marking the year’s emotional low-point—they were solidly offset by the incredible outpouring of support and encouragement from friends and supporters.
As a teller of tales, I uploaded fourteen major posts to my blog (duplicated on Facebook), and posted no less than thirty-seven times to my patrons and friends on Patreon. Patreon supporters accompanied me on ten virtual Zoom tours through nine cities in three countries. Mexico City, Zitacuaro, Valle de Bravo, Oaxaca de Juarez, and San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico. Quetzaltenango, Sayaxche, and Antigua Guatemala in, well, Guatemala. And the inimitable Medellin in Colombia.
¡Guau! ¡Qué año!
Following are images from the events of 2022 up to and including my stay in Oaxaca de Juarez. As always, each image has its own mini-story included in the caption. I hope you enjoy them, and stay tuned for 2022, Part II!
Your devoted Transglobalist,
—jim
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