Good bye, Albuquerque

The city of dukes, nestled amongst the Sandia Mountains; ah, my breast beats for it. I’m currently being your stereotypical blogger: sitting outside a Starbucks, overpriced coffee in hand, tapping away on free Wi-Fi, and without a single concern in the world. But let me explain as to how I came about being in this delightful relic of Spanish imperialism.

I  come from a very large family and several of my siblings are already married and with child – bravo to them! It is for this reason then that I traversed the four hours from my home to come spend a few hours with the latest addition to our clan: a little niece!

To the left is my niece, my youngest brother’s firstborn child, a sweet child of pure innocence and constant wonder, with blue eyes of thoughtfulness and jovial chubby cheeks. She’s less than a week old – I won’t see her again until I return to the States in August. Knowing this, what kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t make the trip to see her before leaving? That would be incredibly selfish of me, I thought, so I saddled up and headed over to beautiful Albuquerque – if only for a few hours – to see her and the proud parents afore my departure.

In addition to visiting family before leaving, there were a few items I needed to pick up to finish my packing list. Knowing there’s plenty of hiking retailer outfits in Albuquerque, I slew two birds with a single stone. Subsequently, I booked it to REI and acquired for myself the remainder of my items: a pack cover (my old one being too large), some dedicated hiking socks (my old Army ones are heavy and don’t dry swiftly), and a toiletry bag (more durable and compact than my previous one). Once I return home, it’ll be time to assemble my entire packing list and get the final weight – 16 pounds is the highest I’ll allow myself to go.

And so I do believe I am just about ready for this next adventure. Armed with a blogging device, I hope to maintain contact with the outside world. A camera is due to arrive in the mail soon enough so expect some terribly shoddy, but meaningful, pictures to be posted on the reg.

I hope to keep this thing as a good resource for any other potential hikers of the Chemin St. Jacques/Camino Norte so expect some rather serious – yet fun – posts about Do’s and Do Not’s along the Way.

And so, farewell for today, dear Albuquerque; I look forward to our next reunion in several months.

Author: Bruno

A blog for mad people by a madman. View all posts by Bruno