Ongoing COVID has been the theme – and it’s been a drag for most of us.
Was 2020 the worst year ever for you, or did amazing things happen?
I hope that whatever inconveniences may have occurred, you still walk and live with your spirits high. It’s important that we don’t get worn down mentally and emotionally from the loss of health, life, and social restrictions.
I haven’t been online on the blog much this year, but I’ll share what I’ve been up to since June.
MOVING
I moved from San Juan del Rio, where I had been since the end of my second long ride in October 2019. I made it out of the small city that I actually love ( I don’t like cities much, but I just thought San Juan was the best). But March and April were tough, with more and more stores closing down every week.
I discussed how I was going to work with a farmer on his projects, while working online.
That did happen for May and June, but then a couple things happened.
I started getting more good paying work writing online and this was becoming my focus. After all, people were losing employment left right and center, and I was getting settled into a pretty sweet gig, that had originally started in February.
At the same time, working with the farmer ended up being far less rewarding both mentally and financially that I was expecting.
A lot of farms that need help or want partners are in that position because they aren’t organized or don’t follow a stringent business model themselves. And this place was definitely one of those. I’m at the point in my life that if you don’t have a thing for detail and systems management, I’m not interested. It’s that simple.
TRYING TO VISIT CANADA
So with my ongoing remote gig I plowed away for the last 6 months.
I just recently redid the 5000 miles of hope website to better leverage additional freelance work.
I’m looking to get more hours so I can save more and get back to Canada in the next year or 2.
My parents are getting on with the years; as much as I love Mexico, it would do no justice to my parents, nor the family-centric Mexican culture, if I were to remain down here the final years of there lives.
And, as I have Roxy, ( and 2 new Blue Heeler pups!!!) it makes going back and forth harder, especially with Roxy crossing from Mexico into the USA/ Canada.
So, I’ve been weighing it out trying to figure out how I can be nearer to my folks, and also in the warm weather in the winters- with Roxy.
This is what I’ve come up with, so far…
Remember my post from way back in August 2017? At the endurance horse race in Ontario? I met an endurance racing couple there, that lived in their trailer with their horses. Canada in the summer, New Mexico in the winter…Ideas.
VANLIFE
As I mentioned, it’s hard to get a horse into the US / Canada from Mexico, primarily due to the prevalence of Piroplasmosis in the tropics. There are large counter-measures to keeping this infectious disease out of the more Northern climes.
So if I am going to move back up north, and I choose to live the snow bird life, I may decide to just go as far south as Arizona, Texas, etc in the winter rather than dealing with the major expense and quarantine of entering from Mexico every spring. This is all a a long ways ahead, but it’s all part of it.
I’ve been looking at getting an aluminum body step van to make the traveling easier, and to not have to get or use a horse trailer. Here’s a link to a guy on YouTube who lives in his stepvan. I’ve heard that in England, these types of vehicles are used for horse transport.
But that’s still a ways away. Gotta save up first.
SIERRA GORDA
I live in a tiny remote village in the eastern part of Queretaro. No cell phone service, Internet kicks out when the power goes out (often in the rainy season), and it takes forever to get anywhere. But its super beautiful and relaxing.
I got a new hobby in the spring- CB and Ham Radios! The reception out here is super fantastic. It works best when I disconnect the internet antenna…
I contacted New York one day and have listened to guys talking from Australia to Europe…
I really wanted to go back to Canada in the spring but because of COVID I couldn’t really do a proper 2 week vacation, so I didn’t go…
I wanted to bring my 2 sled dogs back, Ninja and Prowler. Well with them back home, I couldn’t wait any longer and got 2 Blue Heeler pups, Blewey and Buddha. They’re a blast.
COVID-19
I’ve been reading up on COVID around the world, as part of my job and I’ve got mixed feelings about it all.
Obviously I’m saddened by the deaths, and loss of health.
But I’m angered by the response (or lack of response) to preventing and ocntaining it, and I’m concerned for how it is affecting people’s mental and emotional health, as well as our livelihoods.
It’s so much to talk about that I will write about it in it’s own post, called Which Wolf Are You Feeding?
All the best in 2021, stay strong and be well.
Chris MacLuckies’ professional career began with a decade-long stint as an organic vegetable grower in Ontario Canada. His career is prolific in breadth and scope. He has farmed organics commercially, volunteered in Guatemala, ran a gardening business, raised and raced sled dogs, tended his livestock, and ridden his horse on a multi-country expedition.
Chris is a certified TEFL ESL English Teacher, author of seven books, freelance content creator, and outdoor travel gear designer.
Hi Chris!!! I hope you and Roxy (and the new pups) are doing well. We think of you often. We will always cherish the weekend you spend with us. I hope one day we will meet again. Take care!!!