Day 60 Cuba NM

Today, Im the owner of new cycle shoes!

The risk of riding on in shoes held together with duck tape was too high. My challenge was how to get to the nearest cycle shop in Albuquerque, 82 miles away! Google had listed car hire places in Cuba but was found not to be the case. In my search however, I came across Jonathan Smelser & his dad, Worthington (Worth) Smelser (2nd person met on this trip with Worthington

as a Christian name!) They were heading for Albuquerque to collect medication & kindly agreed to take me along. Other than the inside of the Trek shop & a diner, l missed out on seeing the city, nor was I able to meet up with Heidi & Kelly – sorry for that.

From the car I could see Albuquerque had grown considerably since my visit in 1970’s & not necessarily for the better. Back then it was much smaller & was possible to drive through in 15 mins. The charm of the Old Town’s pueblo buildings (dating back to 1706) was apparent it had a feel of a pioneer town. Today, the old town is lost in the the urban sprawl which continues up the slopes of the Sandia Mountains, the city’s stunning backdrop. As with the rest of NM, Albuquerque sits in a high desert & NM’s place of wealth & opportunity. Major employers like Intel (chip manufacturers) help see to that. However, all is not good here. The city is running out of water & climate change is worsening the situation; population is decreasing – people are moving out of state all together, predominantly for Colorado & drugs & crime are a big problems.

Worth is an 80 year old, retired civil/structural engineer, has retained his sharp mind. Jon is from his second marriage with a family from his first. He told me the tragic story of one of his son’s, a successful construction engineering. A popular person, with many friends – some on the “edge”. A couple of weeks after mentioning to Worth that he was in trouble, his son disappeared- and is now officially registered as dead. The family believe he may be alive, living with a new identity, unable to contact anyone from the past. All this happened only 2 yrs ago so is very raw and the case is still open. Worth also has convincing views on recent history & current affairs. His conclusion of 9/11 is that the twin towers were designed to withstand a plane collision & collapsed due to explosions.

Jon is a smart 23yrs old, still pondering on choice of degree. He had two distractions. His faith – he is a devout Christian, and the family business – a large acreage of land just outside Cuba, part is leased out for fracking, part for rearing cattle & part is leased for water abstraction.

Worth & son Jon – nearby their reservoir

Back at my motel & prepared for tomorrow’s ride & rested.