Albuquerque ..the last days

Tomorrow .... back to Guatemala and reality...

I have spent the last days with Fernando and Melinda, who have gone out of their way to make me feel at home here in Albuquerque.
And they have succeeded!
Fernando is going to take care of my motorcycle and find a buyer. We had it cleaned and it looks so good that I almost changed my decision.
Yesterday and today we did some wonderful rides together. We rode to the top of the Sandia Mountains which made a new record for my trip, because we reached 10,678 ft, or 700 ft higher than the Tioga pass.








The view from there is grandiose, we could see another mountain range, 75 miles to the west in the clear pure air of New Mexico.
Hummingbirds were feeding on nectar and the green mountain contrasted vividly with the desert landscape below.

After a visit to the Indy car museum of the Unser family we repaired to a local sports bar for the game.

On the picture, Fernando is watching the World Cup game between Germany and Uruguay.







Our plan for today was to ride to Pojoaque and watch the final game of the World Cup, Spain against Holland. I donned an orange shirt for the occasion, while Melinda and Fernando showed the Spanish colors.



We rode to Santa Fe via Bandelier National Forest, an impressive canyon landscape with volcanic calderas and extensive forests of Ponderosa pine.
After breakfast in a small pueblo, Jemez Springs, we passed Los Alamos, the complex were Robert Oppenheimer produced the atomic bombs that ended the war in the Pacific.

At 5:29:45 am MWT on July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb exploded 100 feet over a portion of the southern New Mexico desert known as the Jornada del Muerto - the Journey of the Dead Man. As he witnessed the nuclear explosion, the man most responsible for the bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, thought of a passage from the Bagavaad Gita: "I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds." The creation of the atomic bomb made Oppenheimer one of the most recognized and controversial figures in American history

In just twenty-eight months, Los Alamos produced two atomic bombs of very different designs. Their combat use against Japan did not win the war, but they did contribute significantly to ending it.

The Pojoaque sports bar is part of a casino but few patrons left the gambling to watch the game.
It was a tense affair and the outcome is known to you all. I wonder if I will live long enough to see my country win the cup!!

When we left the bar, I found a Harley parked next to my bike, that was identified as belonging to a Bandido member.

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership.

Its slogan is: We are the people our parents warned us about. It is estimated to have 2,400 members in 210 chapters, located in 16 countries

The Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have named the Bandidos an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Here are my friends next to that motorcycle, but I don't think they would qualify for membership!

At home , I packed my bags after discarding all excess baggage and I am ready to go.

I still received a cheque and a promise from friends to contribute to the ride and will contact the Guatemala Tomorrow Fund to learn the final amount collected.

I will keep this blog going for some time with additional impressions and information of the ride.
I hope you will continue to read and enjoy it.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman