Day 88 – Back to San Antonio

After a couple cups of coffee and muffins & PB, I packed up Papa Hobo once again and said goodbye and thanks to Claire, Regina, and Dave, and hit the road for the ride back to Schertz. A little different route, but the biggest change from Sunday was the amount of traffic. I also passed a cement plant and two quarries that had a constant stream of trucks coming and going. The good thing about that is that the shoulders were mostly good and even where they weren’t, the motorists were respectful and gave me a wide berth. There are a lot of cyclists in this area, so seeing me wasn’t unexpected.

I got back to Chili’s and Peggy’s around 5 pm and again was given a king’s welcome: and a cold beer! Chili had a meeting to go to so I talked with Peggy and heard the stories and saw pictures of the immigrants they have helped and housed as they traveled on their journeys from their home countries. Sometimes very heart wrenching and hard-to-hear stories about crossing the Darien gap, where every female is raped and everyone is robbed as they are easy prey in the mountainous and muddy jungle they have to cross. Then there was the family that was split up and their fifteen year old daughter held at the border because her birth certificate was folded so many times the border patrol couldn’t read it. She was force to stay in Mexico while her mother and brother were let in – and then one of the two brothers who were left back home was electrocuted by a gang for having a job. That story had a somewhat better ending than many as pro-bono lawyers were able to get a replacement birth certificate for the girl, and a flight out for the 13 year old boy who was left behind. The family is together and building a new and safe life here. Peggy put this all in perspective by asking, would you be ready to put your life in a small backpack, leave your home behind, and make a treacherous journey because you feared for your life and those of your children? That’s the state of many South American countries, unfortunately, and until those situations change, the flood of people seeking refuge won’t stop. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, good. Feel it. Understand it. Count and appreciate your own blessings.

When Chili returned, we talked some more, made plans for the day on Thursday and my departure on Friday to New Orleans. Not a lot of pics today, but I’m sure there will be plenty to make up for it as I tour San Antonio tomorrow.