Santa Fe, New Mexico

As I may have mentioned in my previous post, Santa Fe was originally supposed to be the place I stopped first before going down to Albuquerque, but due to poor data coverage in this state (I experienced this again as soon as I left Albuquerque the second time, and didn't get any signal until I reached Roswell, where I am now), I continued southward and came to Albuquerque first. This turned out to be a good thing in fact, as I was very low on funds and Santa Fe isn't really a place where I can easily find work.

After spending a week in Albuquerque, however, and earning $300 working at an auction over the weekend, I had enough to head back north and discover the much smaller city of Santa Fe, which, I had been told was well worth seeing.

I had arranged to meet with several people from Couchsurfing while there, the first one of whom was Rob Kavalek. Rob is originally from Washington, D.C., if I'm not mistaken, and he moved to Santa Fe a few months ago. I met him at his house and parked my van in his driveway, where I would remain for the majority of my time in this city.

Rob was extremely affable and after I had lunch we went for a walk to the historic district of Santa Fe which, as I later discovered, is the only part worth seeing as the rest of the city is fairly bland, not overly attractive, and quite typical of North American cities, once again.
We stopped at a local coffee shop which is also a bookstore (those are the best!) and chatted for a while over coffee. Afterward we continued our walk and I got to see the uniqueness of old Santa Fe, the New Mexican architectural style of which has been preserved by zoning regulations. On our way back Rob suggested we get some Chinese dumplings, which are only available one day of the week. My lucky night! I hadn't had authentic Chinese dumplings (meaning not the frozen kind) since leaving Taiwan over seven years ago! I very much enjoyed my supper, as did Rob (Rob didn't enjoy my supper, he enjoyed his), and it was a great way to wrap up my first day in Santa Fe.

I spent the rest of the week exploring the city, the first day on foot as I still hadn't repaired the flat tires on my bicycle, and looking for food in dumpsters. I bought two inner tubes for my tires and learned that the culprit I had this damage to thank for is colloquially referred to as "goat's head" in New Mexico, due to the shape of the thorn. They seem to be quite a menace in these parts and many people fall victim to them, both in their feet and on two wheels. I hope to avoid goat's heads for the rest of my stay in New Mexico, except for the two caprids I am now feeding in Roswell.

I didn't find much food in Santa Fe besides a bag of string beens and three eggs, but these were still well appreciated.  I did pick up a book at a used book store, and the long walk I took on my second day brought up some interesting ideas for me, which I will mention at a later time.

One evening Rob and I went for supper at a popular local New Mexican-style restaurant, La Choza. I had been told that I absolutely had to try green chillies, which are a specialty for this part of the country, so I had my fill that night. I think I prefer green chillies to red ones, actually. I don't often eat spicy food, but these seemed relatively mild, and the flavour was more pleasant, less bitter. Supper was amazing, and we were both stuffed at the end.

Another person I had arranged to meet while in Santa Fe was Kristen, and we did so at a little teahouse in a trendy and artsy district of the city. Kristen is an interesting person who bears several uncanny resemblances to my ex partner Kristin, even in name. Her academic and travel interests are similar to mine so we had lots in common. A day after meeting her I responded to a post she made on facebook asking people to help her watch over her pets while she was away for a few days, and I offered to be of help. Kristen lives just outside of the city, in a secluded area with only a few residences and many dogs. I spent two and a half days there taking care of her dog and two cats and exploring the vicinity on my bike. It was a lovely way for me to end my stay in Santa Fe.

Before leaving Santa Fe, I spent one day volunteering at a local homeless shelter, where I cleaned up and got some free food. I've been inspired to connect with more people as I travel, and this way I can do that, offer my services, and get fed at the same time. It's a win-win for everyone!

I passed through Albuquerque on my way south on Sunday, as I still had two things I wanted to experience there. The first one was meeting Tim Harris, who owns Tim's Place. I mentioned this in my previous post, I believe. Tim has Down's Syndrome and his parents bought him a restaurant four years ago. Tim makes a point of hugging everyone who comes to his restaurant, and this was something I'd planned to experience since I saw his video on youtube a year back.
I got my hug and a few photos with Tim, as well as a meal, and the only thing left for me to do in Albuquerque was to take the Sandia Peak Tramway, which has the world's third-longest cable car span and is North American's longest aerial tramway. Unfortunately due to high winds, it was closed, which was slightly disappointing, but at least I saved $20.

Instead I started making my way south, with the intention of visiting Blackwater Draw Museum close to Clovis, and then onward to Roswell, the supposed site of a UFO crash in 1947.