INDIAN CHIEF GIVES ME A RIDE TO MEXICO

     Warm sun shines through the white curtain. I am in Mexico City Marco Polo Hotel. As one more chapter on this road has closed, another one opens. Today I start writing from the beginning one Latin American tale. How did I get here? I look back to understand.   

The magical day of October 9th was my 460th day on the road, exactly one year, three months and two days since I started my journey from Estonia.  “Your breakfast has been payed for,” said the lady in the petrol station by which I had camped. Maurice who had dropped me off in Moncton, New Brunswick, the previous day, had decided to make this nice surprise of a warm meal and $20 for me (to top the $20 he had already given me yesterday). I could not even thank him! The owner of the station came to ask me how everything was and brought me a bag full of food. “This is for lunch,” he said. I could not believe this was happening.  The miracles continued. Walking in the rain, finally someone took pity and stopped. “I am going Halifax”, I said. “You are going the wrong way,” said Robert. “Oh, no!” “But it is your lucky day, so am I!” What are the chances of this happening!    I got to Nova Scotia and with 211 km left to go, hitchhiked a ride with the chief of the Waycobah first nation Morley Googoo.    Morley owned the city of Halifax.   At first Morley ended up buying me two books, then he did not let me camp, but brought me home, and when his father-in-law came to spend a weekend with a lady-friend, got me a room in a hotel. That day he took his father-in-law with his lady-friend and me to a performace called Drum. I asked how he got the free tickets. “I bought the show,” said Morley.  After that that he got me a ticket to Mexico, brought me home for thanksgiving, left me his palace (no misspellings here!), to dwell in while I was working in his community school, threw the most amazing good-bye party for me when I got back to Halifax, drove me to Peggy´s Cove, where I swam in the Atlantic Ocean, got me another book, sent me off to the airport, got me a place to stay in Mexico City –  a five star Marco Polo hotel, gave me money and said that if I were to decide to come back, then it is a return ticket…   That was in short.  “An intellectual connection” is what the chief called it and told his wife over the phone about me the next day after picking me up. I felt that a big brother I never had, suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and for 12 days tried to make up for the lost time that we had not known each-other.   “Morley, let me work for your community, I can´t just accept gifts like this. It does not feel right.”  “Tell your stories,” said Morley “This will be your volunteer work.”  After thanksgiving I started working in school on the native reserve of Whycocomagh. The first day I kept a low profile, helping Ella, the janitor. I got to be a teacher´s assistant, and later cleaned the toilets, I worked in the kitchen and travelled around the reserve in the school bus. At the end of the day the vice-principal gave me his laptop. “I want you to make a presentation and tell about your travels to kids,” said John Leonard. In two following days I ended up giving nine presentations. What a rewarding assignment!    Amanda, Morley´s sister, took me to another reserve on Saturday. The Ceremony was to take place in Membertou. There was a smell of burning sage in the dark room, drums, chanting, the smoking of the peace-pipe – a timeless experience. Later and eagle wing was passed around and each got to say a prayer to the Great Spirit.    “So how did you like it in my community?”asked Morley when I came back to Halifax. “Wow!” I had no other words. “Did everything actually happen?“  I used to say that there is a good-bye in every hello – a parting in every meeting. I don´t believe that any more. I still acknowledge and greatly treasure each moment when the meeting lasts. But I also think that nothing that was real ever dies, that even though we say good-bye, we always stay together. The Mi´kmaq people know that. In their language there is no good-bye, just a very true “See you!”  “Good-byes do not exist,” I told little Rachel, who did not want me to go. “I stay right here in your heart, and you stay in mine. This way we are always together.”