Obscurity

220813.1023

I decided the afternoon before. And in less than 12 hours I was on the train to Portland. 

For a long time I've wanted to take this special train. I was a fan of trains before (or maybe as well as...) a fan of planes. A a child, I took so many train journeys throughout Europe with mum (and to some extent also dad...). I remember with a month or so of moving to Europe, dad took the whole family on a three day trip on the (now defunct...) Benelux train. How excited I was. And even before that, I loved taking the train down to visit my relatives in the south and could already tell the difference between this and that express or local train at four or so. I got "lost" once, when dad took me to watch a municipal councillor  election speech. I was found by the police and had somehow found my way  to the train station. 

Back to now. I was excited to board the Cascades, the legendary train that travels from Vancouver BC down to Eugene-Springfield, OR, calling at Seattle, WA, and Vancouver (again!) on the way. After taking the Adirondack (Montreal, QC I New York, NY) and the Grand Canyon railway, this is the third of riding legendary railways of the US. 

The rolling stock was made in Spain, and what is unique is that two carriages share one wheel, which is supposed to allow the train to go faster and be more stable, especially around bends. Much of the scenery along the way follows Puget Sounds and the Georgia Straits, so you have these  views of islands with tall evergreens rising from the ocean that is so iconic of the Pacific Northwest. 

It felt good to be on the road again and to be riding the rails. The journey took over nine hours (with delays...) and passed so many small towns and forests. It felt good to be out in nature again, and reminded me of how much I want change in life. A change of people and things who/which matter. A change of place, a change of direction. 

I was exhausted from the night before, when I slept only two hours or so. But the excitement of being on a train kept me awake, at least during the first half of the journey. The latter half, I got out the computer and worked a bit until I could barely keep my eyes open. And for an hour or so I dozed off...

I arrived in Portland, my destination and home for the next three days. Nobody knows I'm here, and in some ways this sense of mystery and anonymity is comforting. Nobody really needs to know what I do here or why. Does anyone really care? I'm just someone who blends into the city and surroundings. Whenever I look back, I can see, all anyone can see is the absence of my presence here or anywhere. And that's alright.

I was so exhausted when I got to the hotel. After a dinner at an Americanised Chinese place, I went back to my room and rested. Who would have thought somehow the "tired" bug infected me and I could not get up at all. I had set my alarm for seven in the morning, and when I got up it was already half past nine. I missed my planned excursion to Cannon Beach. ( a trip that impromptu came into being after I noticed at the train station that you can take a coach there, a place a friend had shown me amazing pictures of the long tranquil beach and little islands that are like mountains along the coastline...) 

I felt nauseated and ill in the morning, and lay down to rest even more. By the time I was ready to leave the hotel, half the day was gone...

But I made good use of the other half. I went downtown to explore the "food pods", shacks congregated around certain squares of Portland selling all sorts of foods and delicacies in the style of "street food" common in asian countries. There were all sorts, from Egyptian to Greek, from Georgian to Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and even sushi bento boxes made fresh in front of you. Amazing. 

I rented a bike and explored what is nicknamed America"s bike capital. True to its name, there were all these bike trails, hundreds of kilometers in and around the city alone together with special lanes on busy thoroughfare. Really, there are special bike parking areas, designated areas at the front of the lane before a traffic light where bikers can wait safely . There are even lanes for (roller)skaters too! I was impressed, as this so much reminded me of back in the Netherlands, and there were so many other people on bikers too. 

I biked along the Willamette River and was taken aback by how clean and orderly the city is (At the same time, there are a lot of homeless people too, so many congregating around parks and wooded areas ...). And again it crossed my mind: the world is so big, with so much potential to explore. Why am I stuck in the same city I have been in for the past five years?