Hello everyone! We are very sorry for having kept you guys on waiting for some news. We are currently in Forest Grove, Oregon. Yesterday we had another fantastic day, since we celebrated Thanksgiving with a very special family and community.

We arrived in Forest Grove on 22 October and we were very lucky to be hosted as another family member by the Totmans. Our friend Silvia had spent a term with them more than a decade ago and she had gotten us in touch with them so we could send the gear we were not in need of from Canada in a 11 kg box.

Unfortunately, two days later Pak had a fainting spell and since then we have been visiting doctors and running some tests. The results came back quite alright and revealed nothing is wrong with him. Besides, he felt tip top since the second spell. This means we will be able to resume our journey shortly.

In the meantime, we had been enjoying this amazing family and great community: we enjoyed the pleasures of carving a pumpkin for Halloween, we were able to visit the area –not only the hospitals and health care centres,– and to help around at the various initiatives our hosts are involved in at the Old Town church. And, recently, we could even ride our bikes and do some mild hiking.

These last weeks have been very special and different as compared to any other previous periods of our trip. Besides taking a good rest and enjoying the company of this great family, we also had the most humbling of experiences. We had the privilege of meeting the guys at Blanket Coverage and help them distributing dinner to their guests, we also helped with the Closet Green and the Christmas Experience initiatives at Old Town and felt very welcome by a nice and warm community. Since we set foot in at the Totmans we have felt being part of this wonderful family. We could not have been luckier and we can only feel but gratitude for everything these guys have done for us!

Having such an amount of ‘free time’ down of the saddle has also allowed us to catch up with some projects we had not been able to complete so far. For instance, the overview of our route! Yay! We are so glad to finally be able to show you on a map how far we have gone since we started pedalling!

Last but not least, we would like to finish this post by also thanking everyone we have the chance to meet so far in the US, before we got to Forest Grove. Thanks a million to Lynn and Marc, for letting us stay in their camping spot and their great conversation; to Steve, for being a fantastic WarmShowers’ host and for introducing us to other nice cyclists we’re so glad to follow –Pascale, Johnny, Jakoba and Matthijs; to Ralph and Katie and their kids Eva and Wesley, for welcoming us like family to their home and for an unforgettable excursion around the area; to Andrea and to Kimberly, two amazing women living in Forks who gave us great advice; to Hans and Bonnie and their friends Martha and Dave, for being more than excellent WarmShowers’ hosts and their fascinating anecdotes and tips for the road; to Matt, for their spontaneity and kindness in offering us his flat after two seconds of conversation on the street; to Lonnie for his open arms and home.

Likewise, we are also very grateful for having had met the Totman family and everyone else we met thanks to them: Shari and Mike; Anneka, Jeremie and Josiah; Bethany, Matt, Keona, Alicia, Jonah, Emma and Ginger; Hannah and her family; Ashley, Zack, James and Mallory; Robin and Tiny; Pumpkin –RIP– and Rat; Joe and Benji; Hannah and Justin; Dan and Johnny from Blanket Coverage; the whole Old Town church community; the town of Forest Grove and everyone else we may have forgotten about!

Thanks a lot to you all as well, for following us on this blog or on the social world. Do not hesitate to contact us or ask any questions; we will try to reply as soon as possible. And, of course, please keep in mind you can always subscribe to our blog and/or our social media.