Sunday evening (3/6), Hanna and I left Seattle and headed to Portland by Greyhound. At the bus station, we were picked up by Leslie. Wonderful Leslie.
Back in 2009, when I was discovering Bolivia together with Natalia, Jonna and Cecilia, we happened to stay at the same hostel in Rurrenabaque as this American girl and Dutch guy. Leslie and Sven. Rurrenabaque is the last outpost in the Bolivian Amazon before the jungle starts, and it was hot and extremely humid. So after just a ten minute chat with Sven and Leslie, we decided to go down to the river for a swim. We ended up spending a week together in Rurre, going on boat tours, visiting markets and cooking with all the amazing vegetables we bought. We had such a blast, buying second-hand clothes and going to bars dressed all crazy.
So when I decided to go through Oregon on my North America trip, I naturally thought of Leslie and used Facebook for the only thing I feel really comfortable using Facebook for: keeping in contact with the friends I’ve made during my travels. I asked her about Portland, and she invited me and Hanna to stay on her couch.
And once we arrived, she did so much more. She drove us around town, showing us all the coolest places, especially the best shopping spots. She took us to the best restaurants and bars and on the last morning, made us an amazing breakfast and made sure that we got to the car rental office. Both Hanna and I fell in love with her generosity, her cute little apartment and charming cat. We couldn’t have had a better guide to the wierd city of Portland.
Me, Hanna and Leslie, shopping in southeastern Portland.
Hanna outside Leslies cool brick apartment building in northeastern Portland.
Leslies cat felt he was so much more important than the plans for our roadtrip, so he just came and laid down on top of the Oregon map.
An old-school photobooth photo that the three of us took. It didn’t turn out very good, though, the booth became far too crowded. But it was fun.
Katja Malmborg 