Everything is pretty much same old, same old, here in San Gil, but I don´t want to get in trouble for not writing on here enough.....
The spanish studying is going well I suppose, though always feels to progress slower than I´d like. Shaun, the owner of the hostel that I´m staying at, is letting me borrow a GIANT grammar book that should last me for the rest of life if I had the time, but I´m planning to get through it by January. So far 100 pages into 500 but that´s basically doing review of things I´ve already studied. I think I need to pull up my socks. There was a guy here a week or so ago who saw me studying from it and asked if he could exchange with me and asked "when are you going to be done with that?" Not exactly the brightest bulb.
During my time in Colombia, I have often been experiencing what I like to call a "500 peso blonde tax". It basically works out to about 25 cents, but I am starting to get very annoyed when that amount is inexplicably added onto the price of my bus tickets, ice cream, shampoo, etc. Since most of the shops don´t have price tags or fixed prices for things, it´s easy for them to charge foreigners more (the frequently accepted gringo discount) but for some reason I´ve been paying even 500 pesos more for things than a lot of my other tourist friends. So fast forward to a few nights ago when I went to buy a meat on a stick from a woman with a cart down in the square...... normally this delicious street meat costs 1500 pesos, but when I hand her a 10 000, I only get 8000 back. A price that she tells me is because December is getting busier and when there are more people in the square, she can charge a floating price. I am dubious, but don´t want to confront her so I let it go. Then the next day I go to buy another one (for a friend, I swear I am not turning into a grilled meat stick fanatic) and she gives me the price as 1500.... "I mean 2000". So NOW I confront her, asking if this relates to a 500 peso rubia tax, and she´s so sweet and embarrassed trying to explain that the cost really just relates to more tourism, so I start feeling guilty. Especially when this fact is confirmed by multiple locals I have asked about it since........ I guess I should be more careful when making assumptions about getting foreigner treatment.
I´ve been working now at the orphanage/social services children´s home for the last two weeks, and I love it. I can already tell it´s going to be so hard to leave at the end of the month. Right now Sarah and Ana (the two other volunteers) and I are trying to get things together to give them a nice Christmas, and to use some of our connections and resources to fix things at the orphanage. Sarah has already collected a bunch of money from her friends and family back home, and we were intending to buy each of the kids one new outfit and a pair of shoes (most of them only have a couple shirts and pants and 1 pair of sandals-new arrivals come in all the time from very broken homes, the streets, etc and most of the time have nothing but some ill-fitting clothes that the social worker has been kind enough to provide themself) plus some art supplies, educational materials, etc. But since we have been trying to organize that, the fridge in the kids´ home has completely broken down and we found out that the home where the older boys (10-18) live doesn´t even have a washing machine so they each spend a significant amount of time every day doing all the washing by hand. So... now we are going to replace the appliances, since they are both needed immediately, but that means we don´t even have enough to cover the costs of things we have already committed to buying.
So.... I know this is a very expensive time of year for everyone, and I don´t want to impose on any charity giving that you may already be invested in, but I did want to let you know about the pretty basic conditions these kids live with, and say that if anyone is able to contribute something to this cause, I would be so very grateful, and them even moreso. If you are interested and able to donate something (any amount would be appreciated!), please email me (sarah.gustin@gmail.com) or let me know via facebook, and I can direct you to the PayPal account that has been set up, as well as give you some more specific details regarding how the money will be spent, what the home and kids are like, etc.
Thanks so much everyone, and hope your mid-decembers aren´t too crazy!! much love,
Sarah
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Back in San Gil...
Ok so already I've been falling behind on these, so my apologies. (ie. stop pestering me mom! haha)
So like I mentioned before, didn't love Cartagena at all. All my plans of staying there for a month or so to take spanish classes sort of flew out the window when it was obvious that while the walled old city was beautiful, it was also pretty seedy, very touristy, dirty, and it seemed like everyone was always after you for money or something. That, plus the fact that out of the 3 days I stayed there, it rained for pretty much 48 hours nonstop didn't help my impression of the place. The streets were constantly just filled with that stanky sewage water, and you had to either walk blocks out of your way or pay to cross via these rickety bridges they had lashed together out of scrap wood.
Spent a few days checking out the town though, getting muddy and dying of heat, but eventually left on thursday for further up along the coast, to Taganga. It's a small fishing village/suburb of a larger city called Santa Marta, but is much quieter although filled with backpackers and Colombian tourists. The people were much more chill than in Cartagena though, so I didn't mind that so much, and was able to enjoy a few days lounging on the beach, eating ceviche and getting a bit sunburnt/bug bitten. Well actually a LOT bug bitten. In fact, my ankles were starting to get so canklish and sore that I was having scary flashbacks to the days after the sandfly invasion in the bolivian jungle last year, when I couldn't wear shoes for like 2 weeks because my ankles were so sore. But luckily it didn't get quite that bad, and in fact, the bites are mostly gone now. More or less.
There were some cool people there, though a few token crazies as well. Met a guy who strangely is from a farm outside Chatham, and then just yesterday there was a guy here who grew up in Delaware and goes to King's at Western. Small world.
Anyhow, found a few others who were interested in going up to Parque Tayrona, so on Saturday we negotiated ourselves a boat to drive us the 2 hours and drop us off inside the park, thereby bypassing the dreaded entrance fee. It did mean that we had to suffer through those 2 hours of frightfully maniacal nautical maneuvres, sin life jackets, with giant waves and a speed only approached by nearby Colombian coke runners. Nevertheless, arrived safely, absolutely soaking wet, but the park itself was astounding and more than made up for the white knuckle ride. Talk about the stereotypical Caribbean paradise, it was absolutely gorgeous, and we got to sleep in hammocks in a small open cabana on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I hadn't really brought enough clothes, so it was a bit of a windy and cold night, but so beautiful I didn't even really mind. Just laid around on the beach for those two days, enjoying the views before hiking out through the forest, catching a series of 6 busses and eventually arriving here in San gil on Monday morning.
Since then, I've been doing a bit of spanish studying/reading in the mornings, and lately have been going to a nearby orphanage to volunteer with one of the other girls staying at the hostel. Pretty relaxed pace, but I am loving it, and I do think my spanish is improving. Maybe not as fast as at a school, but this was is definitely more economical and fun. Have some conflicting reports in the last couple days regarding the health unit job in may, as well as the volunteer post i'm trying to set up, but i'll get back to you on that one.........
Hope all is well and I'll try to give more in detail updates when I have time!!
Oh and Dad, what time is good to call on Saturday??
xo
So like I mentioned before, didn't love Cartagena at all. All my plans of staying there for a month or so to take spanish classes sort of flew out the window when it was obvious that while the walled old city was beautiful, it was also pretty seedy, very touristy, dirty, and it seemed like everyone was always after you for money or something. That, plus the fact that out of the 3 days I stayed there, it rained for pretty much 48 hours nonstop didn't help my impression of the place. The streets were constantly just filled with that stanky sewage water, and you had to either walk blocks out of your way or pay to cross via these rickety bridges they had lashed together out of scrap wood.
Spent a few days checking out the town though, getting muddy and dying of heat, but eventually left on thursday for further up along the coast, to Taganga. It's a small fishing village/suburb of a larger city called Santa Marta, but is much quieter although filled with backpackers and Colombian tourists. The people were much more chill than in Cartagena though, so I didn't mind that so much, and was able to enjoy a few days lounging on the beach, eating ceviche and getting a bit sunburnt/bug bitten. Well actually a LOT bug bitten. In fact, my ankles were starting to get so canklish and sore that I was having scary flashbacks to the days after the sandfly invasion in the bolivian jungle last year, when I couldn't wear shoes for like 2 weeks because my ankles were so sore. But luckily it didn't get quite that bad, and in fact, the bites are mostly gone now. More or less.
There were some cool people there, though a few token crazies as well. Met a guy who strangely is from a farm outside Chatham, and then just yesterday there was a guy here who grew up in Delaware and goes to King's at Western. Small world.
Anyhow, found a few others who were interested in going up to Parque Tayrona, so on Saturday we negotiated ourselves a boat to drive us the 2 hours and drop us off inside the park, thereby bypassing the dreaded entrance fee. It did mean that we had to suffer through those 2 hours of frightfully maniacal nautical maneuvres, sin life jackets, with giant waves and a speed only approached by nearby Colombian coke runners. Nevertheless, arrived safely, absolutely soaking wet, but the park itself was astounding and more than made up for the white knuckle ride. Talk about the stereotypical Caribbean paradise, it was absolutely gorgeous, and we got to sleep in hammocks in a small open cabana on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I hadn't really brought enough clothes, so it was a bit of a windy and cold night, but so beautiful I didn't even really mind. Just laid around on the beach for those two days, enjoying the views before hiking out through the forest, catching a series of 6 busses and eventually arriving here in San gil on Monday morning.
Since then, I've been doing a bit of spanish studying/reading in the mornings, and lately have been going to a nearby orphanage to volunteer with one of the other girls staying at the hostel. Pretty relaxed pace, but I am loving it, and I do think my spanish is improving. Maybe not as fast as at a school, but this was is definitely more economical and fun. Have some conflicting reports in the last couple days regarding the health unit job in may, as well as the volunteer post i'm trying to set up, but i'll get back to you on that one.........
Hope all is well and I'll try to give more in detail updates when I have time!!
Oh and Dad, what time is good to call on Saturday??
xo
Sunday, November 23, 2008
melting in Cartagena
So tons has happened in the last week.......
Sunday to Tuesday I was still in Medellin, not doing a whole lot because every afternoon it would pour buckets. Sunday was nice though, and some of the guys from the hostel and I went to the football game, which is always fun. People are such diehard fans, it´s hard not to get into it.
Saw a bit more of the downtown, Botero park, the most beautiful mall I´ve ever seen inside a refurbished old governmental building or something. Gorgeous. Took the metrocable up over the city, which had some amazing views, and is actually kind of neat in that it is just part of the metro system, and connects lower income barrios with the centre so that people have more access to jobs and opportunities. Really neat idea. Actually, their subway system and a lot of infrastructure there is incredible, really modern- I guess that´s what millions in Pablo Escobar´s drug money will get you.........
Tuesday night it was another night bus to Bucaramanga, where I arrived early in the morning, mainly without incident (though a guy across the aisle insisted on playing target practice on my nostril with the antenna of his radio). From there, it´s another 3 hours south to get to San Gil, the adventure sport capital of Colombia. Actually now that I think about it, I pretty much failed on that count hahaha. (you should be happy mom, i didn´t violate any terms of my health insurance)
So got there around noon, walked around for a bit, got something to eat and attempted to nap. The city is pretty small, around 35000 people, and I absolutely loved it there. Sooooo much more my pace of life, vibrant little centre square where everyone in town goes to congregate, especially in the afternoons and evenings. The hostel was great too, small enough to know everyone and have it feel like home. Someone had told me that they thought it was the best gringo hostel in South America, and I have to say i would tend to agree. Not that I´m biased or anything, since my friend Joe is currently "working" there, if you can call it that haha.
It wasn´t too full either, so that´s why not many activities were happening. But I did get to see a lot fo the surrounding area. Thursday I went to this cute little village called Barichara is beautiful, up atop a canyon, beautiful colonial buildings, whitewashed facades etc. From there you can do a 9km hike to another even smaller village, through the canyon, on an original spanish pathway veiled with a moss hanging from trees that the locals call "old man´s beard".
Friday I tried to get some CIDA stuff arranged, without much success (calling the embassies doesn´t seem to be getting me anywhere really), so have now resorted to email before resigning myself to just figuring something out when I arrive in person. In the afternoon I was pretty annoyed/frustrated, so took the bus to a smaller village where you can walk for 45 minutes or so out to a swimming hole called El Pescaderito. Which should have warned me that there would be a shitload of fish, which there were. I was so hot though that I got over the creepiness of having them possibly touching me and it was actually quite refeshing.
Not nearly as nice as the next days´journey to Juan Curí waterfalls, which were SO nice. You hike up them a ways and then there are a few places where you can swim in the pool where the water comes down. a little chilly but sooooo awesome. Had tons of fun rock climbing around there, and could have stayed all afternoon if the cabbie hadn´t been waiting around impatiently for us to leave. (sidenote- first time I´ve ever been in a cab where he flips down a dvd player for us to watch a movie while we drive....... wonder how many million rides you have to give to afford one of those). And then yesterday night I got on a night bus here to Cartagena. Haven´t really looked around much yet, just showered and am doing a few errands, getting something to eat and then explore the city tomorrow I think. There´s also a mud volcano nearby that is supposed to be really cool. Still not sure if I´m going to choose to do language classes here- guess we´ll have to see what I think of the vibe tomorrow.
Anyhow, I´m about to die of hunger so that´s it for now, but love you guys and will check in soon!! Thanks for the comments/emails too!
xo
Sunday to Tuesday I was still in Medellin, not doing a whole lot because every afternoon it would pour buckets. Sunday was nice though, and some of the guys from the hostel and I went to the football game, which is always fun. People are such diehard fans, it´s hard not to get into it.
Saw a bit more of the downtown, Botero park, the most beautiful mall I´ve ever seen inside a refurbished old governmental building or something. Gorgeous. Took the metrocable up over the city, which had some amazing views, and is actually kind of neat in that it is just part of the metro system, and connects lower income barrios with the centre so that people have more access to jobs and opportunities. Really neat idea. Actually, their subway system and a lot of infrastructure there is incredible, really modern- I guess that´s what millions in Pablo Escobar´s drug money will get you.........
Tuesday night it was another night bus to Bucaramanga, where I arrived early in the morning, mainly without incident (though a guy across the aisle insisted on playing target practice on my nostril with the antenna of his radio). From there, it´s another 3 hours south to get to San Gil, the adventure sport capital of Colombia. Actually now that I think about it, I pretty much failed on that count hahaha. (you should be happy mom, i didn´t violate any terms of my health insurance)
So got there around noon, walked around for a bit, got something to eat and attempted to nap. The city is pretty small, around 35000 people, and I absolutely loved it there. Sooooo much more my pace of life, vibrant little centre square where everyone in town goes to congregate, especially in the afternoons and evenings. The hostel was great too, small enough to know everyone and have it feel like home. Someone had told me that they thought it was the best gringo hostel in South America, and I have to say i would tend to agree. Not that I´m biased or anything, since my friend Joe is currently "working" there, if you can call it that haha.
It wasn´t too full either, so that´s why not many activities were happening. But I did get to see a lot fo the surrounding area. Thursday I went to this cute little village called Barichara is beautiful, up atop a canyon, beautiful colonial buildings, whitewashed facades etc. From there you can do a 9km hike to another even smaller village, through the canyon, on an original spanish pathway veiled with a moss hanging from trees that the locals call "old man´s beard".
Friday I tried to get some CIDA stuff arranged, without much success (calling the embassies doesn´t seem to be getting me anywhere really), so have now resorted to email before resigning myself to just figuring something out when I arrive in person. In the afternoon I was pretty annoyed/frustrated, so took the bus to a smaller village where you can walk for 45 minutes or so out to a swimming hole called El Pescaderito. Which should have warned me that there would be a shitload of fish, which there were. I was so hot though that I got over the creepiness of having them possibly touching me and it was actually quite refeshing.
Not nearly as nice as the next days´journey to Juan Curí waterfalls, which were SO nice. You hike up them a ways and then there are a few places where you can swim in the pool where the water comes down. a little chilly but sooooo awesome. Had tons of fun rock climbing around there, and could have stayed all afternoon if the cabbie hadn´t been waiting around impatiently for us to leave. (sidenote- first time I´ve ever been in a cab where he flips down a dvd player for us to watch a movie while we drive....... wonder how many million rides you have to give to afford one of those). And then yesterday night I got on a night bus here to Cartagena. Haven´t really looked around much yet, just showered and am doing a few errands, getting something to eat and then explore the city tomorrow I think. There´s also a mud volcano nearby that is supposed to be really cool. Still not sure if I´m going to choose to do language classes here- guess we´ll have to see what I think of the vibe tomorrow.
Anyhow, I´m about to die of hunger so that´s it for now, but love you guys and will check in soon!! Thanks for the comments/emails too!
xo
Sunday, November 16, 2008
a weekend in Medellin
Ok so I guess I left off in Bogota........ nice city, friendly people, cool little neighbourhood, but not one of my favourites by any means. Could have been Sarah Klapak's influence, but apparently bad weather severely affects my impression of a place haha.
Anyhow, I checked out on Thursday morning, and it was raining pretty much nonstop so most of the day we spent inside the hostel playing cards, one of my least favourite things, but a veritable travel necessity. Suddenly though, this really bizarre American guy bursts in and announces that he has inside information as to where President Uribe is speaking that afternoon, and could someone with a camera go with him to take pictures?? A few of us jump up and he leads us on this ridiculous winding manhunt around the streets of Bogota, asking directions from all the extra security posted on streetcorners, until finally we get to the university where the conference thing is. We are nearly in, past security, until they realize that we don't have student cards or invitations or anything. So then he starts spinning this tale about how he's a professor from the states, and we're all his journalism students, doing a project on latin american politics, and could we please get in?.... they send us around to another door, and after a lot of negotiations with the military etc., they decide that we can't get in, so instead we have to pose for our "almost saw uribe" picture out on the steps in the rain. Hilarious though, so not a total waste.
And then I went to the bus station to get on a night bus to Armenia, in the heart of the Zona Cafetera, the coffee plantation region of Colombia. I only wanted to store my bag there for the day, go to this national park they have set up for it, and then continue on to Medellin. Unfortunately I did not plan on having one of the wildest and most bizarre bus experiences of my life......
Started when I went to sit down and realized that someone had already taken my seat-- the rest of the bus was pretty much filled up by then save one empty one at the back. I was trying to say that it didn't matter to me, but right then the other straggler passenger gets on and starts questioning the bus driver, how his ticket says seat 21, but there is no seat 21.... apparently that means he was supposed to sit up by the driver in the captain's chair, but he puts up a fuss, saying he has sensitive eyes and the headlights are going to bother him, etc. I'm confused by all the commotion, so am still sort of hovering in the aisle, but eventually give up and just go to sit down.......apparently my hesitation made everyone on the bus think that we were together though, a crucial fact that will factor in later.......
So cramped and uncomfortable bus, blasting AC so much that I actually have my sleeping bag pulled up completely over my head. Didn't really fall asleep at all until around 2 or 3 am, when all of a sudden, the aforementioned crazy guy starts standing up and screaming at the driver that it has been 3 hours and it is a legal requirement to stop the bus for a break. The driver tried to reason that we were going to a station in 30 minutes to change busses, but the guy was inconsolable, flailing in the aisle, screaming at the top of his lungs, threatening the driver, until finally we just stop so that he can get off. By that point all of us are wide awake, so a few other people trickle off to get something to eat, but then after 10 minutes everyone is back on board, ready to get going again. except crazy guy. An hour goes by and he is still nowhere to be found. Everyone else starts getting more than antsy, saying we should just leave him behind, arguing with the driver who claims he would get fired if he leaves a passenger behind. It starts getting more and more heated, expletives and wild gesticulations flying everywhere, and I thought there was going to be some sort of coup, with a stray passenger taking over the wheel and driving us away. But then, because of all the commotion, a military policeman gets on board and starts trying to calm everyone down. A group of people then try to get him to agree to arrest either the driver or the missing man, so we can all get on our way......... and then out of nowhere he just arrives, as though nothing happened, and all is forgiven. We pull away, no questions asked.
Get all the way to the outskirts of the zona cafetera, a mere 30 km from armenia, when suddenly we hit traffic. It's not clear why at first, but we are in stop and go traffic on the side of a hill/mountain for over 7 hours, during which time we move exactly 9.4 km.
Which means that my day in armenia is shot, it's raining at 3pm when we finally arrives, and I am in far from the best of moods, and so I give up on seeing the coffee park and get on another bus straight to Medellin, where I am now. It's a pretty cool place, much more relaxed than bogota, and a bit nicer weather, though still rainy. The hostel is nice, and in a really posh area, so the neighbourhood is beautiful. Probably sticking around till Tuesday, and then going to San gil for some adventure sporting (nothing too dangerous I promise mom haha)
Love you!!
xo
Anyhow, I checked out on Thursday morning, and it was raining pretty much nonstop so most of the day we spent inside the hostel playing cards, one of my least favourite things, but a veritable travel necessity. Suddenly though, this really bizarre American guy bursts in and announces that he has inside information as to where President Uribe is speaking that afternoon, and could someone with a camera go with him to take pictures?? A few of us jump up and he leads us on this ridiculous winding manhunt around the streets of Bogota, asking directions from all the extra security posted on streetcorners, until finally we get to the university where the conference thing is. We are nearly in, past security, until they realize that we don't have student cards or invitations or anything. So then he starts spinning this tale about how he's a professor from the states, and we're all his journalism students, doing a project on latin american politics, and could we please get in?.... they send us around to another door, and after a lot of negotiations with the military etc., they decide that we can't get in, so instead we have to pose for our "almost saw uribe" picture out on the steps in the rain. Hilarious though, so not a total waste.
And then I went to the bus station to get on a night bus to Armenia, in the heart of the Zona Cafetera, the coffee plantation region of Colombia. I only wanted to store my bag there for the day, go to this national park they have set up for it, and then continue on to Medellin. Unfortunately I did not plan on having one of the wildest and most bizarre bus experiences of my life......
Started when I went to sit down and realized that someone had already taken my seat-- the rest of the bus was pretty much filled up by then save one empty one at the back. I was trying to say that it didn't matter to me, but right then the other straggler passenger gets on and starts questioning the bus driver, how his ticket says seat 21, but there is no seat 21.... apparently that means he was supposed to sit up by the driver in the captain's chair, but he puts up a fuss, saying he has sensitive eyes and the headlights are going to bother him, etc. I'm confused by all the commotion, so am still sort of hovering in the aisle, but eventually give up and just go to sit down.......apparently my hesitation made everyone on the bus think that we were together though, a crucial fact that will factor in later.......
So cramped and uncomfortable bus, blasting AC so much that I actually have my sleeping bag pulled up completely over my head. Didn't really fall asleep at all until around 2 or 3 am, when all of a sudden, the aforementioned crazy guy starts standing up and screaming at the driver that it has been 3 hours and it is a legal requirement to stop the bus for a break. The driver tried to reason that we were going to a station in 30 minutes to change busses, but the guy was inconsolable, flailing in the aisle, screaming at the top of his lungs, threatening the driver, until finally we just stop so that he can get off. By that point all of us are wide awake, so a few other people trickle off to get something to eat, but then after 10 minutes everyone is back on board, ready to get going again. except crazy guy. An hour goes by and he is still nowhere to be found. Everyone else starts getting more than antsy, saying we should just leave him behind, arguing with the driver who claims he would get fired if he leaves a passenger behind. It starts getting more and more heated, expletives and wild gesticulations flying everywhere, and I thought there was going to be some sort of coup, with a stray passenger taking over the wheel and driving us away. But then, because of all the commotion, a military policeman gets on board and starts trying to calm everyone down. A group of people then try to get him to agree to arrest either the driver or the missing man, so we can all get on our way......... and then out of nowhere he just arrives, as though nothing happened, and all is forgiven. We pull away, no questions asked.
Get all the way to the outskirts of the zona cafetera, a mere 30 km from armenia, when suddenly we hit traffic. It's not clear why at first, but we are in stop and go traffic on the side of a hill/mountain for over 7 hours, during which time we move exactly 9.4 km.
Which means that my day in armenia is shot, it's raining at 3pm when we finally arrives, and I am in far from the best of moods, and so I give up on seeing the coffee park and get on another bus straight to Medellin, where I am now. It's a pretty cool place, much more relaxed than bogota, and a bit nicer weather, though still rainy. The hostel is nice, and in a really posh area, so the neighbourhood is beautiful. Probably sticking around till Tuesday, and then going to San gil for some adventure sporting (nothing too dangerous I promise mom haha)
Love you!!
xo
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
day 2
Ok, I promised a longer update, so here it is.
I don´t know if it was lack of sleep exactly, but after taking FOREVER at us customs at the border (apparently a german lady travelling on robert q with me was a suspicious character), we got to the airport around 1:30 and I whipped out the sleeping bag for an attempt at a nap. Didn´t get much sleep though, since the janitorial staff seemed fascinated by me, and one was actually so bold as to poke me with their mop.
Eventually the airline opened up for business around 4 and I got up, put my stuff away, and went to check my bag. Which is when I went to show my passport, and realized that my money belt was not in my bag........ actually it WAS in my sleeping bag, I had "hidden" it in there when I was sleeping, and forgotten about it. Brief moment of panic before I had to embarrassingly pull myself out of line, rip apart my sleeping bag and retrieve it. The staff thought I was nuts.
After that though, it was pretty much smooth sailing. The flights felt interminably long though, especially since the seats were so cramped together that I couldn´t even put my head down. I almost asked the teenage boy next to me if I could sleep on his lap, I was so exhausted. Got here just before 2pm, changed some money and taxied to the hostel, which is a fairly small but really nice place, lots of friendly locals working here. (currently enjoying una cerveza gratis, thanks to the owner)
Walked around a bit yesterday afternoon, to get a feel for the place, find a grocery store, etc. But then I went to bed around 7pm, and slept nearly straight to 9am this morning.
So I got up, actually had a lovely shower (i declined bathing yesterday afternoon, despite being grimy, because the water was frigid, and not even an uninterrupted stream, the water pressure was so crappy). And then today I did a bit of a walking tour. My hostel is on the edge of la candelaria, the most historical region of the city, that reminds me of the low buildings of much of Cusco (and lots of other cities for that matter). There was apparently a demonstration of some kind at plaza bolivar after I left, but I only had to get my bag searched to walk down the streets by the government buildings. It´s weird though, people are friendly but give me a wide swath for the most part, there are hardly ANY tourists here, and lots of the ones there are, are latino, from other parts of south america. One of the museums was closed today, so I´ll try tomorrow, but I spent a few hours at the Museo del Oro. The staff there kept telling me that there was a brochure downstairs that I could look at instead of writing things down, but I was actually using the dual spanish-english explanations to better my vocabulary. I think they thought I was crazy.
Had a nice view from the mirador at el parque de la independencia, for about 3 seconds, before being caught in a downpour. I hid under a tree for like an hour, hoping it would let up, but it didn´t really. And then I was pretty tired, so I walked back to the hostel, had some coffee, dried off, and am writing on here before I think I´m going for a short little nap so I can actually talk to ppl from the hostel tonight instead of passing out.
I think that´s about it...... prob leaving for the zona cafetera day after tomorrow (manizales, I think), and then medellin after that. (mom, that´s me keeping you informed of future plans :)
love u and talk soon
I don´t know if it was lack of sleep exactly, but after taking FOREVER at us customs at the border (apparently a german lady travelling on robert q with me was a suspicious character), we got to the airport around 1:30 and I whipped out the sleeping bag for an attempt at a nap. Didn´t get much sleep though, since the janitorial staff seemed fascinated by me, and one was actually so bold as to poke me with their mop.
Eventually the airline opened up for business around 4 and I got up, put my stuff away, and went to check my bag. Which is when I went to show my passport, and realized that my money belt was not in my bag........ actually it WAS in my sleeping bag, I had "hidden" it in there when I was sleeping, and forgotten about it. Brief moment of panic before I had to embarrassingly pull myself out of line, rip apart my sleeping bag and retrieve it. The staff thought I was nuts.
After that though, it was pretty much smooth sailing. The flights felt interminably long though, especially since the seats were so cramped together that I couldn´t even put my head down. I almost asked the teenage boy next to me if I could sleep on his lap, I was so exhausted. Got here just before 2pm, changed some money and taxied to the hostel, which is a fairly small but really nice place, lots of friendly locals working here. (currently enjoying una cerveza gratis, thanks to the owner)
Walked around a bit yesterday afternoon, to get a feel for the place, find a grocery store, etc. But then I went to bed around 7pm, and slept nearly straight to 9am this morning.
So I got up, actually had a lovely shower (i declined bathing yesterday afternoon, despite being grimy, because the water was frigid, and not even an uninterrupted stream, the water pressure was so crappy). And then today I did a bit of a walking tour. My hostel is on the edge of la candelaria, the most historical region of the city, that reminds me of the low buildings of much of Cusco (and lots of other cities for that matter). There was apparently a demonstration of some kind at plaza bolivar after I left, but I only had to get my bag searched to walk down the streets by the government buildings. It´s weird though, people are friendly but give me a wide swath for the most part, there are hardly ANY tourists here, and lots of the ones there are, are latino, from other parts of south america. One of the museums was closed today, so I´ll try tomorrow, but I spent a few hours at the Museo del Oro. The staff there kept telling me that there was a brochure downstairs that I could look at instead of writing things down, but I was actually using the dual spanish-english explanations to better my vocabulary. I think they thought I was crazy.
Had a nice view from the mirador at el parque de la independencia, for about 3 seconds, before being caught in a downpour. I hid under a tree for like an hour, hoping it would let up, but it didn´t really. And then I was pretty tired, so I walked back to the hostel, had some coffee, dried off, and am writing on here before I think I´m going for a short little nap so I can actually talk to ppl from the hostel tonight instead of passing out.
I think that´s about it...... prob leaving for the zona cafetera day after tomorrow (manizales, I think), and then medellin after that. (mom, that´s me keeping you informed of future plans :)
love u and talk soon
Monday, November 10, 2008
Safely arrived
Despite what has been a VERY long two days, I´m happy to report that I´m safely in Bogotá, baggage and all. After seeing the planes i was a little dubious that my pack would actually make it here, but no worries. Changed a bit of money (not the bolivianos yet ladies, i have to wait until i have my camera battery charged and ready to snap that candid of an ecstatic me and the confused teller). But after that, got a taxi (way overpriced I´m sure, but i am exhausted and just wanted something easy, so about 9 dollars to get me the 15km to my hostel). Which is pretty cute, down a quietish street just off one of the main roads, near to all the downtown plazas and museums, so I think it´ll be perfect for a few days stay.
Bogotá is nice so far, kind of a mix between santiago and quito, if that makes any sense at all. I have not yet seen one other gringa tourist, which is kind of nice, but definitely throws me back wholeheartedly into the "everyone staring intensely" phenomenon.
Ok there are a few more things to report, but I am actually much to tired to type anymore, so i´ll have to get back to you after I´ve napped.... but so far so good!!
Love you all
xo
Bogotá is nice so far, kind of a mix between santiago and quito, if that makes any sense at all. I have not yet seen one other gringa tourist, which is kind of nice, but definitely throws me back wholeheartedly into the "everyone staring intensely" phenomenon.
Ok there are a few more things to report, but I am actually much to tired to type anymore, so i´ll have to get back to you after I´ve napped.... but so far so good!!
Love you all
xo
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I am officially a crazy person
It's true. I had my credit card all lined up ready to pay for my finalized Round the World itinerary on Wednesday, and then I went to convert the price into CANADIAN dollars, and this whole 'global recession' nonsense finally hit home. So I began doing some more realistic budgeting, pro-con listing (despite my self-proclaimed loathing of them), and decided to go to Colombia!! In 2 weeks!!! (6am November 10th to be exact...)
Yep, a little drastic perhaps, but I was planning on doing the Colombia-Mexico route anyway, just not so soon, and with a few other things tacked on. But this way, I get to scoot down south before the real snow flies (though this week has been crazy!!- evidenced by the sick snow fort I'm making in the backyard!) and get back in time for a lovely Canadian spring and summer. (I'm thinking the end of April/ beginning of May)
So now I'm in a preparation frenzy, trying to see as many of you as I can, get myself packed, vaccinated, applied to grad school, etc before heading out. So as one of the things on my to do list, I'm getting this blog set up in case any of you are interested in following round two of my Latin American travels. I think if you click on "follow this" on the right hand side, it should send you an email whenever I update. Which will not necessarily be often (I'm not the greatest at keeping it up to date) but I'll do my best-- and please please please send me comments/Facebook messages/emails etc. I might not have time to reply to everything, but I REALLY love getting them and knowing that people haven't completely forgotten about me! But wish me luck and I'll check back in with more details soon!
Yep, a little drastic perhaps, but I was planning on doing the Colombia-Mexico route anyway, just not so soon, and with a few other things tacked on. But this way, I get to scoot down south before the real snow flies (though this week has been crazy!!- evidenced by the sick snow fort I'm making in the backyard!) and get back in time for a lovely Canadian spring and summer. (I'm thinking the end of April/ beginning of May)
So now I'm in a preparation frenzy, trying to see as many of you as I can, get myself packed, vaccinated, applied to grad school, etc before heading out. So as one of the things on my to do list, I'm getting this blog set up in case any of you are interested in following round two of my Latin American travels. I think if you click on "follow this" on the right hand side, it should send you an email whenever I update. Which will not necessarily be often (I'm not the greatest at keeping it up to date) but I'll do my best-- and please please please send me comments/Facebook messages/emails etc. I might not have time to reply to everything, but I REALLY love getting them and knowing that people haven't completely forgotten about me! But wish me luck and I'll check back in with more details soon!
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