Im sitting here in Cartegena, on the coast of Colombia and have my last two days in this crazy beautiful country…
my time here started with a flight to Bogota, over the top of the Guerilla jungles from the border town of Leticia in the heart of the Amazon… a quite well off town with its primary industry being the drug trade, but safe none the less…
so sad to leave the jungle but excited to see what Columbia had in store for me. The capital is a huge city dominated by university students, with a strong art culture, exhibitions, the Botero museum and loads of places for coffee and music! I didnt spend enough time there, but Bogota is definately a city i would opt to live if I was studying or working...
so avoiding the cold, I again headed for the coast. Santa Marta is a cosy little beach town on the caribbean coast… first time wooooooo!! I stayed at a great shit hole of a hostel which i loved. Had some great company with drinks and didge-guitar jams on the concrete half built rooftop overlooking the surrounding buildings. This area has the best storms and weather, from our rooftop we just watch the bolts of lightning shoot across the orange-grey night sky glowing from the town´s lights. It rains but we dont move an inch... its hot and humid, and the warm rain is welcomed with my rain dance!
Next stop was a trip to Tyrona Nacional Park. Awesome area of jungle and beaches. Despite the meals being more expensive and banana-up-their-bum staff, the company I had and the beaches, were totally worth it. By now a group of us had accumulated. 1 over the top funny alpha-male german, 2 dopey irish, 2 goregous english girls, 2 O-C Californians, and me and me didge. We all stayed in a big hut that sat ontop a hill in between two small beaches. One central pole, with our hammocks strung around in a circle. Each afternoon we had dramatic thunderstorm entertainment, which made us buzz with excitement. One night we had a massive thunderstorm where some of us thought we might actually be in trouble and I was soaked from head to toe in my hammock cacoon from the side ways rain. But when the storm calmed, we were sad to see it go! So days and days on the hot sand, the aqua blue warm water, loads of card games of ´presidents and assholes´, horse rides through the jungle, and a caribbean tan.
A bus to Cartegena with the group reforming, we have a great last few days together. After a long time travelling solo or as a pair, I have really enjoyed having a big group of us looking out for each other and having a blast... these guys have been like a family! We spent one quiet night out where i ran off to organise our transportation and came back with 6 motorbikes (moto-taxis) and we roared around town like a pack of harleys... only it was 100cc´s and scooters!... We still felt tough like :).. Last night we stepped it up a notch, and organised a romantic trip around town in a horse and cart for all 6 of us. So drinking and antics, we spent a couple hours cruising around town... another place I could live. Old town surrounded by a fortress wall, narrow streets, trees and vines, and vibrant buildings of all different contrasting colours. The place holds a warm atmosphere even when the streets are dead empty. The rest of the night was spent dancing on bars in the quiet discotecas, eating the street kebabs ontop of taxis, and the unfortunate event of our boy james loosing his camera to a pickpocketer. There is such a fine line between people genuinely talking to you, and when they want something from you. My rule of thumb has been to always assume the worst when people approach me. Which is unfortunate, but I feel like if I had any other attitude, I would probably be bulldozed over! It was really sad to see James loose his camera. He is the true example of the turtle traveller theory, sold all, packed up and his life is on his back… we had the police on scooters riding around the area, but no point cause these guys are artists!
My time in south america has had a lot different effects on me then i first thought, and even what a thought during my changes. I guess i was kind of expecting to become more compassionate, more open minded, and be able to connect with people of all characters or cultures. But i guess what happened was a bit opposite. For a while there I bécame really close-minded, and a lot more thickskinned and guarded. Many people rip you off, try to take advantage, and the big majority of people who approach you, want something out of you, whether its obvious or not. My problem was, I was letting these people shape my views of the culture and the countrys. But thats not cricket! I now believe that your perception of places, cultures and countries, should be shaped by the good people you meet. Yes there´s bad, and yes you have to be protective of your space and who´s in it, but its possible to accept the bad. Everyone has choices, but I constantly think about life from their eyes. They have to steal to live, but how would they really feel? They manipulate and lye and hurt others, but what happens when they judge themselves (which we all do, whether its throughout your life or down to the moment you die). When I think of the bad people Ive met along the way, I still remember that everyone has a good nature, and respect that everyone is at different stages of their own development.
To all the good people already in my life, to all the good people I´ve met on my trip and will continue to meet, I wouldnt care if I had to deal with 1000 bad people for every 1 of you, it would still be worth it.
