Okay, it’s day 6 now, maybe I can finish this entry. After leaving my car in SeaTac Wednesday night and all of the final farewells, Josh and I met at the airport to set off into the great South American wonder with our first top to be Miami and then onto Bogota. Before a ceremonial farewell beer, possibly the most expensive of the trip, we ran into my good friend Jeremy who was en route from Las Vegas back home to Bend; what a small world.
The trip didn’t really begin until we hit customs in Bogota. While speaking with the agent, I realized how poorly prepared I am to be spending two months in a place where I will be known as “gringo,” or so I thought. In the first day the only person we encountered that didn’t speak a lick of English was our cab driver, who when given an exact address dropped us off blocks away from our hostel and pointed the wrong way down a one way street. We were dumb and got out. Word to the wise: learn how different countries address their streets, if you know how their grid works it makes navigation a lot easier.
Our stay in the Cranky Croc was great. The Aussie owner creates a great atmosphere even though the outer walls consist of broken glass and cement, cheap yet effective security measures. The biggest challenge was hauling our packs upstairs in thick smoggy air at over 8600 ft. That night we came realized Bogota isn’t that different from America if you count the numerous Italian restaurants, poor attempts at “hand crafted beer” and a taste for 80’s rock that could not be satisfied by repeating the soundtrack to Spinal Tap.
Friday was tourist day. We started by eating at the well recommended Crepes and Waffles. Later we toured the Plaza de Boliviar (after getting lost on the way to other places), Museo de Oro and escaped the rain in a café drinking real Colombian coffee in Colombia. The best free thing we have done so far is check out the Museo de Botero, it showcases a lot of artwork from one of Colombia’s most famous artists Fernando Botero. It also joins against other collections as well as El Museo de la Moneda, and shows the minting history of Colombia.
On Saturday we realized the challenges of flying domestically in a foreign country. First our tickets did not register in the Bogota airport kiosks, then we found out we were dropped off by our hostel’s driver at the wrong terminal so we had to go through security and wait to catch a bus to the terminal. While on the bus, it was stopped so a plane could be turned around. The spinning turbo props were so close to the bus the FAA would have shut down the airport. After arriving at the terminal we had to go through security AGAIN and finally board the plane, with full bladders. We later stepped off the plane in beautiful (hot and muggy) Cartagena, Colombia.
Cartagena has been very fun, it resembles Puebla, Mexico a lot. But it is on the beach and rather touristy. The day we arrived the town went dry for elections, so no beers on the beach or in the hostel. We have spent our days walking around the walled city and haven’t even made it to the beach.On Sunday while many of you were watching football, Josh, myself and about 15 others from the hostel took a tour bus to Volcan Totumo where we climbed to the top of a cinder cone (about 60 ft) and climbed into a 12x12 ft mud pit complete with locals there to massage us. Because we were outside the city, we had some libations on the bus to make everyone a bit more friendly and soon everyone was massaging each other. We were doing under mud flips and it felt like what I assume to be a 60’s love fest. It was funny because we got to know each other pretty well in the hours we were in the mud, but because people’s faces were covered in mud we didn’t really get to introduce ourselves until after we went for a swim/bath in the lake…what a fine way to meet people.
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