Touring the Colonial Port City

I woke up pretty early on Thursday morning as I didn't have internet, so there was nothing to do (yes, I am absolutely addicted.. is there internet anonymous?). I showered (no hot water) and got dressed to adventure into the city.

I decided to walk the 45 minutes or so to downtown. I was hoping to exercise a lot on this trip and eat well. I got the exercise down but not the eating. I've been eating meet and cheeses all week, so it was good to take a long stroll to the center. During the walk, I passed by an enormous navy complex with huge ships and barracks. A few minutes later, I arrived in the old city... and it was truly breathtaking.




I was greeted by the city walls and entered through the old customs house.




I had no map and wasn't using my Lonely Planet (in PDF), so I decided to just walk around and see what would greet me. My first stop was the palace/ history museum located on the plaza. All the museums were free because Cartagena was celebrating 200 years of Independence from Spain.. There are a ton of Bicentennials in Latin America because I guess everyone agreed to revolt at the same time. Anyway, there were fantastic exhibits, including the inquisition torture devices.







In addition, there were really great works of art, including depictions of the very risqué nightlife of Cartagena. This one was my favorite:





The museum also included an exhibit on Cartagena's history. It began as an african slave port and a secondary port to Barranquilla in Colombia. It was fairly disorganized until the slave trade picked up. As in other Spanish Colonial history, there was the exploitation of the population - the conflict between some clergy and the conquistadors, etc.

The next stop was the Church of San Pablo - a sixteenth century clergyman who established the Catholic church in Cartagena. It's amazing to think that this place actually had history in that time period. It was a shrine to him and his work - and also astonishing that his memory was kept this alive for such a long period of time. One painting really captured why he was such a saint:








By the time I finished up at the church, it was lunchtime. I walked around for about a half an hour more to find the right place... Of course there was the hard rock cafe (internet!) but I would not.. I could not go into an american joint.. although a burger sounded tasty. I ended up going to this pretty good place right by the malecon.

The rest of the afternoon, I walked around the city - just taking in the sights, watching people, hearing how they spoke (much faster - Dominican style). The streets and buildings were well-maintained and took me back to another time. Again it was HOT (92 degrees) and sticky, but I found air-conditioning at ample times.





I stopped for an afternoon beer at the Hard Rock. It was so difficult to walk inside, but they promised air conditioning and INTERNET. I had just learned at the previous restaurant that we released new MacBook Pros in the morning, so of course I was sending incessant emails to our partners to make sure everything was updated and ordered. Work never stops, does it?

I took a long stroll home via the beach. The beaches here are quite bad - gray dirt that only goes about 25- 50 feet. People were sunbathing and being harassed by the locals who were offering anything from pot to foot massages. I was approached maybe 25 times on my walk.

I got back home and took a siesta - from all that walking and the heat, I was quite tired. I got up at 7 PM and made my way back into the old city (this time in a taxi). I went to have a quick dinner - and meet these two older dudes from Miami at the bar. They were here on a quick 'fishing' holiday. I didn't know if they were fishing for fish or something else. It was nice speaking English for a few minutes - then made my way to this incredible outdoor theater where we would watch the premiere movie of the Cartagena de las Indias Film Festival (starting on Friday). It was called 'Into the Rain', and starred Gabriel Garcia Bernal, one of my favorite actors.





It was a really good movie about a group that is making a film about the Spanish conquest of Bolivia and the kitchwa indians. The production of the film was marred by a real protest about the treat of privatization of the water company that would raise water rates 300%. The movie being made and the real story intertwined and were being compared with each other. There were no english subtitles, but still understood 80% of what was being said (I was pleased).

At 11:00 PM when the movie ended, I walked around the city a bit more and realized what everyone was talking about. Prostitutes were everywhere and I was being hit up left and right by pimps walking around the street. It wasn't really my scene, so I went to a bar - had a beer- and headed back to my apartment.

Cartagena is a great place. It's beautiful.. and I'm having a pretty good time here, but to honest, I was quite grumpy today. I love traveling by myself because you meet so many amazing people, but you have to go to the right places and talk to people in order to make friends. I did that a bit today, but this part of the leg it would have been much more fun to be with a group of people. We could have went to different bars and ride the chiva bus (a huge party bus that drives around the city while you drink). I contemplated that before I ended up coming here, but its ok. I'm having a good time - but definitely am not doing Cartagena for what Cartagena has to offer.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Cartagena, Colombia

From the Jungle to the Coast - Travel Adventures

I woke up around 9 and to be honest I didn't feel like doing much. Well, I had about 90 emails in my inbox from work and I did have the internet. I've learned on this trip that I am indeed addicted to the internet. Hours without being connected pains me, and I have to try to find Wifi as soon as possible. Because I had internet, I worked for a few hours and got out of the hotel by about 1 PM. I'm kicking myself because I could have gone canyoning or caving - two incredible treks that are available in San Gil. Alas, I did not.

I get to the rafting office at about 1:15 to meet up with Diego. I took him out to lunch at a great restaurant in San Gil. He was worried it was too expensive, and of course it was $5 for a four course lunch.. I smiled and treated him to a delicious meal. I was noticing a bit of sadness and I was pretty conflicted as well. Diego and Omairya didn't have much - and I treated them for two days with things they couldn't usually afford. Some would just remember those few days and be content and others would yearn for those times and become sad... I compared this to my students in Roma after I took them to New York. They were so happy, but some came back to Roma and realized they didn't have what they wanted.. Nevertheless, Diego gave me one last tour of San Gil. We stopped by his school, his home, and to Omayira's house where I said goodbye. Surprisingly, she was a bit emotional, but I told her that we would keep in touch on 'Face' (what Santandarians call Facebook). Diego drove me to the bus station where I began by journey from the jungle to the sea.

I bought a ticket at the bus station for $13,000 ($7 US). I had no idea what was in store for me. At the helm was crazy taxi.. My man was speeding like lightning, passing cars, trucks, and buses. I thought for a few minutes that this could be my last day on earth, but then realized this guy has been probably driving on these roads for years and years - he knew what he was doing.

The drive was absolutely fantastic. We passed majestic mountains and beautiful canyons along the way. Breathtaking views, even though I was still clinging to my life and thought I could potentially roll down the mountain into the valley below.




At one point, traffic came to a halt on the road. I figured it would be an accident and that I would miss my flight - a tight connection from bus to plane... I kept on thinking what I would do in Bucaramanga because I really thought I'd miss the flight. 15 minutes later traffic started moving (damn construction!). Another two hours and AGAIN - traffic stops. Again the thoughts continue in my head... but then traffic starts up again. The three hour bus ride turned into a 30 minute taxi ride up the mountain to the very small airport. I was flying EasyFly - a low cost carrier started a few years ago to service routes like Bucaramanga - Cartagena.






I get on the plane and its absolutely tiny! No problem - planes don't crash, right? I sit next to this very attractive girl named Julie.. and she sees an empty seat behind her. So she moved there. Before you know it, the flight attendant comes back and tells her that she has to sit in her ASSIGNED SEAT. Perplexed, Julie moved back in the seat next to me.. I thought it was hilarious because no one else sat in that seat the entire flight. We started talking because of how funny it was. The entire back of the plane reacted to this weird rule. Anyway, Julie is doing her masters in chemical engineering in Brazil and was on her way to the Cartagena Film Festival. We started talking about movies, compared stories of how Brazilians and Mexicans are always so late and direct (and Colombians and New Yorkers are VERY direct), and other chit-chat. I was proud to conduct the entire conversation in Spanish - I'd been speaking Spanish for the entire week except on the rafting trip with the Europeans. I got her email address and we were going to meet up while I was in Cartagena.

We arrived in Cartagena at 8:30 PM. It was hot, sticky, and humid. I shared a taxi with the guy sitting next to us on the plane and he ended up paying for it (see - isn't that paying it forward?). I have a colleague of mine in Bogota - her uncle rents apartments, so she gave me his number and I rented a place for $120,000 ($60 US) overlooking the ocean. It wasn't nice at all, but compared to how much the hotels cost, I was content.

I walked around the area surrounding the apartment.. It was nice - people were out, but I had a feeling I was not in the right place in town for the crazy parties people were talking about. I ordered a pizza and went back to my room... early night.

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Location:San Gil, Santander, Colombia - Cartagena, Colombia

The Raging Rapids of San Lorenzo

After a decent night's sleep, I went to the reception of the hotel to make a phone call to find out if there were enough people to raft the mighty Rio Suarez. This was a Class V river with powerful rapids that were not for the feint at heart... however, you needed at least four to do it. When I went outside - there was absolutely no cell phone service or internet. The woman at the desk told me that it was because there was an earthquake in another country. I then went to have breakfast - dried beef and eggs (machacado con huevos) and it was delicious! This hotel had excellent food. Every breakfast included a type of corn cake called an arepa.. It was good as well.



While eating breakfast, I received a phone call that the trip was on! I quickly packed up my stuff, showered, and got on the 40 minute bus ride to San Gil. I decided to stay in San Gil for the night instead of returning to Barichara. This bus ride was pretty uneventful (did not get asked about Cocaine). I arrived in San Gil to meet my new friend Diego and he brought me right over to the office where we would begin our expedition.

When I arrived at the office, I met Michael - a recent college grad who began traveling to Colombia and fell in love with San Gil, so he's been living there for about a month and a half. He's training to be a rafting guide- and was helping them translate things into english and raising money so the guides can go to the international rafting championships in Costa Rica. Really nice guy.

Also on our expedition was Martin and Katya - two Dutch tourists that will be traveling for six months throughout Latin America. Also, there was Sue - an English producer who seems to travel four months a year in Latin America. It was an interesting group indeed, but we immediately hit it off. This was helped by the fact that I lived in the Netherlands, so we had a lot to talk about.

We get to the river and the girls seem very nervous. Katya was second guessing her trip as it was her first whitewater rafting adventure. Thankfully, we were with expert guides who spent 20 minutes giving us safety tips, including what to do if we fall out of the raft. Being experienced, I knew it was only precautionary and we would be fine.

We get into the river , which thankfully was a bit warmer than the Rio Fonzi. Our first few rapids were challenging - we were thrown back and forth a few times as we navigated the rocks and managed to stay afloat. It was definitely an adventure! I got some water in my nose but no big deal.. The next two hours, we rafted through many different obstacles - worked as a team as we remained in sync. In the boat, paddle left, paddle right, backwards were yelled (this time in English) as we made our way.

We arrived at our destination in one piece - and was greeted by cheese, some exotic fruits, and Doritos, a great lunch! We had another hour ride back to the office - where we all caught up and learned more about each other... Sue and I were flirting a bit - but she struck me as a bit weird. Anyway.

We got back to the office and Diego picked me up on his moped, a challenging feat as I had a backpack and a rolling suitcase. With backpack on back, suitcase on lap and hands on shoulders, we were on our way. . He found me a really nice hotel tucked into the area above the city for about $35... Yes it was $35 and it almost met my high hotel standards! The room had a winding staircase and a terrace overlooking the pool. More importantly, it had internet! Diego, Omayira and I had plans to meet later that night, so I decided it was time for R&R. Since i had internet, I opened by iPad and watched tv on my sling box while sitting on my terrace. I ordered dinner to my room and ate, relaxed, and thought about how lucky I was.

At 9:00, I decided to get dressed up and head out - I was wearing jeans and a nice shirt as I've realized in Colombia that people do get primped up when they go out. What I didn't know was that it was San Gil, not Bogota. I met Diego and Omayira at the main park - supposedly this is the meeting place for everyone and everything. It wasn't that crowded since it was a tuesday, but there were people mulling about. Michael was there with his friends- chitchatting and what not. Omayira invited her friend to come out with us, I was figuring she was trying to do some matchmaking. Her friend arrived (not that cute) and we were off to a karaoke bar (my favorite!)


We get there and knowing they make absolutely nothing, I bought a small bottle of rum for us to share. We waited a bit, then karaoke was on! I tried my best to sing songs I knew in Spanish, but that's not where I'm best, so I decided to do some numbers in English - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, etc. Some in the crowd enjoyed it- others were like "WTF".. but whatever - my friends were enjoying it. At one point in the night I realized that we were people from completely different areas, different experiences, different social classes, and spoke different languages (we conversed all the time in Spanish). But that really didn't matter. We all enjoyed each other's time and getting to know each other better. The rest of the night was fun - we danced, we sang, we drank, and smiled.



There was definitely another bottle of rum ordered. It cost me $80,000 pesos in total (about $50), but honestly I didn't mind. It was a drop in the bucket for me - and five days work for each of them. At one point, a guy came on a moped and dragged Carolina out of the bar. I had no idea what was happening but supposedly he was her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child. Word got out that she was with a gringo so that was the end of that!! I thought it was funny because I had absolutely no interest.

1 AM came and it was closing time.. Strict rules during the week, so we had to leave. While we were inside, I started chatting with someone from the other table.. he was doing a great job singing norteño music from Mexico - so I introduced myself and we began talking about Mexican music vs. Colombian music. When we went outside after closing, we continued our conversation about politics, Colombia, whatever.. he was pretty intoxicated but I enjoyed it.

I got home around 2 AM or so and laid in bed realizing that I was a very lucky person because of these experiences I get to have. Yes the sights are very important, but what's more important when traveling is getting to know the people, to find out what they do, what they eat, what their aspirations are. It's about trying the local food, learning the songs.. because these things you take with you for a very long time and it enriches your life. Before I went to bed, I wrote on my Facebook wall that I was the luckiest guy alive. Then I passed on, with iPad in hand. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Gil, Santander, Colombia

Kinda like a hollywood movie

Day 2: Exploring the town




I woke up around 8:30 after having a dream about waking up at 6 AM to go to Yoga.. have no idea, but what a strange dream! I, being the only person at the hotel, was greeted by the store employees and ordered an authentic Colombian breakfast of tamal with steak. It was good - a bit too much cornmeal, but most of the food here is like that... I'm used to heavy meats and spices, salsa, etc. living in Mexico.

I set out of the hotel and caught my first glimpse of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the rustic architecture of the town. There were people scattering around on this Monday morning. Schoolchildren were singing and trucks were driving fast on the cobblestone streets. The homes were all whitewashed with red-thatched roofs.. a colonial scenescape that would be perfect for a period hollywood movie. Actually, a few were shot here and many spanish soap operas could be found shooting here.













Nestled in a very catholic country, three different churches were scattered across town, including a beautiful building right on the square. The square looked like any in Cuba or Mexico - with a park and statues. The churches were adorned with the traditional Santanderian architecture, including clay roofs with wooden beams. A few artisanal shops and convenience stores added to a very active town.







A few interesting insights about Colombia thus far: In Mexico, I would be stared out at all times, especially when speaking English in town. When I was in Bogota, people didn't even flinch when I was speaking with friends. On the surface, people aren't as friendly or smile at you. However, once you start talking to them, they are as friendly as any other culture. When I was waiting to board the plane to Barracamunga and asked about the Dunkin Donuts, so many people came up to me and were happy that I was going there, offering advice.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Barichara, Colombia

Rafting and new friends

I took a public bus into the town of San Gil, realizing that Barrichara was really a remote place and I was headed to the big city. On the bus ($1.50), I met an Australian whom came to the town just for the morning to tour around. He'd been traveling for ten months already - saved $20,000 and was living on that for the entire time - something that's quite typical for Australians. He shared his travels and then asked, 'Did you try the cocaine here? It's only $5 compared to $350 in Australia'.. I laughed and explained that I don't do such a thing.

I was met at the bus station by Alexander and his 2 year old daughter - who took the three of us on a moped to the company where we would raft. I'm not sure what role he played or what cut he would get, but I just went with the arrangement. This is where I met Omayira and Diego, my two tour guides. We boarded a dingy taxi and headed to the river. They did not speak English, so this was a great opportunity to practice my Spanish.

We started off on the river in a three person inflatable canoe - never saw something like it before, but no problem. We went through Class III or Class II+ rapids on a pretty docile river. The water was quite cold, but you got used to it after a while. We practiced a few flips for safety reasons and were on our way. We moved through rocks, a few nooks and crannies as we floated down this beautiful 11 km river. At one point, we took on this huge rapid - brought the boat in as Diego yelled "Adelante" (or "Forward") and "Atraz" (or backward) to steer the boat. Unfortunately, on this rapid we didn't make it as we fell to the side and all were now floating down the river.

During this journey, there were many parts of the river that were peaceful. This is where I had the opportunity to learn more about the guides that had my life in their hands. Omairya was 27 with two children. She was making $20,000 pesos a day if there were rafters ($22 USD). Diego was her 22 year old boyfriend who was one of five children. Both lived with their parents separately. I had no idea they were in a relationship at first, but I immediately sensed the chemistry. The three of us immediately bonded and had such a great time on the river. We played an equilibrium game (tried to balance ourselves on top of the raft - of course I lost and fell in first!) and pushed each other in the water a couple of times. It was fun.

After an hour and a half of rapids, it was time to disembark. I really enjoyed spending time with the guides, so I invited them to lunch. We ate a very traditional Santanderian meal that included different steaks, chorizos, and a delicious soup with yucca, plantains, beans, and onions. My favorites were the dried steak and yucca. The price of the meal including two beers each was $46,000 - about $28... absolutely amazing!




We went over to another bar to have a few more drinks.. we were all so different - came from different backgrounds and had different life experiences, but we were so strikingly similar in that we loved to have fun and loved life. That 's all we needed. Diego gave me a ride back on his moped to the train station as the last bus to the remote city I was staying in (without internet!) left at 6:30 PM.




Diego and Omayira make so little money - and that's why I was so happy to share mine with them. When I lived in New York, I could have spent $27 on two drinks plus tip, but I was able to treat them to a wonderful meal and in turn, they gave me company.

I arrived back at the hacienda at 7:15 and honestly there is nothing to do in this town, so I sat in a hammock and played with my iPad. Today, I'm leaving for San Gil to do some rappelling and caving. Then Diego, Omairya and I have plans to do some karaoke tonight.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Gil, Colombia

Expedition to the jungle

What an interesting trip! It was really a tough decision to make to decide where to go on my solo adventure through Colombia. I couldn't decide whether to take a few days at the beach or venture through the mountains and jungle. To be honest, living in Mexico I often have those relaxing days where I can just chill out on the beach in a hammock... This year has not been short of vacations - so I decided I needed to do something memorable - so here I am in the colonial village of Barichara...

My insistence on being spontaneous and not deciding on where to go until the last minute probably bit me in the ass a bit. I arrived at the airport around 2:30 thinking there was a 4:00 flight to Barracamunga, the metropolitan city and capital of the department of Santander (Colombia has departments instead of states). In actuality, there flight was at 6:30 PM. So - instead I sat in the airport 4 hours to wait to board. I could have spent some more time with Ian and Ana - and gone to La Candelabra in the city center, a place I did not go to when I was in Bogota.

Alas, I was ready to board my flight and encountered another problem - I had no idea that it would take 2 1/2 hours to get to Barichara from Barracamunga. Plus public transportation would be nearly impossible and I'd get here very late... So I had to take a taxi for the entire trip - costing me a bit over $250,000 (about $150 US).

The flight was fine - although its the first airline that did not offer instructions in English as well as the native language. Most humorous, however, was that people brought boxes and boxes of Dunkin Donuts on the plane. I had to ask someone what was going on. Supposedly, its the only Dunkin Donuts in the country, so people were buying them for their families and friends... simply hilarious.

The taxi ride was an adventure in itself, cragging through mountain roads in complete darkness. Thankfully we had a full moon guiding us, but my driver had been navigating the roads for many years. Immediately, he was smitten with my iPad, saying "Is that a computer?" I decided to just say yes instead of launching into a discussion of how we invented a new product category :). As we went through small towns, I read about them with my Lonely Planet guide (digitally downloaded onto the iPad.. no more big fat books!). I decided to practice my spanish and translated the stories of each town for the driver so he could learn new things about the state he calls home. That was fun - he appreciated it very much. We got into banter about families, politics, religion, all taboo subjects with friends but okay for us because we were so interested in learning about each other's lives and cultures.. Interestingly enough he spent most of his time talking about my life and things Mexico, not the United States, as I assumed it was more familiar for him. Most disappointing about the drive is that I was passing some of the most beautiful scenery in Mexico, but unfortunately I could only make out the lines of the mountains.

I arrived at Hotel La Nube Posada at around 10:30 PM very tired and happy to have arrived. The hotel staff was waiting for me on the street with big smiles as they were waiting to go home themselves. They made me a ham and cheese sandwich as they figured I'd be hungry when I got there - everything in the village was closed - and there are no bars or discos. Without internet (there is no wifi in the town), I decided to go straight to bed and rest up for the next day.


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Location:Bogota to bucaramanga to Barichara