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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