One Month In

Once again, it's been several weeks since our last update. We aren't very good at blogging.

To get to Playa Blanca, we rode a city bus for about an hour to a little suburb of Cartagena called Pasacaballo. From there we took a motor taxi, out to the beach. Kim was a little hesitant to get on the back of a motorcycle, but it was the cheapest option and probably the most fun option as well.

We got off the motorcycles and walked a short ways down to the beach. After 2 weeks in Colombia, we were finally on a beautiful white sand blue water beach. Kim and I found a nice cabana, dropped our stuff off, and laid on the beach drinking coke and rum all afternoon. The first night was peaceful and relaxing, with just a few people on the beach besides us. The next morning however, we got a taste of why some people left negative reviews of the beach. Big motor boats come roaring in at 9am and drop off between 10 and 30 people each, which means the beach is crowded and there are a lot of boats moving around in the water which really discourged us from swimming. Everything was a little more expensive on the beach, and we had a limited amount of cash, so after one day we headed back to Cartagena to pick up our things from Jaime and Yaneth and get ready to head onto Santa Marta.

The bus to Santa Marta was pretty easy, about 4 hours, and really more of a van than a bus. We stayed in a gigantic hostel called La Brisa Loca (I think their website says they have room for 72 people). The rooftop has been converted into a lounge area with couches and hammocks and we spent our first afternoon relaxing on the roof reading. There isn't a whole lot for foreigners to do in Santa Marta, it's more of a jumping point for tourists who are heading off to other nearby attractions. For us, we had two days before we were heading to Barranquilla to see the second largest Carnaval in South America (Rio de Janeiro being the largest). Our plan was to meet up with some people we knew from language school in Catagena, and we wanted to get an early start and avoid any extra traffic heading to Barranquilla for Carnaval. So we decided we would wake up at 6:30am and try to be on a bus by 8am heading to Barranquilla.

Our hostel, however, was having a party to celebrate the beginning of Carnaval. They had two DJ's, one for the rooftop and one for the bar on the floor we were staying on. The music was blasted until around 3am. Neither of us were really able to sleep, but I was able to drift into a quasi-slumber around 1:30am. And this was promptly ruined by a fine gentleman who decided to quit partying around 2:30am. I believe he had been dancing at the party for quite some time. He decided it would be fine to blast the AC, which just happened to blow directly onto the bunk I was half sleeping in. It took me an hour of trying to find a mixture of bundled sheets and then looking for the AC remote before I crawled into bed with Kim - who was also having issues sleeping. In all, I think we both had about 3 hours of sleep, before we headed off to the second biggest party on the continent.

We made our bus and caught an extra hour of sleep on the way to Barranquilla. Upon arrival, we dropped our stuff off at the house we were staying at - a local family that our friends from school had connections with. Then we walked down towards the parade, but since the tickets to get into the parade are quite expensive on day one, we decided to try and find a spot outside of the gates and watch the parade from there. It was quite obvious that the organizers of Carnaval knew how to make their money, as there were very few spaces to catch a free glimpse of the parade, and they really were just glimpses. Ultimately we saw a group of Colombians standing on a balcony, and we decided to climb up the wall and join them for the afternoon. At first, I think they were surprised and maybe a little hesitant to have 5 gringos joining them for Carnaval. The balcony really did have quite a poor view of the parade, and I think the locals assume that most tourists want to pay to get into the stands for the parade. But we stuck it out, and although we couldn't really see much of the parade, we had an absolute blast partying with the Colombians on the rooftop. As soon as the parade started, they broke out canisters of foam with which to spray everyone around them, including us. The foam continued for several hours, as if the Colombian canisters never actually empied of foam. Eventually I did climb back down and buy a few cans of foam so we could take some revenge on them for all the foam they had dowsed us with. But the foam was followed with handfuls of flour being tossed into your face. In the end, the Colombians genuinely seemed to enjoy our company, and were sad when we told them we were leaving (although it ended up being just to use the bathroom and find some quick food, as the balcony was by far the best place to be - both for fun and to see the parade without paying).

At the end of the parade, we all took quick showers, went and had some dinner in Barranquilla, and then walked to a plaza that one of our fellow balcony members had suggested as a place to go dance after the parade. There were probably thousands of people dancing and eating and drinking in this plaza, and of course we could see more foam and more flour flying through the air. We plunged into the sea of people and made some room for ourselves and danced our version of salsa for an hour or two (we had the opportunity to take Salsa dance lessons in Cartagena, but Kim wanted to focus on studying Spanish, so now she just mocks my inability to dance like the locals).

The next day, Kim and I weren't really sure whether we would head back to Santa Marta early or try to buy tickets and have a better view of the parade. It was Sunday morning, and we had booked a 5 day backpacking trip to the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) which started on Monday - more on that to follow. In the end we decided to go for it, and although it meant getting less rest before our trip to the Ciudad Perdida, we had such a different experience inside the gates of the parade. Aside from being able to take a ton of pictures of Carnaval, the experience in the stands is far more tranquil than if you're on the outside. I noticed that the police were confiscating bottles of liquor and foam from people trying to enter the stands - it had more of a family vibe. Between our two days at Carnaval, we had an amazing and exhausting experience. I'm hoping to post some of the pictures from Carnaval (and from the rest of our trip), on facebook shortly after this blog post.

After spending a second day at Carnaval, Kim and I dragged ourselves onto a bus back to Santa Marta. I only brought one set of clothes to Carnaval, I guess I wasn't expecting to be assaulted with foam and flour, so I was quite disgusting. We had less than 24 hours to clean up, and then pack a bag for a 5 day backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada jungle. For both of us, it was our first experience backpacking with a guide, but you aren't allowed to hike the trail without a guide. What this meant as far as planning goes is that we only had to pack the clothes we needed, and any extras like cameras and toiletries. The guide company cooks your meals and they have beds set up for you in designated areas on the way.

The Ciudad Perdida - the Lost City - is the ruins of a city formerly inhabited by at least 2000 indigenous people known as the Taironas. The city was built around 800 AD, but it was likely abandoned around the time the Spanish arrived as the people began to contract European diseases. Known as Teyuna, many of the native groups that live in the area likely knew about the city - but chose not to share information about it with outsiders - well before it was "rediscovered" in the 70's. The city gained popularity in the 80's when National Geographic wrote an article about it, and then again in 2003 when tourists who had been camping in the ruins were kidnapped by the FARC. Increasing tourism in Colombia was a focus of the governement, and the Colombian army was sent into the Sierra Nevadas around Santa Marta and helped to remove the presence of the FARC and allow multiple tour groups to run trips to the city without issues. When we reached the city on the 3rd day, we saw armed soldiers in what seemed to be a permanent military post in the city.

The hike itself was quite challening, most of the trail was either steep incline or decline. On one hand,  I felt that we didn't need a guide - Kim and I both have a pretty solid background of backpacking and a 5 day hike isn't so difficult. The trail, while challenging physically, is very easy to follow. You would really have to try and get lost. But Kim pointed out that having a guide helps to make sure that tourists are being respectful of the environment (something we noticed was lacking when we backpacked in Patagonia), and also to be respectful of the native people who live near the trail. In the end, we had some pretty good food and our guide was informative (see most of the last paragraph) and friendly - each morning before we started hiking we would hear him shouting to us in a thick accent, "Okay! Chicos! Shake - and - bake - man!"

After spending one more night in Santa Marta, we made it out to a beautifully empty beach in Palomino. The waves here are very rough, and there are multiple signs all over the beach warning of the rip tide - we saw someone being helped back to shore by a local with a surfboard the other day. The water here isn't as stunningly blue as at Playa Blanca, but I feel as though I could spend a month here on the beach and it would feel like 5 days. The pace is perpetually slow, and we're both enjoying it. We went tubing on the Palomino River yesterday - a very slow, lazy river - and hopefully I will get to try to surf for the first time. Life is great here, and if it wasn't so expensive to be on the beach, we would probably stay here for much longer. But we sent out emails to farms last Friday, Feb 20th, and we will be making phone calls if we don't hear back from them soon. We're trying to keep an open mind about the work exchange, but there is a community for people with disabilities about an hour outside of Bogota, and I think both of us are hoping to hear back from them and maybe spend 4 to 6 weeks volunteering there before heading to Ecuador.

Also, I asked Kim to marry me tonight and she said yes. We've got the rest of this year to enjoy traveling, but now I'm traveling with my fiancee. 

Our last post was very late, so I'll do my best to fill in the blanks of what we've been up to for the past week.

Super Bowl Sunday. We got up late, kinda just lounged around and read books. Around 1pm we got out and walked into town, about a 25 minute walk. We went to a park and sat around some more. For me, it felt as if time was broken and the Super Bowl would never arrive. The game was scheduled to start at 6:30pm here, and around 5:00pm I could feel my heart racing. I checked my pulse. Normally I have 60 to 63 resting beats per minute (thank you wilderness first responder course). I counted 88 bpm, and Kim was able to confirm. At one point in the second half, Kim counted 110 bpm. So if you've ever watched a Seahawks game with me, now you know it's not just psychological but also physiological.

As I mentioned before, we found a nice bar to watch the game. We invited some of the people from our class to join us and watch, and Kim had to try and explain American football to an Englishman and a Dutch girl. Obviously it was a great game to watch, our company thought the game had some very exciting moments, especially at the end, but as is typical of most first time viewers, they thought it was too slow.

As for the rest of the bar, it was an interesting crowd. To our right there was a guy in a Bruschi jersey, and he was explaining the rules in Spanish to some of his buddies. I asked him why he was a Patriots fan and he told me he was from Holland, studied in Boston and had family there, and now he lives in Cartagena. There were a few other people from outside Colombia, but most of the people in the bar appeared to be locals. Even the locals were astonished by the final play call. When a Cartagenero tells me in broken English in the bathroom, "Why the fuck they not give ball to runner!" you know it was a poor play call. Next year.

We came home after the game and met a new couple from Switzerland, Marc and Melanie, who are staying in the same house as us. They are also studying in the same school as us, but they are taking private classes. We've spent a good portion of our last week hanging out with them and we're sad to be leaving them. We shared some of what we had already discovered of Cartagena with them, and as a group we ventured outside of where Kim and I had already been. If Kim and I can ever figure out how to get pictures on here, we'll be sure to post some from the Castillo San Felipe - a rather impressive castle in the city built in the 1500s.

At the asado last weekend, Kim and I ate some great food and I did my best to converse with their family. It helped that their family likes to drink whisky, and a few drinks and I was able to make myself clear most of the time. During the asado, Jaime and Yaneth invited us to join them the following weekend on a day trip to Boquilla - a beach just outside of town. Their son, Jaime Enrique, also told us that if we wanted to go to the Volcan del Toltumo he would take us before going to Boquilla. We agreed to join them, and today we got to go enjoy both places.

The Volcan del Toltumo is a 30ish foot high "volcano" that has a crater filled with warm mud. I had heard about it when we started looking up information about Cartagena and I was certainly intrigued. It was a strange experience. You go in your bathing suit, climb up some steep steps to the top of the volcano and then climb down a ladder and get into a mud bath. The mud is denser than your body, so you don't have to hold on to anything, but it is still a bit disconcerting at first. There are locals who will take pictures of you while you're in the mud, some who get in the mud and give you a massage, some who look after your shoes and shirts, and then when you're done, some who will help you wash off in the lake afterwards. And of course they all want you to pay them 5,000 pesos for their help (that's about 2 dollars). I still have mud in some crevices of my body, but it was fun nonetheless.

Once we were relatively clean, we went to Boquilla with Jaime Enrique and met up with the rest of our host family. We sat with the family under a shelter that was connected to a small restaraunt. Within a few minutes of sitting down, we were prsented with a platter of dead fish so we could chose what we wanted to eat. With some help from Jaime, we maid our slection, and while lunch was being prepared, we spent some time playing in the sea with the kids. We were called in for lunch and  ate delicious fresh fish, fried plantains, and coconut rice. We then sat around on the beach some more and played dominos - a very popular game in Colombia.

While we are leaving Cartagena tomorrow, I'm so happy we started our trip here. I also know how lucky we are to have stayed with Jaime and Yaneth - the past two weeks would been  completely different if we hadn't been staying here. We are looking forward to spending a day on the beach at Playa Blanca, and after that we will be heading to Santa Marta as a jumping point for the Carnaval in Barranquillo, and then afterwards to the beach at Palomino. Hopefully in the next week or so we can make plans to stay on a farm near Medellin so that we can see the coffee growing parts of Colombia.

Espanol y Familia Colombiano

We finished our time at the party hostel, and overall it was a good time. Kim and I went out to Cafe Havana one of our evenings and danced salsa for awhile. By 1:30 AM Kim was wiped out, so she went to bed. I wasn't quite ready to pass out, so I went back out - thinking I might find a place to dance for another hour or so. I ended up meeting a Chilean couple who were staying in our dorm room. Pablo spoke some English, and Carta helped me speak un poquito Espanol. We ended up chatting until 4:30 in the morning, with Pablo inviting us to stay with him if we end up in his part of Chile while on our trip.

Monday morning, we packed up and headed to our language school. The classes at Babel consist of 4 hours/ 5 days a week and are taught almost entirely in Spanish. Kim and I were entered into different classes (I think Kim is classified as intermediate, and I'm at the lowest level), but after just one week I already feel more confident in my ability to speak and understand - especially when the people realize I'm not a native speaker, slow down, and use simple vocabulary.

The classes are very helpful, but I think just as important for me has been the homestay and an easy opportunity to practice my Spanish after class. Our hosts are Jaime and Yaneth. They live on the same property as Jaime's three sisters and mother and often have their grown children and grandkids in the house. Needless to say, we have met a sizeable amount of their family in just one week. One boy of 12, Guillermo, is learning English in school and is probably at least a little fed up with constantly being called on as the translator. Overall, the family is incredibly welcoming and helpful, and though they do not speak English and our Spanish is poor, they make us feel like part of the family.

Yesterday our host family invited us to walk with them to walk to the "cerro de la popa" for sunset. I think it translates to "hill of the stern" referring to a large hill in Cartagena that is shaped like the back of  ship. At the top there is a convent, and a fantastic view of Cartagena and the Caribbean. We are pretty lucky that we're in Cartagena now because the path to the top is typically a dangerous place, especially for foreigners. However, this week precedes a Catholic festival with hundreds of people walking up the hill to the convent at all hours and so there is a strong police presence on the hill. Jaime has lived in the same house since he was 4 years old and is very well known and liked in the neighborhood. The entire walk to the top of the hill, he was greeting friends. I swear he knew every other person.

Jaime is also a huge fan of baseball. He started playing when he was two years old, and he has a laminated picture of himself in his wallet to prove it. He has also spent time coaching and managing Colombian teams and teaching baseball to kids. When I tried to explain that the Seattle Mariners were my team he started talking about Ichiro and Alex Rodriguez being with the Yankees now, and how Robinson Cano was traded from the Yankees to the Mariners. (As a side note, lots of people in Cartagena wear apparel of US sports teams. While walking around town this week I saw a guy wearing a hat with the Mariners "S" logo. When I looked closely at the hat as I passed him, the back of the hat read "Marines")

This morning, Jaime took us to watch the kids who he coaches play baseball. The first game was between two local teams commposed of 4-6 year olds (a few kids skipped bases and one just ran between 1st and 2nd about 10 times). There were also two matches for 13-16 year olds beween the local Cartageneros and a team from Panama. It was a lot of fun to watch, but also great to meet many of Yaneth and Jaime's friends. I belive we were invited to eat fish at one of thier friend's restaraunts next Sunday. Tonight, their family is having an asado (barbeque), and they invited us to come along. When we were in Argentina and Chile a few years back, the two asados we partook in were some of the best food we ate, so we're definitely excited to join them this evening.

For the Super Bowl tomorrow we found a place that has a New Orleans theme and we've been assured they will have the game on, so I think we will meet a few people from the language school who have never watched American football and watch the biggest US sporting event. Next week we finish up our Spanish classes, and I think we're going to try and take some salsa classes as well. There  are a few places we still want to go see in Cartagena, but we have an entire week and I'm not terribly concerned about running out of time to do the things we'd like to do. Hopefully next Monday we will take a short boat ride to Playa Blanca (white beach), and spend a day or two lounging on the beach before we leave Cartagena for a new destination. We've heard that Santa Marta is beautiful and that would keep us on the Caribbean. We've also had multiple people say their favorite part of Colombia is the coffee growing region, so perhaps we will head towards Medellin. If the people outside of Cartagena are half as kind and welcoming as Cartageneros, Kim and I are in good shape.