Apparently as a Black Man visiting Colombia, I could not have come possibly hailed from the United States of These Americas...I´d been told that I had to either be Costeño or Caleño. Or my parents were. Or My Grandpappies. Or something. When I told Colombians that my Mom and Dad were from Virginia and South Carolina respectively, they´d ask where in Colombia that was. Seriously when I relayed my truthful origins to various folk I WAS called ¨Mentiroso! (Liar!)¨ with venomous vitriol, and a couple of very sad looks that implored me to embrace my heritage. And so I decided to [View Full Entry]

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I´ve composed myself differently on this trip. After more than a few incidents where my Negrocity has been put on the heated front burner, I thought I was pretty well steeled against what had been anything from innocuous to blatant racism. We´ll just say Medellin put this to a leetle bit of a test. Medellin: Home of the Beautiful Caucasians With the promise of great nightlife and civic beauty, I´d headed to Medellin with Rob, a musclebound Canadian who was visiting from Ireland, with high hopes of...well...seeing pretty stuff and partying a bit. While the city [View Full Entry]

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A Short Time in Bogota Cartagena to Bogota was twenty hours of what actually amounted to pretty good rest. Well good rest for a twenty hour bus ride anyway. Which means I was kinda pooped. At anyrate, I´d headed this way in hopes of catching up with my newfound friend Monica who´d offered me a place to stay after knowing me for approximately 30 minutes. I love Colombia. Unfortunately Sticky Taganga had snared Monica as well and she was still there as I arrived in Bogota. In true Colombia form, she still offered me a place in her home (even though [View Full Entry]

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As described by ´Lying Planet´ my misguide book, Cartagena is supposedly the ´Architectural Gem´of South America. Unfortunately as with most cases of having high hopes, mine were dashed...but only slightly. Cartagena The old town of Cartagena is idyllic as a postcard shot and about as authentic as MainStreet Disneyland. Touts, and gemshops abound in an area that is actually very small and can be walked in an afternoon with quick feet...a day if you are sluggish. Now about Cartagena. It was a main port for trafficking the wealth pillaged from the new world and thus w [View Full Entry]

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Bas and I have finally parted ways in Taganga after a huge bloody battle where we fought tooth and nail over the qualities of different Colombian beer. Ok I jest a bit. We parted ways most amicably as can be expected as he is an all around great guy, but I started to feel the pull of the Big City so I can get back to regular Naa Speed. I can hear Bas groaning... Barranquilla Colombia Ok, So it´s not exactly the City of Lights. In fact most people who I spoke to (Colombians included) looked at me in wonder and [View Full Entry]

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I haven´t worn shoes in days. I´ve walked in the rain in flip flops. Ran for the bus in flip flops. Sat on the beach in flip flops. I even danced salsa in flip flops til I kicked them off and just danced barefoot. In fact, I only wore shoes once after I had been invited to a typical dinner in the nearby city of Santa Marta. I found myself well dressed (for a backpacker) with an uncomfortable feeling of boxed-in toes only to get to the house and realize the hostess was wearing: Flipflops. Urg. I´d come to Taganga for [View Full Entry]

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Into the Jungle Bas talked me into taking my first trek. Well actually, I talked myself into it, but I wanted someone to blame in case I didn´t like it, so I told him it was his fault. We were joined by a reticent Englishman named Jack and a cheeky Belgian polyglot who mastered 7 languages seemingly simply to commandeer conversations in as many tongues as possible. By the end of the trip I was simultaneously wishing she would either shut up or get eaten by a jaguar. I didn´t really care which. The trip started out very easy, with a [View Full Entry]

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There should be a Kids book. My first Border Crossing. Lord knows I needed a guide. Well fellow folk, I have left Venezuela and made it to Colombia, though not without incident. I can see why the European Union was a good idea if for no other reason than to curb the rampant corruption and frustration at the border. Not to mention the currency. I am confused about that too... I am happy to say that I was not picked on for anything because (as explained by the locals) ¨Soy Negro...¨ Gotta love reverse racism. Bas wasn´t so lucky. He got [View Full Entry]

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Los Llanos Consistently described to me as ´The Heart of Venezuela´. Of course the two folk who said that was a tour guide/tout and a ranch hand who lived there, so they might be more than a little biased. In my regards though, if it´s not the heart, it´s a damn major organ. So. After some trepidation on heading into the wilderness (you never know...Chavez might have a Naeem-eating-Anaconda out there), I bought a trip to Los Llanos, which is a mixture between wilderness and farmland to see. Well to be honest, I didn´t really know. I just figured that I [View Full Entry]

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I think I can finally understand the etymology of the word ¨shitfaced¨. I woke up today and said ¨shit...my face hurts¨. If there is a more literal meaning, I sure don´t want to know it. But more on that later. Mérida Continued My first impression of Mérida as bland was unfairly skewed as I´d arrived on a Sunday. And these folk really seem to take their day of rest quite literally. I´d finished my book (some blowhard idiot convinced me to only take one book. I´d hit him, but I am strictly against self inflicted injury). The only english language book [View Full Entry]

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