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Published: February 24th 2010
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I spent about 3 weeks running up and down the coast, and it was crazy, crazy, crazy, but I will try to just give you a quick recap and let the pics do the talking.
I flew to Cartegena and grabbed a cab to my cs host Erv’s house. She was a French, sassy, babe living in a really nice condo 10 minutes walking from the old center (maybe 20). Erv always kept her home open to couch surfers and there were usually 2 or three hanging around in living room.
I entered the warm tropical apartment to a late night French dinner party, complete with fine food and wine. Thanks Erv! Exchanging stories and making most of the night, as all crazy nights in Cartegena go.
I only had two short days in Cartagena but it was enough to walk the entire old center (the only part worth visiting), ride the crazy chiva (a open tour bus with unlimited rum and a musical band), hit the bars till 4 am, and meet Edgar - the sexy but far from innocent sushi chef- and the only person on earth who got me to eat fish (shushi to be
precise- but he was very persuasive in all his handsome hospitality, personally catering all my meals...).
After the short stop I was off to meet Luzma off the coast near Sencilejo. Edgar (her son, from Bogota)’s friend picked me up from the terminal and accompanied me for 2 hours of buses to get me to the remote destination - THAT is Colombian hospitality, nothing better in the world!
Luzma, her husband Fernando, and friend and co-worker Isabelita were my companions for the next week as we travelled the islands of St Bernard working as marine biologists. We spent late nights swimming in the dark depths of ocean water, gazing at the virgin stars - a magical night in the boat house where my hammock hang high, and we talked the night away in the blazing warm tropical wind, talking of dreams, of life, of business, of our future, and of Colombia.
Like most Colombian my friends were very religious and really, really, really, good people. We had a fantastic time, and they invited me to spend XMAS on their farm in Santander. -This meant I would need to change my flight and stay in Colombia.... ok.... I
mean I needed to spend XMAS with my new family, plus we had work to do, as we decided to enter into a new venture together.
Back to Cartagena! -after all I didn’t get to go to the Rosario islands, or the volcano- and what was Edgar up to?? Lol....
Cartagena was HOT, and so was the atmosphere when I danced the nights away! Edgar was a temperamental, childlike, egotistical, character, who carried himself like a carefree model. He was kind of empty but fun to look at, and we had a lot of fun going to the volcano, swimming in warm mud for hours, laughing, swimming in the river, travelling by boat to the islands, sleeping in hammocks on the beach, and swimming with florescent zooplankton as I swam in the midnight ocean waters...
But it was time to move. Santa marta- a 6 hour freezing bus ride of hell. The air conditioning made me sick and gave me a full blown cold...
I arrived at sweet Cynthia’s house late at night (my next cs host) and strung my hammock up above her bed (about a foot underneath the fan- could have done without the
WIND). Cynthia was a doll and we went out that night, but I didn’t drink cause I was so sick from the bus. The next day I ran around the sites of Santa Martha, not what I expected but nice- the beach was not worth it and I didn’t even swim.
I met up with cs Jairo who invited me to his place for an improve dinner, it was fun.
Next couple days I spent camping in the gorgeous tyrona national park on the beach. It was a long hike in (about 3 hours), and the cape was windy and water FREEZING. As I climbed the large rocks on the cliff to the top, I sat on the edge, gazing at the indescribably beautiful landscape - and I felt nothing. I felt empty. The tremendous beauty of the lush green mountains, or the sound of the immense splashing waves did nothing for me. I knew I had reached a very bad point in my journey, a point where I no longer appreciated anything. I was over stimulated, overtired, and the only thing that could make me happy were my friends and family, none of which were there.
I struggled to feel happy, to find peace, to enjoy the majesty before me, but I couldn’t. I wandered empty.
I took a 2 hours hike deep into the jungle and up the mountain before I realized I hadn’t encountered a soul all this way... I began to feel uneasy in the silent wilderness, so I decided to go back. I had just enough time to hike out of the park before nightfall to catch the last bus back to Santa Marta.
I was flying the next day to Medellin to meet my ex, for whom I had been holding a secret candle in my heart ever since I had left Canada- he was coming to Colombia for the holidays to visit family. I missed him...
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