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Published: January 5th 2006
Sorry for the hasteness of this posting. Even on an extensive holiday like this you can find laziness over the christmas holidays.
In my last entry I was leaving the Pacific coast en route to Medellin. The 14 hour bus ride came and went with no problems and I found myself in the large bustling metropoolis of Medellin. Medellin is famous for a few things. Primarily it was the home of the large cartel of Pablo Escobar. Escobar was a drug Baron in the 80´s that ruled the city and much of Columbia. He was eventually gunned down by police agencies, but he apparantly killed thousands some say millions of people and displaced several thousand others. He did however sink a lot of money into Medellin making it a beautiful modern city that already sits in a beautiful valley surrounded by large mountains. The other thing Medellin is famous for is beautiful women and their very noticeable silicone. It was a tough few days for my neck but I did recover and I was able to take a day trip to Piñol. Piñol is a large rock 100´s of feet high overlooking a series of lakes and valleys
Park Tyrona
There are chickens everywhere in Latin America...yes even the beachthat after the long vertical climb provides some stunning scenery. It is really an odd looking formation that looks like it has no place being there and perhaps the only thing looking more out of place is the letters G I painted on the side of it. It is privately owned and the owner had the idea to paint the name of the town on it. Odd!
After a great 6 days in Medellin of reuniting with my friends from the Taganga and Lost City days my friend Ian from UK convinced me that I should go with him to another city called Buceramanga. It was 14 hours in the other direction of my next destination Cali, where I was planning on being for christmas, but Ian told me of the people that he had met there and how being around locals is a completely diferen´t experience than staying with other backpackers. I knew he would be right so I made the first of the many more split decisions and decided to join him.
Buceramanga is a smaller city of about 600 000 inhabitants, which much like Medellin is situated in a valley surrounded by large imposing hills
Medellin
Cento Medellin and mountains. This city became one of my best experiences so far. There really isn´t much to do in Buceramanga as far as a tourists perspective is concerned unless you are willing to travel a few hours into the mountains. I guess I love it so much because of the people I met. In all the time in Buceramanga I can only recall seeing one other tourist, and I think that fact has a big impact on the way that I have been treated by strangers. I can´t count the amount of times I was amazed by the extremely courtious offerings by complete strangers. When people who have very little offer what they have to you it´s a truly great feeling of appreciation.
Ian's reason for returning to Buceramanga was a girl named Nancy. The minute after I met Nancy and the rest of the Puentos family I felt so at ease and knew exactly why Ian wanted to return. She and her family were extremely welcoming and I became good friends with all of them but more so with her brother Alex. We had some good times, and after some heavy consideration I decided to stay for Christmas
Medellin
Outside the Botello Art Exhibit with their family. I had planned to go to Cali to be with other backpacking friends but I was having too much fun in Buceramanga.
Christmas Eve was spent with the family sharing the fine bottle of scotch and having a light meal until midnight where upon the family wished eachother merry christmas and then all parted ways. Alex and I took to the streets of their neighbourhood where upon I truly saw how Christmas here was so differen´t from home. The neighborhood was electric with everyone in the streets celebrating in a block party type atmosphere. Every street was lit with a barrage of fireworks, and the sounds of latin music being pumped everywhere. Alex and I walked around for 2 hours sharing christmas greetings and drinks with people that to me were complete strangers, but to Alex an extention of his family. I was really overwelmed at how welcoming every single person I met was. By 2 am we were headed to a club where Alex and Nancy introduced me to more people and more ways to make christmas a nocturnal affair. We stayed out till 10 am and then slept all day. At night the family
Medellin
Another Botello cooked another dinner for me that was not a traditional chrissy dinner but being around their family helped me not think about the things I would be missing back home. After all christmas is about being around good people in good spirits...and the spirits were a plenty! Mostly Rum!!!!
My birthday and New Years coming I was forced to make a choice....spend the time with my local friends in Buceramanga or go to the huge holiday festival in Cali where I could meet up with a large group of my friends I had met from other Columbian destinations, and also be closer to Ecuador....my next destination. With a heavy heart I said goodbye to my friends in Buceramanga and made the 14 hour bus ride to Cali. I left fearing that I was going to miss my new friends and the offbeaten path feeel that I had with them. I arrived in Cali on the 28th and met up with my friends and started to feel a bit better. We went to a massive Latin music concert with about 30 000 other Columbians and enjoyed the music of artists that I am now becoming very familiar with and actually
to my surprise really enjoying. But still no Salsa master...many a girl in Cali with bruised toes!!!!!
The next day was my birthday and my friends and I enjoyed another great night out with Champagne being poured at midnight in honor of my Champagne birthday, and then to a numer of differen´t discos until the final one in the mountains at around 8 am. Whoosh what a night! The next day fear and loathing started to creep in and I was starting to dislike the feeling of sleeping little, eating little, drinking too much and seeing a lot of drug crazed backpackers walking around like zombies until their next line. And I was only there for 2 days. The festival atmosphere in Cali was great with lots of lights, music, dancing and great food but I had enough. I was missing Buceramanga. So I said goodby to my friends that were actually awake and jumped on the next 14 hour bus back to Buceramanga.
I knew it was crazy to go the opposite direction again but I wanted to be with my friends to bring in the new year. I am so glad I did. Alex and Nancy
Big rock
stunning panoramic view from atop were really happy to see me, unfortunately I had to make another choice. Nancy was staying in the city and Alex was making a 7 hour bus trip to the town that he grew up in and meet up with the rest of his family. Seeing as how I love bus rides so much I went with Alex to his little mountain village in the middle of no where. It was a great time. The inhabitants of all the other local towns gather there for a big festival. Once again I was welcomed into the homes of complete strangers for food and drinks without hesitation. One perticular drink to mention was called guarapo...it's a mixture of formented grapes, pinapple, and oranges mixed with sugar and water. Oishhhh...this is a famous local drink consumed "the day after a big night" tp get you started again.
New Years eve everyone gathered at the town bull fighting ring to watch a few hours of man against beast or more like a whole bunch of men teasing a really pissed off beast...no they didn´t kill them. But it was still interesting too watch and as the croud cheered at the masterful skills of
Christmas morning
9 am christmas morning coming home from the Mi Pais the bull fighter, I in turn laughed and cheeered as the bull finally caught up with a few of them. I think I always cheer fot the underdog. That´s why I am a leafs fan. Later in the night the town gathered in the community center for more food, drink, lots of dancing and finally bringing in the new year. We spent the next day recovering with guarapo and then in the evening much of the same as the previous...only this time we had to board a bus at 4 am back to Buceramanga. As you can imagine a few days of this so called hospitality of drink after drink being handed to you, takes a bit of a toll on you, and by the time the bus arrived I was ready for a sleep. However the first 3 hours of the journey is a road that when traveled on could definately be compared with riding a mechanical bull. You would think there is no way a person could sleep.....Me.....masses of alcohol in my system......no problem. I unfortunately chose the window seat and I still have the bumps and bruises on my head. But still have no recolection of smacking
Christmas dinner
Nancy and Angela preparing Christmas dinner my head off the window of the bus what must have been a bunch of times. Ok there's your laugh at Troy moment.
My visa for Columbia expires tomorrow and with the holiday season and many people traveling I was unable to find a bus itinerary that would work to get me to the Ecuadorean border on time. So once again I find myself on a differen't path than intented. Tonight i will take the night bus to Merida Venezuala, another really long bus ride! It really doesn´t bother me one bit. I am loving living one day to the next. I know I will get to Peru to climb Machu Picchu, I will see the pristineness of Patagonia, and feel the vibrance of Buenos Aires.....but god only knows when.
So I look forward to my next journal because for the first time I really have no plan at all...but I wouldn´t be surprised if it was from Buceramanga again.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. I miss you all and wish you were here...also congrats to Brenda, and Greg for bringing Bryn into the world and expanding the Leaf nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ceou
Troy
Christmas dinner
Really missed Turkey for christmas.
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Travis AKA Troy Slayer
non-member comment
Dude,,,,,
T-ROY, glad to see you're having fun in the sun. Canada Hockey RULES... Wrap it then smack it.. LOL Travtallica