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Published: March 10th 2010
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven --Wikipedia
The hostal. People come and people go. Some stay longer than others, but either way you have to pay until you leave, or someone can pay for you. While you are there, you sit idly, mingling mindlessly with fellow travelors, lost in an intermediary state between point A and point B. Although a modern conception of purgatory generally refers to some type of temporary suffering, I think the hostal still fits that definition; poor is the journeyman that remains in the hostal, ignoring the heavens and hells of travel. Ironically, I am writing this from the comfort of my hostal... it is crocodile that welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws.
Kudos to Shane for the idea.
I had to leave Cartagena. The next to last night was the final straw. I went to a nightclub to celebrate a fellow travelors birthday, and I remembered why I dont go to nightclubs in the states or anywhere else in the world... theyre all the same. You see that same glassy gaze on the faces of posh sweaty dancers, their expressions blurred by strobe lights, fog machines, and booze. I made the most of it, ordering myself a ridiculously expensive cocktail and swaying along to Yo No Se Mañana (the most popular pop song in Colombia right now... you cant get away from it) with a drunk Norwegian who was fond of dancing like a robot. The Norwegian even taught me a ¨sexy¨dance move that is apparently very popular with European robots. But after being offered weed and cocaine for the 2 millionth time and losing half a pound in perspiration, I headed for purgatory. Realizing that most of the homeless people on my hostal street knew me by name and the prostitutes were getting a little too friendly (?), I bought a ticket to Medellin and never looked back. Have you ever been to Vegas and stayed a few days too long? The city wears you down, shuffling your nerves into cold mixed drinks and flaying them across a poker table until 5 in the morning at which point you gather whats left of your sanity and drag it back to a hotel for a few hours before doing it all over again.
I think it will be a while before I enter another discoteca.
Beware the nightclubs!
Medellin offers plenty of the same distractions but also some very beautiful architecture and views of the surrounding mountains. I rode my bike through the city center today... big mistake. Imagine trying to ride a bike through New York City. A bus ran me into the sidewalk and I stubbed my toes on a rusty metal drainpipe. The locals got a laugh, and I had to laught at myself for thinking I could hang with the chaos that is Colombian road traffic. As far as I can tell, the road rules are there are no rules, and the faster you can get over speed bumps the better driver you are. Looking forward to the tetanus shots when I get home, but until then, I guess I will stick to more pedestrian endeavors.
This weekend Medellin is having its city elections, so drinking is prohibited in the bars and clubs. These people take their elections pretty seriously, but I have heard selling votes is very common. I will be looking for locals standing in lines with their ID cards in hand, ready to hand them over to someone who goes in and casts votes with said ID card. Either that means they dont check IDs very well, or its so commonly accepted the authorities choose to ignore it, or everybody is in bed with everybody else in policitcal endeavors, or all of the above. Hopefully there wont be any riots, but who knows? The thing I love about this continent is its untamed heart, and with that comes a little danger. Besides, looting and pillaging would be a very local experience not many tourists get to try. I think its free, too. Bring your own billy clubs and molotov cocktails, though.
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aurita
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cycling
Sounds dangerous! AWESOME! Don't get lock jaw out there before you get your tetnus shot! :)