From Cali to Salento

Yesterday, I had a full last day in Cali. I woke up at 6:30 and started the hike up the hill of 3 crosses. Its highly recommend to start early when all the locals are going before work and when its cooler. Otherwise there could be thieves. Jorge, the man I'd met my first day in Cali, insisted on meeting me in the park near his house to walk me to the start of the trail so I wouldn't get lost. He has really made my time in Cali feel safer. Then he asked a local woman hiker to show me the rest of the way up. She went too fast for me, or rather, I hadn't drunk any water and was feeling dehdrated so had to rest and drink a bunch before continuing slower up on my own, but making sure to stay close behind another pack of people. It was a steep 1 hour climb up. How they got the towering 3 crosses up there a century ago is pretty amazing. When I reached the top, I saw the woman from the start of the trip and, even though she spoke no english, we were able to carry on a basic converstation about travel, family, life in colombia, etc all the way down. The way down only took 35 minutes.

After the hike, I went to the modern art museum. It was very well maintained and a nice community outlet for culture, offering cinema and live music on weekends. Then I was starving, but it was in between breakfast and lunch, so I walked back to my hostel (all in all 3 hours of walking). Awesome you can walk right up the mountain from town, rested then went out again for a delicious vegetarian meal near my hostel. I did a few hours of design work and relaxed the rest of the day.

Today, I again woke up at 6:30 and made my way from Cali to Salento with taxis and autobuses in about 4.5 hours. Sadly, I left my back pillow in the last autobus leg of the trip. Why do I always do that? Its the 3rd time I've left it behind on a trip and I really needed it this time! Oh well, if thats the worst that happens, thats not too bad - I can roll up a towel or a jacket to put behind my lower back the rest of the time and I'll just have to buy another one and clip it to my pants so I won't forget it form now on!. I think the hiking helped my back as it does feel better today.

There is a 5 hour hike I could opt to go on some day in Salento that's fairly moderate. We'll see. It rains a lot here, so the hostel conveniently rents rubber boots, but if its pouring, I don't think I'll want to go, since half the fun is getting to see something.

The hostel I'm staying at is immaculate, minnimilist and right around the corner from the Plaza. Its dutch run. I have my own room for $22/night. Its worth it for my work since I have my own desk, quiet and space. Its slightly quieter here than the other two places I've stayed in Colombia so far, but since its still on the streets, I do have to continue wearing earplugs like all the other places. Latin america is quiet. Even here in a town of only 7000 people, you can hear babies crying, kids on skateboards, icecream truck tunes, marching bands, people calling out selling things, horns beeping etc. The rain is very peaceful though and the hostal itself is quiet and I can feel myself relaxing here, out of the city.

Thanksgiving in Colombia

I woke up on Thanksgiving day not knowing exactly what would unfold. The weather forcast the day before looked like rain. But, I woke up to sun! so decided to go on the 5 hour loop hike through the wax palms and took one of the willies up to the base with some other travelers at 9:30am. I was lucky to sit next to a very nice woman from Tasmania, Australia, and we ended up doing the whole hike together. It was absolutely stunning! and so wonderful to be in nature and hear various birds and insects. The trail was very muddy, criss-crossing streams and lost arc-like swaying bridges, and I was grateful I'd rented wellies for $1.50.

At about the 2 hour mark, we reached a little coffee finca and stopped for a rest and some moca before continuing on up the steepest part. An assortment of brightly colored hummingbirds zipped around the feeders stationed around the finca. As we started to descend on the other side of the mountain, the fog cleared and we had amazing vistas of wax palms. We rested on the softest grass carpet looking up at the 200 plus year old trees. You can really see the height compared to the cows in the fields below. It felt very prehistoric. We caught the willies back at 3:30.

Back at the hostel, we learned there was a thanksgiving dinner happening at 6 that included the 3 course meal for about $16 plus extra for alcohol, so 4 of us from the hostel decided to go. To get there, we walked 20 minutes to an ecohostal where the spread was being prepared. 46 other travelers from around the world also showed up. It couldn't have been easy to cook a non typical colombian meal for that many people. They did a great job - we even had turkey! It was delicious - especially the carrot souflee they'd subsituted for pumpkin pie. We were all stuffed at the end and sleepily walked back another 20 minutes to our hostel and all went to sleep by 10pm. What a wonderful way to spend thanksgiving and the best part was the unexpectedness. I really love Salento and am so grateful I ended up here for thanksgiving and have another few relaxing days here.

Cali a pretty great!

I've spent two full days in Cali now. Its a fun, relaxing, neighborly and well-cared for place from what I can tell. I am staying in the San Antonio neighborhood at a French run hostal with stained glass windows and tiled floors, near the beautiful San Antonio church. I feel completely safe walking around after dark. There are a lot of little shops, bakeries and a surprising number of international, organic and vegetarian places. People spend time outside enjoying themselves and the great weather (80's but lower humidity and breezy with cool air at night for sleeping and no mosquitos).

Yesterday, I tried to go to the modern art museum (my gudiebook said it was open on sundays) but it was closed. So I stopped at an organic cafe and was immediately befriended by two 60ish colombian men (Jorge and Bill) sitting on the patio with their dogs. They thought I looked lost and started talking to me to help me out. They both lived and went to boarding school in the US - New Orleans, Connecticut, Houston, and San Francisco so spoke English. One sells organic insect repellent he imports here from the US. Bill kept going on and on about how I should start learning Poruguese instead of Spanish, how its a true language and more people speak it around the world than Spanish apparently including 6 countries in Africa. I did not know that. Then, their artist friend, Jorge Calero, wandered over to us. He's lived in Portugal for 6 years and told me the same thing as Bill. I walked over to see Gorge Calero's artwork and it was pretty interesting, abstract/fantastical/themed on the 4 elements. He said I could buy one for $250 and have the canvase rolled and shipped. I have his website in case I want to.
http://www.cctraductores.com/jc/index.htm
I would like to start an art collection from places I travel and I did like his whimsical work - it was real - not cliche.

The other Jorge (last name Valencia), invited to take me on a walking tour with his dog, Paco. So I went with him and he showed me the river walk, down town and some other cool sites for several hours, so pleased that I liked his city.

I told him right away that I have a boyfriend who works in the bike industry, just in case he got any other impression. He said biking is huge in Cali. Every Sunday, they shut down a major street and it belongs to cyclists from 8-1. Indeed, its bike friendly and I noticed a lot of bikers and better traffic and roads than in Cartagena. Jorge asked if I could ask my boyfriend about getting a discount on a bike from his shop and having it shipped here as bikes cost twice as much in Colombia! I said I would ask. He said he recently moved back to Cali from the states 3 years ago and its his favorite Colombian place, but its changing as not so great people from other cities in Colombia come here bringing crime, poor driving, bad manners.

I met the two men again today for coffee and Jorge gave me 5 Colombian DVD's to watch. So nice and unexpected!

Its a tricky mix between being hesitant, wary, coming across as timid even, guarded with my bounderies up to being open to talking to strangers, coming across as confident, bold and friendly. Traveling around Colombia is a learning experience for sure that takes me out of my comfort zone since I know minimal Spanish and am a woman traveling solo.

Some part of me likes to be pushed out of my bubble that way. Not all the time - I like traveling comfortable places too like New Zealand, Europe. I can't wait to go to Japan. But being in latin America makes me more grateful for what I do have, the life I get to live in Santa Fe, etc. The more time I spend in latin america though, the more certain I feel that its not somewhere I'd want to live myself. I'd like to sometime live in a foreign country, but would prefer a country that has a high level of spiritual awareness. Most of Latin america feels pretty full of young souls more interested in the material consumption. Nothing at all wrong with that, but that's just another reason it pushes me out of my comfort zone and why I gravitate toward Santa Fe. Too bad its so cold and dark in the winter in Finland, sweden and all those nordic countries!

Today, I chilled out more, caught up on work, meditated, talked to my mom and had a long distance energy healing session from her (matrix energetics) since my back is feeling compressed from stress (also had a long distance session yesterday from a woman who does seimei back in Santa Fe so my back is improving again I hope), walked to an artisan market and a local colombian cafe for lunch, lounged around on the hostal terrace, practiced Rosetta Stone. Now I'm back in my room and might watch one of those Colombian movies I was just given.

Arrived in Cali

I already like Cali a lot! Its funny how you can just tell about a place, sometimes even when you are still descending in an aircraft. It was dusk as we landed, so I could just make out the valley of green with low lying mountains surrounding it and lots of twinkling lights in the hills.

I was proud of myself for taking a mini-bus from airport to bus terminal ($5) like the locals and then a taxi from bus terminal to the neighborhood of San Antonio where I'm staying ($5), saving myself $ (the cost of a taxi straight from the airport would have been $25).

I'm staying in an artsy hostel I found on airbnb with my own room for $20/night with its own bathroom within the room, beautiful tile work and stained glass windows. The fan works great and blocks out any noise from the street. I can use the kitchen, laundry and living room. The top of the building has a terrace overlooking the city and the hostel is up on a hilly street, reminding me of San Francisco. I feel safe here immediately, and, even though it was 8pm, I wandered out of the hostel and found a little grocery store and a bakery nearby. There is a laid back vibe with people enjoying themselves here, (as opposed to trying to escape life with alcohol and loud noise as I felt was the case in Cartagena) which I love, people sitting in coffeshop patios, doors open, strings of colorful lights up, and young people walking around.

The weather is also great!!

Final day in Cartagena

My last day in Caragena was a good one. I went on a field trip with some other students from the language school and visited a remote village, salt flats and beaches. I swam in the ocean with a few other students with no one else on the beach, lovely and refreshing. The activity was included in my classes. I feel a little more confident being able to talk to people. It was definitely a good idea to take a week of classes. Rosetta stone is helping too. I also learned of www.duolingo.com that has free language instruction and www.italki.com that connects you with private language tutors around the world to learn via skype for about $9-11/hour or exchange classes for free.

I'll be in Cali later today and am looking forward to exploring there. I hope it is less humid than Cartagena!

First day of Spanish Classes in Cartagena

Its been 3.5 years since I studied Spanish in Guatemala. I studied for 6 weeks there and it was just at the very end that I was getting to the point of understanding and being able to have conversations. I had the best of intentions when I left to keep studying, but after about 2 months of keeping up with learning, I stopped. Before going to Guatemala, I'd had about a months worth of beginning classes from studying while in Austin, and that was all.

So here I am in classes again in Cartagena feeling like I'm back at the starting point, but not quite. Slowly, what I learned is coming back, faster than it would if I'd never taken it I suppose.

The school and the teachers are very good. Still, the cost to take Spanish classes here in Colombia is more than double what it is in Guatemala and the classes are group here rather than private too. There are also much fewer options for studying, though I think more language schools will become available as tourists continue to come to the country.

After 4 hours of group Spanish with a really great teacher and two other students who are definitely beyond my level, I kind of felt like a wet rag - so saturated with "palabras" and the heat of the city, that I retired to my room most of the rest of the day to nap and do design work. I also promptly ordered rosetta stone level 1-5 to compel me to keep up with the studying when I return to the states again. I really do love learning another language, and I have no excuses not to keep learning Spanish living in Santa Fe. I think they even offer Spanish classes at the Travel Bug Cafe. 

It does feel really great to be in classes and have some structure and community to the rest of my time in Cartagena, which is 3.5 more hot and sweltering days. I met a fellow student from Brazil who happens to be staying at the airbnb place I am, so we walked back and forth to class together. He doesn't like Cartagena's heat and traffic either and is doing the same thing I did and rebooking his flight to leave at 1 week instead of two. He has already studied a few weeks in Bogota and Medellin and preferred both of those cities. He said Bogota was still too crowded for his taste and it was impossible to get on public transport because there were so many people on the buses. About Medellin, he said it was extremely clean and the metro system was great, and it also has eternal spring weather. I met a girl from Michigan in my class and she has been all over Colombia and likes Salento, Tayrona National Park and Cali best.

Yesterday, I rearranged my itinerary, so I head to Cali on Saturday for only 5 days now, then on to Salento, a small town in the coffee region for 4 days, then Taganga (outside Santa Marta where I can book day trips to Tayrona National Park) for 5 days, followed by 4 days in the mountain villiage of Minca, and finally a few final days west of Santa Marta at a more quiet beach cottage. I'm much more excited about the rest of my trip now and looking forward to having more time in different parts of the country.

The change of pace feels like the right amount, not too sedentary, and enough time to relax in each place. Now that I think about it, I always start out trying stay longer in one place, and I get restless right away and find it much funner to hop around. When I first went to Guatemala, I was likewise only planning to go to Antigua for a month and Xela for a month each, but immediately found Antigua to be too touriste and ended up leaving after a week and proceeding to stay in a different place every 1-2 weeks instead. So, I'm not surprised really about my reaction and turn of events. Traveling requires being flexible and having a loose plan you are not afraid to reset. 

Of course, if I were traveling with another person, resetting would be more difficult. I would compromise on the pace and that would be fine, because the trip would be equally about enjoying the places and the company of the other person. 

I will take advantage of this solo travel, for reflections, for processing, and yes, for being selfish. It is different from other trips I've ever taken in that it is the first long solo trip while in a relationship. I am blessed that my boyfriend is so understanding and not the jealous, overprotective or competitive type. I have to say I've surprised several people by saying I have a boyfriend back home. Why are there so many male travelers with girlfriends back home and thats normal? There are also a lot of older divorced men here, doing their midlife crisis thing. 

So, there is that thread back to connecting with another, letting them know you're still alive :) and this is especially relevant in this less polished country, different than if I was just away in Hawaii or Canada for a month. My dad has expressed a need for me to update them every few days for example. Having feelings of worry for someone can be a foreign feeling for some who don't often feel that emotion for another, but places like this can bring a caring kind of protectiveness out in the ones you love and bring you even closer together from far away. 

3rd full day in Cartagena

I've been blessed with sun and little rain the 3 days I've been in Cartagena so far. Its the tail end of the rainy season so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've also been feeling great. You can drink the water here (unlike in Guatemala). The fruit is excellent. I think I had the best papaya ever today. Food seems to be pretty pricey though and sometimes a rip off. (I'm sure its not that way if you're a local and can speak spanish fluently). No stomach bugs and very little in the way of any stiffness or soreness in my back.

I had 3 seimei treatments (japanese form of energy healing 10X more powerful than reiki) in Santa Fe before I left, a reading/past life clearing with my excellent clarvoiant friend, Daeryl in Marfa, and an energy work/massage session last Monday, which have all really helped stabilize things, still I couldn't help worrying about the stress of travel. Its not that kind of stress that bothers me though. As my reading helped clarify, the stress that affects me is the kind I put on myself by not being confident and by expecting punishment for not being good enough (some from past life experiences). So, as soon as I got going, some of the old travel me (open, expectant of good things and my own empowerment in the face of difficult situations) seemed to resurface and I started feeling like that person again physically as well. I am meditating everyday, and that does wonders as well. The stress is all in my mind.

I am keeping up with whatever design work that comes in, and its been totally doable. I'm grateful to be able to work and travel. I'm sure the lessened amount of sitting at the computer is helping my system as well. When I was looking today at places to go in the country, I saw an ecohouse that specifically touted its "digital detox" reputation. Love it!

I have to say, if I wasn't booked for Spanish lessons already this week in Cartagena I would leave. I think 3 days is sufficient to get a feel for the place and see the sights, which are mainly the historical center. I also walked up to the san felipe castle for a great panoramic view of the city. If you have the time, going to Playa Blanca is supposed to be a must see 2 day trip from here, but I'm seeing other less crowded beaches around Taganga later so I think I'll avoid the tourists and congestion on that one - something like that would be funner with a travel partner anyway.

Against the advice of my guide book, I walked to the beach at Bocagrande yesterday (my guidebook said it wasn't a great beach). It was correct and it was also full of pushy people, demanding of tourists and not a relaxing place at all. I had to really watch my belongings, which meant I had to carry them out to a rocky outlying and put them there while I took a very quick dip in the carribean, which was like bath water. The worst experience was getting surrounded by two carribean massage ladies who wouldn't leave me alone and insisted they give me a demo despite me walking away and saying no, gracias at least ten times. I was tired and not thinking clearly, so I let them and before I knew it they were requesting 30 dollars. Nothing like that has every happened to me so I guess some part of me was asking for it or something. It was a good lesson in being confident to say no and really mean it and I will practice this with diligence the rest of my time here.

Needless to say, Cartagena is not as charming as it looked in the pictures, at least not my experience so far. The only good place to walk is the city center. Everywhere else, you have to fight traffic. The place I'm staying is very nice and I like all the travelers in it and at least I can walk in 10 min to the city center. I have to wear earplugs every night though, because my room is right on the noisy street. Today, I moved my flight to Cali up so I leave for there this Saturday as soon as my classes are over.

I talked to yet another traveler today who highly recommend Cali's laid back style and less humid temperatures. Even though its in the 80s there too, its apparently less muggy and more spring like. I will fly to get there. It was only $15 to change my flight! and rather than flying back to Cartagena, I will fly directly into Santa Marta and save myself a 4 hour bus ride.

I've been doing a lot of chilling in my room, which has been a good thing. So, last night, I watched a movie recommended to me called "La virgen de los sicarios" or the virgin of the assasins - set in Medellin in 2002 during the drug wars there. I know its changed a lot since then, but watching that movie made me glad I'm not going to Medellin. It was a fantastic movie and it was cool to see the country side and the city through it (and to learn how to pronounce the city's name ;). As Daeryl cautioned me, "don't feel like you have to pack it all in on this trip. Give yourself permission to stay in and watch a movie, and notice when you start to get overwhelmed."