Last night, I came home from Colombia. I have never been to South America, and going through customs in the US, after only a 3 1/2 hour flight is unusual as, didn't feel overly tired and filthy, as is the norm flying from Europe and Asia, which is normally 9+ hours in the air.
Just like my extended time off:
(A) I stayed in a hostel-which is my preferred type of lodging. I met the usual type of folk who stay in lodging, meaning Germans and Austrailians in their 20's. I probably stuck out like a sore thumb-which is fine. I enjoy hanging with these folks more than most my own age, most of who have matured, married, and/or have kids. 20-somethings in hostels still have their sense of wonder and adventure, because of that:
(B) I participated in a free walking tour-which is largely made up of people from hostels. The free walking tour provides a deep-dive into the history and culture from the region-in this case, courtesy of Juan, the tour guild who was most passionate of his country. I enjoy interacting with the guide, asking questions, and getting feedback. This led me to the Barrio transformaiton tour, where I met others and continued this interaction. The hostel also had a brochure on the Pablo Escobar tour-where I gained further insight.
(C) I also did a pub crawl because of the hostel-which had no educational fuction, but I danced, and met with people who we're fun.
This is a return to the world of two years ago, where I explored the world, on the cheap-exactly like I did in Medillin, but in multiple citiies. (1) Hostel (2) Walking tour (3) Pub crawl (4) repeat-no, not exactly like that. But that world seems over now. Travel will be just like everyone else-2 week breaks during the year, incredibly rushed group tours, cruises, and nice hotels where I have my own room-which smell nice but have no soul. Every day now is same as before I left-driving to work listening to NPR, working, going to yoga at the end of the day, eating salad for dinner-sleep and repeat.
