South of the Border

max23 — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:50:00 GMT

There's a Mark Twain quote that I like to think of whenever I'm in a situation in which a decision will drastically change the course of my life.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Needless to say, when it comes to staying put, saving money forwhatever and settling down or leaving the US and traveling, I have had a tendancy to choose the latter. The comforts of life in the US - a job, TV, pizza delivery...the regular routine - can be nice, there is an itch that doesn't seem to fade. (No, not that type of itch...) I'm talking about the ever-present travel itch. I'm a firm believer that you live once so while we're here, we have to make the most of it. Or as my travel buddy DJ aka Donny aka Mr. Don aka Delphinius Jorge would say, "we're here for a good time, not a long time". So while the preparation, saving for months-long trips and especially the goodbye's can be difficult, there is no such thrill that exists more than dropping everything and taking off on a new adventure.

South America was originally first on my list of continents to visit (solo) back in 2009 but as Aaron was already living in India and being the...let's put it "convincing" brother that he is...I took off for Asia instead. Then in 2010, we were given the opportunity to go to Israel on the Birthright program which we were able to extend to travel throughout the Middle East a bit further.

So now, the time has come to explore our sister continent to the South - warmer, wilder, diverse, and as I've come to find...still extremely unknown. There have been many explorers to South America yet there is still so much that is left unanswered and unexplored. Some places that have been discovered have now "re-disappeared" into the jungle once again waiting to be "re-found". Some places are still completely untouched, where indigenous peoples still thrive in seemingly impossible environments.

The mystery surrounding South America is still strong and as such, it attracts people from all over the world. So now I'm here, sunburnt to hell after a few days of hiking in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, but ready as ever to begin a new journey.

Memory isn't really my strong suit (I've been known to buy herbal "memory" pills from Whole Foods, forget to actually take them, and subsequently throw them out in an acceptance of failure) so this blog is as much of a way for me to keep my family and friends informed of my travels (and for my mom to know I'm still alive) as it is for me look back years from now to reflect and remember.

So here goes...no real description of travels quite yet - but to give you an idea of how it started (apologies for the run-on sentence, but it seems necessary): we jumped on a bus from the Bogota Airport upon arrival, got completely lost with all of our stuff, crammed in the back of an overcrowded colectivo (minibus) with my hip about to detatch from my leg, had 6 locals trying to give us directions (in Spanish, mind you) and eventually got off in the middle of nowhere, had the police draw us a map and hail a cab for us to our hostel.

All adventures start with an adventure!!

Take care and much love,

Max

Photos: Colombia

max23 — Tue, 6 Dec 2011 12:59:00 GMT

Colombia

Lost in Spanglish-tion

max23 — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 07:04:00 GMT

What words come to mind when I think of Colombia? Beautiful. Diverse. Wild. Rainy. Off-the-beaten-track. Vast. Unbelievably friendly. Hot...cold. Jungle. Beach. Mountains. To sum up: too many. Colombia is one of those countries where I know I'll be back. I have to go back.

I've now made it over to Ecuador, however, over the next few weeks I'll try to sum up my thoughts and experiences of my ~2 months in Colombia chronologically as putting together a summary of everything in one entry would either A) be wayyy too descriptive and long or B) be wayyy too short and not give enough justice to such an amazing and deserving place.

Another reason for doing this is because it serves as an e-journal for me now more than ever - long story short, I had my smaller bag stolen that included, among other things, my journal (no, not my "diary", assholes). So my task now is to try to not only remember the details of the places we went but my thoughts and feelings that came as a result of those experiences.

So here goes: Arrival into the Bogota as described in my first entry was a bit chaotic.

Feeling the rush of our launch into our big new adventure, we decided against a taxi to our hostel and dove head first onto a public bus from the airport to get to our hostel in the Candelaria district. Needless to say, we didn't know where the hell to get off and ended up cramped in the back with our big bags and our legs subsequently disjointed from our hips, struggling for any sense of landmark recognition out the window which, suprise suprise, was impossible considering we had never been actually been to Bogota...

Sensing our confusion and discomfort, about 6 fellow passengers tried to help us, albeit in Spanish (which we were now, officially, "practicing" after years of non-practice --- essentially storing words, phrases and tenses in a cob-webbed attic of non-usage in the US). After getting off at a random point at the direction of the other, now probably bewildered, passengers ("Did those gringos just ask me how to ride a llama?") we got more-than-necessary directions from a policeman who not only drew us a map of how a taxi should take us to our destination, but negotiated for our fare. We made it to our hostel, Hostel Sue (pronounced "sway"), about 15 minutes later to our great relief.

While it was a crazy and hectic beginning to our trip, I think it can be compared, in a sense, to Bogota and Colombia as a whole - throughout our time there, it was spontaneous, sometimes dangerous and uncomfortable but there was almost always one constant -- the friendliness and willingness to help from the locals.

After checking in, we went out to grab some empanadas and a couple of beers on the main drag. Bogota at first glance is busy, kind of dirty, a bit sketchy and not a place I would go out of my way to visit. Wait...I still feel that same way. Actually, I wouldn't want to completely disregard Bogota as a city - It does have one redeeming characteristic: street art. Virtually every street in the downtown area has graffiti, tags and/or some incredible art displayed - portraying Bogota's unique underground art culture.

After slugging our last sip of the local Colombian brew at the bar and feeling the adrenaline rush of being outside the US on our first day on this journey, we continued to have some beers upon returningto the hostel. While hanging out and listening to music, we met a few Aussies who had just arrived a few days beforehand - just getting into Bogota after traveling for a couple of months through the US, a few more down through Central America and were finishing up their trip in Colombia. One of these guys is a Colombian transplant, working as a journalist in Bogota and knew all the places to go for a good time on a Saturday night in Bogota. Needless to say, we woke up the next day feeling a bit hurt, but had plans: attending the maddest public display of pride that a South American event can bring out in its locals - a fútbol game.

Struggling to get out of bed on Sunday, we quickly grabbed some much needed energy in the form of coffee from the hostel kitchen (free in most hostels down here!) then some breakfast in the form of a fruity drink down the street. These are everywhere down here due to the abundance of fruits - it's essentially a smoothie with one or more different fruits - from banana to mora (blueberries), lulo (local, tart fruit) to granadilla (orange-looking from the outside with seeds encased in a jellyish liquid; looks like fish eggs but tastes muy bueno) - blended together with either water or milk and ice.

Feeling as refreshed as we could be, we took a cab to the stadium - El Campin - and found tickets for around $20/each outside. As we headed closer to the gates, the sounds of the crowd are what I imagine battle cries would sound like and you can literally feel the ground thumping underneath your feet. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I think the last soccer game I went to was at Penfield High School or the Rochester Rhinos. This was on a different level to say the least - maybe another planet.

We're shuffled along to a gate separate from the main entrance and directed to our section - the "gringo" section, from what I could gather. An area virtually empty of any local fans about 30 feet from the field – awesome seats. Before leaving for Colombia, I had researched the game and was told not to wear red or blue at this particular match and could now see why. The Bogota Millionaires (blue) and the Santa Fe Juniors (red) were going head to head - both teams are based out of Bogota but this game was a big one. The Millionaires were fighting for a playoff spot against Junior, who was at the top in their division.

Upon walking up the stairs and into our section, the sound of the cheers was deafening. To our left, the small cheering section of the Juniors is about 200 people deep and further to their left, the massive section of Millionaires fans is absolutely out. of. control. The entire 90 minutes of the game, these fans are singing - no, screaming - song after song while simultaneously jumping up and down - nonstop. I'm sure if you cut any one of them open, they would bleed blue. At one point in the game, about 20 fans from the Millionaires jump down the bleachers (about 10-15 ft) to try to get to the Juniors' fans. Police swarm the area and created a blockade between the two sections for the remainder of the game.

Unfortunately, no goals are scored and the game ends up in a tie although it makes little difference to me, as I had been watching the spectacle in the stands much more than the actual game. In order to keep the peace at the end of the game, the opposing team's fans exit about 20-30 minutes before the home team's fans along with us. The game is successful on two fronts - the Millionaires make it to the playoffs based on another game's decision and we make it away unscathed, alive and ready for a nap.

Our time in Bogota thus far had been off to quite the start but, like the omnipresent gray clouds that loom in and around the hills surrounding the city...there's bound to be some storm at some point.

Budget Traveling: Adventures in Max's World

South of the Border

Photos: Colombia

Lost in Spanglish-tion