A day in Colombia

A few months ago I had to do a visa run (cross border, stay night, come back next day and hope they let you back in) and I decided Colombia would be a good choice, close for one thing, and a little more intriguing for me than Peru.

I headed out after an assembly and mini food vacation in Cuenca (loooots of crepes, indian and italian food and fancy hot chocolates... not all at the same time of course.) Night bus, 13 hours to Tulcan, the last town on the Ecuadorian border. I was nervous of course, any new territory here is a little terrifying, helped along by the grave warnings of the brother who was giving me the lowdown. "Find people! Don't go anywhere alone! Be super careful!'.

So with that soundtrack in my head, I tucked myself into my seat and tried to sleep and avoid glancing at the horror movie that was playing (which totally wasn't helping).
After an interminably long butt-numbing journey, we reached Tulcan as the light rose on the green grassy hills.

I crawled off the bus, and after circling a bit, finally chose a taxi, ignored the brothers advice, and headed for the border, alone.
They immediately sent me back to Tulcan to get money, due to a 'special' payment only Canadians have to make to enter Colombia ($100! and of course no ATM at the crossing...).

So I go to the bank, get out the money, thinking of course they can change it there. Nope.
They give me vague directions to some market with money changers. Already not feeling great about carrying a large amount with me in an unfamiliar place.... but I find the area, and ask in a little shop where to find the exchange. A woman says 'just follow me I'm going there now'. I cautiously walk a ways behind her to see what's going to happen. We reach this market, and true enough, tucked behind in an alley, there's a row of little old men selling Colombian peso's. The guy gives me an good rate, and I walk away feeling pretty awesome, another notch on the belt of world travel. :D

Finally I reach the border (2 very safe taxi rides by the way), and I'm in Colombia!
I don't know what it is, but the air feels totally different on that side of the border. I was asking the taxi driver how things were in Colombia politically, and he said it's much calmer and safer now, but then he pointed over to the distant hills on the right, and said 'that's the red zone'.

                                                                                                                         I got to my hotel in Ipiales to settle in and wash the Cuenca mud off my shoes, and then I walked into the center to explore a little and find food. It was a really busy town, full of all the modern styles and furniture, cars, interspersed with bicycles and a couple horse drawn carts. So much contrast. Everything looks like it's older and falling apart. And once again, even though it's only 15 minutes away from the border, it feels totally different. Ecuador is like a sleepy farm town in comparison.  For one thing, they didn't seem to care that I was a woman and a foreigner, people were just chatty and fun and normal. There was just a feeling that everyone had more important things to think about.
With hints of turmoil here and there. I gave a wide berth to a scruffy looking couple full-on screaming at each other on the sidewalk outside my hotel...

But aside from the rough-around the edges feel and the whole Farc thing, los Colombianos are really kind and open and easy to talk to. I loved every second I was there, it felt alive and real. And the normal everyday food, pretty great. (corn tortillas with eggs.... and whatever they cook their meat in! so good!)
I even loved my cheap hotel room, it felt like something from another era. creaky floors, low wood ceiling, old 40's style print of a woman with a hat. A little glimpse into another world.

I was inspired.
Unfortunately due to budget and time restraints I returned to Ecuador the next day, after just the briefest of taste's.  But it was enough to get me hooked.
So get ready for a Colombia pt 2. (can't wait!)

jungle trip vs. 2

So, last week it was jungle time again. Making sure the Shuar people living in these remote areas received an invitation to the most important event of the year, the Memorial.

This journey took us much much farther than the one of last year. We traveled by foot about 30 hours (if not more) over 4 days. I really lost track. We had rain, torrential downpour, muddy trails even more difficult to traverse than the previous time, thick forest with overhanging vines, open spaces with tall grass and fruit trees.

It was kind of an accident prone trip, nothing too serious but I kept grabbing all the wrong plants to keep my balance and had to stop several times to pull thorns out of my hands and bandage a slashed finger. Another night I was getting all cozy by the fire and a piece of charcoal exploded INTO my mouth, a bit of a surprise... on the rest of the trek I was concentrating so hard on where to put my feet that I walked into numerous large branches and leaning trees... on the last day receiving quite a blow to the head. (next time a helmet might be a good idea?) And soooooooooo many bug bites! (still scratching desperately... augh!)
Although I still think the best one goes to one of the sisters who entertained us with her spectacular falls. One over a large tree trunk, head first, feet in the air... thankfully came up laughing and not injured. Tons to laugh about over a plate of chinese food when we got back to Macas.

We were greeted once again with the beautiful hospitality of the people in each village, who warned us of the dangers (to avoid visiting a neighbouring town where everyone was still pretty drunk from a fiesta) and made sure that we had a place to stay for the night. They gave us pots to cook with, access to water (sometimes from a river, sometimes from a tap), and happily accepted the memorial invitation. There were times where we could really see Jehovah's love for these people. A family with a sick daughter who was waiting for a doctor, receiving some comfort from the Bible about sickness and our wonderful hope for the future, and a beautiful reading of the daily text one morning with a family on how to have a happy marriage. They have so much respect for their creator. A really great lesson for those of us who are used to a culture where God is an almost shameful concept.

Another highlight was catching a glimpse of life in the village. About three times we arrived just in time for a community meeting, organizing their activities for the day - medical care, the local school, making a trail, maintaining the open patch of earth in the centre with machetes. We greeted everyone and handed out invitations. They gave us chicha as a sign of welcome, and invited us to rest and talk a little while. I loved the relaxed atmosphere, people enjoying being together in this open space. The life there is so.... different. Very surreal when you've lived anywhere else really. Women walking down the long dirt centre of the town, baby's strapped to their backs, getting water for the day... or with a machete going to their patch of land to collect yuca, plantain, fruit. Houses with thatched roofs and wood walls, hard dirt floors, a piece of wood set on stones for furniture, wood bench for preparing food. Small hand grinders to make chicken feed. And then a solar panel and satellite dish for internet or some kind of communication. Not a car or crowd or store in sight.

It truly is another world, filled with highly intelligent, thoughtful, educated people. Very worth getting to know.

Aside from that, it was amazing to sit out a couple nights and see stars completely fill the sky, or to watch the sun rise over the mist and the trees.

It was the most physically gruelling experience I have had, pushing feet and legs and will to their last strength. Up steep hills, wobbling on logs thrown down into the swamp, tripping on tree roots, rocks, splashing through rivers. For hours at a stretch. And then arriving just in time to a village where we would spend the night. The basic food we cooked never tasted so good. After the first night, even a hard wood floor made for a pretty great bed. And riding home to Macas after in a taxi? Pure luxury.

I'm happy to be back in my little comfortable apartment again, with clothes that don't smell like smoke and sweat and dirt, but wow. Completely worth the effort ('vale la pena' as they say here) and I'm so happy I got to share it with a few members of my spiritual family. Another unforgettable experience.