By David Leija“Passport? Check. Guitar? Check. Backpack? Check. Fuimonos!” I struggled as I crawled out the back door of the van looking like Jim Carey being birthed by the rhino in Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls. I had just parked the van inside the shipping container and had to squeeze my way out the back around both these heavy duty security drawers that my cousin drilled into the van and this makeshift shower made out of buckets and hoses that are in the way. As I walked out of the container and we put the lock on the door, I thought to myself. “Ya estuvo” There’s no turning back now.” We were committed. We were now vanless in Panamá until we flew over an essentially uncrossable jungle, into a different continent and made our way to pick up our van that had just been shipped by boat around said jungle. Fast forward a few amazing days (my cousin wrote about them in his blog check it out!) and we made it to the cumbia capital of the world, Colombia.
*** We woke up in the airport that morning and took a taxi to our friend’s house. The directions said something along the lines of, “Drive to this store, take a right and turn right at the big tree…” It worked; we found the place without a hitch. Disappointingly enough, the rest of the country was not necessarily like that in terms of directions although I wish it were; there’s a certain charm to it. On arrival, we were received by our new friends for life, Paulo and his parents. We had never met them before, but right away we felt the love. Paulo is a percussion student at a private university in the country’s capital –Bogotá. He was home for the holidays along with his cousin/neighbor/college roommate/guitarist and equally cool dude, Andrés. Andrés lived next door with his family and grandparents as well as his little brother – my lil’ tocayo , and the coolest and most trucha 14 year old ever, Juan David. These were the folks we were going to unintentionally spend the next two weeks with. Little did we know that we were yet to meet one of the coolest people we’ve ever met, Liney –she just happened to be at work that morning at the engineering firm. We went into the house looking like a hot mess from having slept at the airport that night. The heat of the Caribbean port-city had me feeling extra sluggish, so after conversing for a bit, we took a nap and woke up for breakfast and sobremesa (conversing during and after the meal). Mrs. Arciniega made sure to make us a different traditional meal every day along with a different flavored water/juice. This was just a taste of the hospitality that was to come. We fell in love with Colombia quicker than you can say patacón. Once I awakened from my slumber, I stepped outside to a whole lot of sunshine and music. The next day, and the day after that, were the same -so much so, that if there wasn’t music blasting from the neighbor’s house… something wasn’t right. It didn’t seem to bother anyone though. This was just the way things were. These were my people. Cartagena was the place where everyone was just as ruidoso as me. As I walked the streets and talked to people, I realized that Colombia wasn’t so different from Mexico. In fact, I find solace in that we face similar issues and have found that we get along perfectly. Colombia has such a strong culture and just like Mexico, it differs greatly from region to region. The area that we were in is known for its delicious food; its vivacious, friendly, beautiful people; and probably the most internationally known of its musical styles, vallenato. Vallenato is considered an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO just like mariachi is in Mexico. Colombia has such a strong culture in every sense of the word, it needs no comparison (I know, I know I just compared it… but you know what I mean) Colombia is Colombia –what more can you want from a place? As if that weren’t enough, 87% of the people that were surveyed in Colombia reported that they were happy, thus making it the happiest country in the world for 2016, according to WIN/Gallup International Association’s annual global end of the year survey. This joy is easy to see when walking down the streets of historic downtown Cartagena. As we walked on top of the murals that surround the city while sipping on tinto, we felt this ever-present elation. One of my favorite moments in Cartagena, and in my life, was walking along the shore, on top of the walls as the sun set on the ocean. There are little windows along the wall where couples go to enjoy the sounds of the city, juxtaposed with the waves crashing along the walls. If there’s a place where you’re going to catch feelings… that’s one of them. ¡Aguas! Walk a little further into the downtown area and you’ll run into one of the many plazas named after Simon Bolivar, The Liberator. At night there are cultural shows on the street with folkloric afro-colombian dances and traditional music. Make sure you find a tintero on the way so that you can sip on some delicious black coffee that will get you all up in your feelings. Fortunately for me, we did this a lot since we ended up staying so long. We tried to pick up the van at the port and ran into some difficulties that my cousin discusses in his blog, Panama. We originally planned to stay in Cartagena for about three days, and then spend the new year in Barranquilla (hometown of Shakira, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Sophia Vergara) but we’ve since stopped planning things because our plans NEVER work out (kidding… kind of). Through it all, the Arciniega family was incredibly amazing and supportive. We felt bad because we didn’t want to overstay our welcome, but the Arciniegas made us feel so at home that, honestly, we felt like we were part of the family. The time came for us to leave; we had our van. We didn’t know where exactly we were going to stay in the next city just yet, but the wind was blowing South and the road was calling our names -but not before one last adventure per the request of Mrs. Arciniega. She told Edgar and I that she wanted to take a little trip to the ocean with the family. So, the next day, we packed the whole family -I’m talking parents, abuelitos, cousins, aunts –everybody, into the van and took a road trip to Playa Blanca on the Caribbean coast –all ten of us for one last adventure. Although it had only been two weeks, I felt like I had known these people all my life. We’d shared meals, music and endless conversations. Our time in Cartagena was over, but our love for Colombia had just begun. As goofy as it may sound, I had my doubts throughout the first seven countries on this beast of a roadtrip. I always knew we would put every ounce of energy into this project and do everything humanly possible to keep going, but it wasn’t until we shipped the van around the Darien Gap and flew over the infamous jungle that I felt closure in that we were in this until we reached our goal at the end of the world. The whole process of crossing into Colombia is really a preamble to what lies ahead, and we could not have had a better welcoming to South America than Colombia. Now, as we make our way onto our 9th country, it feels as though the more borders we cross, the less mental borders we have; the further we travel, the bigger the dream gets. Paulo Coelho once wrote, “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” So why not dream big? Whatever that may mean to you. We’re told this from the time we’re toddlers but do we really believe it? I’m not sure if I’ve ever dreamt so big in my life but with a little help from the people around me, I now dare to dream big, as should you. Now that we’ve started, we’re not stopping. We’ve officially passed the point of no return (at least in my mind) and are ready for anything. I entered South America with uncertainty. Now, my only uncertainty is if we’re ever going to leave this place we’ve grown to love. |
DavidMuchacho simpatico EdgarEdgar is Christian. He loves soccer, traveling, and meeting new people. Archives
July 2016
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