Legal Highs in Colombia

My quest to get rural in a hurry was successful and I soon found myself hopping off a bus in the mid-sized colonial town of San Gil (north of Bogota for all you map-enthusiasts). With all tile roofs and vibrantly painted buildings, the town´s presence does nothing to the taint the encompassing countryside. Known amongst Colombians as an adventure sport town, I arrived with the delimma of what in the hell I was going to spend my time and pesos on. Having since forgotten the sensation of almost wetting yourself, I decided to re-acquaint myself and made an 11th hour decision with another traveler to go para-gliding.

As requested, the paragliding "company" picked us up at the hostel in a car I presume had been glued together earlier that day. Our guides appeared not much better as when we picked them up they looked as if the previous night´s party had just wound down about an hour earlier. The crazier one duly informed us where to find "cheap booze and drugs" thereby confirming that his body toxity level was well beyond mine. The guides further displayed their professionalism by putting their hands over the swerving driver´s eyes as we drove up to the jump off point. But hey, this kind of stuff would cost 4 times as much in the States so I was willing to overlook a few bad omens. Also, what they lack in professional appearance they made up for in their huevos and skills. The ride, or I should say rides, as our first attempt ended with a premature land in a tabacco field, were amazing and the guides perception of invincibility afforded them the gonads to put us into tail-spins that made my head want to explode due to the centrifical force. After landing the second time, I kissed the ground and told guide William to go to rehab.

Probably going to bounce tomorrow as I hear there is some pretty cool hikes not far north of my present location.

Miss you already,

Brian

P.S. More pics in the link.

Back in Business

My jaunt back to the States ended well at the tropical extravegenza that was that Clarkson/Sweat wedding in Florida. The reunification of family and friends there stirred up a little nolstalgia of what I am missing back home. Although, I am pretty sure my performance at the reception may have put me on the blacklist of future weddings. Makers Mark and microphones is a terrible combination.
The logistics of my cheap flight back to Bogota found me traveling from Naples to Miami Airport. Once inside with about 14 hours to spare before my flight, I went on the hunt for a good nook to crash. After previously consulting the backpacker website Sleepinginairports.com, I set out in search of the chapel area due to its tauted characteristics of being quiet and devoid of people. I never quite it made it to that part of the terminal as I stumbled across the Ritz-Carlton of aiport sleeping areas. A totally secluded expanded hallway with no foot traffic, no other people or annoying announcements, and the kicker--dimmable lights. Having anticipated the tactic used by airports to keep the likes of me from sleeping there--super air-conditioning, I came prepared with about seven layers of clothes. Even with this, I was not prepared for the artic blast that hammered me all night and kept me from catching more than an hour of sleep at a time. After waking up and checking my bath towel wrapped feet for frostbite, I started on my succession of flights that would produce me back to South America. I spent a quick hour layover at Costa Rica´s airport on almost exactly the 4 year anniversary of me sleeping at that airport during my Central American excursion. Just enough time there to contemplate exactly how far I had come with my life.....
Prior to my flight back, I received two good sets of news within about 5 minutes of each other. The first being that my persuasive efforts at getting friends to quit their jobs and normal lives took its first victory--friend Joe Clifford has signed on for the Amazon expedition. This development is surely going to make the trip far more exciting and mentally plausible for me. He is in the process of wrapping up his life back in KC, burning his drivers license and is due in Ecuador June 17th. Should be an adventure.

The second big news was that friend and long-time KC neighbor Amy Smith has also decided that she wants a part in the Colombian adventure and is meeting up with me for a weeks worth of travel on the caribean coast starting June 7th. Should also be an adventure.
So, you see, there is two good examples of people making wise decisions in their lives--have you made one today?

Just to give you taste what these two have in store for them, here is some selected reading for all you cubicle travelers:

The Huaorani tribe Joe and I will be living with

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0521_030521_amazonhuaorani.html

http://www.bctravelwriters.com/geary/paddle/

Colombia´s Coast

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/travel/25hours.html?ex=1212206400&en=ee32ecc26bc0c090&ei=5070&emc=eta1


And so, I am currently back in Bogota and after a day of wandering around the city, I have decided that I may try my hand at finding a job in business here. Because, after a day´s observation, I have concluded that a Colombian businessman´s daily activity
soley includes putting on a suit and strolling around the downtown area. Never in my life I have seen such aimless strolling by seemingly most of the upper-class "workforce."
As much as I want to hang out and watch this non-production, I think I am going to follow my own advice about "when in doubt, get rural" and head to a northern town tomorrow.

Buying a tie,
BQ

Transplant to the Real World

After several months of only looking after #1, I think I may have forgotten the feeling of having to be responsible for someone other than myself. How does one re-acquaint himself with external responsibilities? Solution: Rent a baby for a day and try and keep both you and it happy and fed. Lucky for me, my sister Erin happily volunteered my 8 month old niece Kate for this experiment on my current mental psyche and its reaction to the rigors of what hypothetically could be in store for me later in life.*

*hopefully a lot later in life.

And so, Kate and I set out trying complete several errands around Kansas City before our family jaunt down to the Lake of the Ozarks. Fully aware that carrying around a cute baby immediately dissolves any personal deficiencies I may have in the looks & personality department, I set off in anticipation of shooting fish in a barrel around town. Although scouring for chicas was not the primary goal of the day, earlier, Kate and I came to the mutual agreement that I would not leave her for another girl that day as long as she behaved. The only thing that would void this agreement was if she went #2 in her diaper, in which case all bets were off and she could be left anywhere. The day of errands went fairly well--Kate kept the part of her promise about behaving and we managed to get everything done that we set off to accomplish. Although, even with her impeccable behavior I still was mentally and physically spent by the end of the day and completely reaffirmed in my belief that I am still ill-equipped for the responsibilities of taking care of anyone but myself. Lucky for me, I still have many months left of only self-preservation to worry about and am in no danger (virtual fingers crossing) of placing myself in a similar type situation.

Other than spending time catching up with family, mass consuming has been the theme of the return back to the States. I have succesfully eaten all types of foods that had been absent from my S.A. diet and now am going through round two on the checklist. Also, I have completed round one of two weddings, with Mike and Lindsay Tiehen's fun-filled May 17 wedding in KC. The next few days will be maxed out with me scrambling to get all my gear in order for my Wednesday departure to Naples, Florida for the Clarkson wedding followed by my international departure on Tuesday the 27th back to Bogota, Colombia.

Just to keep you'all in the loop, I'll let you in on what appears to be the tentative schedule of the next 3 months of travel. Once arriving in Colombia, I plan on spending about 2 weeks there to do a little more travelling around the country. After that I am going to head back into Ecuador to spend about 2 weeks preparing for entry into the Amazon. Basically, while staying at the lodge in Ecuador, Petro and I were introduced by owner Tom to his friend, Otobo, who is somewhat of an unofficial leader among the Huaorani tribe (wikipedia link for info), which is an indigenous group living in a remote area of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This tribe, which was recently "contacted" by civilization about 50 years ago, is currently at a major junction in the direction of their future existence. With foreign oil companies itching to get at the liquid gold they live above, some Huaorani leaders are trying to protect their land and people from the bum-rush that has been put in motion by these companies and the government. Once such person is Otobo, who is trying to create an income outside of selling out to the oil companies, by introducing eco-tourism to the area. He needs help doing this, and the opportunity exists for me to go in with him and spend up to 2 months living with him and providing any assistance I can in establishing facilities for future adventure eco-tourism that can monetarily benefit his people. The logistics are a little disconcerting--living amongst a tribe in which most people are prancing around in their birthday suits, hunt with spears and blow guns,and speak a language few outsiders have mastered. To cap it off, the location is a three day canoe trip up several rivers. Having never fully recovered from some college induced injuries, I have concluded that these circumstances are appealing to me and have tentatively agreed with Otobo for a July 1st entry date. The opportunity seems to be too great and exciting to pass up and I am starting to come to the reality of the magnitude of this trip. A little pre-trip prep is needed and I am still trying to decide if I will be purchasing the supplies here in the U.S. or back in Quito. One cause of concern is the lack of communication I will have once I go in. As much as I want this story told while deep in the bush, it appears the only way this is possible is through a phone or computer with a satellite connection. Not educated in the ways or logistics of this kind of technology (nor probably having the means for it), if anyone has any good suggestions or solutions to this hang-up please give me a shout soon. Any lucrative funding ideas are always welcomed....
Also, as it appears I may be going in solo, if this type of experience is something that greatly appeals to you, please let me know, as a comrade on this adventure would do wonders in the way of keeping sane.

Monkey is the new goat,
BQ

PS. I don't have my old cellphone so if anyone gets a one ring call and hangup--please call the number on the Caller ID as it is me using a payphone and trying to save the quarters.

Bogota and a Brief Trip to Reality

A lot has happened in the week or so since we last spoke.  We left off in Cali, where I found myself rolling solo in a city with not much catching my fancy.  I made an 11th hour decision to wake up early the next day and head to a small town in the countryside that supposedly held the honor of having one of the best views in Colombia.  It proved to be a good decision and as luck would have it, the town was comfortably jammed with vacationing Colombians celebrating their Labor Day holiday weekend.  I joined the holiday spirit with a fun English couple, Stephen & Creed, who were similarly toasting the day in the in the town center.  They were just wrapping up the 17th month of an 18th month global trip and showed no signs of fatigue.  They had been practically everywhere and still the itch for more travel, with the next planned expedition being a road trip across the States.  I spent the greater part of an hour touting the draws of a Mid-Western route and the glorious mecca the Lake of the Ozarks.  The festivities lasted well into the next morning and ended with us leaving half of the town still partying.

 

Through the fog of the repercussions of the previous night, I spent the next 10 hours getting myself to Bogota via buses.  Once arriving in Bogota, I re-united with the Irish girls that were befriended 5 countries back and spent the next 2 days doing some city exploration.  Knowing that I would be back within the month I was a little unconcerned with a full tour and instead prepared myself for the flight back to the States.  It was more of a mental preparing for my exit from the culture of traveling that I had found myself in the last few months and emergence into the my counter-culture position as a jobless drifter back in the States.  Here comes a round of justifications that I don't think I have the energy to pitch...

My five city tour started in Chicago, where I spent my first 2 days back carousing with old friends and falling back in love with White Castle.  Next stop was a brief one to St. Louis, where the revelry was just as intense with the celebration of the Tiehen's dog Carlos' first birthday... 

Currently de-toxing in KC with my family and enjoying every minute of it.  The plan is head down to the Lake for a few days and then prepare for the next two weeks of weddings.  

I still need to talk to you about the future plans and maybe a quick first leg recap---maybe later this week....

On track to gain 10 pounds in 2 weeks,

BQ

Cruisin' thru Colombia

After putting on my best dirty clothes in an attempt to dissuade any potential shenanigans during my transit into Colombia, I boarded an early morning bus to the border anxious for what the day would bring. Inez, my first bus seatmate assured me that most of the guerrilla activity was east of where we would eventually cross. But, she also informed me that I should have these--making the gesture for eyeballs in the back of my head. The actual border crossing went fairly smoothly. Things started to get interesting right after I got my passport stamped by Colombian immigration. First, I found myself one of eighteen people riding in a van similar to a Ford Windstar from the border to the nearest town. At times like this on the trip I sometimes ponder the asinine situations I find myself in and secretly wish for a skycam that could document the carload of Colombians with a tall gringo wedged somewhere in there. Unfortunately, that memory can only be cataloged in my brain to be forgotten in about 4 days. The attractive Colombian woman smooshed next to me would in the course of the next 5 hours be the source of a good deal of worry. Like the other Colombians I had met that day, she was friendly and helped me with a lot of the transport logistics of getting to the town of Pasto, where she was headed as well. Not long into the bus ride to Pasto, she implied that she was super-friendly and decided to use my shoulder as a pillow. Not a problem, I commonly have this effect on women although my charm usually takes weeks or months to work this successfully. But, also not quite a total fool, I realize this is how 9 out of 10 bad situations start. On the other hand, a bad way to go about travelling and meeting locals is to be totally paranoid of everyone you meet. After arriving in Pasto, she accompanied me to the hostal to verify the state and neighborhood of it, saying that Pasto and the surrounding areas were not safe for gringos. Only feeling not safe because of her, but not wanting to be rude to a potentially well-meaning individual I played along until I could figure this situation out. She was eager to hang out more and seeing the progression of the last 5 hours and not wanting to wake up without my credits cards and a kidney, I feigned illness to get her to leave. She did, only after extracting a promise from me to meet her for breakfast the next day. And so after she left, I changed rooms, told the puzzled clerk not to give out my key, slept with one eye open, woke early and left town like a person with a bad case of morning-after regret. A rocky start on the road to Bogota.

The bus ride today was about as beautiful a drive as I have taken in my life. With 4 months of Andean bus rides under my belt, I have grown fairly de-sensitized to the scenery, but the whole 8 hour trip was truly amazing. So much so, that I deferred any reading and just stared out the window for most of the trip's duration. This staring contest with the mountains was interrupted twice at military checkpoints, where all the bus occupants departed the bus for spread eagle pat-downs and bag searches. Machine guns were in no-short supply. I'd be lying if I said the ordeals weren`t slightly unsettling and the fact that I had not seen one gringo let alone another tourist in my first 24 hours in Colombia didn't help matters. Nor did an old man's response to me when I asked him why there weren't any gringos around. But like I said, almost every Colombian I have met so far has been friendly..

Right now, staying in a nice part of Cali but at a crappy hostel. Will re-assess the situation tomorrow and see what the city has to offer.

Cali Dreaming,
Q

A Parting of Forces

This morning the lodge owners found me hiding in a dark closet eating barbeque sauce covered ants and beef jerky and politely told me its best that I leave. So I now find myself back in Quito with every intention of waking up early and taking a bus to the Colombian border. All this noise up north with FARC and the Ecuador/Colombia/Venezualan governments has taken my interest and prompted me to head out on an independent fact finding mission. Armed with a machete (a parting gift from the lodge owners) and a pocketful of bribe money I am fully prepared to resolve this latin-american crisis single-handedly. My only concern is that I will be doing it without my comrade in arms, Petro.
Today was a sad parting of ways for myself and Petro as he gets to stay at the lodge another couple weeks until his May 20th out of Bogota back to the states for our buddy, Chris Clarkson`s, wedding. As for myself, I am going to spend 6 days in Colombia before my flight back in time for Mike Tiehen´s beer drinking competition and possible wedding. As of yesterday, I have a flight booked back to Bogota on May 27th for reasons we will talk about later....
It was a trip for the books for Petro and I and if you are unlucky enough to find yourself in our company in the next few weeks you can hear all about it. Or for a more coherent and sober summarization of this journey read the last 52 posts. Hopefully this is just the end of the first leg of a greater expedition for both of us.
The whole lodge experience was for me one of the best things done in S.A. as we made lifelong friends with the ever-interesting and generous owners Tom and Mariela, which has led to our informal adoption as there only children. It has also led to the reason for my return back to South America at the end of May.

If you don´t hear from me within 2 days please send the ransom money to:

FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
c/o Hugo Chavez
Caracas, Venezuala

Northern-bound once again,
Q