Chance, Hammocks, and Stowaways

I have finally found a way to get to Playa Blanca and skip those damn islands. And only for 6.000 pesos! That's like 3 dollars!

Okay, so maybe we cheated a little bit this time, but with all I have gone through the other times, I don't feel bad. I started out on this adventure with two Germans, a Frenchie, and a gringa. Instead of going by sea we decided to try by land. First we took and bus, then crammed the five of us into a colectivo, and then we took a ferry.

On the ferry the woman to my left started a pleasant conversation with "A man died here. He fell off the ferry and drowned. He just drowned!" I asked how long ago and she said she didn't know; I asked if he was drunk and she said she didn't know. For all I know, she was just hypothesizing that sometime, someone drowned here. Sounds likely; it is a river afterall.

Anyway, this woman ended up inviting us to join their group and ride their bus with them the rest of the way to the beach. She was very concerned that we would go with the mototaxis or on another bus and something horribly horrible would happen to us. She said we should not trust anyone (ironically since she wanted us to trust her...) So she introduced us to her sons and we piled on the bus with what seemed like everyone from their neighborhood. We were greeted with some pretty upset faces and angery tones by the people who actually paid to be on the bus, but the woman and her sons convinced them that these five foreign girls meant no harm and they should give us a lift (here this is called a 'chance,' pronounced chan-say.)

The road to the beach is under construction, like many of the roads in Cartagena. It is also peppered with police, and every time we passed one, everyone on the bus yelled at us to sit down on the floor so that they wouldn't see us and get everyone is trouble for having overcrowded the bus. We also went passed a military checkpoint where they demanded everyone get off to check IDs. People are so used to these now that no one really takes them seriously. I would say half the people actually got off the bus while the other half whined about being detained from the beach for so long.

We finally arrived and, after thanking Maria, the woman who had taken us under her wing, and assuring her that we would be okay, we set off to find a place to spend the night. Once about 200 meters down the shoreline, the beach is practically empty and very peaceful. We picked a place, rented five hammocks, and settled down to do nothing for two days.

It was a pretty uneventful two days, exactly what we were looking for. We did a lot of reading, floating, combing the beach for shells and rocks, sleeping, and eating (garlic shrimp to die for!) The most exciting thing that happened was that Megan's entire hammock fell to the ground with her in it! It was pretty entertaining.

To go back, we decided to go by sea... but we cheated. I don't really feel bad about it since we took advantage of a large boat company and they took advantage of me last time. We had some extra return tickets left over from when Manon's family had taken the ship a few weeks ago. She brought them along in case we were asked to hand in our tickets. Good thing too because as soon as we stepped on the boat they said, "Hey! These girls didn't come with us this morning!" Manon was worried, but the guy came over and asked for our tickets. We gave them to him and he said he was going to check the numbers. I said that was fine, knowing full well that the tickets didn't even have numbers on them.

Manon and Megan were worried the whole way back, but I enjoyed myself as I watched the water skim beneath us and solidified our story in my head. We had arrived on Friday with our other friend who left yesterday and she had left us the tickets, which is why we didn't have the other part of the tickets, the part with the number, and we had figured we could just come back any day since it says on them that they are good for 15 days... etc. I pretty much had myself convinced by the time we arrived at the docks that that was what really happened... And they didn't even stop us again to ask us our story. It sounds really bad, but being stowaways on this boat was not a big deal - the company did not lose much. And this will not become a habit of mine, I promise.

So I have finally found a way to get to Playa Blanca and enjoy a good amount of time there. I'm getting better and better and navigating around here for really cheap, while managing to find a good adventure to keep me entertained.

Pictures to come!

El Mango

Since my last entry on public transportation I have really begun to take mototaxis a lot more, against the advice I receive from pretty much anyone I talk to here. I don't know why but I just love the thrill and the breeze. Plus, when you are running late, you can always count on a mototaxi to get you somewhere quickly.

(Erin on a mototaxi)

Well, almost always. The other day was one of those days when I was running late and had to get to class quickly. I decided to hop on a mototaxi, and like always, I looked for the kindest face amongst the throng of mototaxistas calling for customers. I choose a round-faced man, waving his extra helmet at me with a big smile. We negotiated our price and were on our way.

Usually the drivers like to talk to me, which makes me a little nervous because this usually involves them turning around to try and see me while navigating the crazy streets of Cartagena, but this guy decided to talk to me in English. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what he was saying; his English was not that good to say the least. So our conversation consisted of him talking in "English" and me making affirmative noises whenever he paused.

Somewhere along the way I must have responded in the positive to something about a mango, because as we passed the market, Bazurto, he slowed down and checked every stall for one. When he finally found one, he pulled over and bought me the mango. He handed me the gift proudly, and I accepted, fully confused, but grateful. Then we continued on our way.

When we finally arrived at the University (actually late because of our mango stop and how slow he was driving since he was distracted talking to me), he promised to bring me a watermelon later on in the day. I never received the watermelon, but I did eat the mango after class on the bus, making a huge mess. It was delicious.

Thanks mototaxi man!

Stupid Rosario Islands

"The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you, too, [Lani]. It's destiny." -LOST

Somehow I keep ending up at the Rosario Islands off the coast of Cartagena. People are always telling me how lovely they are and asking me if I’ve been. I always respond, “More times than I ever wanted!”

No, they really are beautiful islands; the water is turquoise, blue, and green, crystal clean and filled with coral and animals. The islands are green and speckled throughout the water with birds circling over them constantly. They have an aquarium, although it is not that spectacular.

The first time I went to the islands, I went with a friend and we had planned on just going to Play Blanca (a beautiful beach on one of the islands) because that was cheaper. But then we ran into a friend of hers and he invited us to the islands as well. It was very fun, but I fell in love with Play Blanca and decided that whenever anyone came to visit, I would just take them there for a nice, relaxing beach day.

When my family came to visit I decided that Playa Blanca was one of the things we had to do. I tried to be clear with the man who was selling us tickets that we only wanted to go to Playa Blanca, and he kept saying, “Yes, this boat goes to Playa Blanca!” So we bought the tickets and boarded. I was pretty frustrated when I learned that the boat did indeed go to Playa Blanca, but first made a stop at the Rosario Islands. We spent some time on the islands and finally made it to Playa Blanca by mid-afternoon, not exactly what I wanted, but we still had a good time. And I learned my lesson to listen very carefully to exactly how they phrase their selling pitches.

Recently, my friend Erin came to visit me. Again, I thought it would be great to take her on a relaxing beach day. So we went to the docks and began our very careful search for a boat that would take us only to Playa Blanca.

The first man that accosted us tried to get us to go on the same boat that I took my family on. I told him a firm no, so he found his friend who assured me two hundred times that we would only be going to Playa Blanca directly, with no stops at the Islands, and if we ended up at the Islands he would be in big trouble. I was very pleased with this. After waiting an hour and a half for the boat to leave, we were finally on our way. Erin and I were very pleased with the boat ride over (a small boat that jetted across the big waves, bouncing us all around… very fun for two people who don't get motion sickness!)

And then suddenly, we were at those damn Islands! I was so frustrated and so confused! The man had assured me that I would not have to see them, yet here I was. After we docked, I talked to the driver and he told me that he had no idea we wanted to only go to Playa Blanca. He asked me why I didn’t stop him while we were passing the island with the beach. I was aghast! How was I supposed to know which island has Playa Blanca? I talked to the guide on the boat and he said the same thing, “Nobody told me that you wanted to go directly to Playa Blanca.” So he called the person we bought the tickets from and she assured him that she had told him that there were two girls who had to be dropped off first at Playa Blanca. But the guy wouldn’t admit he messed up and he avoided us for the rest of the day.

After feeling fairly pissed off for a few moments, Erin and I decided to make the best of it and took a dip in the beach on the island we landed on (it can hardly even be called a beach in comparison to Playa Blanca, but the water is nice and refreshing and so beautiful.) We finally made it over to Playa Blanca about mid afternoon again and were able to spend a couple relaxing hours napping, reading, and splashing around in the water.

Now all I can do is laugh about it. I am fairly sure I will never find a way to go directly to Playa Blanca. I mean, “ The island choose [me]. It’s destiny.”

New Arrivals!

Below you can find the two greatest gifts I have received in the last week:

My mejor amiga from MN, Megan, arrived last week and we have lost no time in conquering Cartagena together. She will be here for two months and I am already abusing her by forcing her to follow me around to all of my classes and talk with my students (who, by the way, love her of course.) She is having a great time of it though and her Spanish has already improved immensely. She also already has a few private salsa dancing teachers...

I also just got new glasses! I love them so much I wear them more than my contacts! Crazy I know since I never used to wear glasses ever. What do you think?

Sending our love to everyone!

Love,

Lans and Megs

A Quick Trip Out of Colombia

Just another reason why Fulbright is so sweet: they invited all of us to go to a conference in Mexico City with other Fulbrighters from Ecuador, Venezuela, and Mexico. It was great hearing all of their stories and sharing successes and frustrations with each other (plus, we stayed in a really sweet hotel that was awesome to explore.) It was my first time in the great city of the Distrito Federal and I loved it! It is huge, beautiful, and a nice break from heat heat heat! And, of course, I will always be partial to the food in Mexico.

Since I was already in Mexico, I took advantage of the time to go visit my family in Cozoaltepec, Oaxaca. I spent four days there playing with chamacos, learning to cook flan and make guacamole, bathing in the river, catching up with everyone in the town, and hanging out with my best friend, Chepe. We have had a special bond since I first went down there two years ago. We play hide and seek, build castles out of bricks we find in the backyard, play frisbee, have tickle fights, and hang around in the hammock. He is now a budding musician, learning to play the harmonica:

I simply love this kid! I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to go back and see him again.

Chepe, te quiero!