OK so I'm trying to get this update up and running before it gets too hard to control. Once you get sidetracked it can be very hard to keep pumping them out, and you begin to lose interest in describing the smaller more intricate details.
Since leaving for this trip i have had many varied conversations with people regarding the usefulness and worth of accumulating masses of pictures or keeping detailed travel logs/blogs. While most people, on the whole, seem to think that documenting and recording your travels in an essential element to travel, others sometimes think that the whole process may in fact be taking away your own personal interpretation or memories of how events took place, how places really were and smaller details of all the people you met.
I think this arises an interesting debate, and one that Kevin and myself have had numerous conversations about when talking about the deeper aspects of travel and life. I tend to agree towards the former view, that these various forms of documentation are a necessity for travel. But i also believe that is is true within reason, and that you should have a purpose when doing such. For me taking a picture isn't just about ticking a destination off my list or playing the 'picture game' trying to accumulate as many photos as possible. For me taking pictures gives me the opportunity to share my travels with those around me and those back home. They provide me with invaluable memories of my times away and allow me to look back in happiness about the good times that I've had along this epic journey. Pictures help unlock the tangled brain, but by no way influence the memories that lie in there.
As for my blog, this provides me with another completely necessary and valuable travel resource. Just like the pictures my blog helps to share my experiences with others. Perhaps it helps to inspire them to do the same and get out and see the world, or maybe it just helps people dream. Whatever the purpose is for others, for me it also helps me to reflect and look back on my times and process the many things that run through your head at warp speed while travelling. My blog gives me the down time to just bash it out for a couple of hours every now and then and then look back on the scramble that has exploded from my brain (often requiring a quick once over to eliminate rubbish ramblings). Many people ask why i keep a blog, this is why. Anyway with all this being said i shall get onto a quick recap of my last week in Colombia, couchsurfing in Bogota, spending a weekend in Cali and then getting down to Ecuador.
So we arrived in Bogota and went to our hosts house that was not too far out of the main city centre. At that point, after another long and painstaking bus journey, we were quite tired and didn't do too much that night but chatted with our extremely hospitable host Maria. We got a great night sleep (so good to be away from noisy dorms for a couple of nights) and woke up feeling ready to take on a new city. Quite like most times when entering a new city the best way to explore it is by putting on your best walking shoes and just hitting the pavement (or dirt track depending on where you are). These fancy tours and city excursions are often so unnecessary. You can find the true inner functionings of a city from just randomly cruising. We had been given a few spots to check out from Maria and we started our journey. For the first half of the day we simply admired the people and city view of Colombia's capital. People watching becomes such an exciting experience when travelling from place to place, and you really get to see the differences in cultures and regions.
For the second half of the day, unfortunately, we didn't get to see much because of the torrential rain that smashed down. Instead we ran, rain soaked, to the nearest internet cafe and did some general global communications work (Facebook, Skype and reading news from back home). After that we arranged to meet Maria, once she finished up at university, for a drink. We then moved onto another place to meet up with her friend and then headed back to her place. It was at this point that Kevin and I decided to repay the favour of Maria's hospitality by offering to cook for the girls. Having just discovered a new homemade recipe i was pretty confident in winning these girls over with my cooking skills. Needless to say it was a bit of a disaster, but Maria assured me it was delicious (such a good liar). Basically the ingredients include a whole bunch of random veggies fried in a pan and then mixed in with pasta that has cream cheese and milk mixed in. Where did i go wrong?
The next day Kevin and I did much of the same exploring and met up with Maria at lunch time. She showed us the really cool old area of Bogota called Canadleria and we spent a few hours exploring there. We also went up to the Monserrate church that sits overlooking the massive city of Bogota. To get up there we caught a cable car up the mountain and then spent some time exploring the beautiful views. Fortunately we were blessed with a perfect day to admire the city from such great heights.
After that we met back up with Maria for a quick drink and said our goodbyes before heading to the bus station for an overnight bus to hit up a town south of Bogota called Cali. Much of the same goes on here. Overnight bus for 12 hours, constantly worried about being robbed, well known movies in Spanish and guessing what they're saying and then feeling buggered once arriving at our next location.
In Cali we were feeling a bit worse for wear after a very quick trip down south so we really didn't get up to much. We explored a bit, which mostly involved going to the Chipichapi mall that is famous for being a hot spot for women indulging in the inner aspects of Cosmetic surgery...yes that's right big boobies. In actual fact we didn't get much done in Cali except have some very necessary down time before heading on our next leg down to Ecuador. Only exciting thing was our last night where i reunited with someone I'd met a week before in Medellin (Richard the Welshmen) and we had an unbelievably crazy night out. Partied it up in Colombia with style. Colombia was a whirlwind, but it was great fun. The next night Kevin and I, plus Richard who joined us, and Yolanda who decided to cruise along as well hit up the bus station to get on down to Ecuador.
The leg from Cali to Qutio (capital of Ecuador) is renowned to be one of the sketchier parts of Colombia so we were advised to travel with caution (like we hadn't been already). We booked in with a well known bus company (Expreso Bolivariano 36,000 pesos special price) and that took us express straight to the border town of Ipiales before we jumped in a taxi to the border, got our stamps, walked across, got in another taxi to the next town and then boarded a bus in Tulcan for $4 to Quito. Took roughly 5 hours and then we were back in the city and into a new country, new experience and new tale that shall be told all in good time.
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