On the Open Road

Back on the road again. The open road. A well used cliche when referring to the uninhibited freedom of backpacking the globe, but an appropriate one all the same. If we stop to consider the notion of an open road it starts to become an even more suited expression if you take it literally. Open roads are one of the things we all love to get on when we drive our cars. Abandoning the metropolitan hustle and bustle of the roads is a liberating experience when you suddenly find yourself on a back country road and you take a little more control of the way you travel. Minimal signs, a rarely followed speed limit, no one up your backside trying to rush you along. Oh that's a beautiful sunset... ok I'll stop and have a look at it. The open road is something we look forward to because it has limited instructions about how we are supposed to travel along it. It is open and we choose to travel along it to reach our destination. Unlike the opposite, let's call it a structured road, that tells you when to stop, wait, go, merge, slow, speed up and all other things. The structured road is often one that we have to take. It has all this extra signage because if it didn't then things would get chaotic.

In many ways the 'open road' is quite like a metaphor for life. The desire to get onto the open road and control your own movement is similar to the freedom and liberties that travellers work so hard to achieve. As a traveller you long to cross that road in your own fashion and without the restrictions and constraints of life's constant motion. When you're on the open road of travelling you can choose when and where you want to stop, you decide how fast you want to get there and also when you want to leave. You take your time, you slow down and then suddenly you start to see more things. Things aren't rushing past you at 100kmh, but now you're walking past them and seeing intricate detail, you're noticing things you had never seen before. You start to realise that as you slow down and examine this open road, that there are now other roads just like it branching off and heading off in all other directions. Each one offers a new adventure! Each village you come across is as different from the last one, as the last one before that.

The open road now offers you options and lets you decide your own fate. All of a sudden you are in complete control of your life. It is an extremely empowering notion to have your life in front of you and to decide where you want to steer it. Instead of having your life off in the distant horizon dragging you through the routine, you now have it within a comfortable reach. Not enough to forcibly grab it, but enough to sheepdog it into the gates you want to enter. You no longer have life telling you how you're going to get on with it, but you're now telling your life what is happening. The open road has given you this opportunity and there is only one way to give back to it. Give with your head, heart and gut instinct. Don't regret you decisions, but rather learn from the ones that didn't work out how you planned. Be flexible, adapt, take chances, better yourself and most of all make sure you enjoy it. Take control of your life!

When I'm on the open road i feel liberated. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm not working and have all this free time. It's not because I'm no longer in front of a classroom and working 50+ hours a week on school stuff. It's because i am in charge of my destiny and i listen to the universe as it continues to open up more exciting adventures for me. I'm flexible with my travels and i go with my instincts. I'm 'supposed' to be in Europe now if i followed my pre-purchased flight ticket, but what would that have left me with. Certainly not an amazing girlfriend that i now have the pleasure of travelling with and sharing my experiences with. Sure Europe would have offered other exciting adventures, but this is the one I've chosen and i have no regrets. I am happy at this very moment, so that means that everything leading up to this point has made it worthwhile.

Don't hesitate to choose your own destiny. You don't need to be on the open road to start making decisions that impact your life now. Simply think about what you're doing and put some conscious thought into where it will take you. Think about what you want to do, who you want to be and then don't stop in your pursuit to achieve it. Don't look into a mirror and see a reflection of what you should be, but instead look for your own reality. I'd rather see my reality than a preconceived societal reflection.

A lot of people ask me why i write like this; in this mixture of travel writing and attempted travel philosophy. A lot of the time it isn't planned. A lot of the time it's just my mind finding a way to conveniently offload my abundance of thoughts. For me travel hasn't just become a hobby, it has become a way of life. It is so much more than hopping from city to city taking a few snaps. It's living, learning and loving. It's about unlocking the mysteries of life and seeing how cultures all over the world go about their daily business. I've learnt equally insightful life lessons from rich inner city people living in Buenos Aires as i have from farmers in the poorest areas of highland Peru. What I've learnt is that there is no code or pattern that people need to conform to in order to live a specific way. That is what travel has taught me. People live in all sorts of conditions all over the world, yet people still live happy lives in these conditions. Just the same is that people all over the world live unhappily. People live in mansions with fancy cars and never have to work, but they are still crippled by unhappiness. Happiness is a state of mind. It can be made and it can be lost. Happiness is part genetic, part circumstantial and most of the time just how you decide to get on with your life and try to find the positive in what you do.

So this is where i leave it. No travel writing, just travel thoughts. With the next blog I'll actually write about what's been going on. I'm in San Francisco at the moment for the holidays with Christine. In between blogs is the 2 months we spent in Colombia on the 'open road' travelling at our own pace and drifting with the current of the universe. It was an incredible time in the north of Colombia that I'll definitely get into in a few weeks.

2 Weeks With The Williams

Cartagena, a city rich in historical significance, cultural beauties and colonial past. It had been over 2 years since I'd last been in Cartagena but immediately i was brought back to my last time upon seeing the hustle and bustle of downtown, the beautifully restored colonial building of Old Town and the picturesque wall surrounding the old city that holds so many tales of pirating and protecting. The wall, or La Muralla in Spanish, is undoubtedly one of the cities main drawing attractions as visitors from near and far flock to Cartagena to take in the rich history of the city. The walls main purpose was to protect the city from unwanted invasions because Cartagena was the principal port into South America that the Spanish conquistadors utilised upon capturing and colonising the continent. The protection of Cartagena was integral in order to protect the masses of gold and jewels that were being pillaged from ancient indigenous cultures throughout the continent. From huge cizilisations like the Incan's to small tribal groups, the Spanish were laying their claim to this new found glory and literal goldmine for exportation. The purpose of the wall was to fortify the pirating, but the history of the town is so much richer than that. You don't need to go far to witness some of the cultural beauties from past and present. The Caribbean influence is strong in the north, and along with the integration of African slaves during the colonisation times, which leaves a much darker Colombian look than you are used to seeing in parts of the South. With it also brings much of the pre-established culture of these parts of the world and there are many new exciting and interesting tastes, smells and sights to observe. Although visiting Cartagena in the past it was exciting to be back and to see this magical city once again. This time i had the opportunity to share it with more people and upon meeting the Williams' at the airport for the first time i knew that it was going to be an experience that was exciting and unlike my first time here in early 2010. 

Our first stop was in Old Town, well at least that was the plan when they hopped off the plane. There was a rough idea about where we'd end up, but no exact plan about how we'd get there. I would very quickly learn that this was a Williams' traditional travelling style, and although unconventional and at times stressful, it seemed to always work out for them. After the initial meet and greets i was already sensing we were all going to get along fine and there weren't any awkward moment that you might expect after talking about meeting each other for months and then it finally happening. In fact travelling with the Williams became one of the experiences I'd remember most fondly throughout my time in South America. Not only was it great to meet the people that helped shaped someone that had become such an important part of my life, but it also changed the style of travelling that had been our life for the last 7 months. Being a family holiday for the Williams they were obviously prepared to travel above the cheap standard of living that we had been experiencing. This meant a great deal of generosity forwarded to me and a hell of a lot of appreciation of my behalf. At the beginning there was a small unsettling period. After denying ourselves the most basic luxuries in order to save cash it was a refreshing reminder of the benefits we're afforded in our lives back home. Let's just say there was no cramming into single beds without fans in 35 degree heat, just to save a few bucks. 

After a few days exploring Cartagena it was time to move on. We only had a bit under 2 weeks together and there was a lot to see. On the way out of Cartagena, on the way to Santa Marta, we decided to stop by one of the well know tourist attractions... “the volcano”! I emphasise the “volcano” part because in all the guide books and information that is how they describe it. And i don't know about you but when I think of a volcano I generally think of a towering earth structure that creaks and moans with cries of escape. Having spent time a few years back in Ecuador with a volcano (blog available in the older archives) i couldn't help but be reminded of that sleeping dragon that rumbled and roared for weeks before spitting fire at night. This volcano, on the other hand, is know for its hot mud that bubbles up from below the surface. Being both therapetic, and an interestingly described experience, it was definitely work checking out.

Upon pulling into the road that led towards the volcano we were met with this looming structure in the distance. However, as we started to travel along the road it was suddenly appearing before our eyes a lot faster than we expected. Before we knew it we had stopped and we all had to do a double take down the road to make sure there wasn't some form of trickery. There standing in front of us is what could more appropriately be described as a giant ant hill as opposed to a “volcano”. It would have been lucky to stand higher than 30m and it had a rickety old wooden staircase that led up to the crater. Although being a bit of a funny shock the whole experience turned out pretty interesting. Once getting up to the top you can jump into the mud and float around. In fact this was a really crazy experience because the mud was so think, yet perfectly adjusted, that you would just simply float in the mud motionless. You wouldn't rise or sink, just be completely weightless in the thick ooze. Moving around reminded us of what it looked like when you saw space movies and people float around shuttles like swimming through invisible water. You just kicked back and floated around, or twisted and turned about getting no traction or making any forward movement. After some time they usher you out for the next group and you make the descend down the mountain looking like a creature crawling out of the swamps. You make your way down to the nearby river where a middle aged woman strips you down and rinses you off with a bucket. Assuring you that when you drop your strides in a foot of water next to a young child... “that everything is ok”. 

Feeling refreshed and with a strange new spray tan glow of dark brown we got back in our mode of transportation and continued on for Santa Marta. It was just a quick night stop over there before we headed off the next morning for the National Park of Tyrona, which makes the iconic link between the lush Sierra Nevada and the crystal Caribbean coast. We were headed here for the next few nights and it was probably one of the most amazing parts of the journey. Equally for the accommodation and relaxation time we experienced there as for the beauties of the region. During out stay we had the luxury of two cabanas nestled right inside the mountains and overlooking the ocean. To describe them as anything short than incredible would be an injustice. Double storey wooden huts with the biggest and comfiest beds. Pristine bathrooms with hot water showers and real toilets. Ok so at the moment it probably just sounds like most things people already have back home, but believe me this wasn't just homely luxuries this place was plush. To go into full detail would almost certainly lead me to digress because it was so foreign to our experiences leading up to it that i only barely knew how to appreciate it. Up until that point it had been all go go go getting up to Colombia, and before that it was 6 tiresome months in Pisco. We finished our volunteering, bolted 3 weeks from the south of Peru to the north of Colombia and now we finally had some time to stop and relax. Days were spent relaxing by the beach or just kicking back, reading and enjoying the surroundings. The days were hot, the beach was cooling and the air was fresh. It was a great spot to hang out for a few days. After these recharge days it was time to head to the last destination on the vacation, after that Christine and i would be back fending for ourselves in the depths of Colombia. 

All aboard, next stop San Andres Islands. The small collection of islands belonging to Colombia an hour and a half flight north off the mainland. They sit much closer to Nicaragua than Colombia, have a very distinct English Caribbean influence and are one of the best spots to head if you want to escape just about anything in life! If your problems can't be solved from a bit of Caribbean life then they're bigger than you are. That's seems to be an underlying and unofficial motto of the Caribbean lifestyle, especially of the islands. Anything goes, relax man and take it easy! This small island can be circumnavigated within a couple of hours in a motobike or golf cart hired in town. Most of the shops on the island are duty free and some of those more expensive purchases suddenly become a bit more accessible. Although with the cost to get out there and the lack of budget accommodation it pretty much levels out by the end. We spent 4 days at San Andres and had a great time exploring all that was to offer. We rented golf carts, visited different beaches, got some history on the island from locals, ate some amazing food and hit up some low cost liquor. San Andres is a funny little place because as soon as you land on the island you realise that, although you may still be in Colombia, this doesn't feel like a heavily influenced Spanish province. The majority of people speak English, influenced from the English Caribbean, they are significantly darker skinned than in Colombia and the food, music, art and all round culture look like something out of a Bob Marley concert. Picture your typical Jamaican stereotype and you're pretty close to what San Andres is like. Unfortunately not everything lasts forever and within a few days it was time for the Williams to make there final flight out to Panama and for us to get back on the road of poor backpackers. Although it was an amazing two weeks visiting some things i never would have had the opportunity to see, i was ready to hit the road of mystery again. We bid goodbye to the Williams in San Andres and I thanked them once again for the extreme generosity they shared with me. Now it was back to Christine and I on the open road of Northern Colombia. We had 6 weeks left before flying back to San Francisco for the holidays and there were still so many things to do before we left. 

We boarded a flight back from San Andres to Bogota and then made a connection to Barranquilla where we were going to restart our Northern Colombia journey where we left it. By the time the connecting flight made it's way into Barranquilla it was nearing 12am. We didn't really know where we were going to stay, the hostel district was far into town and then in the morning we were just going to have to catch a bus back to the bus terminal. All these costs we were suddenly faced with again came rushing back to us after a couple of weeks of forgetting about backpacking. We were well and truly on the road again. A swift and sharp reality check to our travels. Natural travel instincts kicked in and we came up with the perfect solution.... sleep in the airport! And that's exactly what we did to save $50! Cold, hard and lonely airport tiles. Bright like an operating room. But $50 richer and the way we had been travelling that could mean a couple of days between us! These are the sorts of sacrifices one must make when they enter a world of unknown and undetermined travelling. This is nothing, there has been so much worse endured to fully experience travel or cultural insight. Everyone has there own limits, but if you're willing to push yours you would be surprised how far you can go. This is why i love travel, this is why i hit the road with an open plan and and an open heart to the world! The world is a small place when you're living inside your comfort zone. Step outside that and opportunities and experiences you never knew existed are suddenly at your feet. Ready to peer out of your box and into the world! Starts with one step, and then a big jump! 

Jungle Fever

Out the front of the PSF gates with some of the many amazing people i met!

So I'd made it to the Amazon, but there were some adventures in between. I'll take you on a quick recap! 6 months at PSF and i thought I'd never get out of that place. It has a very appealing draw to it and it's no wonder people stay there so much longer than planned. Had it not been for some strict commitments myself it wouldn't be any surprise if i was still there now, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Everybody's times comes to an end sooner or later and it was my time to venture off. There is never a good time to leave Pisco, but the reality is you can't stay there forever. So with the help of Christine i was able to break the shackles of Pisco and move one.

Finishing the concrete sports pitch for the community of Jhiret!

Little Guadalupe who stole my heart! She is what made it all worth it!

Our first pit-stop after boarding that infamous bus at el cruce was to the centre hub of Peru and one of my least favourite cities, Lima. Now don't get me wrong, Lima is a beautiful city. Lima has the ability to find the right balance between historically cultured and modernly developed, but it just isn't the right city to travel to after an extended stay in one of Peru's poorest areas. It's almost like a culture shock in it's own right the with contrasting differences that are most significantly highlighted only 4 hours south by bus. After living on a peasants wage for the last 6 months the first battle i had to admit defeat on was the prices of things. Accommodation, food, taxi's, just about anything you were looking for in Lima is definitely overpriced. 


Now to the everyday person living comfortably back home these prices may not seem expensive, in fact a lot of these things will seem very cheap indeed, but after living on the alternate side to Lima for such a long time it is a very big shock. When you're volunteering you're not making any money, in fact you're paying money to donate your time to help. It may not be a lot of money, but you're still sacrificing your own personal funds to be there. You learn to be meticulous with your spending, not in a Scrooge like way, but in a way that makes you understand and appreciate the true cost of living. In a way that makes you realise how certain people have been living on the bare minimum, and how back home you have so much access to expendable and disposable money. It's not that you are being a big tight-ass about spending money, but you've seen, in its rawest form, just how far that money can go and it's hard not to think about that every time you want to justify spending wasteful amounts. The key is to just be a little bit more conscious of this fact, but also acknowledging the unfortunate fact that you are going to have to spend a little more when getting to these big cities.

With that fact resonating in our minds we decided to only spend a couple of relaxing days in Lima before embarking upon the next adventure. Relaxing being the key word, but not being the right word. These days were far from the relaxing adventure I'd expected with the running around trying to plan things, the longing in my heart from already missing Pisco and the uncomfortable spending situation. After a couple of days we were well and truly ready to hit the road again and after a couple of personal treats (McDonald's sundaes in the park everyday and some expensive sushi) we were ready to hit the budget again. We were heading north to the Amazon, but we needed to travel some distance first. First leg of the travel was a 30 hour bus ride up to a little town of the fringe of the Amazon Basin called Tarapoto. We stayed here for a night simply because the 30 hour bus was a very uncomfortable experience, and then we headed straight for the last stop on the road, Yurimaguas, before you hit the river. From here it's only by boat or plane that you can go any further into Peru. The next stop, and our next destination, is Iquitos. Iquitos is a city famous for being the largest city in the world unreachable by land. The only way to access it is by air or boat, and by boat it's a couple of days on the slow barge with a hammock strung up, which as the cheapest option we naturally decided upon.

After Yurimaguas we boarded a slow boat for the day before getting off about 12 hours later in a small section of the Amazon called Lagunas. From here they run tours into the Amazon jungle that are a lot less touristy than when you get to Iquitos. We hadn't really planned much so when we got there we worked off a couple of recommendations, but otherwise that was it. After a long stint at PSF and then a equally busy week we weren't the most energetic go getters so in hindsight perhaps settled for one of the easier more organised tours. Probably a lot more pricey when i think about it as well. In Lagunas there are many more options than originally thought in terms of jungle tours and guides pretty much work around you. If you've got the time it's recommended to go there and source out prices and haggle a bit. I mean don't get me wrong the tours are not really expensive, but after you finish and see how cheaply it's done then you do wonder where some of the money goes. Overall, however, the experience was one to remember. Whether it was the sticky heat, the constant bugs or the sleepless nights, this tour had something for everyone.

The base of the tour was canoeing down an arm of the Amazon and into the jungle. The tour itself only lasted 3 days and we didn't go deep in, but it was enough time to see some amazing landscapes, spot some exotic animals and do some crazy things. Among some of the local inhabitants we spotted were a baby anaconda probably 1.5m long, some small 1m caymans, toucans, jungle parrots, few different monkey species, a sloth, river turtles, venomous tree snakes and various other things. We got to fish for our dinner and caught all kinds of strange looking catfish and happened to snap up a few piranhas as well. We swam in piranha infested waters, chased wild pigs through the jungle with machetes and went exploring along the river in the middle of the night in pitch black for all the nocturnal wonders of the Amazon. For a short 3 day period we jammed a lot in and it was a great snapshot of the jungle life. Had there been a few more days to spare then perhaps we would have considered spending more time there and going deeper, but we were on a strict schedule to get to the north of Colombia in 2 weeks to meet up with Christine's family. So with the Amazon jungle experience ticked off our list of things to do we boarded another slow boat and heaped to Iquitos, this time for 2 days.

When we got to Iquitos we didn't have a lot planned. A couple of days to check the city out and then we were back on another 2 day boat to the tri-border between Peru, Colombia and Brazil. Iquitos was spent catching up on a bit of rest, cooking some delicious meals and checking out a few of the local sights. One which included the famous Belen market where it is quite possible to buy/sell anything. From all kinds of mythical concoctions in oddly shaped bottles to parts of animals dangerously close to extinction, Belen has it all. It was quite the eye open in some sections, but we were fortunate not to witness too many horrific aspects to the market. One of the main reasons this market is famous is for the floating village that comprises the population of Belen. We happened to be in the low season so all we saw we the houses resting on their stilts, but in the high season as the river rises up to 15m higher, this whole village rises with the water. The houses, shanty shacks more appropriately phrased, sit on huge raft type structures that help with flotation. We heard it was quite a sight, but even just looking at the village was enough to realise how amazing this little town was.

Other than Belen market the 5 days we spent in Iquitos were spent lazing around, catching up on sleep, planning the next leg of our adventure and cooking. Cooking has become a huge part of the travels since leaving PSF as we maintain a great budget that allows us to see all the things we want to see and keep costs down. In fact after eating rice, pasta and potato 2-3 times a day in Pisco it was an absolute pleasure to start cooking for ourselves again. We could not only reduce the costs of travelling, but we could also cook delicious meals of what we wanted, when we wanted and for cheaper. In fact the food we were cooking was a lot healthier as well as most of the 'gringo' restaurants catering to travellers only serve up the same crap food you can get back home. Greasy hamburgers, chips and whatever get repetitive, boring, pricey and fattening. But you'll get to hear more about the cooking adventures later on down the travels.

Iquitos was all but done, but on the last day we ventured out to an animal and butterfly sanctuary just a short boat ride out of town. It was really refreshing to see a different perspective on animal refugee and protection after witnessing people eating monkeys and selling tiger skulls in the jungle. In the sanctuary they worked on rehabilitating animals caught on illegal trades and had a huge jaguar, an ocelot, all kinds of creepy biting monkeys and other assorted animals, as well as a huge butterfly breeding station. With that trip finishing up in the early afternoon it was a mad dash back to the hostel to pick up the bags and then we were back at the dock boarding a cargo ship to the Peruvian border.

This time we were in a boat for 2 nights and 2 days before arriving in Santa Rosa, the border crossing and last spot in Northern Peru. Another couple of lazy days on the Amazon River swinging in hammocks and taking in the local wonders, but after a sleepless night because of loud partying and drinking at the back of the boat, it was fair to say the novelty of hammocks on cargo ships was wearing off. It wasn't just the loud music and particularly crowded boat that was wearing thin, it was also the ordinary food served and lack of showering that was making us feel like real sea drifters. However, luckily it wasn't too enduring and we really didn't have too many complaints, but after another 2 days we were definitely looking to ditch the boat for some land.

Peligroso Boys making a lethal Pisco Punch!

Arriving in Santa Rosa we were immediately greeted by eager moto-taxi drivers wanting to acquire our services, but we had heard it wasn't a very far walk to the immigration office so we battled the heat for 20mins before realising maybe a moto would have been a smart idea. After walking right past the office and for an additional couple of minutes it was disheartening to have to trudge back, but upon arriving out the front it's no surprise we missed it. There were no signs, no plaques and no indication at all that this was an official government office. We walked up the stairs, of what looked like someones house, wondering if we were going to step into their living room, but instead stumbled across the office of a pretty relaxed looking guy in his early 20s. He was more interested in chatting to us than exiting us from the country and didn't seem too bothered that we'd both overstayed our visas. This was the second time now that I'd overstayed my time in Peru, however this time didn't cost me as much. It's one dollar each day your over, and after almost 7 months in Peru i only had to pay 20 odd dollars. I'd been successful in gaining a 6 month visa when first crossing over from Chile and that really saved me a bit. Christine, however, who wasn't as fortunate had to cough up well over one hundred dollars. After exiting out we decided to stay in Santa Rosa for the night and try to catch up on some sleep.

The area that we were in is quite a unique one. It is a tri-border between Peru, Colombia and Brazil and there are certain boundaries that you're able to cross into without having to swap visas, as well as being able to check out of a country and then cruise into the next for your entry stamp within a 24 hour period. A very relaxed process and you could officially become a lost citizen at this point in South America because if you just decided to go wherever you wanted no one would know where in the world you were. It's no surprise then that this tri-border area is an important smuggling port for all kinds of things and it's not hard to get your hands on anything if you know where to look or who to ask. Unfortunately we weren't looking for any black market trade, so instead we headed towards a cheap hostel and settled there for a few nights. There wasn't a great deal to do in Leticia so after getting our entry visa the following day we mostly just spent our time reading and cooking. In a couple of days time we had a flight up to Cartagena so the main part of our time in Leticia was getting some rest in after a big couple of weeks travelling. One thing to note about Leticia is that it is a little bit more pricey than what we had expected, and Colombia overall is a bit of a price shock after living in Pisco for 6 months. Leticia is deep in the south of Colombia and within the Amazon so the only options are to fly or boat product in, therefore most prices are increased to accommodate the extra transportation fees.

With the days of relaxing over we boarded our flight to Cartagena and arrived safely to perhaps take on my biggest adventure yet... meeting Christine's family and travelling with them for the next 2 weeks. Next edition includes the time in Cartagena and then heading north to see some of the most amazing sights that Colombia has to offer, as well as the non-stop adventure that is travelling with the Williams'.

Adios Amigos!