Colombia: Day 1: NYC to Cartagena to Santa Marta

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

I took an early morning Jet Blue flight out of JFK, and felt very white as I waited to board the plane. The flight itself was uneventful, and as I descended the steps from the plane, my skin immediately began to sweat and turn sticky. This would be the case for the rest of the week. I walked along the “gangway,” which was actually just a trellis-like tunnel surrounded by lush greenery. I’d never seen such a beautiful airport! Customs was a breeze, and thankfully I got in towards the front of the line.

After picking up my bag and exchanging money, I waited for Ali in the arrivals area (and almost slipped because the humidity of the air made the marble floor just THAT slippery). She had given me a heads up that she might be late, so I watched and waited. A nice man named Roberto came over to me to ask if I need help, because I guess I looked like a lost gringo. I explained to him that no thanks, I was just waiting for someone. He misunderstood and thought that I was waiting to pick someone up, but I shrugged it off. After I’d been waiting for about half an hour and was about to wander off to look for a pay phone, Roberto came up to me again, asking if I was sure I didn’t need any help. Once he understood that I had just arrived on a flight and was waiting for my sister to pick me up, not the other way around, he insisted on calling her cell phone. So Ali got a call from a random stranger saying “Alleeson! Your sister is at the airport waiting for you!” Good thing she wasn’t far away. “Typical Colombian” she’d later say to me, that a complete stranger was so willing and eager to help me.

It turns out Ali had been late because after taking a bus from Santa Marta to Cartagena, she haggled a price with a taxi driver, but he then ran out of gas. So they went to a gas station, which was also out of gas (third world problems). Finally they got gas and she made it to the airport. Back to the bus terminal we went. My eyes were glued to the window throughout our trip; the texture and style of housing was so different from anything I’d ever seen. We went through a large area of slums, as well, and Ali laughed a bit at how regular the appearance of third world slums had become to her. They were completely new to me.

At the bus terminal, we paid to use the bathroom (new), found a place that served a veggie platter (beans, rice, plantains, potatoes, and salad), and bought water bottles. Then we settled in for what we thought would be a four-hour express bus ride. It turned out to be closer to five and a half hours, and involved two stops in Barranquilla, but eventually we made it to Santa Marta. Along the way I saw lots of cows with big floppy ears, calves, burros (donkeys), a boar, and even an ostrich! Another funny Colombian thing that I soon got used to is the way that people from the small towns we passed through would get onto busses to sell things (food, trinkets, jewelry, really anything). The bus would stop briefly, they’d hop on, and then the bus would continue driving. They’d talk about their product for close to 10 minutes sometimes, handing out one to each passenger as they walked to the back of the bus. Then as they came back forward (after talking some more), they’d either take the product back of collect your money if you wanted to buy it. By the time this was all said and done, they’d be quite a ways from wherever they got on our bus. I imagine that they just do the same thing back in the other direction and well... that’s their job. When we stopped in Barranquilla, Ali went in to the bus station to get water pouches (to refill our bottles), a snack that resembled lime-flavored fritos (delicious), and crispy yuca balls (sort of weird, not my favorite. But not bad).

When we finally got into Santa Marta, we took a taxi back to Ali’s apartment, where the gazpacho she had made the day before was ready and waiting for us. We ate with her roommate Kelly and played with Cloe, one of their other roommate’s very sweet pitbull. Ali’s other friend Naomi came over, and we ventured out to get beers and walk around the city. Along the way we ran into Lola, one of the street dogs, which I’d come to realize was a fairly regular occurrence. Another third world thing that I wasn’t used to was street dogs. There are lots of stray dogs that wander the streets, but they’re all very friendly, and some of them will “adopt” you. Lola will find Ali and her friends almost every night when they’re out and follow them around, even walking them home at the end of the night. I got to trust Lola’s character judgement, too, because she would without fail always growl at anyone walking by who looked a little shady. She’s a sweet pup.

While walking around, we stopped by La Brisa Loca, which is the “gringo hostel,” as Ali likes to call it. Some of Ali’s friends go there a lot to get drinks and hang out at the bar, but Ali doesn’t go too often because she’d prefer to hang out with local Colombians. After La Brisa, we went to a group of stands parked on one of the streets where you can buy alcohol. Full bottles of wine and liquor are half the price and the same brands as what you find in the grocery store! I listened to Ali and Kelly chat and haggle with the vendor, and was pleased to realize that I could understand the general direction of the conversation (between knowing basic Italian and French, and watching hand gestures and intonations, I could mostly follow along). The whole experience of buying alcohol on the street legally was strange, though, and I kept feeling like I had to look over my shoulder and wait for the cops to come bust us. But nope, this sort of thing is totally legal here.

On our way back towards their apartment, we stopped by a bar to meet Alfonso (Ali’s novio, or boyfriend) and some of his friends. We sat around with drinks (mojito for me) and I tried to follow along with the Spanish, but Ali and Alfonso would also speak English to me (he’s a very good English speaker, which was great). After a long day of travelling I was getting pretty tired, so we headed back to Ali’s apartment. Alfonso came with us, and I gave him the things I’d brought over on the plane for him (Vibram five-finger shoes, a manly-looking sports necklace, a zippo lighter, and Jack Daniels honey). It was like Christmas for him! The four of us (with Kelly) sat around in Ali’s room sipping wine as Alfonso marveled at his gifts. Finally we kicked them out and went to bed. With a fan on you, the weather is sleepable. Hot, but sleepable.