Santa Marta

Recent weather: upper 80s with 70+% humidity, feels like 110.
Recent reads: Galations-Revelation (!), ¨Piercing the Darkness¨ by Frank Perretti, ¨The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes¨ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ¨Hens Reunited¨ by Lucy Diamond, ¨The Shining¨ by Stephen King

The past couple of weeks in Santa Marta have been the perfect addition to the last phase of my travels. Santa Marta is is located on the Carribbean coast, towards the eastern edge of Colombia. The oldest city in South America, Santa Marta and it´s port have a lot of history. Today, there isn´t much to el centro of Santa Marta but it´s a perfect launching pad for the beaches and sights in the area.


The oldest church in South America, located in downtown Santa Marta

Santa Marta port

I found a gig in Santa Marta bartending at a very cool hostel. The hostel itself used to be a cartel house and, of course, has a few ghost stories to go along with it. The best part, considering the suffocating humidity this time of year in Santa Marta, was definitely the pool. A close second are the tons of hammocks in the hostel.

Fell asleep in these hammocks almost every day.

I just bartended in the evenings which meant I had plenty of time for day trips exploring the areas around Santa Marta. For 2 days I explored nearby Tayrona National Park and spent the night in a hammock.

Doing a bit of strolling.

Awe. Some.

Wandering along the path.

Accommodations for the evening!

One day I went to Bahia Concha which is a beautiful beach, perfect for swimming, which is definitely off the gringo trail. Another day I went to Costeno Beach to try my hand at some surfing again. This will not be the location for the next world´s surfing competition and I will not win anytime soon but it was a fun day.  I also went to Palomino, about 2 hours from Santa Marta, and tubed down the river which made for a relaxing afternoon.

At Bahia Concha. Ignore the old man in the water behind me...

Perfect swimming at Bahia Concho!

Strolling down the path to Costeno Beach to surf.

Is it really waiting?

Zero complaints at this moment at Costeno Beach.

Spent an afternoon in Taganga, a fishing town and 30 minute bus ride from Santa Marta.

My last excursion was to Minca, just a collectivo (shared cab) and a mototaxi ride away from Santa Marta in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was a great spot for hiking, checking out local coffee fields, and enjoying nature. As isolated as the location is (only mototaxis can get up the moutain road), the hostel I stayed at was just as welcoming. The hostel itself was very inviting with a giant hammock on the hillside and a jungle hammock just a 10 minute walk off the nearby river. On my way down the mountain, I took a scenic 5 hour walk via the handdrawn map one of the hostel owners made for me which was a nice touch. A friendly black dog was my tour guide all the way down the mountain. He walked ahead of me sniffing just about everything and ¨marking his territory¨ pretty much everywhere. Just went I thought he´d left me and gone on his own little trek, I´d come around a corner to see him waiting for me, his neck craned back watching for me to come around the bend! Occasionally I´d come across some aggressive dogs along the way but my little friend would confront them with a fierce bark of his own while I sneaked past. When I finally stopped for lunch in town 5 hours later, a local recognized him as ¨Jugo¨ and offered to take him back up the mountain to his owner before I could even thank my travel companion by sharing my lunch!

Laying on the jungle hammock looking up.

Top right is Jugo, my tour guide. Bottom left is the amazing giant hammock! Bottom right is the open air window view from the toilet-no joke! 

Finishing up my hike just before dusk.

On Saturday I fly to Bogota, the final stop in my South American travels! While I am looking forward to a respite from the heat and humidity, it is surreal to think that this whole adventure will be over in just a matter of days!

Closing Time

Recent weather: 80s and sunny. This weather forecast is even easier to predict than San Diego's.
Recent reads: Nahum-Matthew, "A House in Fez" by Suzanna Clark, "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, "A Quiet Light: A Novel About St. Thomas Aquinas" by Louis de Wohl

Wrapping up my time here in paradise. Looking back on the last month in Mancora, I will miss:

1) Surfing...The best thing about my extended stay in Mancora has been the opportunity to surf just about every day and even twice a day when possible (on my days off or when I work the evening shift at the hostel bar). Besides getting exercise and being outside, one thing that I love about learning to surf is that I can honestly say that every time I get out of the water, I learned something new. Although, I mostly learn the hard way what not to do.  It's learning nonetheless.

Chica Mancora beach

 It's a well known fact that I am not a strong swimmer (or a swimmer at all, frankly) in a pool, let alone in the open water so after a few humiliating defeats versus Mother Nature, I have a certain level of fear every time I get into the water. But as with long-distance running, I think that a healthy dose of fear is the best form of motivation. And I have learned to combat this fear by facing it head on, literally. For example, when I am paddling out and it looks like an oncoming way is going to crash right on me, sometimes the best strategy is not to close my eyes and shrink into the fetal position on the board, but actually to face the wave head on and paddle as hard as I can directly into it and I'll go right over it nice and easy. Or after I have wiped out and another wave is coming, I want to grab the nearest flotation device, my board, and hold on for dear life, but actually the best technique is to ditch the board ahead of me towards the beach (so it doesn't hit me on the head again) and dive under just as the wave is about to break.

Los profesores de surf y sus estudiantes favoritas :) 

But after a month of surfing almost daily, I still feel like I haven't learned as quickly as I would like. (I still consider myself a beginner beginner.) And then I realize that that is something else surfing teaches surfistas: patience. Patience in learning. Patience in waiting for waves, especially that elusive "una mas" wave before getting out of the water.

2) Seafood...Peru's national dish, ceviche, raw fish served with onions and citrus juices, has been particularly amazing in Mancora. You can easily pay an arm and a leg at a classy seafood restaurant for a good plate of ceviche, but right here on the beach in Mancora, just about every restaurant or kitchen does ceviche well and for very inexpensive.

Ceviche starter with onions, red peppers, grilled corn nuts and sweet potato.

Tortilla con langostinos (shrimp omelette)--with rice and potatoes, of course!

3) Kokopelli...I will definitely miss working at the hostel! I take pride in my daily "cartel" (drawing on the hostel blackboard) and the music playlist during my shift. Last song of the night is always "Closing Time," by Semisonic, of course! But my fellow volunteers, the original all-Argentinian family, is what made my time here. We shared lots of meals, drinks, and laughs together! There were afternoons when I didn't want to go surfing, but my fellow volunteer who was also learning would encourage me. But they are each moving on one by one so it's time for me to move on as well. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end! (You knew that was coming.)

Las chica de Kokopelli

Home, sweet, home!

Today you are here.

Next stop: Huaraz, Peru, for a week before my Peruvian visa is up.

My San Diego Summer

Recent weather: low 80s, sunny every day, heaven
Recent reads: Daniel-Micah, "Red Zone" by Mike Lupica, "Ports of Call" by Sally Fairchild, "Twelve Years a Slave" by Soloman Thorthop--a sports novel, chicklit, and a fluffy beach read.

At last. I have finally arrived in the ultimate Peruvian beach town: Mancora. While I was freezing (slight exaggeration) in Lima and Cusco, everyone was posting about summer in San Diego and Wisconsin. Now it's time for my San Diego summer!

Day 1: Buy a swimsuit top. Check. Somehow I had lost my swimsuit top along my way which is strange because at one point in time, it was in my regular bra rotation.

Day 2: Go surfing. Check. Surf schools are ubiquitous along the beach so this was an easy one. And with small waves that went on for days, my spirits were high after day 1. But day 3 of surfing was not so easy. It was one of those days where I was never in the right spot at the right time. And with huge waves that broke quickly like a brick wall instead of rolling on and on, well, let's just say that I more than struggled just to keep my head above water, literally. After I would ride the wave and wipe out, gracefully of course, I would come up for air just as another wave would crash over my head, wrap me up feet first and spin me about like a wash machine before spitting me out again even further from where I wanted to be. Repeat. But after a day of rest and a mental pep talk, I was back in the water. At the very least, it's great to be outside, in the water, and getting a heck of a workout!

Day 3: Get a job. Check. This was surprisingly easy considering that in Peru, nothing happens quickly. But after a couple of stops by local bars and hostels, I found a gig working at a hostel bar in exchange for free accommodation. Working with my all-Argentinian family of fellow travelers has been good language practice and I am also now an expert pisco sour maker! Egg white, lime juice, pisco, sugar, ice and shake! I hope I can find pisco at BevMo and keep the pisco sours going when I get home!

And shake!

 But even after everything seemed to align with what I had wanted--sun, surf, and the chance to stay here for a bit--I still didn't feel relaxed. There was definitely a low point when I was lying on the beach, the perfect level of physical exhaustion after a surf sesh, with the sun about to set on an amazing day, here in this Peruvian paradise and I couldn't just be content in that moment. And then I felt guilty for not being happy. I have since come around from that mild meltdown and am back on the positive train. Still happy to be here. Still excited to see and do all that I can. Still learning about myself and my own personal recipe for happiness. And shake.

I seriously cannot complain about this.

Adieu, Arica

Recent weather: 70s and sunny every day.
Recent reads: 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

Happy to say that this work exchange was a great success! Batting .666 aint half bad...But, after 3 weeks here in Arica, it's time to continue on my way.

Some highlights from the past couple of weeks:
1) Surfing. I have attempted previously in San Diego last summer but it never fully came together. It seemed I couldn't really keep my lanky limbs in check and I usually just flailed about on the board for a bit like a baby giraffe learning to walk, before somersaulting into the water awkwardly.  But after 3 lessons here in Arica with the legendary, quintessential "surfer dude" Yoyo Sepulveda, one day it all just came together and clicked! Since then, I've been trying to surf as often as possible. The waves here in Arica have been great for learning, small but long, so once I pop up, I can ride the wave practically all the way to shore. Of course, when I triumphantly ride the wave for as long as possible, I am humbled by the task of paddling all the way back out. Fortunately, after a good ride, I'm so stoked that I can't wait to get back out there and ride another! It's hard not to be in a good mood when I'm sitting on my board in the middle of ocean waiting for the next set of waves with sea lions playing on the rocks nearby, sea turtles popping up here and there, just watching the sun set off the coast of Chile!

2) The Circus. We noticed some activity going on in the empty lot across the street and it turns out the circus has arrived in Arica! I went to El Gran Circo de Ruperto on opening night with the two boys. I haven't been to a circus in forever so I was pretty entertained. My favorite act was the hula hoop girl who lit her hoop on fire and then lifted herself up in the air and back down, all while keeping the hoop going! The circus was hosted by, of course, Ruperto. The character Ruperto portrayed the typical drunk Chilean with an intoxicated stagger about stage, slurred speech (which made it even more challenging to understand what he was saying), and a goofy laugh. During the comedy bits, I would say I generally understood what he was talking about but missed a lot of the punchlines. Overall, the circus was a huge success in my book!

3) Festival de Independencia. Last Saturday night I went to a music festival where 3 groups performed. The music was mostly pop with a little bit of rap tossed in. The headliner seemed like a big hit with the teenage girls. Or maybe they were just jealous of his bedazzled jean vest. I wouldn't say they are my new favorite boy band (can you have a favorite "boy band?"), but I enjoyed the energy and was certainly entertained. The headliner was a 2 man duo that went all out with 5 dancers, 3 backup singers, and 5 band members. Throughout the performance, they blasted confetti, glitter, clouds of fog, had 2 guys in glow in the dark suits on jumping stilts doing flips, and for the last and final attempt to win everyone over, the lead singer brought out his infant daughter dressed in a pink leopard print outfit with a matching headband. I don't think the baby had any ear protection but I applauded the overall showmanship nevertheless. Or maybe that was just the pisco sour talking.

There are definitely a few things I will miss about Arica:
1) Mornings with Magdalena. Señora Magdalena and I leave the house everyday at about 10am to do computer repairs in clients' homes for a few hours. We do a lot of walking about town so we have ample opportunity to talk about pretty much everything including, but not limited to: futbol, painting, did you see what that girl was wearing?, books, ugly dogs, international travel, why she only has 2 kids, life goals, what's up with Bolivia?, religion, taxes, how our grandparents died, nuclear power plants, rap music, etc. There was one day when I told her that my stomach didn't quite feel right and I needed to go home immediately to use the bathroom; I think we bonded because I felt strangely close to her after that. Magdalena is open to talking about pretty much anything and regardless of the topic, she'll usually make some kind of irreverent joke at the end and we'll share a good laugh.

2) Siestas. After lunch I usually take an hour snooze and it's amazing. Traveling, I usually leave my hostel late morning and don't return until evening time since I'm seeing all the sights non-stop. But my love affair with naps has now been rekindled.

3) Someone else cooking for me. I guess the last time I had someone making all my meals for me was high school? And even then I ate lunch at school. While the portions here have been ginormous and meals are generally carb-heavy, I've gotten pretty used to someone else doing all the work in the kitchen.*

4) Francisco/Francesca. Franny is the neighborhood tranny. He/she stops in the store here pretty regularly to use internet for a few minutes. Then, he/she will spend twice the amount of time that he/she was on the computer asking me how much services cost (photocopying, scanning, etc.) but never actually needs anything photocopied or scanned. Sometimes he/she goes all out on her look and really tries to sell it and some days she just throws on the same pair of white, super tight booty shorts and calls it a day. But considering Francisco isn't supposed to be into me, he/she is strangely friendly to me in particular, and almost always buys me a Fanta or brings me cookies or mangoes.

My next stop is Iquique, Chile, as I make my way to Bolivia in the next couple of weeks.

*Note to self: Must hire personal chef.