Cartagena, Colombia

The next destination was Cartagena, Colombia. By the time, we arrived there, my foot was almost healed. I had really lucked out on not breaking it. Anyways, we flew there and directly went the island that I had booked. I had arranged to have someone pick us up at the airport who took us to a private boat taxi that took us to Bocachica Island. I felt rich getting out of the airport where there was a guy holding up a sign that said my name. Alejandro became our uber driver for the time we were in Cartagena. He was so kind and funny. It's always good to know someone in the area.
      It was rainy season so there wasn't too many people on the island. I'm talking about another family or possibly 5-10 more guests. So when Karrie went off with a book, I had to find something to do. The resort told us it was too dangerous to leave the resort due to the residents that might rob you. We ended up leaving the resort anyways. We met a few Argentinians and we took off to the local store. The power went out but I think they do it regularly every night to save electricity on the island. The first night, they gave us a free drink due the blackout. Everyday after that it happened and we all got used to it.
      As the Argentinian girls, Karrie and I walked towards the local store which was a 25 minute walk, we were stopped twice by people. The first time were cops on a motorcycle who asked us if we had anything on us that was important or worth stealing. We said we didn't carry anything important. We were only getting a few beers since it was less costly at the local store. The second time we were stopped was by locals that just had finished work from a neighboring hotel. They started to walk with us to make sure we weren't bothered and no one messed with us. They weren't expecting anything but at the store we bought them a coca cola each. I never knew if the hype of being dangerous was true or not but people say when you walk around with no fear, that's when you get in trouble. Be aware of your surroundings and always be prepared for anything. If you have a second billfold or wallet, you should be carrying it for a diversion. I became a little nervous since I had carried my phone with me. If I lost my phone, I didn't just loose my camera but also my communication with my family and the only way to book the next part of my trip. It was more important than my wallet.
       The local market was crazy. Water was sold in bags and the snacks weren't appetizing at all. We got a couple beers each and some water and snacks. It would be a lot cheaper this way. We made our way back to the hotel. The guys that walked us before told us that it wasn't safe and now it was getting dark. They refused to leave us. The danger that lurked out there was hard to say if it really was there but we thanked them profusely after they walked us home. I didn't feel danger but you really don't know. When I had asked about Cartagena, people always warned me to be careful. After leaving Cartagena, I felt like it was one of the safest places although it was the only place I had been robbed.

   

       They upgraded our room at the Blue Apple Beach House and gave us a private porch and our own hammocks. During the day, guests from Cartagena had paid to come over for a day trip. It was nice to have other people come to the island. It made it fun to drink, lay back and have fun. They even had a kayak and paddle board to use whenever we felt like it. So Karrie and I went out into the kayak the first day but I realized we have different ideas on where to go. She wanted to go around the island and I wanted to go straight out into the ocean. Her way was definitely safer so we decided to go. I think she went with me because I really wanted to go but it was a two person kayak. After I felt the uncomfortable energy as soon as she got in, I knew it wouldn't be good. It's really important to do things you want to do and not to do them to please another person. We both did not have a good time although if you ask her, she will say she did. We both felt a little sea sick and decided to go in. Our relationship was getting to the point where we both preferred to hang out with someone else.
        Whenever there was another person in the pool that I was in a conversation with, she was ease dropping and jumped into the conversation with her opinion or a correction. I kindly looked at her and told her No, I was right and she might not have heard the whole conversation. It wasn't just once or twice but it was very frequent that she did this. I didn't understand why she had to correct my story or my perception of a story that I was telling. Was it a way to maybe feel superior to me? I'm actually not sure. I just realized from this point on that I was going to try to be nice but we probably would never talk to each other again after the trip. I cant stand someone putting me down all the time. I was learning patience here on this island and very quickly at that. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I would take the paddle board straight out into the ocean and just sit there trying a few yoga poses and meditation techniques. I was in paradise so there wasn't a reason why I should be so upset about this. The crazy thing was, she followed me down to the beach and watched me. It was like I couldn't escape. I'm sure everyone feels this way when they travel with someone. You just need a break. She wouldn't give me one.
 I spend some time out on that paddle board. I watched a few sunsets. It was beautiful. When I returned to my room that last night, I realized my bag was out. I quickly looked at the money but couldn't figure out if it was all there due to the difference in currency. I then put it into the safe and silently yelled at myself for leaving it out this whole time. How could I be so careless? It was after we left that I was looking at the money and realized I had only 45,000 pesos instead of 200,000. The cleaning lady was the only one in the room and she stole about 50.00 american dollars from me. Always be careful. I learned this lesson real quick and paid more attention to my money after this. I hoped this money would benefit the lady that stole it. I know that it probably was more than 3 months pay. I had to be more careful. I had a belt that held my money and usually I would never take it off. Here on the beach, it was a different story and I went out into the ocean many times. I made it quite easy to steal it. I had an interview from a hospital back in Colorado Springs one night here on the island. The time difference was only an hour and the reception was pretty good. The interview went well except that I had another vacation planned in Hawaii in December due to my mom giving me her timeshare. The lady interviewing me said there is no way she could hire me when I was asking off two weeks during the holidays. It was during the end of the phone call I realized how hard it would be to get a job when I got back.
        Karrie had suggested that I just stay in South America and travel since I didn't have a job. I told her it wasn't the responsible thing to do. I didn't have the clothes for it or a backpack. It wasn't a good idea. She and I was at dinner one night and she repeated to me, "You have to stay, you have to stay." After she said it six to seven times, I thought she would stop but she kept repeating it again and again. I stopped her at fifteen and said, "Ok, can we talk about something else? I'll make a decision but for right now, I'm not going to stay." I told her that night that I was staying in South America and without another thought, I changed my ticket to stay for another month until December 12.
        The last two nights we spent in Cartagena were in a hotel, ten minutes away from the city center which was amazing. We were back on the mainland. I had heard that this is the place that everyone tried to steal from you and the most dangerous in Colombia. Both rumors were not true. I had asked a few friends about Cartagena but every person's experience is going to be different. You just have to trust and go with it. Take in the bad with the good, right? Karrie and I met up with some friends that we had met on the island in the city center. We had dinner and then went out dancing at a salsa club. Dancing salsa makes me so happy. I enjoyed myself highly. Karrie wanted to go back to the hotel around 12:30am and I said she could grab a cab and head there but she said she would wait for me. We headed home around 1:30am. She didn't want to go anywhere without me. It is understandable because it can be scary when you barely know the language and you really don't know how dangerous it can be especially while you are alone. I am so used to traveling by myself, I forget this sometimes. I loved the energy of this place and thought, I have to come back here someday.

Mindo, Ecuador

     Karrie and I woke up early to catch a bus to Mindo which was only one hour away in car but in the bus, it took us two hours to get there. It was due to the windy roads through the mountains. We stopped in a very small little town at a restaurant/bus station. We primarily went there to zip line. We talked to the guides that were across the street and signed up for zip lining. As we were getting something to eat, we met two american cousins and they signed up for the zip  lining as well. There were 12 different lines and it only cost us $30. We added on a bungee jump of 50 meters as well for $5 more. It was quite exhilarating towards the end. The guides were cute. I have dated two Ecuadorians before and I couldn't help but flirt. I was quite nervous about a few of the passes across the jungle because the maneuvers to get across were called mariposa, meaning butterfly and superwoman. The superwoman, you had to wrap your legs around the guide and let go facing forward. It was like you are a superwoman flying across the jungle. The other one is when you are upside down and the guides hold your legs up. You are opened up like a butterfly, but you are upside down. The bungee jump at the end was a test of faith. They had you on a platform and tied two cords to you. One was to hold you when you dropped, the other was to hold you back before you dropped. Dario would unhook you and hold onto you. He counted and let you go to swing down. When my turn came, I told Dario to count to three but definitely let me go before he reached three.

The coffee farm tour was included. The other girls couldn't quiet understand everything the guide was explaining and it was raining. We had left our rain jackets up with our stuff locked up in the front. The guide started to explain that first they have to pick the coffee beans which have a small fruit like covering on them which they soak in the water. He gave me one to try and it wasn't bad. They dry the beans out for a period of time and then they roast them. They allowed me to roast them from a green color to a brown color. If they roast them a shorter time, the coffee won't be strong. If you roast them to a dark brown color, it will be a strong roast. We made a medium roast that day. After you let the beans cool, you grind them. They let us try a cup of fresh coffee each and I have to say it was pretty amazing. They say if the coffee is fresh, you don't need to put sugar or cream into it. I never had black coffee before and this was amazing. Out of all the experiences in our whole trip, this was our favorite. The price was amazing, it was exhilarating, and the coffee was amazing. We ran our of time to go to the butterfly house which was disappointing but we had to catch the last bus back to Quito. Also, they told us the butterflies wouldn't be flying around, they sleep in the afternoon. The bus ride back was horrible. I got so motion sick and was holding out to throw up. The buses would be the end of me. This was a pretty cool experience and I wouldn't change anything for the world.

Quito, Ecuador

        A few hours on the plane gave us time to become great friends with a woman named Erin. She decided to go to the amazon by herself after a few days in Quito, Ecuador. Her hotel was just ten minutes away from our hostel. So we decided to hang out the next day, which she was happy about since she was just learning spanish. A few things had gone wrong in this trip so far and Karrie and I kept trying to keep our heads held high and think positively. The power went out on the street that our hostel was on so we didn't have power or light when we got to the hostel. Our flashlights came in handy and the power outage only lasted a few hours. The restaurant we went to was amazing. Unfortunately, I don't keep track of the details so I cant tell you the name. We did see Cuy on the menu which was guinea pig. I was disgusted. We didn't order it.
         Ecuador was quite a long distance but what made it worse was we had to go through Panama which was in the opposite direction. We got in after a long day traveling and planned to pick up Erin in the morning. We took the teleferico, a gondola lift that would take us from 10,226 feet up to 12,943 feet. The gondola would ascent twenty minutes to take us to the summit of Pichincha, an active volcano to the lookout Cruz Loma. It was one of the highest aerial lifts in the world. I did ok in Bogota but Quito was a different story. I felt the altitude sickness as soon as I got to the top. Karrie and Erin were both ok so they decided to hike a little bit while we were up on the volcano. I found a few llamas that kept me busy. I was waiting for my moment with the llamas so when I saw them on top of that volcano, I was pretty excited.

     The next day, Karrie and I went to the mitad de mundo, know in english as the middle of the world. This is the place in the world where the early spanish explorers thought this was the middle of the earth, where the two hemispheres met. Years after, they realized the exact coordinates were 240 meters off. There is a museum located at the incorrect location with lots of interesting facts. The toilet is supposed to flush both ways, clockwise and counterclockwise. Your weight is supposed to be less at the Ecuador by a few pounds. Balancing an egg on its head is supposed to be quite easy and walking a line with your eyes closed is impossible. This didn't quite happen at the monument although it was very interesting to learn about the indigenous people and to hike up to the top of the 30 meter high monument. Thousands of people take their picture with one foot in one hemisphere and another foot in the other. The real spot is 240 meters down the road which Kelly and I didn't get to because we didn't know the truth. We met another couple later on that told us that they did balance an egg on its head and tried to walk a straight line. The equilibrium in your head is messed up and its apparently impossible to walk a straight line with your eyes closed.
        We were able to get lost trying to get back to the city on a bus that took us way out of the way. I had to ask around and find out what bus we needed to take to get back to where we needed to be. We could have taken a taxi but it was only 40 cents for the bus compared to 20 dollars each. This very nice couple from Venezuela helped us. They told us about their country and how awful things have gotten from Hugo Chavez being in presidential power from 1997 to 2013. They were seeking refuge and trying to fight for a different life in another country. Some of their family members were left behind but they needed to leave as soon as possible for an opportunity for a better life. They left with little money and were trying to find a job to support them. It was sad to hear and every Venezuelan that I came across had another sad story to tell. There was no food and no medications in Venezuela if you would get sick. Everything had been looted. Life was being destroyed and the only way out was to find something else in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile or Argentina. Karrie and I were shown where to go and we left with more than a history lesson.

      The next day, we walked around Quito and went to a museum to learn about the culture and history of the Ecuadorians. We also went up this amazing cathedral and tried the typical food of the culture. There were people walking around selling food to make money. I hadn't gotten sick yet so street food was ok in my book to try. It was actually really good. I was hungry and we only paid two dollars for it. We tried some fresh fruit from the local stands as well. I tried joking around with Karrie at this moment and realized she was either more on the serious side or didn't get my sense of humor. I refrained from telling jokes around her from this point on. We slowly realized how different we were from each other. That night we got into a little fight over the charger which I had bought for $3.50 and she had refused to buy. When you travel with people, you have to realize you are going to act differently due to different stresses that you may not have in the United States. However, in our case, we didn't know each other at all. So we were constantly trying to get to know each other.

           

       

Bogota, Colombia

           As I watched a few friends travel around South America and constantly inviting me to come along or meet them down there, I knew I was constantly throwing away opportunities of a lifetime. A girl from work mentioned that she is heading to Colombia and I thought, "this is it, my chance that I cant throw away."  So I asked. She was heading there with a friend of her brothers and had never traveled with her but she said if it was ok with Karrie, it was ok with her. A few emails later, we were all in agreement to go. Caitlin had bad news a few weeks later and decided not to go. I called up Karrie and we both decided it was worth it to go together although we didn't know each other. We planned the next two and a half weeks in Colombia and we decided to head to Ecuador as well. She bought the flights and I bought the hostels. We decided to look up two cities each so we would have an idea on what we wanted to see. We talked on the phone a few times to decide on where we were going and how long we would stay there as well. I planned  information  on my part and made a plan.
           I have had a really hard year and knew I could turn things around with this trip. Chinese zodiac year of the cock wouldn't be horrible anymore. I was sure of it. My cousin, Josh looked up 2017 chinese zodiac for the year of 2017 for fun told me it would be a great year except for those born in the year of the cock (me). He told me, "I wanted to travel with you but now I dont think so. This year will be rough for you,  no thanks. I think I will sit this one out and we can travel together some other time." The time he told me was at the end of 2016 and all I could tell him was, "This is full of crap and you are going to regret not coming with me. I don't even believe in that. Those were my famous last words. As soon as 2017 came with the Chinese new year, the hardship began. This trip would change things around for me though....so I thought.
         I arrived at the airport and everything went smoothly. I decided to go to the bathroom before I got on the plane. My suitcase got stuck as I was coming out of the stall and I began to fall. I lifted my foot around the suitcase and then my shoe got stuck. My foot came out of the shoe and slammed onto the cemented bathroom floor. I instantly started to cry and couldn't move. The people in line all stared at me and one asked, " Are you ok?" I cried back, noooo, Im  not. I pulled myself to the end of the bathroom to wait for the pain to go away. I tried to step on it and realized I couldn't. It was embarrassing but long story short, I got on the plane in a wheelchair and had to ask the disabled cart to pick me up in Austin, in my connection to take me to the gate due to not being able to walk.  Everyone tried to give me advice but due to not having insurance, I thought it might be better to take care of this problem in Colombia. I had called Karrie before getting on the plane but she assured me everything would be ok. In Austin, I tried to get on the plane by walking and cried with every step I took. A lady looked at me with pity and asked with her eyes, what happened. I told her, "I think I broke my foot and I'm heading to backpack across South America." She responded with such inspiration and hope for me. She said, "Tape your toes together and take it step by step, you can do this. It will be ok." I repeated this to myself and prayed that it wasn't broken. I even did some reiki on it which I hadn't practiced at all. It was all I had and I needed to try something.
         We met in Colombia in customs. Our flight came in at the same time and we were only 10 minutes behind each other in the line. We headed off to get a taxi together and I found an uber. I tried to bargain with the guy but I wasn't familiar with the money yet. I realized after making the deal, I lowered the price by three dollars only. Karrie looked annoyed like we had paid too much but the deal was set and we were on our way. All I knew was that it was cheaper than a taxi.
             The next day, we decided to go to the gold museum. It was quite interesting to find out the history of where the gold that was found actually ended up. The Spaniards took it or it was traded to them for other items. After the museum, we slowly walked around downtown to see the amazing architecture in the congressional buildings. I limped along the way, Karrie was gracious enough to wait for me and to walk very slow around town. We got some arepas which were like thick pancakes made out of flour or corn with anything you wanted on top. Karrie asked for a cheese and ham and I asked for an egg and cheese. It wasn't very good but I had tasted them before and knew they could be better. The woman selling them to us gave us 5 different sauces to try with it and we did try them all. The pineapple sauce wasn't very good with my eggs but I had to try it.
           After walking around, we decided to head up the mountain called Monserrate which was about 10,350 feet. We had to take a cable car and we decided to go at sunset. Bogota is 8,600 feet so they cable car takes awhile to carry the passengers up so no one gets altitude sickness. We were able to see the city during the day and then watch it light up at night. It was beautiful. We only had one full day here in Bogota so we tried to do as much as we could. The next day we would head into Quito, Ecuador. When we got back to the hostel, Aragon, I decided to talk to the guy that worked there a little. Karrie went to bed but I stayed up to talk to Luis a little. He was a 30 year old Colombian from Cartagena, a city that we would visit in just a few days. He seemed very nice and he really helped me get back into the spanish mindset. He offered to teach me salsa but with my foot, I told him I would take a rain check, not sure if I would ever see him again.