Day 5:  

Last day in Cartagena.  I started the day with breakfast at a place I had went earlier in the week.  One of my goals was to become a local in places, so that people recognized me.  Five days in and achievement unlocked.  The owner of the restaurant introduced herself to me and we ended up talking for a few minutes.  Her family also owns a restaurant in Medillin, which I will be visiting.  We even snapped a picture as proof.

After breakfast, I returned home and hung out at the house.  Relaxing and reading my book.  Soon, hunger struck and I ventured out to the Old City to have a final meal.  My mom would be proud, I had Italian food.  Shrimp Ceviche and Chicken Piccante doused in cheese.  I spent the next few hours walking the perimeter of the city by myself.  The moon was almost full, and it shone beautifully above the city which smelled of the sea.  It was a magical close to a wonderful stay.

DAY 6:

4 AM wake up call for a 4:30 AM pick up for my ride to Mompos.  (A small colonial village on the Rio de Magdalene)  Mompos is known for being frozen in time and is considered the most accurate portrayal of colonial Colombia.

It was a six hour ride, with me, a driver and one other passenger in a small (read: very small) SUV.  Ninety minutes of the drive were on a dirt road through a series of tiny villages.  Small farming villages consisting of mainly huts, farms and kids running around. The dirt road abruptly ended and we pulled onto a small platform in the river.  Ah, we were going to ferry across the river.  By ferry, I mean float on this platform and have a small canoe with a 10 HP engine push us to the other side.  It was our SUV, 2 motorcycles and a bunch of kids.  The kids were adorable.  I can’t recall the name of what I ate, but it looked like a frozen sausage in a condom.  “Why not” I said as I rolled the plastic covering back.  (I can never get the wrapper open in time”  – George Costanza) It was essentially a homemade chocolate popsicle and it was exactly what I needed.

The village on the way, was all houses like this. Tons of smiling faces

The other passenger, he really warmed up to me after a rough start

30 minutes later, we arrived in Mompos, at my next Airbnb.  The hosts were incredibly friendly.  They quickly showed me to my quarters, and while I was getting settled, prepared me a delicious breakfast and coffee.  They explained their friend is trying to learn English and thought it would be a good pairing for me to improve my Spanish and him is English.  I agreed.  I had a few hours to kill prior to my linguistics date with Alberto though, and decided to walk the city by myself until then.

The city is beautiful.  The river, the buildings, the trees, and the animals.  Highlights: the cemetery is so interesting.  All of the tombstones are layered on top of each other.  Some are so ornate and old, others are are simply concrete slabs that someone traced a few words with their finger on.  (imagine drawing on a sidewalk).  It felt odd to see this centuries old cemetery, but see dates from 2015.  Death is timeless.  It never stops, and it unites us all.  The thought was oddly comforting.

The cemetery, there is a ton of stray cats that live here. I was wondering, if they have favorite graves to sit on.

After my walk, I met up with my language partner.  We sat on the patio and shared a cup of coffee.  Afterwards, we walked around the city, talking about everything from the founding of the city, to our families and religion.  We even grabbed dinner and ran into the people I shared a ride with.  We all sat by the river and ate dinner and talked.

Alberto

After dinner, we walked to grab coffee and I was introduced to more people.  We sat and had coffee in the plaza and talked about everything and nothing.  Me and a few older gentleman.  It really reminded me of my golf outings with Grandpa and I’ll admit to a feeling of nostalgia and sadness.  I kept thinking that he would have fit right in.  Sitting, talking, playing games, smoking cigars and drinking beer.

Alberto had to leave, but I ended up walking around the rest of the city with one of the other guys.  We conversed solamente en Espanol and he gave me a full lesson on the history of the city.  I loved seeing the pride that he took in his city.  And, I’ll say I think we were were even communicating well.  There were awkward moments, where we both realized we were not understanding each other.  But, the awkwardness was more than accounted for by the thrilling moments in which we did understand each other.  Each of those moments were accentuated by excessive head nods and “Si Si Si!  We sat by the river and shared a few beers before moving on.  As we walked the city, he introduced me to everybody.  Everybody!  Each person was so friendly and warm.  I felt like a celebrity.  In fact, several people asked to take a picture with me for no apparent reason.

My hosts own a coffee shop in the main plaza in the city and they play jazz music for the entire square.  There were 4 of us and we sat and talked and shared another beer.  Then there were 6 of us and then 8.  The weather was perfect, the moon shone brightly through the trees.  It was the perfect night.

I hate to admit it, but I was tired.  “Tengo sueno” I said and was the first to leave.  Alberto concurred and was kind enough to give me a ride back on his motorcycle.  (No helmet – but in fairness it was 1 KM and we probably went 10 KM/hour.

Tengo sueno.  I have another night in Mompos and am looking forward to continuing this Colombian lifestyle.  And even if he’s not here, I’ll keep imagining Grandpa’s jokes and his laugh as I sit and talk about everything and nothing.

DAY 6:

Growing up, my brother and I shared a room with a window-unit air conditioner.  It was always the coldest in the house.  Since then, it’s always been central air (which doesn’t chill your bones the same way) or no air conditioning.  It was a tough summer in LA with no air-conditioning.  My room in Mompos reached the same levels of air manipulation of my childhood room.  I woke up several times, only to curl in to a tighter ball, gripping my blankets and pillow harder.  It was lovely.  I enjoyed feeling my cold skin.  Especially compared to the hot, sweaty days in Colombia.  Needless to say, I slept like a baby.

I spent the morning walking the city, eating breakfast and sipping coffee.  Being the only tourist in town, and certainly the only gringo is an odd feeling.  But, the people are friendly, if not a little wary at first.

I depart Mompos tomorrow for the city of Bucaramanga.  An 8 hour ride in an unknown vehicle awaits me tomorrow starting at 5 AM.  As for tonight, I think I’ll hang in the plaza, play a game of dominoes and enjoy another night with cold toes.