Monday, February 21, 2011

BYE BYE SOUTH AMERICA !!!.... and thank you for teaching me so much...

Today is the last day of my one-year and 3 weeks South American adventure; this afternoon I am boarding a plane to London. I will change twice: in Bogota' and in Madrid, and I will arrive in Heathrow on Tuesday, 22nd of February 2011. Total time of the trip: 20 hours, approximate distance: 9287 km, cost: 644 pounds. 
How do I feel about it? I feel very sad. Sad because the trip was such a big life lesson for me that I am not sure if I get a chance to have another one like this in the future. I am thinking a lot about my return to Europe, preparing my mind and body to my London life. Am I going to be happy or unhappy when I am back??... this question bothers me every day. I am determined to be happy, no matter what.

In the picture: my host family in Santa Marta (without father and one son).
My last set of pictures from South America:
Santa Marta

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Some very honest conclusions of my trip

Places of natural beauty I loved in my trip:
The Amazon river and jungle on the Brazilian side and the Uyuni desert in Bolivia (both incredible and magic places).

Cities I liked the most on the continent:
Caracas in Venezuela, Medellin in Colombia (they are very similar, both located in a valley and surrounded by mountains) and Buenos Aires (very beautiful and spacious, with many things to do).

Places of sentimental value for me (mainly because I was dancing a lot in there):
Porto Seguro in Brazil (the world capital of lambada zouk), Cali in Colombia (the world capital of a very particular style of salsa), Buenos Aires in Argentina (the South American capital of everything :)).

Places I didn't like the most: some cities in Brazil. I felt very lonely and excluded from groups of people because I don't drink alcohol, smoke marijuana or go to disco clubs. For this reason I wasn't able to make friends (but at other times in other countries my social life was blooming).

One thing that shocked me right from the beginning of my trip: the level of violence and crime in South America, something I have never seen or experienced before in my life, and level of poverty.

Feeling I hated in my trip: being treated by local people like a millionaire just because I live in Europe, and being used for this reason.

Something that surprised me a lot: very many excellent doctors, dentists and plastic surgeons. Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia are masters in plastic surgery and beauty procedures, the level of it is much higher than in Europe. There is a big emphasis on esthestics in these countries and many  people look good for this reason.

Another thing is that it's not only difficult for South Americans to visit Europe due to visa and immigration problems. It's also sometimes difficult for the people from Europe or North America to cross borders or stay in one country for a long time. I had "interviews" at few borders, I think it was caused by their concern that I was involved in a cocaine trade or prostitution (but do I really look that suspicious??...). I know foreigners who married locals to stay in South America. Before I thought that this business was happening only in well developed countries.

The past year was extraordinary for me. Before I handled my resignation letter at work I couldn't sleep for a week. Quitting job helped me to understand one important thing: if you quit, the world is not going to end and you are not going to die, as I thought before. Therefore, I feel stronger because I made this huge step.
I put all my stuff in plastic boxes, sold my car, said goodbye to all my friends, and I left. Now, a day before my return, I have to say that I don't regret my decision at all. I learnt so much about life, people, places... it's something you will never learn by reading books or watching TV. I was almost killed several times but I survived and I hope that this experience will change my life for the better too.
Initially I thought about calculating how much money I have spent in the whole trip. Well, I always put an amount I spent in my blog when I was leaving a country. Now I think that my trip has been PRICELESS and it doesn't matter how much I have spent. You can make this trip "cheap" if you stay with Couch Surfers as I did and if you are very careful how you spend your money.

Little records of my trip:
I spent only 8 nights in hotels in a year and 3 weeks, all the rest were houses of local Couch Surfing people
In 9 months, after visiting 9 Spanish speaking countries, my Spanish advanced from non-existent to fluent
I wore 1 pair of jeans and 1 swimming costume all year round :)
I was very close to death several times, and once... I died. (see Cusco in Peru section).

Why I am happy about coming back home:
I will see my wonderful friends
I will dance lambada zouk again
I will wear my beautiful dresses, shoes and handbags :)

Why I am not happy about coming back home:
well... the weather in England...
hunting for a new job
leaving people behind, for example: Orlando and others from Cali, Renato from Rio de Janeiro, Adriana from Fortaleza, Hernan from Caracas, Nehomar and his wonderful family from Maracaibo, Marco from Maracaibo, Carmen and Claudia from Santa Marta, Silvia from Medellin, Christian from Guayaquil, Marco from Lima, Rosalia from La Paz, Familia Encalada from Calama, Carlos from Santiago de Chile, José from Mendoza, Crisitan from Córdoba, Hernan from Buenos Aires, Daniela from Buenos Aires, Rafael from Montevideo, Nicolas from Maldonado, Diana from Asunción and many others.... Thank you my angels for helping me feel good in this trip.
I have been hosted by so many people that I can't list them all here. I am sorry for this.... but I will always remember ALL of you.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Yesterday we didn't go out. I was tired after swimming in the sea all day and then buying presents in a huge shopping centre. José and Arturo showed me a video and a TV programme they made about modern music people listen to in Colombia. It was very interesting as I thought that apart from salsa, vallenato, Pacific and Andean music (and other traditional music) people don't listen to anything else. The brothers are very talented and creative, I hope that one day they will be successful.
This morning we went to another beach, situated 30 minutes by bus from Santa Marta. The beach is called Pleno Mar. It's wonderful, it's my favourite beach near Santa Marta so far, with few people on it (in the picture), because tourists don't know about the place.
In the evening we met my Colombian friend Rocio. We went to Toto salsa bar, one of two salsa places in the town. The music was good although the sound system was really bad (Cali would never accept such a low quality of sound). The place was nice and very traditional, and beer was cheap.

Friday, February 18, 2011

I had an interesting conversation with Jose' about my favourite subject: guerrilla. He and Arturo made a short film about it, about a young man who joined the Colombian army. Soldiers get paid if they kill a guerrilla member so they kill innocent people, put gerrilla's clothes on them and claim it to get money. Of course you can't talk about it openly; in the film mother of the young man asks him to give up the army. The message is hidden but everyone knows why she does it as there is blood on her son's uniform. I am happy I can talk about things like this with the brothers, there are many people in the country who deny the reality.

Last night we went to a district called Citadela to find a salsa club. It wasn't possible because there was only vallenato music in all the clubs and bars. This part of the country listens mostly to this kind of music, which I like too.
Today I spent all day at the sea again. First I went to the Rodadero Aquarium which was great, I saw a lot of species of fish and sea animals (in the picture: dolphins show). Then I went quickly to a famous White Beach (Playa Blanca) and then I spent some time on the beautiful Rodadero beach. The Caribbean Sea is just amazing... water is transparent and it's so peaceful....
Here is a next set of my pictures:
My last weeks in Cali

Thursday, February 17, 2011

I went to Taganga beach yesterday and today (in the picture). I noticed that something changed about me, something I like. I have always been a beach lover, frying my body whenever I could without any sun blocker, to get brown quicker. The hotter a country was, the longer I stayed in the sun. So here I am - on the wonderful Taganga beach and I don't care at all if I am going to suntan or not. I just don't care... and I can't believe it. I still love the sea and swimming, I am glad it hasn't changed.

Yesterday I visited my ex-hosts Carmen and Claudia. I stayed with them for two weeks in May. I had a lot of fun with the girls as they were determined to find me a boyfriend. As soon as I arrived in Santa Marta in May, their male friends started calling me and inviting out, ha ha ha... unfortunately I didn't like any of them. It looks like the girls haven't changed a bit since my last visit. What has changed is that now that I can have a normal conversation with them as I speak Spanish.
Regarding my host family, their dog is dying and I am so sad witnessing this. He is 15 years old, blind and deaf. He can hardly walk and seems to be in pain, and he walks around the house bumping into objects.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

In Santa Marta

Santa Marta is my last stop before flying back home on Monday. Cali - Santa Marta: 1170 km, 2.5 hours on 2 planes, cost: 60 pounds. I changed in Bogota'. The airport in the capital is the worst one I have seen in my life. The last time they lost my luggage, this time we were waiting 2 hours to board the plane. Yeimmy who is a stewardess and flies a lot in the country, confirmed that. I think it will have to change soon as Bogota' is the centre of economic activity in the country and the airport should represent it.
It's amazing that in Colombia you have so many altitudes. In Cali the temperature is perfect, in Bogota' it was cold and now in Santa Marta it's hot.
Anyway... I luckily arrived in the town and I took a taxi to the family house of my hosts Jose' and his brother Arturo. Jose' studies journalism and he works for the local television. Arturo studies cinematography and he wants to make a film or to do something to develop Colombian cinema, little known in the world at the moment.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I organised Valentine's Day party on 14th of February. I was surprised that so many people came as they don't celebrate it here, and it was also raining. When it rains in Cali, the social life stops. I was told that people don't like going out in the rain. Hmmm... if we were like this in London, we would never go out... :)
Colombia celebrates Day of Love and Friendship on the third Saturday of September and it's much more important for them than 14th of February. I asked people to wear red clothes at the Valentine's Day party and we did bbq on Alejandro's roof. I had a great time and it was my last opportunity to see my friends in Cali and to say goodbye to them.
This afternoon I am flying to Santa Marta.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

It was Wilber's birthday yesterday. Wilber was my first host in Cali six months ago and then we were renting rooms in the same family house in Loma La Cruz. He is one of the people who do things for you and they never expect anything in return. He helped me a lot at the beginning of my stay in the city and for this reason I I had to go to his party, which was a lot of fun anyway.
Today I have been relaxing all day. I washed Argus the dog and had crabs for dinner, they were huge and beautifuly blue (in the picture). However eating crabs was a nightmare as usual.

Friday, February 11, 2011

I am writing down the last conclusions of my trip to South America. So many things are coming to my mind... and so many memories.
Yesterday we went to El Farro bar as it was birthday of Diego from Couch Surfing (us in the picture). After that we went to Tin Tin Deo, it was my last time in the club as the next week I am going to Santa Marta in the north of Colombia. I want to spend my last days in South America on the beach. Yes, I am sad because leaving places and people behind is something I am not good at. I have been doing it for the last 12 months, I have been sad and feeling emotional too many times.
My dental treatment has also finished today after 6 weeks of constant dentist visits. All my teeth are fixed now and their appearance improved a lot.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Yesterday Yeimmy invited me to a hairdresser. I wanted to go anyway at the end of my trip so she did it right on time. The hairdresser was expensive but very good. He looked at me for a few seconds and then cut my fringe on the other side of my forehead than all my hairdressers in the past did. Was this the secret to make me look beautiful? ha ha ha...
At night I met Orlando but this meeting was not a success again. There was a lower-class lady in the street who offended me verbally and I couldn't stay quiet. I had to tell her that you don't offend people you don't know in the street. He was very upset because of my reaction, he prefered that I stayed quiet and carried on our conversation as if nothing happened. Unfortunately I couldn't do this and what's more, I expected him to defend me and in the first place to say something to this lady before I did. His behaviour hurt me a lot.

This morning I had my permanent makeup done (cost: 50 pounds). I had it done in London before but it was semi-permanent, with use of an anaesthetic cream which didn't ease the pain much and it cost 250 pounds. Today it wasn't painful at all because they injected me anaesthetic in the eyelids and under eyes which made half of my head loose feeling. The procedure lasted 40 minutes only (comparing to London: 3 sessions, 3 hours each session). However, the impact of the injections was so big that I came back home and I slept for three hours without my earplugs, in the noise coming through the widow - something I could never do otherwise.
I can't stop admiring how all the beauty procedures are developed here and how many good specialists the South American countries have (especially Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia). Cosmetitians, dentists, hairdressers - they all can easily transform you. Especially dentists were a surprise for me, in Europe they just fix the problem. Here they also focus on how to make your face look better. For example Yeimmy had an operation three years ago. Her teeth are small so her dentist said that with longer teeth she would look better, and he pulled the gums away. After the operation she looks amazing.
In the picture with my wonderful dentist Diana, last but one visit in her dental studio. My red under eye circle is a result of the makeup aneasthetic injection.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

I have finally booked my flight to London. It was very expensive, and what I found out after days of searching is that flights from London to South America are cheaper than flights from SA to London. Hmmm... So I am going back, it's hard to believe that my trip is about to finish.
On Friday we went to La Fuente bar and on Saturday to a birthday party of Orlando friend's friend. The salsa party was organised in a huge house and there were many guests. They were dancing in the house and outside in the street too. We were dancing a lot of choke. I love the dance and I am going to teach it to my friends in London because I am sure you won't find a club where you can find it in Europe, not yet.
On Sunday we were supposed to go to Jarmundi to a friend's cottage for bbq but unfortunately Orlando didn't wake me up on time and we missed it. I spent all day with Orlando talking about our habits and trying to find out why we can't understand each other's behaviour.

Friday, February 4, 2011

I am planning my return to London on the 21st of February, when my Colombian visa expires. I don't want to travel any more, I am tired now. I also need a mental challange which is difficult to find in Colombia. What I mean by this is a productive conversation, about good and bad things in life (here people avoid talking about bad things).

Yesterday Orlando's nephew (who is two years younger than him) organised a farewell party. He lives in Italy and he is going back this evening. We went to a salsa club called Nuvo. I liked the place but I didn't like the music, it was too slow for me. I was told that this kind of music people dance to in Buenaventura on the coast, and they dance very closely. This is how Orlando and his brothers (who were born in Buenaventura) dance. In the picture: his cousins.
95 per cent of people in the club were black. I have been to clubs in Cali where almost everyone was black or where I was the only white person, which was an unusual experience.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Yeimmy sleeps by the window, and her flat is situated on the first floor. Three times in the past she woke up in the middle of night because there was a hand sticking in through the window and searching for something valuable. Luckily there are metal bars in the window so the man couldn't enter the flat, he could only believe in being lucky to grab something profitable. But it was sleeping Yeimmy who got the hand on her head and as soon as she realised what was happening, she shouted loudly. The person immediately run away. Can you imagine this happening to you??? Yeimmy didn't report it to the police because this is kind of normal thing in Colombia...
Yesterday I met my friend DJ Ara. He opened a hotel two months ago. The hotel is very nice, with many pictures of famous salsa singers on the walls. We talked for ages and then he invited me home for a dinner cooked by his wife. We talked a lot about subject which interests me very much at the moment - where I want to live in the future. Ara lived in London for 5 years, he hates the city. He also lived in Rio de Janeiro, and now in Cali. He and his wife are planning to come back to Rio, city they love. Well, I was reflecting on this. I think I love London, just that I need to organise my life better when I am back. However, I don't want to live in London forever. I love sea and I want to live by a beach. I love Buenos Aires however it takes one hour to get to the seaside, like from London to Brighton. Living happily is what I want when I am back. I wasn't happy in my last year in London, there is why I began my South American adventure, to change something. I ask myself every day now: has something changed through my trip?????

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

1 year has gone....

I left London on the 1st of February 2010.... exactly a year ago. How is it possible that the whole year is gone????.....
I am preparing myself for the comeback although it's a little bit difficult and stressful. Returnig to the other world, world of activities I repeat every week, of stress and unbearable traffic in the streets. World..... which I prefer than the world here, mainly because of security. I will be able to walk safely in the streets again!!

To celebrate 1 year in South America, for the first time in my life I experienced an earthquake :) A very strong one, of 4.5 in Richter's scale. Colombia is situated on the same platform that Chile and San Francisco so I was told that quite many earthquakes occur here, of which I didn't know before. I found out on Sunday night, when I woke up because the bed Javier was sleeping on was shaking and jumping, making a lot of noise. It all lasted for about 5 seconds but it was enough time to get scared and to end many lives. Luckily, nobody died. Javier lives on the 12th floor so the impact of the earthquake is bigger than when you live on the ground floor.

Yesterday in the evening I met Alejandro, the guy who came to my Pijama Party and who organised the Terraza Party. We went for a drink to a nice bar with a great view. We had sweet red beer (in the picture, it was lovely...) and we talked about many things in life.
Later at night I moved into Yeimmy's house in San Antonio. I left her flat at the beginning of January because she was going on holiday.