Taganga - what's going on here?

I don't know how people can travel and not be affected by the starving people and animals! On the drive from Cartagena to Taganga we passed sections of the road where hundreds of people were lined up begging on the "highway". It was strange because they had rope stretched across the road, but I have no idea how it would have stopped a car moving so quickly along the road. We were in a 10 passenger van that was not only locked from the outside, but we were also locked in. As we traveled the road the shacks along the road were soaked in the recent rainwater and floating amongst piles of trash. A cholera village waiting to happen.

As we drive up to Santa Marta we are instantly reminded of Santa Cruz and the local junk markets lining the streets. We drop off a couple and the rest of us headed for the beach town of Taganga. We had google earthed and searched about Taganga and of course had some expectations in our heads... The problem with that, is the expectations are hardly ever met when you are traveling in a third world country. In the pouring rain we arrived to Ballena Azul which is listed as the nicest place here. Upon check in we realize that it's ok, but nice isn't the adjective that I would have chosen to describe this place. Adequate, but not nice.

Now, what to do in a very small town? We head out and instantly see that this place is where hippies come to hip it up. Street performers, beggers, starving dogs, and lots of booze. A fair description of Taganga. We pick a table along the "strip" and the people watching begins...

Like a magnet, the starving dogs and children slowly move towards Laura and I. A young boy begs from us and when he has no luck we notice that he is siting in the dirt eating plant material that has fallen on the ground. Serioulsy, eating pieces of leaves... A few minutes earlier I had contimplated buying a hot dog for one of the really skinny mama dogs and now decide that I'm buying a hot dog for this boy.

I use my broken Spanish to talk to him and we walk over to the hot dog stand and proceed to get a grande perro caliente. For 3,000 pesos, about $1.50 I gave the boy his meal and he follows me over to where Laura is waiting and eats on the ground in front of us. Laura decides to buy him a juice and his meal is complete.

The hot dog is huge and I can tell he's slowing down so I asked if he was full and he nods and throws the rest to some doggies near by. A starving boy with a good heart.

He scurries off and Laura and I continue to watch the scene. This place is a mess. We wonder if the local crack head has gotten stuck here by will or not. We watch male dogs chase the females with the persistance of a child. Some moments are funny and some very sad.

The rest on our beds of boards and no a/c was not as challenging as I would have thought.

Breakfast is good, but too much, so we pack up some eggs into a napkin and go in search of some hungry dogs. Oh, good, there are 15 hungry dogs right in front of us.

We head out to the front of our hotel and sit in the shade of a palm tree. Now that the rains have stopped you can see how really beautiful the bay is. In the Lonely Planet we read that there was a hike to a nearby beach and decide to check it out. Wait until you see the photos. Hundreds of people along the short beach. Hundreds. More people watching and then back to our side of Taganga.

While we are sitting in front of the hotel one of the mama dogs comes over looking for some food and we give her some love instead. While we are relaxing a young boy, around 10, comes over with a creepy looking finger puppet and starts talking to us with his puppet. He's nuts. Behind me is the snow cone man, so I decide to buy this little boy a snow cone. He's delighted, even more so when I let him keep the 50 cents change.

So far in Taganga I feel like a social worker. We'll see what the next few days bring.

View of beach next to Taganga.

One of the street dogs that we gave lots of love and food to.

Cartagena, Colombia

How to sum up the last 9 days in Cartagena... after some flight delays in Lima and Bogota we (Laura and I coming from Bolivia) finally arrived in Cartagena. My sister was already there and waiting for me in the hotel lobby and it was so awesome to see her! It's been a year and a half since we have seen each other and for her birthday this year I decided to get her to Colombia so we could hang out. I try not to have any regrets in life, but my true regret is being a terrible sister when we were growing up. Mary is such an amazing human being and I was such a super huge bitch to her when she was little that I feel like I want to make up for lost time. We have never done a sister vacation, so this was it!

We decided to splurge while she was here and stay at the Hilton. Luckily one of Laura's friends was also here and had Hilton points so we got hooked up with an awesome free breakfast every morning and access to the "excutive lounge".

Our first big excursion was to get on a bus (Las Chivas) and do a night tour of the city. Of course we had no idea what to expect, but it turns out that you get a free bottle of rum and some coke and ice to go along with it. I think they sat us five girls in the very front seat because they could translate more easily and it turned out to be a benefit for us because we kept getting new bottles of rum. Of course we end up at a "disco" and the fun begins...

Next day we wake up early to head to Islas del Rosario to chill on the beach. The ride to Bocachica (the little mouth) was ok, but then we reached open waters... whew, not a fan. I luckily didn't have to puke over the side.

Not 10 minutes off the boat we decide to jump back on and go see some coral. Mary orders the extra huge fins and we jump overboard and get masked up. Mary couldn't get her mask on right and it kept squishing her ears and the guide must have asked her 15 times if she was ok. She was kind of pale and looked pathetic, but we adjusted and enjoyed the waters. It wasn't as clear as I thought it would be, but still nice.

Mary left after 5 days and it was really sad to see her off at the airport. I wish I had planned to go home with her and spend the holidays with the family. Actually Raleigh just had 8 inches of snow, so maybe I'm glad I didn't head home. Hanging out with her made me realize that I want to be around my people. Thanks to Larry we all have similar travel styles, you know, get out there and explore!

The last 4 days in Cartagena were really unnecessary. Laura and I didn't know when we planned the trip that 5 days is a perfect amount of time to see what you want around here. I have done a bit of exploring and have some great photos of the walled city. We went to another island and hung out for the day, did laps around the streets in the city, ate really good, expensive food and found the Starbucks of Colombia... Juan Valdez. We made friends with street beer sellers and jewlery vendors, and hung out in the ritzy plazas as well as the ghetto plazas.

Now it's time to have one last meal in the city and then get on a bus and head north to Taganga and some real beach time!

Camino del muerte

Getting a month off for Xmas break sounds good until you realize that you have to give up breaks in the first semester to have enough days to do it. The fact is that pretty much all accredited schools require teachers to work 180 days, and if you take off a month you have to make it up somewhere else. Needless to say the first semester of school has been a long one. We did, however, get 2 days off for Thanksgiving, we are an "American" school after all, and a group of us decided to head to La Paz and try our luck riding bikes down the World's Most Dangerous Road. 

Also known as the Bolivian Road of Death, this road was built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the 1930's. This region of Bolivia is called the Yungas and the road connects the Amazon region to the capital city of La Paz. The statistics are gruesome. An estimated 200 - 300 people die per year on this road, about one vehicle every two weeks. This is because the road is a single track along steep cliffs and this region is often foggy and rainy. Of course there are no guardrails and when the vehicles drop, they drop.

A new road has recently opened that is paved and wider, and the Death road has become a downhill adventure on a bike. It's just one of those "things" that you have to do when you visit Bolivia, that and the Salt Flats. I've been in Bolivia for a little over a year now and it was time to give it a try.

You start the ride after a 45 minute bus ride from La Paz to La Cumbre at an altitude of 4,700 meters. That's 15,500 feet. The sun's intensity burns your skin cells and it's a struggle to catch your breath as you gear up with the rented equipment to head down 63 km of the World's Most Dangerous Road.

The company we chose is called Gravity Assisted and has the best reputation. They provide all the gear necessary to make the ride as comfortable and safe as possible. They take your height beforehand so that the bike is set just for you. My bike, "los gatos", my padded bike shorts and I were ready to go.

The first part of the journey is on a paved section of the road, which is not technically considered the death road. This part has more traffic and since it's paved you can really get going fast. I don't have many photos from my camera, since my main task was to pay attention to the road and not get hit by a car or go off the cliff's edge. One of our guides rode up ahead and took photos for us and we each got a burned disk to take home. Here's some photos from the first part of the journey.

After an 8 km uphill section, appropriately named, Heartbreak Hill, we caught our breath enough to continue on to the unpaved section which is where the death road begins. To the left you can see the paved section continues on, a recently completed project, but to the right is our destination... on the dirt death road.

The first section built my confidence but as soon as we hit the dirt, I hit the brakes. The brakes are very touchy. You have to be careful how you press them because that could cause you to wreck. Ahhhhhh, so many things to think about and all I want to do is look around and observe my surroundings. I had a boyfriend once that blamed my constant looking around while driving as the cause of traffic problems in our city... I guess I better stay focused.

There were no deaths on the death road, at least not today!

The chance to give

As you know, my dad is sponsoring Ana as my birthday present from last year. She lives here in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, well out in an area called Plan tres mil, which is a dirt section of the city about 25 minutes from the city center. Traveling out to her house you pass cows, horses, hundreds of street dogs and chickens in the streets. The roads quickly turn to dirt and after the heavy rains Monday the mud was thick and gooey.

I don't know why, but it's taken me 3 months to call and make an appointment to see Ana again. The last time I visited I was completely overwhelmed and somewhere deep inside I just wasn't ready for that yet. Luckily I still have the strong desire to please my family, so after weeks of them bugging me, I decided to call and set up another visit. Perfect timing, actually, because Ana turns 15 on the 5th of December. 

I went to a local clothes market and got 36 articles of clothing for $35. I went to a walmart-ish store and bought markers, notebooks, clay, pens, etc. My mom sent stickers and books. With three bags of gifts I headed to the CFCA office so they could drive me to Ana's house. 

This time her mom was there and as we walk up to the "door" I see that she has set the table and cooked a feast for me! Ana comes running over and immediately hugs me and holds on to me, just like last time. It amazes me how close to her I feel when she is holding on so tight. We walk up to the table that is outside the house, and they offer me the only chair that actually has a back. The table is covered with a cloth and there is a bowl of empanadas and juice ready to be served. Ana's mom grabs my hand and starts talking, very fast, in Spanish.

The next thing I know, she is crying and grabs on to me.

You can't imagine what this feels like. The grace, and honesty of this women. This 46 year old women, who has 9 children and lives in a shack with a dirt floor. A woman who does not have a bathroom to clean or any running water to prepare food with. She is full of love and kindness. She is grateful. Grateful for the small amount my dad sends her family each month. She thanks me over and over. It touches my soul. Changes me. How can anyone care about those name brand things? How can I? I can't.

We gather ourselves and pose for some photos. There is a CFCA translator, driver and the church nun with us and they all want photos.

Next thing you know the whole family is there. Ana is next to me in the purple. Look at her smile. Look at her sister in the pink shirt. I'm the first to get frustrated at people who just keep having kids, but being with them changes me. 

On the left is the nun that works with Ana. The driver for CFCA is on the right. In front of me is locro. A traditional Bolivia soup that is VERY basic. The family has chickens and one was slaughtered for my visit. Ana's father works out in the campo (country) so was gone working while I was there, but before he left he wrung a chicken's neck in my honor.

Empanada filled with cheese and sprinkled with sugar. Ana and I are goofing off. I just can't get over how big her smile is.

As the time to leave nears, her smile becomes smaller. She starts to get teary eyed. The family tells me that she has been sick and having problems breathing. She has not visited a doctor. I ask about vitamins and know that I will ask my mom to send some. They tell me that the kids have parasites and need the medicine before they can actually take vitamins. My mind is racing with things I can do for this family. Little things. Buy parasite medicine, vitamins. I feel butterflies in my stomach, thinking about how I can help.

Take a good look at their house. No door, dirt floor. It feels like a home. I know it's hard to believe, but it does. As we drive back to the city and I get closer to my big, comfortable house, with running water and toilets I am consumed with the thought that my dad and mom NEED to come here. My dad needs to see what his generosity is doing. Yes, he could save the money it would cost for a plane ticket and just donate it, but Ana and her family need to meet him. This generous, kind, compassionate man who's tiny effort is so huge. I am proud to be his daughter.