Chris in the Sweet Spot...

Again, almost everyone was gone, and the only people that I hung out with before and who were still in Montanita, were Karin (CH) & her new boyfriend Miguel (COL) and Mariella (ARG). Karin & Miguel maybe knew each other for 4 days before they somehow had the glorious idea to move into a place in Montanita together. Maybe because they liked each other so much and maybe cuz Karin was homeless, as her hostel needed the 3-bed room for ripping off tourists. Miguel was somehow cool with the moving together thing and since he worked 13hrs a day as a vendedor at the beach (selling these wristbands and other random shit), he was glad to have someone keeping the bed warm…

Mariella was a girl that Karin randomly asked at the beach to watch over her things for a few minutes and the same evening Karin brought her to a group dinner and from then on she hung out with us. Actually, she was here to work a bit for a month and earn some money before her boyfriend from Buenos Aires would also touch down in Ecuador and they’d then start travelling a bit. At the beginning she worked in the Casa Blanca, a for Ecuadorian standards expensive restaurant and attached Hotel, but one day they let everyone go for no reason.

Contradictionary to some others, Mariella was someone who I really liked to be around. She was witty, smart and had the same great humor that I am lucky to have. :D
Don’t get me wrong, not that I didn’t like the others, but sometimes they just shot over the top, exaggerated a bit too much and had the same attention span like squirrels. So Mariella was a good change for a while and despite the fact that we mostly ate in a group of 4 it was bearable.

A few days into the week, my buddy Wladi from Quito, who Chris and I met thanks to Russ, came to Montanita to celebrate a few days with Chris and me. Unfortunately he could only stay for two days, which was unfortunate, because Chris wanted to come to visit me too, but not until a day later. But never the less, Wladi and I met up and also encountered with a Belgium/ Australian couple that Russ also introduced to Wladi in Quito, just a week before we arrived there. So again it was the 4 of us hitting it hard in Cocktail Alley and the nearby Shisha-places.

During this night we came up with a really stupid idea. As a few of you might know, last year when Chris came to visit Jens, Stefan and me in Eastbourne just before Christmas, we did a Roadtrip up to Leeds to meet the 5^th person of out little entourage Caru. There he told us about a thing called “Otley-Run” which basically consists of hitting 18 Pubs, drink a pint each and then be able to get into any club in Leeds for free. Sounds simple, but it isn’t, trust me!!
It took us about 12hrs to get to every bar, we spend about 150 pounds each that night and had lunch/ dinner like 4 times in between. The night is now commonly known as our personal “Hangover” experience.

Well, I don’t know what I was thinking, but somehow I suggested to apply the Otley-Run onto Cocktail Alley in Montanita for the next day, when Chris would be there as well.
Just to give you an idea what Cocktail Alley looks like:

It is 36 places giving out really good but also strong drinks. At first I said to only have small drinks for the challenge, but later we decided against it, mainly cuz we´re MEN and don’t fuck about, and 2^nd not every place offers small cups. So the decision was actually made for us.

The next day, when Chris arrived and we told him about the challenge, he was thrilled and scared at the same time. I also had a weird feeling that this might not end good, as it was really a lot of places!!! After lunch we rested for about an hour and then started the party. It was 6,5hrs of real good fun, and we aborted our run after 9 cocktails when Chris asked me to bring him home cuz he was absolutely plastered.

If I think about it now, it all seems like a blur and I wonder that it was 6,5hrs all together. In my head it seemed more like two hours. But then again we have loads of pictures from that, mh… well, let´s call it “long afternoon”… which indicate that we were on a run for a few hours at least. According to the pictures, these are the drinks that we had along the way:

-         Mojito

-         Strawberry Daiquery

-         Maracaibo

-         Caipirinha

-         Cuba Libre

-         Pina Colada

-         Long Island

-         Maracuja Daiquery

So here are a few impressions of how the Cocktail Alley Run looked like.

  

 Unfortunately, Wladi had to leave the day before New Years, and since Chris and I had more or less failed our challenge, we decided to keep playing. Because we didn’t want to get plastered again, we only had another 6 cocktails in the following stands. One of them was an absolute delight: “Extasis Playero”. As the name already gives away, it’s a beach drink and will most certainly be one of the drinks I bring home with me.

The next day was New Years Eve and Chris and I were the luckiest sons of bitches ever, because this day, Petrus pulled all his skills one last time this year and performed absolute magic during the sunset. And with Chris’ new camera we actually got pictures that are even cooler than the sunset itself, although I must say it was breathtaking.

 After this, Chris and I were psyched to be in a warm country once more for New Years and couldn´t wait to celebrate the change of year at the beach between about 50.000 other people who had come from everywhere on this CONTINENT!!! and to kick 2011 to the curb and welcome 2012. In the midst, Chris and I witnessed the Ecuadorian tradition of burning figures, who represented the last year, and bonfire jumping, in which we of course joined.

Also, the hardcore local surfers had gotten all their surf gear and welcomed the new year by hitting the waves at sheer darkness. A few times, while they were out in the water, I saw some guys crashing into each other. Not that the waves were massive or anything, it was just absolute chaos in the water. Chris and I continued through all the cocktail stands and little bars that were open everywhere along the beach. It was actually not that enjoyable as each place had their own speakers, an although everyone was more or less playing the same salsa / raggaeton music, each places’ speakers were heavily fighting the other speakers, which resulted in a massive mixture of 6-7 different songs, all played at the same time. Like a mash-up, but just really bad. The only way to actually hear one song clearly, was right next to the speakers, where a common illness called tinnitus would be the sure reward.

Thus, we strolled along the different places until 4 something in the morning and had a short hit into Cana Grill before leaving the town for the last time in 2011 and going to bed at 6 in the morning in a fresh new year. The next day we had a last cocktail at Emilia’s Cocktail stand and Chris finally left the coast with the Bus at 3pm. Great times and I cannot wait to repay the favour and come visit Chris in Quito once more.

From me, of course, to all of you “a happy new year” as well!!!!

The Party continues...

Lee was gone, Team America had departed as well, and The Dutch had also hit the road again for further travelling. Jana and I were sad that everyone left, but live had to go on and so we tried to make the best out of it. During the last 8 days we of course met other people and since we used to go out together as a big group, who now hung out too

Among these peeps were 2 swiss guys: Noe, who stayed in the same hostel as Jana and me, and Karin, Noe’s best friends ex-girlfriend or something like this. Especially with Noe I started to go surfing a lot, since he had his own little shortboard here and I got a shorty from my workplace (not that I had to work properly, yet…).
And while Jana hung out at the beach, watching our stuff, she and Karin chatted about this and that, like girls do. Monday and Tuesday we again ate at my place, again abusing the 2 for 1 offer and after we would go for a few drinks in cocktail alley and/or to one of the local watering holes.

During the week that I spend in Quito, I got to meet a few other guys who were doing Spanish courses in Montanita and who just had a few days of for travelling but would be back for Christmas and New Years. The time had come that all of those fellas returned and while we were celebrating our Quito-reunion at a place called “Zach’s” (with 1 Dollar-beers), two massive suprises rolled in:

1^st: I saw Michael walking along the street, completely naked in his face and Austin as his companion. I was absolutely thrilled to see the guys, although I wondered why they had come back, as they only left for the Galapagos Islands a few days earlier. The reason was that they had seen and done most of what they wanted and the surf-swell for the Islands would be absolute shit for the next days to come. So instead of blowing huge amounts of money for nothing they got an earlier flight and came back to Montanita. Michael was even more thrilled to be back as he had fallen madly in love with Jana and didn´t leave her side for the rest of the night.

2^nd: The two Dutch girls, Nikki and Gwen, had also returned to Montanita, as there had been some problems with their family and they just used Montanita as a hideout for the days until the could get on the next plane back to Amsterdam. But despite their reason to be back in town, they overplayed it well and were also thrilled to see all of us.
For the next 2 days I gave it all I had, went surfing with the boys during the day, and after a little afternoon nap we would meet up with the other guys (Spanish School, Team U.S.A, The Swiss, The Dutch) and would go big for dinner and after drinks and club.

Along the next days I was called in a few times for working on the surfboards and fixing the dings and dents they had suffered during the last season. I also got called in one day to go diving with a swiss guy who wanted to do his diving license. This was helpful for two reasons, first to get to know the spot and to translate in case my boss´s English was not understandable. It was a sweet dive with super clear water and loads of underwater life. We even got to see an eagle ray, close relative to the manta ray, who flew by only about 10m away from us.

After the week, again, I had to say good bye to a few peeps. This time, team America left for good back to the holy country, so did the Dutch and Noe as well. I still had the guys from the Spanish School, which I sadly knew not really good, yet. Guess I have to get some work done and befriend people, to not be here all by myself…
(as if that was ever possible… :D )

And don't forget the FUCKING Cheeeese!!!!

After the strong week in Quito I actually never wanted to drink again… Not because I didn’t appreciate a good buzz (I’m sure every one does) but because my stomache was hurting from the cheap rum that we got almost for free a the hostel.

So I was already focused on popping by my internship place, make a good first impression and finally throw myself into the working life of a dive and surf instructor; a healthier life including physical exercise and a healthier way of eating, too.

So upon arriving in Montanita, I asked the first guy next to me (in Spanish) where I could find the Surf & Dive Club and if he knew a decent hostel for a few nights. As a reply I got „Ey ey, no Spanish, English buddy!“…
Fair enough, I thought. I repeated the question in English and received „I don’t know, I don’t care, I’ve just been on the bus for 3 hours and I don’t know about you, but I need a beer… Would you care to join?“ as an answer.

Despite my intention to never drink again, I somehow cared to join and suprising 7 beers later my new best friend Lee and I split up to drop our luggage at whichever hostel and grab dinner together. In the end, we let the day fade away while sipping Cuba Libres and watching Sunday night football.

GOOD TIMES!!!!

By then I didn’t know yet what was about to happen and how much time Lee and I would be spending during the days to come. And since we met a shitload of people while doing this, fort he purpose of this blog, it is easier to introduce the groups one by one.

The Trio:

The place that Lee and I hit first for beers that Sunday afternoon is called Zoe and offers 2 for 1 food deals on Mondays and Tuesdays. It hence seemed perfect to be the place for us to meet up for lunch. Before getting there the next day, I met Jana, the 3rd member of our little group, who I knew back from Quito and who took part in the absolute banter night in the zona rosa.

Together we hung out every day, and after having chosen Zoe’s as “My place” for eating, we had to find another 2 places for Lee and Jana. Jana already had “her place” and it was one of the cocktail stands in cocktail alley called “Galan”. After 5 days of searching we finally found a 3^rd place, which Lee could call his home. It was a Indian-style Bar right at the beach which offers the sickest sunset view, depending on the clouds of course and supplies their visitors with Shisha (a.k.a. Hookah) and Coronas.

The Portugues:

The next addition to our little group, were two Portuguese fellas (Sebastian & Diogo) being on vacation from home for a few weeks. We met them Tuesday night at Jana’s place in cocktail alley and despite their physical disability to keep drinks from spilling over ones pants or  “not-dropping their glasses” in general, they were absolute fantastic company and we had much fun together. The first night we even got into a club and got 2 bottles of vodka between the 5 of us. Whereas Sebastian got lucky, Diogo preferred a nap on the sofas and Lee, Jana and I were the last to leave the place.

  

Team America:

Another group that we hung out with on a regular basis were 4 lads from Florida who “saved about 1.500$ each by flying out from Miami and not Orlando, although it was a 12hrs ride down there”, to quote Lee´s first words about them. J
He met them since they were staying in the same hostel as he was, right at the other side of the beach, a good 10mins+ walk from the town centre. One Floridian (Michael) used to be professional Wakeskater and got sponsored during Uni, the other (Austin) used to be sponsored by the big brands for his sick surfing and the 3^rd (Alex) is best pals with the surfer guys from bondi rescue, lives half the year in Sydney and is in the board industry…

My point is, besides being keen drinkers and party goers, each one of them had quite a few stories to tell. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture with all of them, but I’ll try to get one together.

The Dutch:

A few days before Lee left, there was a massive birthday party of one of the other guests of the cabanas that Lee stayed in. The birthday child was a Dutch guy named Alex who stayed in Montanita for language lessons. So half the Cabanas and half the Spanish school showed up for the celebrations of his 32nd anniversary. Among were two other Dutch girls, sisters to be precise, who with Alex, formed Team Holland, and probably were as solid in drinking as Lee, Jana and me. Team America joined, too, as well as Team Canada, 3 girls who bought the Casa del Sol (Lee´s Hotel) only a few weeks earlier and provided catering for the festivities. It was a sick night and everyone had an absolute blast.

I think that was the night, that Lee suddenly started singing “I got a pineapple on my head” and held a pineapple as well as other different fruits in his face. Everyone in the round was convinced the pineapple would look just dynamite on their head and we finally managed to get about 100 pictures of people with pineapples on their head.

Again: GREAT TIMES!!!

Sadly, as most good things end, the trio had to split up eventually, too. It was Lee who departed first and left poor Jana and me by ourselves in Montanita. It was good times and we only let him go after promising to come and visit us again, either in Montanita or anywhere else in the world. And seriously, with 130 flights a years this seems very likely to run into each other again somewhere. :D

As a few of you might wonder what’s the story behind the weird post-name, I might explain this real quick. It was one of the constant catch phrases that Lee, Jana and I would yell at each other on the street, in bars, at the beach or anywhere else, we felt like it. Here are a few of these phrases and the subject they rely to.

-         “Eyes like sourceror´s pinwheels” (by Lee) about his facial expression after another binge drinking night

-         “We need some deep, deep house music” (by Lee) commenting on the DJ´s poor choice of music variety

-         “Coockadoodle dooooo” (by Lee) vs. “Piu Piu Piu” (by Giam); intercultural clash of animal noises, here a roster

-         “What´s more harmless than a toothpick? – Queuetip!!!!!” (by Lee & me) talking about Jana´s arm size

-         “And don´t forget the fucking cheese!” (by me) politely notifying the others that their fajitas would possibly improve their taste if a product made from milk was added

Lee´s last day was a Monday, which usually was celebrated at a reggae party at the far end of the beach. Usually the music itself is absolute crap and eventually they switch later to the whole musical repertois of mainstream artist “Gentleman”. That night went by way too fast and finally at one point we had to say good bye to each other. It was a good week together and I cannot wait for the next encounter with Jana and Lee!!!

*Miss you guys!!*

El Centro del Mundo

The long journey finally had an end and we arrived in Quito somewhen in the afternoon. A 6$ cab ride to the old part of the city opened a wide range of opportunities to rest our head during the nights to come and a simple look into the Lonely Planet guidebook saved us a long search for a decent accommodation.

The hostel of choice was „El Centro del Mundo“ situated near one of the old towns big veine, Calle Reina Victoria and right in the middle of the Zona Rosa. It was chosen by our travel accompanies because it was said to have the best value for money. After a whole week of staying there I can say we definitely had some sick times there, unhealthy but PHUN!!!

The 5 of us got a 6er dorm room to ourselves and as it was already evening we just dropped our stuff and started to mingle with the other Hostel guests.

One of them was Russ, an american from a state I don´t remember, that was currently on holiday in Quito.

(But seriously, it´s not like any of the states mean anything to us Europeans anyway… We might have heard about a few states and know a thing or two or have even been there ourselves. But come on guys, if I told anyone I was born in Schleswig-Holstein, lived in Nordrhein-Westfalen, studied in Baden-Württemberg and now live in Berlin-State/ Berlin-City, no one would remember anything but Berlin…)

Anyways, Russ graduated in a town near Quito within a year of exchange to Ecuador and now studies international affairs in Cali/ Colombia. He´s the first american I have ever come across in my live that has a sophisticated knowledge and moreover an interest in other countries and doesn´t idealize his country of origin. Maybe it has a lot to do with his field of study, but still you need the right attitude to go into tht direction in the first place.

He started of by telling us a story how he got robbed twice, the day he arrived only 5hrs earlier in Quito.

Another hostel guest was David, from Quebec, Canada, who was (unusually) able to speak veeeeeery nice english, not like the Froggy-Canadians that have the same fucked up attitude towards learning english like our lovely neighbours. I know I´m stereotyping here, but sadly that´s the unpleasant truth.

So we got together and started of with looking for some beers, and because Sunday apparently is a holy day, on that according to a new law, no one may consume or sell alcohol, we needed to be sneaky to get some hops on.

The aged senorita round the corner in a minimarket was unholy enough to sell us some beers, but the suspicious police officers, which whom the city is absolutely plastered with, would most likely not let us carry our brewskies into the hostel, if they saw us walking the street.

Russ was the man of the hour, and had the brillant idea to call a cab, stop in front of the hostel and run in. Luckily, the plan worked, none of us got punished with jail for breaking the Sunday-alco-law and we could celebrate arrival in Quito.

The next few days were mainly spend by getting up just in time for breakfast, hand around in the TV-room a bit, play pool in the backyard of the hostel and maaaaaaaaybe even cook a dish ort wo to keep the stomache filled. The nights were mainly spend by hanging around the common area, playing card or dice games and enjoy the benefits of the hostel: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays a bucket of 12L free Rum & Coke was given to the guests. And on any other days we would get ourselves a bottle of Rum for only 3$ and a bottle of Coke for 2$. Even staff got hammered… J (just kidding)

Of course we also went out to discover the big city and checked out the new town to see streets, cathedrals and markets, but clearly we could have done more.

One of the reasons why we stayed in much, was the fact that it rains every day in Quito, similar to Bogotá, Quito is a city that is rammed into the mountain ridge and hence clouds are about all the time. We only had two days without rain, and these were mild and really nice, but during the other days, rain kept pouring down and washed away everything on the street.

Thursday there was the final match of the Copa del Sur Tournament, in which LIGA Quito played against Unversitaria de Chile. As you can imagine it was a BIG game and moreover took place in Quito. Russ, David and we wanted to go to the stadium with one of Russ’ friends, but cancelled that plan, as we found out the tickets were too expensive. Instead we got on the piss 3hrs before the match in a bar just round the corner from our hostel. A few other friends of Russ came by and we literally owned the 3 tables that wes at on, including the television. Despite the fact that LIGA lost, weh ad a great evening and were ready to paint the town. A quick visit into the PACHA Club for 2 hours of all you can drink once more sealed the deal and we moved on to another place where they kicked us out around 2:30am.

The following days were mainly used to coordinate ourselves and get the jobs going that Chris and I were checking on the side. He had an job interview and of course nailed it. The job would include marketing work for a cruise liner company, selling exclusive boat tours to the Galapagos Islands at an expensive 5 grand per ass.

My jobs in Montanita / Ayampe were less exclusive, but more practically orientated. And after calling both companies from the payphone I had a new destination, the south-western coast of Ecuador, to meet up for job interviews. In the end the urge to finally arrive somewhere for a longer period of time and to settle for at least a few months overtook and I packed my things for a last 8hrs ride to Guayaquil, and another 3hrs ride to Montanita.

I had heaps of trouble getting out of the city as all my friends wanted me to stay longer and have a party with them (cuz it was a Saturday night), and when I finally managed to get away and got to the bus station, the last bus at 00:30h was already fully booked and another bus would not leave before 5:30 in the morning. So I got back to the hostel, dropped my things, went back to the disco everyone was at and stayed till 2:30am. The last 3hrs were spent with Russ and David in the common area and when the taxi later dropped me off at the bus station, I got on the bus and slept all the way to Guayaquil, where at 1:30 in the afternoon the bus driver woke me up and wanted to me to finally get the fuck off the bus, as everyone else had already left. The ride to Montanita from there was another 3hrs or sleep and at 6 in the evening I at last celebrated touchdown at the beautiful costline.

To be Continued…

Roadtrip...

It began early in the morning after our stay in the desert. We (the 3 of us + 4 new travel buddies) all got to Neiva to catch the next bus to Popayan, and luckily we only had to wait for about an hour tops to get one. This bus didn´t supply enough seats for everyone possessing a ticket and as I was the one to get on board last, I sat on the floor. It took about half an hour untill the bus pulled over and stopped at a gas station due to massive black exhaust clouds that made it impossible to see the road, for anyone following us. About another half an hour later weh ad a new bus that even had enough seats for everyone and our journey could finally continue.

Another catch was that the bus didn´t go to Popayan directly but had a stop in another small ass town somewhere along the way and we would have to change busses. We knew about it, and when we arrived there around 3pm, we expected to be fetched by 100 bus company workers who wanted us to buy the last available seats on a bus that was about to depart. BUT the last bus to Popayan had already left about half past 3 and we would have to wait another day to get to Popayan too.

Two of the swiss girls, that had come along with us, somehow managed to get a bus that only the 8 of us would take to Popayan. It was a bit more expensive than a regular bus, but since we didn´t have to pay another night at a hostel, we ended up even, but a day quicker. And THIS was just a crazy ride: It took from 4pm to about 11pm to climb about a million mountains and drive over 300km of uneven road, that made it impossible to sleep on the bus. We were bored so much and the bad feeling that you have, when you don´t know whats happening or where you´re going increased constantly after pouring rain and thickest fog further limited the drivers visibility of the road.

Upon arriving in Popayan we were more than happy to leave the bus and stumbled into the next hostel, in expectation of a hot shower and some food. Sadly food was out and we had to roam the streets to fill our stomaches. A little food stand in front of a club, in which 12-17 year old teens celebrated the graduation of the oldest among them, possibly had the best nightly revenue in a long time. Because 7 starving tourists basically stripped that old woman of everything eatable that she had on her little grill. Further more, we were some kind of spectacle to the graduation kids, because they happyly practised their limited english on us and utilized their cameras to the fullest in order to get a picture of us in every possible pose.

We too, then made it to bed at some point that night, still having in mind that our little group would split up the next day, as Mr. Monatana and Gin wanted to stay a bit longer in Popayan. So after a heartbreaking farewell, Chris, I and 3 others got the first bus in the morning to the boarder of Ecuador to then drive either to Quito or to Otavalo. This was supposed to prevent ourselves from being snatched at the boarder by guerilla groups, who are specialized on kidnapping and robbing gringos. It was another long-ass-boring-8hrs drive to Ipiales but after weeks of training, Chris and I managed to kill time very efficiantly by sleeping most of the time.

At the boarder we got our stamps for leaving Colombia and the immigration stamps for Ecuador. Another bus (reeeeeaaaaaally really cheap, compared to colombian prices) sealed the deal and dropped us of in Otavalo around 10:30pm. A new hostel was found on the spot and a solid nights’ rest gave new energy to all of us. We even got up early to roam the local (crap) market and have some decent fruity breakfast. Chris and I got ourselves new sunnies and he even bought a new pair of chillax-pants. This is a very colorful version of sweatpants that are sold everywhere along the street. Most of them look like ass, but Chris got a nice pair, and since they are really comfy, he kept wearing them for quite a while.

Our next aim was the big city, Quito, in the middle of the Ecuadorian Andes, at an altitude of a few thousand and something meters a place to stay. And it was only 3-4hrs away by bus, which made it even more attractive, since we´ve knocked back about 27hrs of bus transportation within the last 3 days…

So bring it on Quito!!!!

The Sky´s the Limit!

During our stay in Bogotá we were close to breaking up the group due to different personal interests. Gin wanted to go further south and discover a massive desert by herself, Chris wanted to head to Chile as soon as possible because of an job offer, and after I discovered that San Gil was not as expensive as expected, it because more and more interesting.

So we all headed to the Bus station in order to fly off into our own directions, but unfortunately I mixed up the distances to San Gil with another city and suddenly lost my will to go there, as it would have been another 7-8hrs north of Bogotá whereas I thought it was only 2…

So in the end we again sat all in the same bus on the way south. Although Chris wanted to speed foreward in the first place he, and I too, decided to follow Gin´s to the Desertio de Tatacoa. A stop-over in Neiva was compulsory as it was the closest bigger city and upon arriving there at 9pm, all further connections had departed already.

The hotel we stayed in remided a bit of the Hoe-tel California on Aruba and was actually worse, since the shitter and the shower were in the same room as the beds…
So, no reason to stay in the room before bedtime. Hence we went for a stroll through the small city, feasted on some delicious pastries and croissants and finally went to bed around half 12 (00:30h).

The next day we headed off towards the desert. It took about an hour and a bit, which we spend wondering if this desert was a wet desert or not, since huge puddles and wet streets on the way indicated exactly this. BUT it was relatively dry and reasonably hot.oeHoe A (in the end) cheeky dude named Choppo and his shitty little Motorbike Taxi drove us into the desert and brought us to a simple hostel with open air hammocks.

The sun was out, which we hadn´t seen in quite a time, as Bogotás clouds prevent it from shining through, and we were immidiately encouraged to go for a walk. Red sand, cactuses and dry bushes were the average picture along the stroll, beautiful but not really exciting, so a few outstanding places were abused for a variety of creative pictures.

As the sun started to set over the desert, we went back to our place to grab some food and later head to „El Astronom“, along with an entourage of about 5 other people we´ve just met.

El Astronom has been working in his field of study for about 40-something years and taught us everything there is to know about the stars in the sky and the moon.

He showed and explained the heavenly constellations (star signs) and we were able to take closer looks at some red, blue and diamont-like shining stars as well.

All in all, I would guess these were the best 5$ that I have spent on the entire trip. And although El Astronom solely spoke in spanish I was suprised how much I understood from what he was saying. So all in all, we had an absolute blast that day, topped of by a nice bonfire on the grass outside of our hostel.

At about 1am we hit the hammocks and were interrupted during the night by the meanest rainstorm that I have ever wittnessed in my life. Rain was pounding on the metal roof and water was everywhere around us, but despite the open air dorm nothing got wet; execpt from Mr. Montana, an American who slept in his tent out on the lawn…

The next day we left the place and headed towards Popayan, which is supposed to be the biggest connection-place to busses down to Ecuador. Ideal for Chris and me, since he still got his job offer in Quito and another on in Chile, and I was writing with a Surf & Dive Club in Montanita, who got an open internship and seemed interested in me. So: Roadtrip!!!!

Bogotá Baby!!!

What do you do in the capital city of a country?

Right, you take in all the sights, enjoy the attractions in the nearer surrounding and eventually will spot something spezial that makes this ciy unique.

Well, after a 17 hours ride we were simply happy to have a hostel that actually has enough beds fort he four of us. The FOUR of us? Right you are, wem et another traveller on the way who actually wanted to get of in St. Gil but overslept his stop and thus ended up in the Capital. His name was Michael and he was from Israel. A nice guy, who had spend his previous years in the Israeli armee protecting Israeli property along the boarder from palestinian people. A bit odd but generally speaking a nice fella, he joined us three and accompanied us on the exploration of the big city.

First thing to do, a stroll through the neighbourhood and a visit to the Museo de Oro. The city istself seemed really grey and unwelcoming and the additional rain tha pounded down every day didn´t make it better. On the contrary, the Museo de Oro was really nice and besides the actual golden echibition from a former colombian time, the Maya exhibition in the basement kicke dass!!!!

The next day (Saturday) we wanted to be part of the beer-party-wagon and drive to an area about 40 mins outside of Bogotá to get absolutely smashed in one of the biggest parties ever. And the offer from out hostel to pay 50.000 Pesos (about 20€) for transport back and forth, as well as free drinks during transport, did not take place due to too few participants. To do the trip by ourselves would have costed about 150.000 Pesos which is why we decided to go to the Zona Rosa instead (Party Area). Chris’ and I hit it untill 5 in the morning and we barely able to stand anymore when we got our cab back to the hostel and smashed but happy fell into bed.

The days after we always something going on, for example a walk thorugh the histoirc part of the city and watching the parliament and some old chruches, climbing the cities Mirador and enjoying the view over the cloudy city, or going to the Church mines just an hour outside Bogotá.

To be honest, the historic part of the city just had old buildings that looked like they had become a victim of an intra-city painball tournament and looked less attractive to us, as they could have.

The way up to the Mirador itsself was actually quite a challenge and took us about an hour and a bit to climb the 800 meters of altitude difference, but finally rewarded us with a beautiful view on the city and hence made up for all the physical expenses on the way up.

The part with the underground church was optically the most beautiful one, but also the most touristy and hence tiring. Don’t get me wrong, the under-earth-christian-artwork-chruch just looked stunning itsself, and must have been a pain in the ass to construct, but i fit hasn´t been for an electricians fit work and lightning job, it would have looked all the same.
Also, our tourguide wasn´t really capable of using other vocabulary than „amazing artwork“, „now this is impressive“  and „for the love to Jesus“ and basically he every cross in all 14 chapels differently also they all looked the same.

On the way back to Bogotá i lost my compliances due to the fact that people who are waiting for other buses, simply don´t let other people pass them… even if they want to enter another bus, a bus that these people actually are not waiting for. Basically, I got in a bus, everyone else got blocked and so I had to figure out how to get back. In the end it all worked out well, but the weird feeling you have, when driving to a very dodgy part of the city and to be the only gringo among natives, isn´t my favourite. .

After a splendid 6 days of capital action we again decided to leave for something new, something different, and maybe more attractive. Shall we?? J