One Man’s Walk through life

Chigorodo

So today I find myself in Chigorodo. A little pueblo, in the North of Columbia. It’s much closer to sea level, and, far from being cold as Bogotá was, it is in the Banana Republic, and is hot, humid, and sunny. A welcome change.
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Two days ago, I was sitting in the Platypus and talking to people. Two of the people were a couple, Daniel from London, England and Diana from Santa Marta, Colombia. That night they introduced me to reggae clubs, which…I like. Dancing to reggae is actually quite like dancing to blues, which…I can do. So it was fun. I danced with and met a bunch of people and came home around 2:30 when it died down.
Daniel and Diana had been together for 3 months, and that night had been his last. The next day he left. Diana came back to the Platypus crying. It was so sad. I can most definitely relate, and I hung out and talked to her for a couple hours. She was leaving that night to go to her parents house in Chigorodo before going home, and at some point she asked me if I wanted to come with. Long story short, I said yes, and two 8-hour busrides later, I am here. Spending time with her wonderful family, and struggling with how they speak spanish on ‘la costa’.
This is very different.
Their house is simple. It is made of brick with plaster over it. The floor is cement. The roof is corrugated metal. I don’t think they really need any kind of insulation, as the weather this close to the equator is pretty much constant. The house has only 2 doors, one is the front one, and one is the door to Diana’s parent’s room. There is electricity and a TV and stereo and stuff (which is nice, because I can charge my laptop), however, for water, they have a huge plastic basin which sits on a corner of their roof. It is their own personal watertower. There is no hot water, but after a day in the equatorial heat, it gets warm enough for a very agreeable and welcome shower
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It seems that most people here don’t have cars, and there are very many people on bikes. I have to say I’m a fan of this. Last night we went to a fútbol match for a local team that Diana’s dad plays in. It was actually pretty fun. We took a taxi out, and on the way back we all hitched a ride on a bus. That was the first time I’d ever hitched a ride. I have the same feeling I had when I was in Turkey, which is not, “How can people live like this?” But, how have we lost so much of our community and family in the name of “convenience” and “technology” I really like this town. I’m very glad I came. Actually this was really the point of this trip wasn’t it?