August 16th - 2010

Hard to tell how much sleep I got last night. It was fairly quiet onboard and the seat next to me was free so I turned fetus and squeezed in.
Waking we were in mountain green landscape.
Breakfast came at noon at a reststop. Chatted with three travelers heading north. One was flying out of Bogota and needed to lighten his pack and therefor gave me his guidebook - my first on this trip. If nothing else, it could supply entertainment for the coming hours. Cross border into Ecuador, easy and painless.

The AC is broken and a new passenger with a very large bag sits next to me.
Night has come again - I sleep against the window as the half moon rises behind fog and smoke from the mountains..
We cross the equator some time in the early morning.

August 15th - 2010

Sunday is carfree family day - closing off major roads leading from north to south of the city - filling them with bikes, skating and walking people enjoying the cleaner air and lack of noise and smog.
Eric is better and invites me to lunch at a local restaurant serving real Columbian food. Rooster and platano. All food is cooked over fire in a kitchen looking midieval.
We bid goodbye in the afternoon and I speed off to the busstation.
We're delayed an hour - an hour which makes no difference as the next three days will be spend onboard.
A feeling of flu has been creeping up on me. I've bought some local blue and white pills to beat the cold. Take a few and pass out putting Bogota behind me, slipping into the night...

August 14th - 2010

We ran out of gas last night when I was cooking soup - fortunately the gasmen were on call and arrived at ten this morning. Soup was cooked, pleanty of ginger and garlic - hopefully working for Eric who seems worse today.
I take a cab to the busstation to pickup my ticket for tomorrow.
Continue to the cabelcar which takes me up Monserrate, one of the most popular attractions in Bogota - a church which provides amazing views of the city below.
With the popularity there are many people around and I take a walk away from the crowd to find a quiet spot to view the sunset.
A man soon approaches me - friendly at first - with my broken spanish I think he is telling me that I shouldet be there as it can be dangerous - but soon realize he in fact is danger.
I try making time pass as slow as possible, hoping someone will come by and the robber flee. This dosen't happen and I'm soon forced to give up what he demands - cash, camera, and my jacket.
Having walked away from the crowd I thought this situation was a risk, and had stashed the majority of my money and credit cards in secret pockets. Fortunately these werent found. My passport was left at Erics so the loss wont make travel more difficult or my plans any different.

Still a very frustration situation, not to mention the loss of unretrievible pictures that were on the memory card. The night and following day are haunted by thoughts of what I could have done differently..
I went to the police the same night, but they proved as useful as any random person on the street. Eyes big looking surprised - and thats all they could offer. When asking if I should fill out a report, I was handed a blank piece of paper, where I could write my contact info and what I'd lost.

Eric call the station when I got home - the polices respons was that it was my "baptism as a gringo"...

I've accepted the loss and ordered a new camera and jacket to be sent to Meghann who is coming down next weekend.

August 13th - 2010

I stay at home till noon, when I walk to find an internetcafe.
Eric tells me that he is heading home when I call the school.
When he arrives he looks sick and has come down with the flu and goes to lie down.
Norma comes by later.
We have dinner and end up talking to past midnight.

August 12th - 2010

Sleep last night was poor and disturbed from allergies. I've been sneezing and itching my eyes. At one point during the night I woke from the sound of thunder - when looking outside the skies were clear - I though nothing of it and soon drifted off again.
The following morning when walking to Erics school, where we'd arranged to meet, I noticed the large police and military presence. Streets were closed and I could see shattered glass, block after block.
The sound which had woken me was from a carbomb having exploded outside a national newspaper and radiostation in the early morning. No one had been hurt, but the structural damage had been major. No one had claimed the attack by the end of the day and rumours began to spread that the government was infact behind - trying to gather support for their fight against the guerrillas to the north. People seem to react very calmly.

Arriving at the school, I was given a full tour and treated to lunch.
I borrowed Erics bike and went to the busstation to find out when the bus for Lima leaves. Only two busses weekly - Tuesday and Sunday. I book the sunday bus.
At night we drove to the mountains, to an overlook, with Norma a friend of Eric. Bogota has no end - and keeps surprising.
I'll spend yet another day here.

August 11th - 2010

At this point I must appogogise for not having more of my own images to post. I've been roobed, having lost my camera and all images from my memory card - all images since leaving El Paso TX, except for what has been posted here. Naturally this sucks.

Therefor I'll be using found images until I get a new camera in 11 days.

I've decided to spend another day here, before continuing south. This morning I contacted a local art professor teaching at a university near by.

I've been invited to stay at his house - an offer which I gladly accept as the dormlife makes me feel old and grumpy.

Eric lives in the northern part of the city. A white house with a tree outside, on a residential street in a quiet part of town. Eric opens the door with a wide smile and instantly says that we need to go shopping and I need to orient myself. We walk to a supermarket 6 blocks away - crossing the main roads linking the north and south of the city.

Back at the house we stand eating totillas in the kitchen. I like this place. The house smells of smoke from the fireplace and I've been given my own room on the second floor. Eric is very relaxed and I instantly feel at home.

Bogota is growing on me.

August 10th - 2010

Arriving in Bogota is like arriving in any other latin american city - dusty, dirty outskirts with exposed brick buildings - still under construction - deadlineless. Small stores under tin roofs selling sweets, detergent, cellphone cards and beer.
My mood and excitement is undetectable - just another city - I so long for the undesturbed sky and openness of the landscape. Tried of the smog from passing busses, crowds and constant reminder of having to be carefull. I'm asshamed of this feeling - but this is one of the last places I wish to be.
I line up after retrieving my bag, at the taxi window. When asked for my destination I give the name of a hostel in the old part of town. 20 min late I stand outside Hostel Fatima. The dorm room with wooden floors has an overall good atmosphere...but I'm still seeing blue.
I figure the long bus ride and lack of fresh air may have put me in this strange mood. I go for a walk - and soon begin to loosen up.
The city is kinder and more appealing then I'd first thought.
My plan has been to continue to Lima tomorrow, but I'll put this off and see how I feel in the morning.

August 9th - 2010

The street below is far more busy today, then the quiet Sunday afternoon.
I went to the market to pick up provisions for the coming bus trip to Bogota.
The transport terminal is located a 30 min taxi ride outside of town - here I sat waiting for an hour before we departed.
The bus is almost full. My neighbor is from Ecuador - traveling with his two younger brothers - heading back from Venezuela. Despite a language barrier we talk, and I show him pictures from my past months.
Passing beaches, green fields and hills - it soon grows dark.
Joree and his brothers get off at some part during the night - exchanged for a silent business man.
We ride on.

August 8th - 2010

From Cartagena...nr 12

August 7-8th - 2010

The ship is silent and dark when I wake at 2am from the rolling.

Luke is at the wheel - just ahead is a major front heading our way. Soon we're engulfed in lightning and waves throwing us from side to side. The rain is intense only visible by the flashes of the lightning. This storm lasts the rest of the night till we finally pass the gates of the harbor and enter Cartehegna.

We touch land before noon. Sealegs makes the still earth alive -difficult to stand without holding on to something. A cling to a doorway as the british couple, alex and myself check in to a cheap hotel. Our pasports are ready to by picked up in the evening.

I've booked a bus ticket to Bogata tomorrow - starting a week long journey to Peru.

August 6th - 2010

The early morning sky is broken in red, pink, blue and golden tones. I've managed to get an hour rest in the sand. Luke picks me and my gear up at 8:30 and we return to the ship. Its been late for everyone last night and our planned departure for Columbia is pushed 6 hrs.

I spend the day back on another island - fall asleep in the shade of a palm tree. Shade is gone when I awake - belly and thighs looking mighty roasted.

We set out for the 48 hr crossing after dinner.

Waves bob the ship and I soon retire to my cot, trying to keep the dinner from escaping.

August 4th-5th -2010

We move from one paradise spot to another over the next few days. Snorkeling - seeing sharks, reys and tropical fish of all sizes and colors. Squid swim in both directions, while blue lights swirl around their wings.

We have a bondfire on an island, cook dinner before a freak shower forces us under palmtrees, eating the half cooked steaks in the dark. The lightning passes and soon the sky is again filled with shooting and still stars.

I spend the night on the island taking pictures while the rest of the crew return to Nepenthe.

August 3rd - 2010

The jeep departs Panama city at 5:30 am - destined for Carti - a small launch site where engine driven canos serves the many islands which make up the San Blas.

Nepenthe, the ship I am to board lies 30 min from Carti - next to the island hosting the pasport office and a small runway.

The passanges I'll be sharing the next five days with are a british couple, two danish boys, Alex from Oregon, Luke the captain, his girlfriend Sara and their cat. We are maxed out with 8 people onboard, but fortunately the waters are warm and inviting and the first day is spent snorkeling aroung a ship wreck off Dog Island.

The sky is black and moonless at night. Swimming in the dark water is much different from the day, as the warm water embraces and comforts while fluorecent alegre shoots green sparks from the hands with every stroke.

I sleep on a cot, under deck in the common space. Not a wind moves tonight.

August 2nd - 2010

I´ve booked my departure from Panama for tomorrow morning. Sailing to Cartagena Columbia. A trip estimated to last five days, making stops at the San Blas Islands just east of mainland Panama.

The majority of today is spent compleating an application for a residency and updating the blog.

I go for a walk around the old town before heading for dinner with Han in the "new" China town. Apparently 10% of the local population of Panama is of Chinese desendence, allowing for some great restaurants at cheap prices.

Trying to get to bed early as a shuttle bus is picking me up at 5 tomorrow morning.

August 1 - 2010

Breakfast is served at the Coca Cola Cafe. Two eggs easy over, fried tortilla and fresh orange juice.
I manage to reach my friend Meghann from San Francisco. She agrees to fly to Lima with my bike later this month - an issue which has been bugging me for a while. Finally having this planned is a huge relief. It puts some pressure on my time line and means that I will have to head for Columbia asap.
So grateful and fortunate to have friends like her!
Spend most day indoor planning.
At night I go for pizza and watch a documentary about a train in Mexico - the Beast.
Eight people sleep under the rotating fans of the dorm tonight. Two large french doors are open toward the street and church opposite.

July 31 - 2010

Crossing the border into Panama proves to be the biggest challenge thus far. We arrive at the check out office, on the Costa Rican side at 5 am. Office doesn't open till 6am. A long line of people stand next to the semi's - all waiting for their stamp.
Sky turns from black to blue to white and finally the line is moving.
Following the stamp we all walk in no mans land between the Costa Rican and Panamanian office. Here again we must wait i line. Only one window is open. Pride is taken in slowing the pace. Rumors spread that a return ticket is necessary in order to enter. I have none as I'll be continuing south with unplanned method.
Forced to buy a return bus ticket to Costa Rica I finally get my stamp and am let in. Last step is the baggage check. The whole ordeal ends up taking about 4 hours - but we all make it and none are turned away.
It's Saturday and road to Panama City is dotted with bike riders on race bikes with numbers on their backs. The road is closed and forces a detour through a neighborhood with low hanging power lines. One such line get caught on the bus - a web all gets pulled in the wrong direction and televisions inside homes turn black.
We cross high above the Panama Canal before entering the city and arriving at the fine looking bus terminal. The city in the distance looks more like Miami or Hong Kong then what I was expecting to find.
A taxi drives a group of us all going the same direction - Casco Viejo - the old French quarters.
Han and I check into the same hostel and go for a walk.
"ladies" bent in neon and the "coca cola cafe". It's humid and surprisingly quiet in the streets.

Overall there is a good vibe, very different for the other cities I've passed through the last week.
We have dinner at a cafe showing skateboarding on tv.
My stomach finally feeling better.

July 30th - 2010

I have no particular reason for hanging around San Jose and head to the bus office as soon as they open. Fortunately a bus leaves 11pm tonight and arrives 4pm tomorrow - destination Panama City.
I feel tired from all the sitting and take a short walk around the neighborhood.
The news paper shows the falling bridge.
I sit under the tin roof of the hostel as rain pelts down making it impossible to think. Can't wait to leave the cities and return to the mountains.
My things are packed and I wait to check in at the bus station. Han, a Taiwanese reporter approaches me and we stand around chatting till we board and leave Costa Rica. He's heading to Panama to work for a local paper.

July 29th - 2010

Back at the bus station at 2am to check in. Faces wait in the dark outside waiting for the doors to open. We depart on time.
The rest of the night and all day is a blur.
A businessman sits next to me a one point - chatty. I regret not being more entertaining with my limited Spanish and surely must come across as being uninterested and dull. We discuss the typical topics, easy to understand when not understanding - "ahh, potatoes and chicken - this we have Denmark" "and beans" "ahh...this we have Denmark" smile - nod - "it raining.."
I look out and keep my gaze fixed.
The tv shows movies non stop on these buses. Literally non stop. At this point I've watched Iceage 3, 4 times, The Proposal 3 times and a long list of other film I don't wish to remember. But today I got caught in some spanish dubbed romantic drama. Brought tears to my eyes. Bus makes me sensitive I suppose.
Day became night, and we received news that a bridge had fallen down, forcing all traffic to San Jose, Costa Rica to be rerouted through the mountains, adding an extra 6 hrs to our journey. We arrived 24 hrs after departing.
Joe and I shared a cab to a hostel.