My flight took me near Guantanamo Bay, which I could see from the plane. There are men there that stand on a wall with guns to guard our freedom- I guess. It will probably become a Marriot resort one day. I got through customs fast in Cartagena and exchanged some mula for pesos. I am not getting accostomed to pesos yet. Cartagena is an interesting colonial city. A bar called Donde Fidel was great for music and the walls were loaded with pictures of the owner with celebs. Two days was enough so I moved on to Barranquilla in a very nice van for $6. I splurged and stayed at a high-rise hotel for $63. They put me on the 25th floor but I discovered my room was directly below the restaurant and the band started to warm up around 4pm. They moved me to the 19th floor. The hotel was located perfectly for nightlife. Barranquilla is a pleasant city. I went to Bogota Beer Company and had a few. At breakfast a greater kiskadee came down to my plate and grabbed a bite. I took this as a sign to go birding so I took a taxi to the Magdalena river where it meets the sea. Russet-throated puffbird was a nice surprise. The taxi came back after three hours to pick me up. I packed and headed back to Berlinastours for a ride to Santa Marta. I decided to go directly to Taganga, which is a small fishing village that attracts Isrealis after compulsory military duty. I had a room with a balcony right on the sea. Too noisy. Not a lot of birds. I went back to Santa Marta and got a room on the Malecon. I visited the home where Simon Bolivar died which was very interesting. The museum had a display by some local artist whose drawings were mostly of his boyfriend, naked. He was well-endowed. The bus load of school kids paid no mind to him. CNN would go on for hours about subjecting school kids to porn.
There are prosititutes everywhere. Just ask Obama's security boys. Drugs are everywhere also. I have been propositioned several times. In October Colombians will vote on the FARC Peace Plan. It's seems a lot of people are against it because they feel it will pardon to many criminals. Where I am right now is a place that was closed to all but locals just 8 years ago. There are still areas near me which are off-limits. There are two sets of rebels here. One group are commies and the other hates commies. I don't understand it all and don't care. There will always be tons of drugs flowing through Colombia. I am not as at ease here as I was in Ecuador. I have to be very careful.
The heat in Santa Marta is truely oppressive. Thanks to Dios for lime-ade. I drink a lot of it when I'm not having Aguila beer. I'll never lose weight with beer at $1.50. Now I am in Minca just 40 mintues up the mountain. At 2,000ft it is slightly cooler. I can sleep without AC here at night. My room is adequate for $24. The restaurant has 7 hummingbird feeders and there are 8 species which come by. The white-necked jacobins have always been my favorite. Minca is somewhat like Mindo, Ecuador. The honey here is so delicious. Made from coffee flowers. Birding is popular here becuase the Santa Marta Range has about 30 endemic species. The mountains rise to 18,700 ft. I am very frustrated because I can't find a way to get to where the endemics are located. Birding guides want $100-$150 to take me there. I drives me crazy being this close to a rare bird and not being able to get to it. Pisses me off. The Pro Aves Reserve named El Dorado wants $50 just to enter the property. All of their reserves charge the same amount. This hurts. I am on a very strict budget. I'll rent a fucking donkey if I have to. I want those birds.
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I just met with a guy who will take me up to El Dorado, or near, for $COP 80,000. That is about $28. I will be on the back of a motorcycle for the first time in almost 40 years. For 6 hours. The roads up there are in very bad shape which is why it is expensive. You have to have a good 4-wheeler. I'll do it. If nothing else, it will be an adventure. I forget- what do I hold on to?
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