Wednesday 31 December 2014

Lets step back a little...

Bogota, Columbia
I'm not Andy. Unless its a coma couch, car or bed I just don't sleep. By the time we arrived in Bogota, I had already been awake a full day.  Even though the plane was less than half full, there was no way for me to get comfortable. I spent a lot of time cursing myself for not bringing my toiletry bag. My reasoning at the time was because I packed baking soda as my tooth powder and I didnt want to have to explain the bottle of white powder in Columbia...yeah.  Next time its worth the cavity search.  I felt horrible and Im pretty sure I smelt worse.  We landed in Bogota and we went straight to customs to head out on our adventure and see a bit of Bogota during our 8 our layover.  Except, as you have read. It costs money just to pop into the country.  160,000.00 Columbian pesos which after much discussion and poor translation from each side came out to roughly $70.00 US each. Tired, smelly and bitchy, I promptly said I wasnt paying that.  It really was fine for me. Andy on the other hand still smokes and had planned this leg of the trip on the basis that we would get out into the city. I felt pretty bad for him until the fucker fell immediately asleep and left me sitting there, smelly, tired and cranky.  I tried to sleep for a bit by lying on the ground below Andy with my nicked blanket from the airline and my neck pillow.  The one time it felt I might have fallen asleep, I was immediately awoken by little spanish voices over me.  They were checking out the sleeping ginger.  I guess they only have those in zoos normally. Andy slept the majority of the 8  hours, I wandered around, tried to wash my hair in the bathroom....boy oh boy latinas do not like that! I felt so vulgar. Add the smelly breathe, unwashed hair, the nasty old tshirt I paint and draw in... dirty hippy anyone?
In the end, I was pretty happy to leave Bogota. Although,  I do want to see it in the future... with toothpaste.
Our flight to santiago was uneventful,  I had a lovely Peruvian student named Anna to talk to whom is visiting a college friend and going to go on a roadtrip with before going back to school in San Francisco.   She knows Serianis in Peru... small world.
So far. I have been X rayed,  sent back to pay my reciprocity fee for Chile and had to unpack my entire pack because they thought I had food.  I may not know much spanish but I am getting the gyst of things when they are talking to me. My bronchitis is gone, thoughtfuly replaced with dry bloody boogers... happens every time I change climates..  and here I am eaten a avacado con queso sammich in my lovely hotel.  I am enjoying Santiago so far, we meet  with Andys friend Frank later and I have my first bottle of Chilean wine to ring in the New Year

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