First Impresssions - Luc

We arrived in Cartagena, Colombia, on Aug. 20th. Soon after getting out of the security zone, I kept thinking that this was a place where you should watch for your luggage, wallet, at all times. I was also surprised by the number of policemen everywhere.

 The taxi ride, after bargaining for the price, was also an eye opener for me. I kept thinking about how I will maneuver through traffic later on. We never see blinkers and cars and buses keep changing lanes all the time. No one is impolite and aggressive as when you drive in Boston or New York. No one is in a real hurry, but everyone uses their horn. Taxis klaxon to ask people walking on the sidewalk if they want a ride. Buses do the same. Very noisy!… Again, not aggressive!

We see so many policemen on 125cc motorcycles. Most of the time there are 2 on 1 bike. They are friendly, smile and answer you when you say hello. I even ask two of them if I could take a picture. They posed for me near their bike. 

The public buses are shorter than ours, and so colorful and ornamented. I really get a kick of looking at them. People enter and get out through the front and the rear doors. When the bus is moving, 1 worker is hanging out of each door to block the people from jumping out and also to signal the driver to stop to pick up people. We would never see this at home. Safety rules, right???

Talking about safety, we took a stroll on top of the old walls. Guess what? no fencing at all. You can walk right off if you don't pay attention. Same thing on the construction site next door to us. No fencing… Never in North America...

You have the impression that the city is very safe. This is what also say the locals. We sure had the wrong impression before getting here.

People on the street, no matter what their jobs are, seem happy, smiling, singing.

I don't want to repeat what Jen is writing, so I will not go into the beauty of Cartagena.

We both love learning Spanish and the class is going really well. Our main teacher, Jesus, extremely competent, gifted, and you can see that he enjoys teaching, even at people like us.

Music is present everywhere, and the latin rhythms also. 

Very few people are white like us. The population comes from Indians, Negroes and Spanish origins. Everyone is dancing while they move, or sitting drumming rhythms with their fingers, and all seem relaxed. This is a nice change after the horrendous 4 hrs drive through the traffic in NYC, and the aggressively of the drivers in FL, especially around Ft Lauderdale and Miami. 

One more week of Spanish classes and then hop on the bike.

We are trying to figure out where the safer routes are. We keep reading to avoid deserted areas. Until we become more comfortable on the road, we will go where most of the tourists go, at least for a couple weeks.

So much to see! It is unbelievable to have the chance to be here. So happy that we can do it!

Cartagena, Colombia 1

We arrived in the beautiful city of Cartagena, Colombia on August 20.  The taxi drove between the Gulf of Mexico and the ramparts of the old city to bring us to the section called Bocagrande, where a friend I have not seen in almost 35 years has offered us her family apartment here.   The apartment is on the 14^th floor where we have a breathtaking view of the naval base (with pool and track) across the street, and beyond that the city, the bay and the port.  No single picture does it justice, but this one will give you an idea.  In the photo you can also just see the curved roman bridge and an old fortification called Fuerte San Filipe de Barajos that I hope to visit soon.  There is also a mysterious place called Cerro la Popa on the other side of the hill in the background that many street vendors proposed to us yesterday, but I have yet to figure out exactly what it is.

  

We took a taxi into the old city yesterday and walked around in circles a bit looking for the language school, Nueva Lengua, where we will start our Spanish classes next week.  The fortified city is so big that we didn’t imagine it continued across a park and on to the other side.  We definitely have to get bolder about asking for help, but we had a nice tour in the meantime!

 After a delicious lunch of the daily special at a tiny restaurant (hoy:  exquisto - ajiaco con pollo - degustame!) we finally asked directions and found the school. We had to walk through a dance class to the classroom where we took our placement tests.   The tests – written and oral - were humbling but everyone was encouraging and friendly and helpful.  In the meantime we are passing our pocket-sized dictionary and grammar book back and forth.

Fort Lauderdale

 

We have enjoyed our time in Fort Lauderdale.  More than I expected, I admit.  I thought it would feel like a holding pattern, but in fact it felt like we got underneath the glossy exterior a bit.  I would come back.

After dropping the motorcycle and trailer at the port last week, and a second night in an airport Ramada, we took the van to Markham State Park at the edge of the Everglades.  The campground was beautiful, though they don't rent mountain bikes as their website had advertised.  Instead, we went down to Oleta State Park in North Miami for a great day of mountain bike riding on amazing trails. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, especially the guy who rode us out of a difficult section when we were lost. There were all levels of trails there (they have more novice and intermediate trails than at Marhkam, apparently) and all levels of riders.  It was the Saturday before school started, so the beaches and pavilions were also full of families and church groups and friends out for the day together.

Back at the campsite, we enjoyed papayas, mangos, tiny bananas, palm trees and our resident iguanas.  It is amazing to me how much of Florida is covered with a rubbery, water-retaining skin.  Once I noticed this, of course, it was everywhere.  The local produce. The fruit of palm trees on the ground.  The plants at our campsite.  The leathery-skinned men drinking together on their stoops in the heat.  Our resident iguanas.

We visited the place in Miami where Luc came every winter as a boy with his grandparents, now demolished and replaced by a high rise Hilton Hotel.  The places across the street, however, retained their identity, and the park was still there.

We also had a beach day in Ft. Lauderdale.  Luc found a perfect parking spot next to the boardwalk, with a palm tree for shade.  How nice to be at the beach and be able to run home to the fridge or to grab your kindle!

 

Surprisingly, one of my favorite days was a day of errands.  We finally got away from the endless duplication of identical intersections - thruway on-ramp, Walgreens, Dollar General, Waffle House, Gas Station - and saw what felt like real neighborhoods.  After much searching, Luc found exactly what he was looking for in a chain for the motorcycle (7 feet of 3/8 inch security chain with sleeve - tougher than grade 100 - can not cut, can not saw) at a great place called Miami Cordage in Miami.  The guys there were great, and there was all sorts of interesting chains and rope and pulleys and links hanging on the wall.  Once Luc got his chain they directed us to U-Haul for a hitch lock, and then to a nearby Post Office to mail back the 5/8” ultra-heavy chain that we have been hauling from van to picnic table every night since we started.  Flat rate box – yes!  I was the only white woman in the Post Office, but I wasn’t the only one cheering when an older guy got up to the counter to buy his stamps.  Apparently they were short of stamps that day (really) and they only ones had were flags and Lydia Mendoza.  “Don’t you got no stamps with black people on them?  I don’t want no white woman on my envelope.  And I ain't putting no America flags neither".  He stormed out.  They had to call the supervisor to back the transaction out of the register.  Worth the wait!

Today we left the van at Port Everglade.  The guy from SC Lines, who later gave us a ride to the airport for the shuttle, checked our van in by taking photos with his iPad.  He described the van on the dock receipt as “dirty, scratches, dent, rust, damages all round (this van is loaded with miscellaneous).”  All of these are true enough but that is not what we see.  When we say “home” now we think of the RoadTrek with no hesitation, with all the sentiments that go with thinking of home.  And we definitely are strongly attached to a lot of that miscellaneous!  We can't wait to see our scratched and dented van, with all its missellaneous, in Cartegena on September 8th!

Back at the Ramada, we got upgraded this time to a room with a fridge by the pool (surrounded by rubbery plants, and full of tan, rubbery children).  We are headed to Colombia in the morning on Spirit Airlines.  Just yesterday I reconnected with Ana Maria Casasfranco, who lived with my family in Connecticut over 30 years ago.  I recognized her immediately on Facebook, and we have been exchanging photos and news.  She and her family live in Cali, where we are looking forward to visiting them in September.  In the meantime, she has offered us the use of an apartment in Cartagena while we are there!

In the words of Gaston Etchart of SamericaXplorer who is helping us with our shipping arrangements and with whom we hope to ride in Chile this summer:

Now start the beginning of a long journey and the best of your lives together. We wish the best of the best on the route. It will change your lives and the vision of a wonderful Latin America that have so much to offer, mainly from the people and their charm. You'll be in good hands every kilometer made to Tierra del Fuego. 

Clearly, we are in good hands before we even arrive!

Vermont to Florida

We’ve had a great week of visits and adventures since leaving Vermont on August 4.  Luc has his only ride on the motorcycle from Vermont to Guilford, Connecticut where we arrived to celebrate my sister Alison’s birthday.  Roy made an amazing dinner and Barrett and Stevie were able to get a few hours off from work as camp counselors to join us.

We left the vehicles in the care of our friends, the Pinchbecks, at Roses for Autism and boarded the train for 2 wonderful days in New York City.  Eric is subbing in on the show, The Queen of the Night, in the newly renovated theater at the Paramount Hotel just off Time Square.  We loved the show, and especially the warm welcome from Eric’s friend Mason and the entire cast.  The renovated theater included a curved wall patterned with iridescent scarabs and butterflies, nooks with marble bathtubs, and small spaces where people from the audience are taken and asked to tell about an experience that changed their lives.

We had a lovely visit with my sister Elizabeth and her husband in their great apartment near the park where Taro first lived when he was 4 months (or was it 4 years) old.  

We met Max and Eric for lunch in Korea town, then spent a great afternoon with Eric in Bryant park while Max went back to work. There is a games corner of the park, where you can play board games or Pétanque and other games I don’t know the names for.

 

Eric had told me about playing chess in public parks as he travels with his show, and we were happy to have a demonstration.  We watched a serious 3 minute game, then watched Eric play with Gregory, a park employee and chess master and all around wonderful guy. So many vicious attacks!

From NYC back to Guilford where we assembled the trailer and loaded the bike with the help of Bill and Joanie Pinchbeck and Max and Andreas who work at Roses for Autism.  We hit the road in time for rush hour traffic across the Cross Bronx expressway.  We finally made it to the Pinecone Campground in Freehold, New Jersey and connected the van by headlamp. 

 From NJ we continued south with Luc driving the whole way.  One place that I really want to return to is Harper's Ferry.  We stopped in Charlotte for a quick visit with Ryan Sullivan, and his brother Scott who was visiting from Connecticut.  Perfect timing! 

(Scott, send me that photo and I’ll put it here.)

Sunday breakfast at a KOA in South Carolina, lunch at Peach World in Georgia and dinner at the beautiful Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine Florida.  We could just hear the Crosby Stills and Nash concert happening next to the campsite as we walked back from the beach.

The next morning we arrived in Fort Myers, Florida where we were welcomed into the home of Alex and Katie Dombi and their beautiful children Alia and Kalix.  Here we are at dinner at a restaurant on the beach.  What you can’t see is the wedding taking place on the beach behind us. 

I think my favorite story from our visit was a story that Alex told (without any prompting questions from me) about a moment that changed his life.  Before I tell it you need to know that from the van we walked through their newly renovated garage which houses 9 motorcycles (#10 was in the trailer).  When Alex was 15, he entered a magazine contest in a Nintendo magazine to win a free motorcycle.  I was sure no one ever really won those things, but in fact, Alex won the motorcycle and it changed his life.  Not only did he find his passion, but also found Katie.  Even little Alia, a precocious 2, has a mini motorcycle.   The Nintendo bike was in the garage.  I know Eric heard some interesting life-changing moment stories during his time on Queen of the Night, but I can’t imagine any of them topped this one.  

After a week o the road the van  feels like home. Yesterday we drove across southern Florida to Ft. Lauderdale to roll the vehicles onto the boat.  However, the boat's departure is delayed due to mechanical problems, so we left the motorcycle with trailer at the shipyard, but held on to the van until we can regroup.  Sounds like we’ll get an extra week in Cartagena!  

One more time

 It is 5 AM and the house is quiet.  In a little more than 24 hours, we will be shutting the door and saying goodbye to our home for a year.  This morning every action has both a certain weight and a special lightness.  Choosing a favorite coffee cup (where is that one Jack brought me from Idaho?).  Feeling the familiar comfort of place and routine. What will the morning routine be like in the van in 3 months?  Will there be a choice of coffee cups?  Will we find anything but Nescafe in Chile?

What are we doing?  Our goal is to drive as far south in South America as we can – Tierra del Fuego in Chile or Ushuaia in Argentina from our home in Vermont.  Then we’ll turn around and come home in time for the 2015 school year. We are driving a camper van and a motorcycle.  We have a RoadTrek 20 foot camper (including the wheel on the back) that Luc found in Massachusetts on Craig’s list, and a BMW 1200 GS motorcycle that he found on eBay and drove home from Louisiana in 4 days of terrible weather last fall while I spent the weekend at the DMV learning to ride a motorcycle.  Luc spent most of the spring adding lights and switches and shields to the bike.  I spent a good part of mine making lists of books about South America (Road Fever, 8 Feet in the Andes) and loading up old favorites (Ted Simon, more Dumas) on my Kindle.  We also bought a cool trailer that can eventually be taken apart or put back together or in 15 minutes (though I don't think we'll reach that speed for while).

In 12 days we load our vehicles onto a RoRo (roll on, roll off) ship in Fort Lauderdale and fly to Cartagena, Colombia where we will practice our Spanish alphabet by talking to insurance agents about SOAT and customs agents about VINS until the vehicles arrive on August 31.  Then we’ll follow summer down the coast to spend Christmas in Chile.  Maybe I’ll find a sweet little motorcycle to ride once we get there.  Hopefully some of our family and friends will come down to join us for a bit.

For now, we have 24 hours to finish packing, to say good bye to our friends and savor these last sweet drops of home.