PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

belly of the beast: Colombia

I wasn't asked 3 times to confirm my final destination was Colombia. I think this guy on the bike is scaring everyone to beef up his story. Any comments?

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=travel&article_path=/travel/travel060129_1.htm

Editor's note: Durangoan Jeremiah St. Ours is riding his motorcycle from the top of North America to the tip of South America. This is the 11th in a series of stories St. Ours will post from the road.

Courtesy Jeremiah St. Ours
"You mean I wasn’t supposed to cross that bridge?" Jeremiah St. Ours talks fast on the wrong side of the Rio Juanabu, Colombia.
Tracking Jeremiah
Follow Jeremiah St. Ours’ trip on his Web site at mytripjournal.com/jeremiahsjour ney. He’ll update it with stories and photos as he spans the Americas. E-mail him at jeremi ahsjourney at yahoo.com
IPIALES, Colombia (Dec. 5) - I had been rolling on two wheels for so many months it was strange to be rolling down a runway. Much stranger was the fact that I was on a one-way flight to BogotÃ¡. One hundred and ninety passengers on the airplane, and I was the only non-Colombian. Did everyone in Panama City know something I didn't?

I drew the middle seat. To my left was an 800-pound gorilla wearing dark sunglasses and a cheap suit, clutching a briefcase as though his life depended on it. Maybe it did. The flight attendant asked him several times to stow it in the overhead compartment. He simply stared straight ahead, sweating profusely. To my right was a 65-year-old woman trying desperately to look 55, kissing her rosary while making the sign of the cross.

Maybe I should've listened to the guy at the air cargo company who agreed to fly my motorcycle ahead of my flight. As I handed him $450, he implored me to take it back. "You really should reconsider going to Colombia," he admonished in Spanish. "Don't you know there's a war going on there?"

Or maybe I should've paid attention to the gal at Copa - also known as "Coca" - Airlines, who asked me three times to confirm that BogotÃ¡ was my final destination. In fact, virtually everyone I met on my journey - from my buddy in Alaska to Pipo in PanamÃ¡ - simply said, "Don't go." The plane lifted off.

As we crossed the DariÃ©n Gap, the strip of swamp south of the Panama Canal without a road through it, I reached the point of no return. El Viento should already be in BogotÃ¡ waiting for me, I reassured myself, and besides, Tierra del Fuego - the journey's destination - lies to the south.

We sailed over snow-capped peaks barely breaking above the clouds and tropical forests so dense the light never hit the ground. From this altitude you couldn't see the narco-traffickers, the paramilitaries, the FARC guerrillas, the corrupt police, or the muggers and thieves whom everyone was so worried about. The infamous coca fields were simply part of the blue-green patchwork of color that looked more inviting than threatening. I couldn't wait to touch down.

Clearing customs and navigating the signless city of BogotÃ¡ proved the most difficult part of the ride. Once in the countryside among the people, I felt safe and respected. From tiny villages of sugar-cane sharecroppers to imposing natural wonders and busy urban diners, Colombia opened its arms and gave me a great big hug.

With the military everywhere it would be naÃ¯ve to think that my experience was indicative of the average Colombian's, however. There is a war going on here; there are killings and kidnappings every day. U.S. government aircraft are bombing the hillsides with Agent Orange as I write, in a futile attempt to eradicate the only crop many poor farmers can grow.

But while all of this is true, CNN wasn't there when I turned around on the sidewalk one night in Ipiales to find a little old granny standing before El Viento, one arm supported by her middle-aged daughter. "Señor," she said in perfect Spanish, "Your motorbike is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful." I thanked her and explained that it was carrying me from Alaska to Argentina. With a reassuring twinkle in her eye she gently replied, "Well, may God bless you in your journey so far."

By CuriosJoe on Jan 29, 2006, 13:07 in Friendly Talkzone.

litost says on Jan 29, 2006, 14:16:

Typical, even though he went through Colombia without a scratch and probably an overall very positive experience, he had to give in to the cliches and stereotypes for the story's sake. Impossible for him to talk about Colombia without emphasizing on war, drugs, violence, etc. I think it's in so many foreign people's interest that the image of Colombia NOT change...

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caulfield2 says on Jan 29, 2006, 14:57:

This whole thing about US helicopters flying all over the country and spraying for drugs is a little overblown, lol. I dont think this guy would even know a US helicopter if it landed on him, with all the stereotypes he is throwing around. Maybe they consulted with him on the beginning sequence of Mr. and Mrs. Smith?

And the whole kidnapping and ransoming thing, it sounds like a line from the movie Man on Fire about Mexico City.

He needs to spend more time on his writing career, or simply stay at home and rent Motorcyle Diaries.

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 29, 2006, 17:53:

Of course he had to spice up his story to make it sound like he was Harrison Ford in one of the Indiana Jones movies. No one's ever tried to talk me out of going to Medellin. Maybe the guy looks like a wuss?

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Albatross says on Jan 30, 2006, 07:45:

Romancing the Stone... I'm surprised he didn't mention getting lost in the jungle and stumbling across a crashed smuggler's plane full of skeletons, money and drugs...

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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caulfield2 says on Jan 30, 2006, 13:13:

Sounds like that movie with Ann Heche and Harrison Ford, mixed in with current movie Azul Extremo...in fact, like the Transporter 2, that movie specifically gets a shot in at Colombia by mentioning it by name.

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caslug says on Jan 30, 2006, 13:27:

Maybe he should write a NONFICTION memior and use the same publish Mr. Frey did. There might be a spot for him on Oprah too!

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Gator says on Jan 30, 2006, 13:36:

I Carefully Read and Reread... his post and the best I can do is a D- and suggest he change majors.

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

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