February 6, 2020
…in Barranquilla
Up until yesterday I was trapped in Santa Marta. A nice beach town, if such a thing really is a thing, which I doubt. But it is the kind of place with little to offer but less to leave for.
“What the heck does that mean?”
A couple, him from California and her from Wales were staying in the hotel as well as I. How’s that for a turn of a phrase? We met over breakfast. They had been in town for 3 or 4 days trying to decide where to go next. I thought I would leave the next day. That did not work.
The next morning over breakfast it became 9 or 10, way to late to leave. They went off to explore and I to a machine shop. I am trying some things on my bike. If you remember I said that in countries like Colombia, they are always willing to help you solve any problem.
The day passed and the new morning brought another long breakfast and another day trapped.
After breakfast Jim and Linda went off to find a swimming pool and I for a walk down the beach. Really, how bad can it be to be trapped on a Caribbean beach with lots of restaurants, bars, warm breezes, and beautiful bodies?
As I walked along I saw a guy with a touring bike. Guess what happened.
Diego and I talked a while before his lady joined us. Liv and Diego are on tour of South America. They began in Uruguay and have circled around to Colombia on their way back to Uruguay. They are also trapped in Santa Marta for the last month or so. He has a tattoo on his leg of South America to which he adds a country as they enter. My calves hurt enough without finding ways to increase their discomfort.
Diego has decided he wants to row a boat from here to Australia. Yes, I said row. I don’t understand people like that. I mean just to get in a boat and paddle off somewhere? Anyway, there is an oceanography school here and an expert in building long-distance rowboats. So, here they are trapped for a while.
We went to lunch and had a long discussion about life and its opportunities. Try that in Spanish.
I wandered back to the hotel for who knew how long.
—Bill H.
PS See many strange signs.