Mon 1841 Fairly standard carnival day. Up 930ish, haven't seen airbnb hosts at all today BTW, out to Totumazo for early lunch, back to flat for about an hour from 1130-1230ish then walked over to Via 40 for parade, nominally at 1 but started in practice about 1320. Only paid 5k for a seat under awning today, probably because parade was shorter (finished 1630ish IIRC). Not bad though TBH all getting a bit samey. While I remember, one day (poss first) one group had costumes which were sort of long thin cones over their heads with really basic bird's head's on top, and by means of a string they were making a wood-clapping noise with the beaks, which was quite cool.
Went over to Mono's pizza near airbnb afterwards - pretty decent though not very spicy despite having the El Mono Picante (I did add some chilli flakes from dispenser on table though - and having chicharron, the crumbly packet type stuff, on pizza was a novelty for me) - and have come back to airbnb for shower and to wait for more details from CS group. Organiser sent out an e-mail which I saw at end of parade saying we are going to a "tienda" for beer - I would hope this means there will be a fairly fixed location, and I do intend to try to go to this even though it will probably be other side of town. So not that I would be doing that much otherwise, I am waiting around for more info on this. (If this e-mail hadn't come in I'd probably have come back to airbnb first and gone over to Mono's now-ish, and maybe stayed for a beer or two. It looked moderately lively when I passed it last night, though I was so early - due to influence of possible CS meetup and the parade finishing early - I nearly didn't go in and only did go in because some guy spoke to me and said yes I could come in and unlocked the street door.
Have washed one of my non-wool long sleeve tops in bathroom, I am trying to avoid wearing the wool ones out to carnival lest they get ruined by flour or whatever, though touch wood haven't been on receiving end of any of that yet.
2133 Still no e-mail about this meet up. This isn't necessarily out of order - maybe the meet up will be 11pm or whatever - but I'm leaning towards not going. Maybe I'm just a boring old fart these days. But I think it's the taxi that kills it for me. Also, if it had been announced hours ago "we are meeting at place X at 11pm" I would have sort of been mentally prepared. As it is I'm suddenly (presumably) going to get an e-mail and have to organise a taxi and trog over there at what feels a pretty late time to me and I'm half dreading the e-mail arriving. Meh. See what happens as and when it turns up. In some ways this suggests my airbnb is in a poor location, but a) price comes into it b) it is in fact in a pretty good location for the Via 40 parades, you can't have everything c) it's not as if there's any one location which would have worked for both NdT and the thing I didn't go to in parque de caribe last night.
Not to mention I have little confidence I'd actually meet anyone when I got there. Not that I wouldn't get on or I'd feel awkward, simply that I'd not manage to physically meet up with anyone. In some ways I would have liked to have experienced some of the carnival nightlife, but I'm increasing un-bothered by this. There will be other "parties" on other occasions, probably when I least expect them, which will probably be less of a massive fucking chore to attend.
(I did observe from GM a couple of local bars shut at 4am over the weekend. So in many ways it is *not* late yet - and quite possibly during carnival things can go on even later - but given the trogging over by taxi - *and* trogging back by taxi afterwards - and the fact I am not really being given much advance warning of the actual time I'm feeling pretty meh about the whole business.)
There's maybe also an element here of "I went out this afternoon, but I " couldn't" stay out so I had to come back home and now I've been hanging around here for ages and I kind of don't want to go *back* out". Had I gone to the parade then met people, or at least gone to parade, popped back for quick shower then gone out again I'd have kept some kind of impetus, but after loitering around here in room for hours I kind of don't want to go back out again now.
On random note, host taught me "bacano" (meaning same as "chevere" ) on walk over to parade on first day. And I did sneak a peak at someone's WhatsApp at the parade and they used "chevere" .
2216 Still no CS e-mail. On a random note, on all three parades so far noticed largish birds soaring around overhead - tempted to call them condors, as if I have the least idea about identifying birds.
2244 OK, fuck it, still no e-mail so I'm officially going to bed - instead of just lying in bed because it seems best comfort compromise between having aircon on and not feeling overly chilled - and this meet up for beer, if it is indeed happening, can fuck off.
(I might have personal messaged the organiser to ask for details, as discussed with Z earlier today, but since she *said* "will post details later" it didn't (doesn't) seem appropriate to ask for those details ahead of time. Meh.)
Tue 2138 OK, a pretty good if mildly weird day. Never any further e-mails from CS group (so last one was yday early afternoon saying we'd meet at tienda for beers yday evening and a subsequent non-existent e-mail would give when and where) - Hanlon's razor suggests organiser just busy with her real friends, but fuck knows. I had half planned to send a "anyone fancy a beer now?" message after today's parade but as about to write that got overtaken by events.
So I slept fairly well but (not too surprising given earlyish bedtime) woke up a bit during night. Got up 930ish, loitered in room, showered. Spoke with airbnb host about going over to calle 84 for parade, popped out to Totumazo for earlyish lunch (asked briefly about carne asada instead of pechuga a la plancha but it got complicated so switched back to palp, bit pathetic but in absence of a menu didn't want to accidentally get stuck with a big bill), incidentally felt hot as hell while eating, came back to airbnb and host (as had sort of said before) said she was driving down to calle 84 to meet some friends and invited me to join her.
So I did, and we parked up somewhere off calle 85 and met her friends and took some camping chairs off to a shady part of calle 84 and sat and watched parade for free. Friends gave me a couple of beers and I felt a bit of a freeloader but as was toying with buying a round from an ambulatory vendor host said some of them were going off to supermarket for beer and I managed to contribute 20k and didn't feel too bad then. Host gave me some commentary on parade (tho all I can remember to write now is a) women in red with white spot dresses incl bow on head called negrita puloy (sp) b) "garotos" (sp) are men who dress as women in tribute to men who did that during slave era to attack Spaniards who preyed on their women). I was a bit socially nervy at first but really this was all pretty cool. Got some photos taken with group and an Edward Scissorhands impersonator, one of group chucked load of powder over me and host but not a problem (and I figured if she doesn't mind, it's her car and her flat getting it carried on from my clothes).
When we came back after parade it was boys-v-girls split so I came back with some of the guys, which was fine, managed to chat with them (sat in back with Freddie, who was in his late 50s) and we came back to airbnb. Some YTing and more beers, rather oddly *everyone* suddenly decamped after about an hour at maybe 730pm, so I made my excuses to hosts and went down to Mono's for a pizza (which was pretty decent), feeling mildly but not particularly pissed. Got back and showered (though most of powder had gone anyway) and now writing this.
Oh, as everyone decamped they "taught" (forgotten seconds later) me some rude-ish local words and maybe in a nice way this was a bit of a pisstake but generally felt pretty decent with everyone. Mildly amazed/amused that when I said I wanted to go to bog during parade (we had quite a few beers), the first time about five of us went together and they negotiated 500 pesos each instead of 1k fee (shown all over town during carnival), and the second time I went Freddie came with me and insisted I should pay only 500 pesos as was second visit and I said as much to woman at bog and she accepted it. Normally I might write such things off as being an arsehole tourist bickering over pennies (if it says 1k I will pay 1k, though it anyone had tried to charge me more yes I might have argued) but since the Colombians seemed to feel it was OK I went along with it.
So I think that's about it. Pretty cool to have had that "local" experience today even if slightly stressful at times, and in a way it's "pleasing" that the CS group proved incompetently unhelpful right to the end.
I hastily booked a hotel for next two nights while waiting to leave with airbnb host about 130pm, so going there tomorrow midday ish. I figure that while I may be going to get shafted on buying a flight at short notice, I can afford to hang around here a day or two and look at flights calmly tomorrow instead of booking something in haste today and repenting. I also need to read guide book etc re Medellin to get accom in an acceptable location and really didn't want to be booking a flight to Medellin tomorrow and accom there in a hurry and maybe regretting it.
I think that's about the gist of everything up to now. Will do fucking Duolingo and maybe go to bed and probably post this before go to sleep but if not at least it's written up.
2206 OK, yes, I think that's about it. There were some of those conical clacky-birds-heads in today's parade (though not as divertingly rhythmical as other day) and I did snap a photo (poss rather poor) with phone. I'm going to go to bed now so I'll submit this and I can always make random observations which occur to me later in subsequent posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment