Wed 24th 2218 In bed.
Thu 25th 1809 On terrace. Didn't sleep super well but not terribly. Got up maybe 0730 as I needed a piss anyway. Dressed etc, had two of my three bananas and took the third out.
I had planned to get bus at stop by hostel but after waiting 10 mins I saw a Cwhatsit (slips my mind) but turn up a side road and not come to the stop and I got edgy. This was maybe 0815, so I decided to leg it over to terminal. I got slightly lost (was one street over) and just got there in time to see a Cwhatsit bus (presumably 830 one) coming out, which I flagged down and got on and which - of course - did indeed stop at that stop by hostel after all. Still, no harm done.
Got to Juan Curi about 920ish IIRC and accidentally went into the *other* JC trail (PC Gomez) as the bus stopped nearer it, before realising and going into Parque Ecologico where I reported in - it was very quiet - and had a second shit (:-) - no tp but I had some, because I'm smart :-) ) and felt a tiny bit edgy but not that bad actually.
Paid 70k in end, told to go round by restaurant where after hanging round a bit I met "guide" (not sure what correct term is) Toño (sp), a deceptively young looking 42yo who had been doing this for seven years IIRC. Dunno if he spoke English but we exclusively spoke Spanish and it was fine. Pleasant but not constant chat on walk up, there was a youngish armadillo right by side of trial. Oh, I was asked my blood group when filling in very simple form at bottom before we started walking up, I didn't have a clue but was allowed to leave it blank.
We diverted up the side path I'd seen other day by the hut near the top of the hike to go up to the top. I didn't realise til we got up there - I took a few pictures while Tono (omitting ñ for ease of typing, and it's only a guess spelling anyway) was setting stuff up - that there is *another* pretty big fall up there which you can't even see from the lower bit near the ground where the swimmable pool is. But the fall you abseil down is the one you see from that pool area, as of course I knew from seeing that woman do it yesterday.
I had brought a cord to tie my glasses on but T fastened a little head strap with some paracord so didn't use it. Bringing a "proper" glasses head strap with me would be worth considering.
I won't say I wasn't nervous but I wasn't as edgy as I'd half expected. (Even long after the point when it was actually scary, I've found myself developing a bit of a leg shake while waiting to jump in at deep end during swimming lessons, and that didn't happen here.) T explained the basic idea and I got to sort of lean back to see I was held by the rope and to start feeding the cord through to get over the edge. You're not supposed to grip tightly with left hand, just hold cord loosely, but I noticed even part way down I was gripping quite tightly. :-)
I did get soaked of course and that's sort of cool and a bit distracting. Feet did slip once or twice but nothing major (incidentally presumably while looking at shoes on bus on way over and wondering if they would be OK, suddenly thought of Kirsty MacColl's "In These Shoes?" which I haven't heard in years). I did look down two or three times, it was more "weird" than scary - I think once I'd actually started going down it was so obvious the rope was holding me that it wasn't that scary. (Not saying I wasn't at all nervous, just not really nervous.)
Guide took some photos/videos with my phone. I was thinking I'd ask if a tip would be rude and give him 20k, but I never saw him again - a guy and a woman on the ground helped me when I got there, he took my harness off, they sent my bag/phone down inside a yellow dry bag on a rope and she took some photos of me at the bottom. (Yes, I could have tipped them, but thay wouldn't have felt right.)
They said I could swim if I wanted to and in the end I did. It was way busier than yesterday and there was nowhere I felt comfortable being momentarily naked so given uw already soaked anyway I put my trunks on over it (I had only brought trunks in case they said doing it in trousers was a bad idea) and left stuff on side (staff around and generally felt broadly safe) and kept the red ss T-shirt on I'd worn to come down in. Water in pool pretty cold though I did kind of get used to it.
Didn't aquit myself super well with the swimming. Probably didn't help not having my goggles on and also rightly or wrongly wondering if water would harm me if swallowed/got it in mouth. There *may* also have been some vague adrenaline remainder from the descent. Anyway, I did swim a bit but I found myself getting water in eyes and wondering where the deep bit was and while I didn't panic it was all a little bit semi-controlled chaos rather than "swimming" . I did attempt a bit of crappyish breast stroke with head out of water and also a bit of back stroke, but I got edgy about swamping my face (as tends to happen when I do bs) and given the whole thing felt vaguely worrying I didn't push it. Water was also quite dark and not super inviting, though not bad as such. I could definitely have done better, but at least I had a go and for my first time ever doing this kind of non-pool swimming it wasn't too bad I guess.
Luckily it was warm enough that my uw half dried enough not to need to change it. I didn't have a towel but dried off with wrung-out T-shirt and was reasonably clean and comfortable after I got changed. Hung around at base of fall a bit watching someone else come down (she actually stood "normally" on a ledge part way down, I wonder if this was an advanced technique or if she just went wrong) and looking at people swimming confidently in the pool and just generally hanging around. Notwithstanding the minor failure wrt swimming, on the whole I was/am pretty pleased with myself.
Came back to hostel, chatted a bit with venezuelan woman who lives in Bogota who I followed back along the trail (you're basically left on your own once you've abseiled down, in case it's not clear) and who then waited outside gate with me for bus (though she was going to Cwhatsit - Charala, that's it). Got off bus at stop near hostel, popped in - bit of weirdness getting let in, owner woman's daugher answered bell but asked me to wait and went to get her mother, who then said I could come in but sort of stood blocking the way - to put damp clothes on line in back garden and pick up some cash/change I'd left there and headed out for a) lard out at Felipollo (slightly awkward chat with staff guy on arrival, but not too bad) b) bit of a sit in square c) two white coffees and two quite expensive cake things (one a sort of big pastry horseshoe and another a toffee-ish swiss roll with toffee over both ends which hid fact it was a swiss roll until I bit into it) for 12k (I expected 10.5k but didn't argue) at Onzagueno and I left a 2k on counter as well as a tip but half suspect someone else will have walked off with it before staff noticed d) another brief sit in square before e) coming back to hostel for afternoon shower/change of clothes/shave.
In dormitory met new guy Tim from Rottedam, we had a nice little traveller-y chat. He told me the world's second largest canyon is near here - the Chinca Canyon. I may have to tweak my plans to see this. It is apparently on the way to Bucaramanga (he's been there, said it's nice enough but not much to do, they sell ants as food - they're just big ants, no sauce, apparently about 24k for a cupful!). I may end up cutting back on a day in Bucaramanga or moving my as yet unbooked flight to Panama out by a day or something. This was only an hour or so ago and haven't had time to look yet.
I really ought to book the boat. As of half an hour ago they had availability for 1st Mar, deposit is USD130 which would suck to lose but not end of world. And as waffled ad nauseam, no matter if I do or don't squish things by a day or so on this side of the Panama trip, I *really* don't want to be coming back significantly after 1st Mar as it is going to make the last few weeks of the trip feel really deadline-dominated.
I just may book the boat in a bit or I may semi-stupidly leave it til tomorrow. Honestly though I've been thinking about this for days and even things like the discovery of this near-must-do canyon which might justify stealing 2ish days from my Panama time don't seriously alter the logistics of the date for the boat trip back to Colombia.
Especially straight after but even now I am pleased with myself for doing the abseil. It's like there's this menu of "adventure" options here (and in a broader more metaphorical sense, on the trip as a whole) and I don't have to (and couldn't really) try *everything* on the menu but it feels good to have tried *something*. And while I am travelling for my own memories etc and not just for boring stories no one really cares about, and while little things like the tango singer in Bogota and that guy in the park yesterday do make just as "good" memories, it is nice to have this different kind of "adventure" memory to look back on too. Having done this also kind of reassures me that I haven't "regressed" to a more nervous state (v poorly expressed) and that I am open to pushing my comfort zone a bit during trip and can "do things" - which also makes me feel a bit more comfortable about booking the comfort zone stretching boat trip.
1855 (Is it that early? It feels like 10pm!) Just putting new hostel for tomorrow on OM (it's not in database), and I note OM shows a public swimming pool just up the road, which may be worth checking out (depending on bathing caps etc!).
Suppose I book boat for 1st March. Possible problems:
- gah I can't face this - fine, write off the deposit - I'm obviously interested as I've turned the trip inside out to be able to do it
- I can't get a cheap flight to Panama on (say) 3rd Feb - OK, I maybe fly on 5th or 10th or whatever - in practice I suspect it's more a question of an extra £30-40 rather than hundreds, but there's no way I can't get a cheap flight to Panama *some* time before 1st March, and whatever I do I can make it work one way or another, it might not be optimal but it's not end of world
- I wish I'd picked a different date - OK, sucky, but again not end of world. I've put a lot of thought into the date and done my best to choose it with care. Worst case is I write off the deposit, which is tolerable, and I *may* be able to get them to let me change the date - but I'm not banking on this.
- I hate Panama, I can't spend n weeks here waiting for boat back - unlikely give mask situation is probably OK, and absolute worst cases are I write off the boat trip deposit, try to change the date or fly/bus it out of Panama into CR for a few weeks instead
Not saying any of those are likely, just trying to think it through.
1918 I should just book the damn boat. I am *not* booking flight to Panama tonight as I need to evaluate this canyon, but that's fine. Likewise I wouldn't book the "probably will just cancel" Panama-Colombia flight tonight, because I want to take care to get something which I am sure *is* cancellable, but there is also no huge rush for this as a) I am buying it approx two months in advance b) while I will get the cheapest possible to reduce loss if something goes wrong, I half don't care about the price as I will be getting a refund and not using it.
But the boat ticket *could* sell out, I *am* picky about the date and it would also finally signal some kind of commitment to doing it. I have my doubts (seasickness, social aspects, don't entirely like SBA even if my wrath has abated somewhat) but I clearly do want to do it and it *could* be a highlight of the trip. I'm frankly getting a bit sick of constantly having to think about this, I've been back and forth over the date til I'm blue in the face and really there is no reason not to book it and at least get that aspect of it off my mental todo list. It then becomes a relatively simple matter of deciding how/when I am getting into Panama in about a week and not a great big "should I or shouldn't I?" decision.
1927 Just been and got clothes off line and shoved it in dirty laundry bag. Swimming trunks a smidge damp but nothing huge. I have incidentally got a sprawlingish pile of "unpacked" stuff like bathroom bag and green soap bag and empty water bottles and a few plastic bags at end of bunk, not a huge deal but noting in case there's scope for improved "technique" and/or buying some kind of "overflow" bag for use in situ. (But probably at most I'd really want to use a heavy duty carrier bag for this.)
I really should book the damn boat, in the spirit of adventure in which I did the abseiling. Whatever I book I will make it work, and it's not like I've rushed into it! Main thing is to book in the correct direction - *from* Panama *to* Colombia - and to book for 1st March, which is approx three weeks before I fly home (from Colombia).
I'm gonna force myself to think about this and book it at 1935, in 5 mins time.
1935 OK, let's do it. It's not like I'm rushing into this after all...
1951 Some inexplicable problem preventing booking site un-greying out the "pay" button, but that's done. Not seen confirmation e-mail yet but sure it will be fine. Panama to Colombia, 1st March. I had to fill in the food preference box which I initially left blank so I expressed a preference (probably irrelevant given style of food) for no tomato sauce or mayonnaise. I am picky but I expect the style of food on this trip to be mostly within my comfort zone.
Let's have another beer, now I am "off duty" for tonight - sorting out flights to/from Panama will be (maybe) tomorrow night's job.
Does feel kind of good to have this booked.
2003 Just FTR, most but not all of the people swimming in the pool at bottom of fall weren't wearing goggles. A lot (but not all) were swimming with head out of water though. I'm sure there's just a comfort/confidence factor here. Plus maybe as I say some kind of leftover adrenaline from the descent.
2010 I do have a few presumed mosquito bites on fingers/hands and I think on back. I don't think malaria is a concern here (certainly there are no nets, and I can't really sleep covered head-to-toe in saltidin spray), mildly annoying but not too bad. I am making a point of putting repellent on my minimal amounts of exposed skin during the day, I suspect most of these bites are either before I started doing that or (most likely) are from night time bites.
(I am never sure, but I think I'm neither one of those people who never get bitten nor one of those who gets bitten to death. Mosquitoes seem to take an interest in me but I don't appear to be tremendously attractive to them. I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying this...)
I saw a black cat in the plaza earlier. It seemed to be kind of hunting the pigeons but not very seriously. When I went back for my second brief sit, I saw there are actually (at least) two - they were curled up several metres apart in one of the flower beds.
Reminded of this by seeing a largish black and white cat across the road earlier and realising it is sleeping in the street like a dog in front of the building. (The gate is metal bars and I am sure a cat could get through, maybe it prefers to sleep there though it seems odd. I have taken photos of it but they may not come out well.)
If I didn't say, I tied a knot in each strap of the Bag-Bag daypack the other day to shorten them a bit (had been meaning to look up "how to shorten a line when you don't have access to the ends" on web but never got round to it, I just improvised on the bus), and it is much more comfortable now - it used to hang so low it was bouncing on my bum all the time, this little bit of shortening has brought it up onto my back where it should be.
Neither beer unpleasant but I've probably eaten too much today and particularly drunk too much non-alcoholic liquid tonight (and I still have bottle of soft drink and loads of water) and neither beer has had a real "ah, that hits the spot quality" . Have set an alarm to remind me to settle tab tomorrow, fingers crossed no awkwardness re amount.
2100 Drinking water. Will prob get up 9ish tomorrow and have that soft drink in fridge before checkout 11ish. May go to bed in next half hour or so.
Notwithstanding fact that I may do less in Bucaramanga or this canyon place, I do feel the four night stay is working well. It's not that I feel super at home here in this hostel, for example, but after the first night it starts to feel more familiar and you're giving that up a bit early with only three nights. And three full days of doing stuff is not a bad default (bearing in mind there's always the option to extend in the absence of other deadlines) - admittedly I went to Juan Curi twice, but for different reasons, and although this afternoon was a bit slack and yesterday I left hostel late (but that's kind of OK) and just puttered round park but I still did stuff and I'm not supposed to be running round like a blue-arsed fly all the time and it feels like a reasonable pace.
On random note, while there's no harm in snapping photos, I do need to remind myself the rule is *not* "pics, or it didn't happen" . :-)
And as I've doubtless said before, the rule for this blog is: what I write is true (to the best of my knowledge and belief and taking emotional state into account etc), but I don't write about *everything*. I try to include everything that seems important, but sometimes I forget by time I get home or I just don't want to write every last little thing down, etc. So if it's in here, it happened - but just because it's not in here, that does *not* mean it didn't happen.
(A related point, which isn't often a big deal, is that if something feels too personal or just generally unfit for public consumption, I may avoid mentioning it even if I would if this was a completely private diary. Obviously I am putting in mildly "too much detail" personal information at times, but it's the kind of stuff which is more embarrassing at the "why are you even telling me this?" level if you just brought it up in random conversation, rather than "ewww, I cannot believe you did that" level. For example, stuff about uw and swimming earlier and observations about bowel movements. :-) The "oh, this happened before" or "I handled it that way" value for Future Me is greater than the very minor "wtf" for some hypothetical other reader.)
Have probably been over-snacking last few days but since I found that bakery I quite liked (not that there aren't loads) I allowed myself to indulge. Felipollo three days in a row not super healthy but given I do mix diet up a bit over the trip and lots of the cheap restaurants seem to offer dishes I know I wouldn't like ("pechuga con salsa de queso") or which I don't recognise and worry might be inedible, I don't see any real harm in going there three days in a row - if I start eating nothing but roast chicken for two weeks that's a different matter. Haven't been drinking that much at least. I may try to cut down on snacks (and/or revert to empanada-ish snacks rather than baked goods, if only for variety rather than any health/weight benefit) over next few days but we'll see how it goes. If it's allowed and convenient and hot I may indulge in some supermarket beers at home at some point during Barichara stay, but it probably won't be every day and it probably won't be a lot.
I don't know if it's just cost of living differential, but I do like that coffee+baked goodies in a bakery doesn't feel insanely expensive. I don't know but I *suspect* it's not intolerably expensive for locals either. Back home, apart from "try not to eat junk" considerations, these kind of things always feel prohibitively and almost rip-off levels of expensive. Maybe it's just that as a tourist I am rich compared to the locals, but - without sitting down and trying to work it out - I suspect it is genuinely relatively cheap. And as I *am* on holiday I can fudge my eating junk rules. :-) But I do want to show some restraint, yes I probably am walking/hiking more than back home, but if I go back significantly heaviet than when I left I will be annoyed - as I think I already said, I am kind of hoping to back having lost at least some of my Christmas weight gain.
It is pleasantly cool out here on balcony for last hour or so, light breeze. I even just heard some crickets in a brief lull in the traffic noise. :-) Full moon too.
2126 I just yawned. I'm not mega tired but I'm not super relaxed out here so let's move towards bed.
Thu 25th 1809 On terrace. Didn't sleep super well but not terribly. Got up maybe 0730 as I needed a piss anyway. Dressed etc, had two of my three bananas and took the third out.
I had planned to get bus at stop by hostel but after waiting 10 mins I saw a Cwhatsit (slips my mind) but turn up a side road and not come to the stop and I got edgy. This was maybe 0815, so I decided to leg it over to terminal. I got slightly lost (was one street over) and just got there in time to see a Cwhatsit bus (presumably 830 one) coming out, which I flagged down and got on and which - of course - did indeed stop at that stop by hostel after all. Still, no harm done.
Got to Juan Curi about 920ish IIRC and accidentally went into the *other* JC trail (PC Gomez) as the bus stopped nearer it, before realising and going into Parque Ecologico where I reported in - it was very quiet - and had a second shit (:-) - no tp but I had some, because I'm smart :-) ) and felt a tiny bit edgy but not that bad actually.
Paid 70k in end, told to go round by restaurant where after hanging round a bit I met "guide" (not sure what correct term is) Toño (sp), a deceptively young looking 42yo who had been doing this for seven years IIRC. Dunno if he spoke English but we exclusively spoke Spanish and it was fine. Pleasant but not constant chat on walk up, there was a youngish armadillo right by side of trial. Oh, I was asked my blood group when filling in very simple form at bottom before we started walking up, I didn't have a clue but was allowed to leave it blank.
We diverted up the side path I'd seen other day by the hut near the top of the hike to go up to the top. I didn't realise til we got up there - I took a few pictures while Tono (omitting ñ for ease of typing, and it's only a guess spelling anyway) was setting stuff up - that there is *another* pretty big fall up there which you can't even see from the lower bit near the ground where the swimmable pool is. But the fall you abseil down is the one you see from that pool area, as of course I knew from seeing that woman do it yesterday.
I had brought a cord to tie my glasses on but T fastened a little head strap with some paracord so didn't use it. Bringing a "proper" glasses head strap with me would be worth considering.
I won't say I wasn't nervous but I wasn't as edgy as I'd half expected. (Even long after the point when it was actually scary, I've found myself developing a bit of a leg shake while waiting to jump in at deep end during swimming lessons, and that didn't happen here.) T explained the basic idea and I got to sort of lean back to see I was held by the rope and to start feeding the cord through to get over the edge. You're not supposed to grip tightly with left hand, just hold cord loosely, but I noticed even part way down I was gripping quite tightly. :-)
I did get soaked of course and that's sort of cool and a bit distracting. Feet did slip once or twice but nothing major (incidentally presumably while looking at shoes on bus on way over and wondering if they would be OK, suddenly thought of Kirsty MacColl's "In These Shoes?" which I haven't heard in years). I did look down two or three times, it was more "weird" than scary - I think once I'd actually started going down it was so obvious the rope was holding me that it wasn't that scary. (Not saying I wasn't at all nervous, just not really nervous.)
Guide took some photos/videos with my phone. I was thinking I'd ask if a tip would be rude and give him 20k, but I never saw him again - a guy and a woman on the ground helped me when I got there, he took my harness off, they sent my bag/phone down inside a yellow dry bag on a rope and she took some photos of me at the bottom. (Yes, I could have tipped them, but thay wouldn't have felt right.)
They said I could swim if I wanted to and in the end I did. It was way busier than yesterday and there was nowhere I felt comfortable being momentarily naked so given uw already soaked anyway I put my trunks on over it (I had only brought trunks in case they said doing it in trousers was a bad idea) and left stuff on side (staff around and generally felt broadly safe) and kept the red ss T-shirt on I'd worn to come down in. Water in pool pretty cold though I did kind of get used to it.
Didn't aquit myself super well with the swimming. Probably didn't help not having my goggles on and also rightly or wrongly wondering if water would harm me if swallowed/got it in mouth. There *may* also have been some vague adrenaline remainder from the descent. Anyway, I did swim a bit but I found myself getting water in eyes and wondering where the deep bit was and while I didn't panic it was all a little bit semi-controlled chaos rather than "swimming" . I did attempt a bit of crappyish breast stroke with head out of water and also a bit of back stroke, but I got edgy about swamping my face (as tends to happen when I do bs) and given the whole thing felt vaguely worrying I didn't push it. Water was also quite dark and not super inviting, though not bad as such. I could definitely have done better, but at least I had a go and for my first time ever doing this kind of non-pool swimming it wasn't too bad I guess.
Luckily it was warm enough that my uw half dried enough not to need to change it. I didn't have a towel but dried off with wrung-out T-shirt and was reasonably clean and comfortable after I got changed. Hung around at base of fall a bit watching someone else come down (she actually stood "normally" on a ledge part way down, I wonder if this was an advanced technique or if she just went wrong) and looking at people swimming confidently in the pool and just generally hanging around. Notwithstanding the minor failure wrt swimming, on the whole I was/am pretty pleased with myself.
Came back to hostel, chatted a bit with venezuelan woman who lives in Bogota who I followed back along the trail (you're basically left on your own once you've abseiled down, in case it's not clear) and who then waited outside gate with me for bus (though she was going to Cwhatsit - Charala, that's it). Got off bus at stop near hostel, popped in - bit of weirdness getting let in, owner woman's daugher answered bell but asked me to wait and went to get her mother, who then said I could come in but sort of stood blocking the way - to put damp clothes on line in back garden and pick up some cash/change I'd left there and headed out for a) lard out at Felipollo (slightly awkward chat with staff guy on arrival, but not too bad) b) bit of a sit in square c) two white coffees and two quite expensive cake things (one a sort of big pastry horseshoe and another a toffee-ish swiss roll with toffee over both ends which hid fact it was a swiss roll until I bit into it) for 12k (I expected 10.5k but didn't argue) at Onzagueno and I left a 2k on counter as well as a tip but half suspect someone else will have walked off with it before staff noticed d) another brief sit in square before e) coming back to hostel for afternoon shower/change of clothes/shave.
In dormitory met new guy Tim from Rottedam, we had a nice little traveller-y chat. He told me the world's second largest canyon is near here - the Chinca Canyon. I may have to tweak my plans to see this. It is apparently on the way to Bucaramanga (he's been there, said it's nice enough but not much to do, they sell ants as food - they're just big ants, no sauce, apparently about 24k for a cupful!). I may end up cutting back on a day in Bucaramanga or moving my as yet unbooked flight to Panama out by a day or something. This was only an hour or so ago and haven't had time to look yet.
I really ought to book the boat. As of half an hour ago they had availability for 1st Mar, deposit is USD130 which would suck to lose but not end of world. And as waffled ad nauseam, no matter if I do or don't squish things by a day or so on this side of the Panama trip, I *really* don't want to be coming back significantly after 1st Mar as it is going to make the last few weeks of the trip feel really deadline-dominated.
I just may book the boat in a bit or I may semi-stupidly leave it til tomorrow. Honestly though I've been thinking about this for days and even things like the discovery of this near-must-do canyon which might justify stealing 2ish days from my Panama time don't seriously alter the logistics of the date for the boat trip back to Colombia.
Especially straight after but even now I am pleased with myself for doing the abseil. It's like there's this menu of "adventure" options here (and in a broader more metaphorical sense, on the trip as a whole) and I don't have to (and couldn't really) try *everything* on the menu but it feels good to have tried *something*. And while I am travelling for my own memories etc and not just for boring stories no one really cares about, and while little things like the tango singer in Bogota and that guy in the park yesterday do make just as "good" memories, it is nice to have this different kind of "adventure" memory to look back on too. Having done this also kind of reassures me that I haven't "regressed" to a more nervous state (v poorly expressed) and that I am open to pushing my comfort zone a bit during trip and can "do things" - which also makes me feel a bit more comfortable about booking the comfort zone stretching boat trip.
1855 (Is it that early? It feels like 10pm!) Just putting new hostel for tomorrow on OM (it's not in database), and I note OM shows a public swimming pool just up the road, which may be worth checking out (depending on bathing caps etc!).
Suppose I book boat for 1st March. Possible problems:
- gah I can't face this - fine, write off the deposit - I'm obviously interested as I've turned the trip inside out to be able to do it
- I can't get a cheap flight to Panama on (say) 3rd Feb - OK, I maybe fly on 5th or 10th or whatever - in practice I suspect it's more a question of an extra £30-40 rather than hundreds, but there's no way I can't get a cheap flight to Panama *some* time before 1st March, and whatever I do I can make it work one way or another, it might not be optimal but it's not end of world
- I wish I'd picked a different date - OK, sucky, but again not end of world. I've put a lot of thought into the date and done my best to choose it with care. Worst case is I write off the deposit, which is tolerable, and I *may* be able to get them to let me change the date - but I'm not banking on this.
- I hate Panama, I can't spend n weeks here waiting for boat back - unlikely give mask situation is probably OK, and absolute worst cases are I write off the boat trip deposit, try to change the date or fly/bus it out of Panama into CR for a few weeks instead
Not saying any of those are likely, just trying to think it through.
1918 I should just book the damn boat. I am *not* booking flight to Panama tonight as I need to evaluate this canyon, but that's fine. Likewise I wouldn't book the "probably will just cancel" Panama-Colombia flight tonight, because I want to take care to get something which I am sure *is* cancellable, but there is also no huge rush for this as a) I am buying it approx two months in advance b) while I will get the cheapest possible to reduce loss if something goes wrong, I half don't care about the price as I will be getting a refund and not using it.
But the boat ticket *could* sell out, I *am* picky about the date and it would also finally signal some kind of commitment to doing it. I have my doubts (seasickness, social aspects, don't entirely like SBA even if my wrath has abated somewhat) but I clearly do want to do it and it *could* be a highlight of the trip. I'm frankly getting a bit sick of constantly having to think about this, I've been back and forth over the date til I'm blue in the face and really there is no reason not to book it and at least get that aspect of it off my mental todo list. It then becomes a relatively simple matter of deciding how/when I am getting into Panama in about a week and not a great big "should I or shouldn't I?" decision.
1927 Just been and got clothes off line and shoved it in dirty laundry bag. Swimming trunks a smidge damp but nothing huge. I have incidentally got a sprawlingish pile of "unpacked" stuff like bathroom bag and green soap bag and empty water bottles and a few plastic bags at end of bunk, not a huge deal but noting in case there's scope for improved "technique" and/or buying some kind of "overflow" bag for use in situ. (But probably at most I'd really want to use a heavy duty carrier bag for this.)
I really should book the damn boat, in the spirit of adventure in which I did the abseiling. Whatever I book I will make it work, and it's not like I've rushed into it! Main thing is to book in the correct direction - *from* Panama *to* Colombia - and to book for 1st March, which is approx three weeks before I fly home (from Colombia).
I'm gonna force myself to think about this and book it at 1935, in 5 mins time.
1935 OK, let's do it. It's not like I'm rushing into this after all...
1951 Some inexplicable problem preventing booking site un-greying out the "pay" button, but that's done. Not seen confirmation e-mail yet but sure it will be fine. Panama to Colombia, 1st March. I had to fill in the food preference box which I initially left blank so I expressed a preference (probably irrelevant given style of food) for no tomato sauce or mayonnaise. I am picky but I expect the style of food on this trip to be mostly within my comfort zone.
Let's have another beer, now I am "off duty" for tonight - sorting out flights to/from Panama will be (maybe) tomorrow night's job.
Does feel kind of good to have this booked.
2003 Just FTR, most but not all of the people swimming in the pool at bottom of fall weren't wearing goggles. A lot (but not all) were swimming with head out of water though. I'm sure there's just a comfort/confidence factor here. Plus maybe as I say some kind of leftover adrenaline from the descent.
2010 I do have a few presumed mosquito bites on fingers/hands and I think on back. I don't think malaria is a concern here (certainly there are no nets, and I can't really sleep covered head-to-toe in saltidin spray), mildly annoying but not too bad. I am making a point of putting repellent on my minimal amounts of exposed skin during the day, I suspect most of these bites are either before I started doing that or (most likely) are from night time bites.
(I am never sure, but I think I'm neither one of those people who never get bitten nor one of those who gets bitten to death. Mosquitoes seem to take an interest in me but I don't appear to be tremendously attractive to them. I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying this...)
I saw a black cat in the plaza earlier. It seemed to be kind of hunting the pigeons but not very seriously. When I went back for my second brief sit, I saw there are actually (at least) two - they were curled up several metres apart in one of the flower beds.
Reminded of this by seeing a largish black and white cat across the road earlier and realising it is sleeping in the street like a dog in front of the building. (The gate is metal bars and I am sure a cat could get through, maybe it prefers to sleep there though it seems odd. I have taken photos of it but they may not come out well.)
If I didn't say, I tied a knot in each strap of the Bag-Bag daypack the other day to shorten them a bit (had been meaning to look up "how to shorten a line when you don't have access to the ends" on web but never got round to it, I just improvised on the bus), and it is much more comfortable now - it used to hang so low it was bouncing on my bum all the time, this little bit of shortening has brought it up onto my back where it should be.
Neither beer unpleasant but I've probably eaten too much today and particularly drunk too much non-alcoholic liquid tonight (and I still have bottle of soft drink and loads of water) and neither beer has had a real "ah, that hits the spot quality" . Have set an alarm to remind me to settle tab tomorrow, fingers crossed no awkwardness re amount.
2100 Drinking water. Will prob get up 9ish tomorrow and have that soft drink in fridge before checkout 11ish. May go to bed in next half hour or so.
Notwithstanding fact that I may do less in Bucaramanga or this canyon place, I do feel the four night stay is working well. It's not that I feel super at home here in this hostel, for example, but after the first night it starts to feel more familiar and you're giving that up a bit early with only three nights. And three full days of doing stuff is not a bad default (bearing in mind there's always the option to extend in the absence of other deadlines) - admittedly I went to Juan Curi twice, but for different reasons, and although this afternoon was a bit slack and yesterday I left hostel late (but that's kind of OK) and just puttered round park but I still did stuff and I'm not supposed to be running round like a blue-arsed fly all the time and it feels like a reasonable pace.
On random note, while there's no harm in snapping photos, I do need to remind myself the rule is *not* "pics, or it didn't happen" . :-)
And as I've doubtless said before, the rule for this blog is: what I write is true (to the best of my knowledge and belief and taking emotional state into account etc), but I don't write about *everything*. I try to include everything that seems important, but sometimes I forget by time I get home or I just don't want to write every last little thing down, etc. So if it's in here, it happened - but just because it's not in here, that does *not* mean it didn't happen.
(A related point, which isn't often a big deal, is that if something feels too personal or just generally unfit for public consumption, I may avoid mentioning it even if I would if this was a completely private diary. Obviously I am putting in mildly "too much detail" personal information at times, but it's the kind of stuff which is more embarrassing at the "why are you even telling me this?" level if you just brought it up in random conversation, rather than "ewww, I cannot believe you did that" level. For example, stuff about uw and swimming earlier and observations about bowel movements. :-) The "oh, this happened before" or "I handled it that way" value for Future Me is greater than the very minor "wtf" for some hypothetical other reader.)
Have probably been over-snacking last few days but since I found that bakery I quite liked (not that there aren't loads) I allowed myself to indulge. Felipollo three days in a row not super healthy but given I do mix diet up a bit over the trip and lots of the cheap restaurants seem to offer dishes I know I wouldn't like ("pechuga con salsa de queso") or which I don't recognise and worry might be inedible, I don't see any real harm in going there three days in a row - if I start eating nothing but roast chicken for two weeks that's a different matter. Haven't been drinking that much at least. I may try to cut down on snacks (and/or revert to empanada-ish snacks rather than baked goods, if only for variety rather than any health/weight benefit) over next few days but we'll see how it goes. If it's allowed and convenient and hot I may indulge in some supermarket beers at home at some point during Barichara stay, but it probably won't be every day and it probably won't be a lot.
I don't know if it's just cost of living differential, but I do like that coffee+baked goodies in a bakery doesn't feel insanely expensive. I don't know but I *suspect* it's not intolerably expensive for locals either. Back home, apart from "try not to eat junk" considerations, these kind of things always feel prohibitively and almost rip-off levels of expensive. Maybe it's just that as a tourist I am rich compared to the locals, but - without sitting down and trying to work it out - I suspect it is genuinely relatively cheap. And as I *am* on holiday I can fudge my eating junk rules. :-) But I do want to show some restraint, yes I probably am walking/hiking more than back home, but if I go back significantly heaviet than when I left I will be annoyed - as I think I already said, I am kind of hoping to back having lost at least some of my Christmas weight gain.
It is pleasantly cool out here on balcony for last hour or so, light breeze. I even just heard some crickets in a brief lull in the traffic noise. :-) Full moon too.
2126 I just yawned. I'm not mega tired but I'm not super relaxed out here so let's move towards bed.
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