Sat 20th 1819 Been back at accom for about an hour. In room but AFAICT no one is here, not even the dog (which is very nice and extremely tranquil, it sort of lies there while you stroke it but doesn't get up). Washed trousers and left them hanging in shower.
Not a bad day overall but bit of a feeling I goofed mildly. More anon.
Slept very well, bed seems extremely comfortable. Woke a bit pre-alarm (in part due to not closing curtains, which are tied and I kind of didn't like to disturb them, and there is a net curtain for privacy) which was IIRC 830 and snoozed on alarm til maybe 930.
Headed out maybe 1030-11ish, churro place nearby not open but never mind. Spent the day wandering round town basically. Early on got a biggish single churro for 1.5k which had some yellow and red cream stuff in it, odd as it seems I think the yellow might be cheese and the red some kind of jam but not sure. Also saw small stall selling 7 small buñuelos for 2k so with some minor linguistic difficulties I got some - quite nice, but "just" fried dough balls - I suspect the larger ones are filled with stuff.
Went into museo del fundador, spoke to security guard who said there was a guided tour at 1. I asked and was allowed in to wander the smallish but quite nice grounds and then, having about an hour to kill, went and had two lattes (nice, but not huge) at a cafe on the other side of main square (4.5k each, made it 10 with tip) then back for the tour. The tour was free. A couple of MoS/volunteery people, one of them the tour guide, chatted with me a bit first and I felt a little awkward (I don't know enough Spanish platitudes and keep saying "que bueno" which may not even be right in first place) and tour guide, on me saying I was from London, told me of an 80s salsa song called "Londres" by Nelson y Sus Estrellas and played me a bit on his phone.
We then did the tour, which was quite cool if a bit rushed (I snapped a few hasty photos) and I also felt a bit edgy in case the guide thought I didn't understand and that seemed rude. Group not huge, maybe 8-10 of us, the others I think all from Bogota.
Anyway, at end of tour the guide said he was doing some kind of tour out in the country and seemed to be inviting us. One of the Colombians asked if it was free and he said it was. Anyway, I wasn't really sure if I was included and I felt awkward. Also he was giving directions to the Colombians which I was earwigging on like "on the road to Bogota, there's a place with two service stations" and telling someone about getting a bus and asking the driver to let them off at such and such a place.
As I say I was feeling awkward like it sort of appealed but I wasn't sure if I was invited and was concerned with the logistics (meeting time was 9am and I gather it would have been a walk til 1pm ish) and I was dithering inside my head and wondering about making excuses like I was leaving tomorrow. He did ask me if I was interested and I said as politely as I could (bearing in mind I feel my Spanish has been rather crappily jittery in general) that it seemed difficult getting there without a vehicle and he *may* (but I was sort of panicking internally) have offered to pick me up (though for all I know he was offering to help me see where to get bus) and I (I hope not rudely) said something about that being very kind but not wanting to create problems for him and he dropped it.
As the icing on the cake on the way out the other volunteery type chap spoke to me and I obviously misinterpreted his question and I just felt crappy about my Spanish and social skills.
Oh, he also offered us all his phone number to contact him re this tour, before he specifically asked me.
So afterwards I'm feeling like I fucked this up, the mere fact I did this 1pm tour was sheer luck (I wandered into that museum on a bit of a whim, to fill time, having seen it in guide book this morning but no details on this) and the universe kind of dropped this country walk/tour in my lap which could have been quite cool and I turned it down.
Obviously this isn't life ruining. And as I tried to tell myself maybe this was a (not first repetition) of a lesson, I then started to wonder what the lesson was and if I really "should" have said yes. I mean, it could have been genuinely awkward. I could have struggled to get there. While he's presumably trustworthy given how I met him, I also find this a bit weird. And all this for free seems a bit odd, TBH had all gone well I wouldn't have minded giving him 50-100k (after all I paid 50k for that walking tour up Monserrate), but this weird business of obligation to someone I don't know doesn't sit well. And would it be awkward with me as the only foreigner on this tour?
So I dunno. I do kind of wish I'd said yes, or at least felt calm and in control and asked something about where to meet and could he show me on the map and I'd see if I could get there and would send him a message. But I can't quite bring myself to go so far as to say I should have absolutely said "yes" , given the logistical concerns.
But anyway.
So after that I went to the other museum just round the corner - not looking names up as I write - some writer's house. Paid 5k and the woman on the ticket desk basically shut up the ticket desk and entrance and took me on a solo 5-10m guided tour! This was semi-informative but a bit more rushed - I could have happily pottered around for 30-60 mins on my own if allowed - and all in Spanish and while that's good and I did understand I felt a bit on the spot, like she didn't believe I could understand her.
She also put a bloody mask on when she came out of the ticket booth, which disturbed me a bit. (I just hate them, and I wondered if she would want or expect me to wear one, *and* for the first time I realised how weird it is talking to someone and not being able to see their lips move. I can understand Spanish just fine without seeing lips move, but when I was looking at her and the lips were "missing" it just felt weird. Or maybe it was just my mask pseudo-phobia playing up.)
Anyway, after that I wandered round a bit more and went and had a small mexicana (including small flakes of tortilla chips - to be fair I had half seen and understood this in the menu, and ignored it, but it was a bit weird) pizza at the small but kind of OK Pizza Ninja just off main square (I hope it's all unlicenced use of the brand, TMNT stuff all over place) which was about 21.5k but I probably unnecessarily left a 2k tip. Got to watch first part of Super Mario film on TV (Spanish, with Spanish subtitles) while waiting/eating. (If it's available on a flight I'll probably watch the whole thing, but I'm not exactly on tenterhooks having had to stop just as Peach and Toad (?) arrive to tell the toadstool people things to evacuate.)
So I then wandered round a bit more, managed to find the small "Cafe Canela" newagenty type place I had aromatica and cake yesterday and had a large into and a piece of some different cake for maybe 4k today. I asked the woman on way out if she knew where buses to San Gil went and she said the terminal - I asked if this was the one to east of town and she said yes. I then mucked up by querying something she'd said about La Glorieta and somehow she thought I was asking about Sogamo (sp) so any idea I could communicate properly went out of the window.
Oh, that reminds me that earlier during post-museum wanderings I popped into a larger sweet shop cum cafe and asked if they had tinto, they didn't but on asking if they had any kind of coffee I got a latte/white coffee of sorts (quite nice) for about 1.8k, I left 0.5k on table as tip tho again not sure that was necessary. They had some nice-but-vaguely-depressingly-cute sweet packages on display and as I left I asked the woman if I could photograph them and she said yes, so I did.
I then wandered a little bit more and walked back to accom, calling in at Fruitimax fruit supermarket thing to get about 2lb of "manzana ana" for 5.6k (these are presumably local, as various other apples were around double the price).
Can't say having pizza was super-smart and I felt my gut churn a bit as I was waiting, but I do feel like 90% OK and I did kind of fancy it. Rightly or wrongly I feel pizza is a cool weather food - I remember sweating and eating that pizza in Liberia in CR, for example - and it's also something that can often be tourist-priced. Tunja may be the last place I'm in for ages which is not particularly geared towards tourists (especially not foreign ones - I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I don't think I've seen another obviously foreign tourist while here, nor have I heard any English spoken outside the host woman here) and where the weather is cool. (Today it veered between nice to have fleece on and slightly warm with it on. I think it also just rained the tiniest bit not long before I had pizza, just that kind of fine mist in the air feeling. FWIW a lot of locals also seem to be wearing jackets or vaguely fleecy tops, not all of them though.)
As I say, wish I:
- spoke Spanish better
- felt more relaxed using the Spanish I have (which would also help previous point)
- hadn't felt vaguely awkwardly "maybe left out" and foreign and fifth wheel-ish etc wrt that walking tour business
- had been more "openly interested but confident in trying to clear up details" about it
But meh meh meh, can only try to get better with things like this etc.
I was feeling this morning - after trying to quickly skim guidebook for any stuff here, and it was mainly those two houses/museums I did go to today - that I'm just touristing all wrong. The guide book mentions all sorts of hiking and tours and beautiful countryside etc round here and VdL and I'm just not going to any of it. Of course you can only do so much and I do want to move on to San Gil and I'm trying to compromise between breadth and depth etc etc and there really is no write or wrong but the thoughts are still flitting through my mind.
I also as I've mentioned keep feeling a bit BNM. OTOH it isn't generally as if I seem to be seeing other people socialise enormously when I can't. Yes annoying GW was talking to that Montreal couple in VdL hostel and she seemed to kind of ignore me a bit, but I didn't make an effort to talk to her, and this was only for one half day. It's not as if my Bogota hostel was full of other people meeting and socialising, and in the VdL hostel I did feel a bit out of it that first night but otherwise it's not as if everyone else seemed to be meeting each other and I didn't - it wasn't *that* busy, my dormmate kept to herself in general and didn't just not talk to me, etc etc.
Probably some sort of lurking and chronic psychological flaw on my part makes me prone to thinking I "should" be meeting more people and living in a constant social whirl just because I'm "travelling" . Even though - while I do like to meet people to some extent - I am also genuinely happy having some time to myself and the idea of being constantly "on" socially sounds exhausting and horrible.
It's a small thing but I keep catching myself getting genders of Spanish nouns wrong, even basic ones, and that is shaking my confidence further. None of this is helpful of course, but I'm noting it because it *is* happening.
I think I am not so desperate to stay here that I am going to ask about another night. I will look at booking San Gil accom later and tomorrow I will trog over to bus terminal and/or see if I can experiment (it's an experience in itself as well as maybe helpful) getting a local bus over to the terminal. I get the impression from r2r and/or guide book that there are frequent services to SG, maybe hourly, and it's about 4h, but I'm far from trusting either of those. (One r2r link I clicked on this morning took me to a bus company website which doesn't even let you choose Tunja as origin, never mind where you go. It is I suppose possible this is one of those weird LA things where you have to *know* the bus's start and end points, e.g. maybe I was supposed to choose Bogota as start because *obviously* the bus from Tunja started in Bogota.)
I do need to do some exercises tonight/tomorrow in case I don't have privacy in SG - I genuinely haven't looked yet, I probably do want to be in a hostel for chance of getting in to some kind of chat, but I can probably take it or leave it wrt dorm, but if it is a lot cheaper I may well do another dorm, given I can/will have done a modest amount of clothes washing here. (The trousers don't need washing as much but they are probably the most awkward to do "secretly" just on size grounds, and I've got those done here.)
Apart from exercises and booking SG accom I don't think I have to do too much tonight. Probably go to bed 9-10ish and try to be up 8-9ish tomorrow for a fairly casual day of bus terminal visiting and filling spare time wandering city centre.
While in the slightly fancy cafe on main square waiting for 1pm tour:
- I noticed some kind of coffee+aguardiente drink at 10k, I was tempted but felt not smart middle of day, toyed with getting one 5pmish before coming home but also felt a bit indulgent after just having had tinto+cake at cafe canela, I may go there and have one tomorrow afternoon
- music was quite good and I recorded/googled a couple of the songs to check out later, which I think were "Muerte En Hawaii" by Calle 13 and "Ya no se baila como antes" by Rupatrupa (maybe acoustic version??)
1912 Just listened to Muerte En Hawaii, definitely the song from cafe and it's made me smile with just a hint of tearfulness, but that's not quite the right way to describe it. (It's ridiculous given that I'm quite aware how minor all the things I've written above are, not just in the grand scheme of things, but even in the context of just this trip, but somehow there's something about the song that gives me "it'll be OK despite these (minor) fuck-ups" vibes. Which may or may not be entirely something I'm projecting onto it.) Think that is definitely going to be one of those songs I listen to semi-regularly which is associated with a particular holiday - like "No te sientas tan importante" on that bus in Guatemala. There's something kind of cheerful and non-arrogant and bouncy and also "Urban Spaceman"-y about MEH.
1927 And yes, although there may be multiple versions, " Ya no se baila como antes" is the other song I heard. This isn't hitting the spot in the same way as MEH right now, but it does kind of appeal and I could see it becoming a favourite. I'd also need to think harder than I want to right now about what the lyrics are actually saying. I mean, my beliefs don't have to align with a song for me to enjoy it (FFS, while no super fan I quite like The Clash, but their politics are most certainly not mine), but still, I would at least like to know what the song is saying. (I mean, I more-or-less understand the lyrics already. But there are definitely a few subtleties where I'm guessing at the meaning of words or where it's not quite clear if something is meant a little ironically.)
(Like for example - and the top YT comment on the version I watched is just this quote without comments - "es tan bonito ser un inconsciente, es tan rentable ser un miserable" . I just looked up those words to be safe. Given a/the theme of the song seems to be that "they" are spreading mistrust and fear (and I am paraphrasing after hearing it twice etc), are we to take that "es tan bonito" literally, or does it have a sneering "ignorance is bliss, but you shouldn't want to be ignorant" tone, or what? And it doesn't seem to me that being "un miserable" as such is profitable financially, although we could take this to mean being a seemingly wise doom and gloom person is "socially" profitable (the bear case always looks smarter), or maybe we could interpret it to mean that even if you don't actually believe it, spreading misery and fear is (financially) profitable. Most of the song seems to my naive non-native ear to have a clearer "don't listen to all the negativity" kind of vibe, but bits like this add to my uncertainty as to exactly what it's meant to mean.)
1935 Not wrt these songs, but I do feel I'm "working a little hard" at the Spanish aspects of the trip. I should maybe try to worry about it less. And not try to deal with second or third order concerns about whether someone speaking to me in Spanish is worried about whether I understand them or not.
(I'm *not* working hard in the sense of going and reading about grammar or what have you, even if that might actually help. I am thinking about new words but that is probably vaguely helpful and at least not harmful. But worrying over-much about if or how well I can communicate instead of just going for it and trusting that over time I will get better is probably not helpful.)
1943 OK, I haven't watched this but trying to find date for MEH (2010 IIRC, and the duo performing are from Puerto Rico), I see claims the music video's images are about destruction of dolphin habitats and have nothing to do with the words (I watched an unofficial lyrics video, so not seen this) and another website saying the words are about a guy sent to to Hawaii to avenge the death of his friend. Fuck knows. That does at least fit the song title. Maybe there are layers here. I did see descriptions of the lyrics as about how good someone could be given the right love or something (paraphrasing), which is not quite how they are touching me right now but which feels about right and in the same ballpark as my interpretation. Meh. I suppose I take from it what it makes me feel and that's that.
2006 Had quick poke at SG hostels. Lots of places have swimming pools. I "need" to try to swim when I can to avoid losing progress. I honestly don't know if I will be able to bring myself to use a hostel pool, and even ignoring "social" issues I have concerns about sunburn which would probably mandate swimming near dawn or dusk. They are also probably small but who knows.
Dorms run about USD10-15 night, privates are roughly double that. I am not exactly short of money, but it does help to keep costs down where possible (the less I spend the more I have for other trips or big ticket items like the boat trip, which I will need to book in a day or two). Given I've had a private here I am rather tempted to go for a dorm in SG. I've got my eye on one hostel which actually has "only 4 beds free" in a 4 bed dorm, so may in fact be quietish (of course this is a mixed blessing wrt socialising - if somewhere is deserted I ain't meeting anyone, but if it's heaving with smug young things I am unlikely to meet anyone either) and some of the other hostels have 8 or 10 bed dorms which would probably be fine but at the same time is maybe less pleasant than necessary. This hostel has free cancellation anytime so I may book it now.
Incidentally I don't think I am coughing a lot, I am making a bit of an effort not to do it so "automatically" even when on my own (I think in part it's just a bad habit I've formed) but I also suspect the cold-ish thing lingering around before and over Christmas is kind of going. So I don't think I'm massively annoying in a dorm.
Some of the hostels on booking.com do seem to be giving a bit of a "party" vibe (which would be appealing if I were younger *and* more confident at the same time) but I think the one I've selected is not super that way, and at the same time a lot of it is marketing.
Actually this place is USD27 for 4 nights in 4 bed dorm (a bargain compared to CR, I do like the prices here) and an economy private room (double with private bathroom, admittedly) is USD74, so more like three times the price. Still very affordable but my inclination is to try to alternate, so I get to save some money (I honestly don't think dorm adds much to my socialising chances, though I guess it's non-zero) but also get some privacy and improved chances of doing laundry etc.
I think this hostel has a bar but that's fine. This often just means "we have a fridge and sell beer" but no one uses it, and sometimes also means "please don't bring your own beer in" , but even if that's true, I am not desperate for beers right now so if I end up going without that's fine, and of course I can patronise the bar, and it just *may* be helpful in socialising.
2028 OK, booked that. Free cancellation up to check in feels too good to be true, it wasn't too blatantly shown on later booking screens but it is probably the case and it should be fine - I don't intend to exercise this option. From the photos I suspect the pool is more suited to sitting in that actually swimming and thus I may well not even attempt to use it, but at least there is a chance it will let me get some practice in.
2039 Just popped out to put bottle of water in fridge and flat is deserted. I still haven't paid either. Not a big deal.
2100 It is a bit chilly in here again, though not wearing fleece yet.
2140 Realised (luckily before losing anything) Android native file/copy to/from USB stick is sometimes failing and showing "1 item not copied" - but that item is *the folder being copied*. It leaves what it copied before something failed on there so I hadn't noticed. I just redid everything with Ghost Commander which is less convenient but at least seems to work.
If I didn't get confused I saw the poster about that funeral I saw at cathedral again today and photographed it, FWIW. Name and date would confirm.
2236 Had shower. Didn't want to but made myself wash some uw, drying conditions here not super favourable but I decided not to be over paranoid and leave them on an empty "soap and similar crap" rack hanging in shower along with trousers from earlier and as bathroom window is open they may well dry fairly well - in my room I tend to have window shut at night. I want to start dorm stretch (and in a hostel where the main negative comment seems to be about shared bathroom:guest ratio too) with as many clean clothes as possible.
FWIW I noticed this today but it's been an ongoing thing: I am in sort of womble mode, stashing random things that come into my possession into my pockets, like sachets of sugar I got with my tinto today and didn't use and paper and plastic bags and tissues that not-too-messy street-ish food comes in. Back home I'd resist, but here it feels a mix of silly and prudent. I don't normally take sugar, but then I also normally have a fairly easy regular meal schedule at home and maybe I'll find myself hung over or feeling knackered and having that sachet of sugar will turn a random coffee into a pick-me-up or something, or having a bit of tissue will save me from a toilet emergency. (I do always have a few sheets in a plastic bag in back trouser pocket, assuming they haven't disintegrated, but more is always helpful I guess and fleece pockets are relatively capacious and this stuff isn't that bulky.)
Still vaguely miffed with myself re "hike" tomorrow and associated stuff, but not feeling too bad. I added at least one and maybe two songs to my personal music memories library today, I could see MEH being a go-to cheer-myself-up song over longer term too. I have at least tried to learn from the "hike" business, even if it's easier to say eg I will try to just not worry about speaking Spanish and relax and do it than it is to actually do that (del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho...). And I made the "not taking the super easy option" decision to book a dorm in SG. (Of course, my desire to save money makes this easier than it might otherwise be, but it's not just about the money. I do want to be prudent but I do spend money where it's necessary or useful in order to do fun/memorable things - but as long as I'm having little bursts of privacy for mental and practical reasons along the way, staying in dorms sometimes is *not* compromising on fun/memories/quality of trip to save money - if anything slightly the reverse.)
I have a vague feeling I was going to write something else but I can always add it to tomorrow's entry.
2245 Just in case it's not clear, timestamps are true, but they *don't* imply a gap in writing. Sometimes there is a gap, sometimes I just decide I've been writing a long time and to put a timestamp in. This one for example is continuing the writing I started at 2236.
As last night I feel oddly warmer in room post-shower than I did pre-shower. Maybe it's the body-warming effect of the shower.
Anyway, to bed I think.
Not a bad day overall but bit of a feeling I goofed mildly. More anon.
Slept very well, bed seems extremely comfortable. Woke a bit pre-alarm (in part due to not closing curtains, which are tied and I kind of didn't like to disturb them, and there is a net curtain for privacy) which was IIRC 830 and snoozed on alarm til maybe 930.
Headed out maybe 1030-11ish, churro place nearby not open but never mind. Spent the day wandering round town basically. Early on got a biggish single churro for 1.5k which had some yellow and red cream stuff in it, odd as it seems I think the yellow might be cheese and the red some kind of jam but not sure. Also saw small stall selling 7 small buñuelos for 2k so with some minor linguistic difficulties I got some - quite nice, but "just" fried dough balls - I suspect the larger ones are filled with stuff.
Went into museo del fundador, spoke to security guard who said there was a guided tour at 1. I asked and was allowed in to wander the smallish but quite nice grounds and then, having about an hour to kill, went and had two lattes (nice, but not huge) at a cafe on the other side of main square (4.5k each, made it 10 with tip) then back for the tour. The tour was free. A couple of MoS/volunteery people, one of them the tour guide, chatted with me a bit first and I felt a little awkward (I don't know enough Spanish platitudes and keep saying "que bueno" which may not even be right in first place) and tour guide, on me saying I was from London, told me of an 80s salsa song called "Londres" by Nelson y Sus Estrellas and played me a bit on his phone.
We then did the tour, which was quite cool if a bit rushed (I snapped a few hasty photos) and I also felt a bit edgy in case the guide thought I didn't understand and that seemed rude. Group not huge, maybe 8-10 of us, the others I think all from Bogota.
Anyway, at end of tour the guide said he was doing some kind of tour out in the country and seemed to be inviting us. One of the Colombians asked if it was free and he said it was. Anyway, I wasn't really sure if I was included and I felt awkward. Also he was giving directions to the Colombians which I was earwigging on like "on the road to Bogota, there's a place with two service stations" and telling someone about getting a bus and asking the driver to let them off at such and such a place.
As I say I was feeling awkward like it sort of appealed but I wasn't sure if I was invited and was concerned with the logistics (meeting time was 9am and I gather it would have been a walk til 1pm ish) and I was dithering inside my head and wondering about making excuses like I was leaving tomorrow. He did ask me if I was interested and I said as politely as I could (bearing in mind I feel my Spanish has been rather crappily jittery in general) that it seemed difficult getting there without a vehicle and he *may* (but I was sort of panicking internally) have offered to pick me up (though for all I know he was offering to help me see where to get bus) and I (I hope not rudely) said something about that being very kind but not wanting to create problems for him and he dropped it.
As the icing on the cake on the way out the other volunteery type chap spoke to me and I obviously misinterpreted his question and I just felt crappy about my Spanish and social skills.
Oh, he also offered us all his phone number to contact him re this tour, before he specifically asked me.
So afterwards I'm feeling like I fucked this up, the mere fact I did this 1pm tour was sheer luck (I wandered into that museum on a bit of a whim, to fill time, having seen it in guide book this morning but no details on this) and the universe kind of dropped this country walk/tour in my lap which could have been quite cool and I turned it down.
Obviously this isn't life ruining. And as I tried to tell myself maybe this was a (not first repetition) of a lesson, I then started to wonder what the lesson was and if I really "should" have said yes. I mean, it could have been genuinely awkward. I could have struggled to get there. While he's presumably trustworthy given how I met him, I also find this a bit weird. And all this for free seems a bit odd, TBH had all gone well I wouldn't have minded giving him 50-100k (after all I paid 50k for that walking tour up Monserrate), but this weird business of obligation to someone I don't know doesn't sit well. And would it be awkward with me as the only foreigner on this tour?
So I dunno. I do kind of wish I'd said yes, or at least felt calm and in control and asked something about where to meet and could he show me on the map and I'd see if I could get there and would send him a message. But I can't quite bring myself to go so far as to say I should have absolutely said "yes" , given the logistical concerns.
But anyway.
So after that I went to the other museum just round the corner - not looking names up as I write - some writer's house. Paid 5k and the woman on the ticket desk basically shut up the ticket desk and entrance and took me on a solo 5-10m guided tour! This was semi-informative but a bit more rushed - I could have happily pottered around for 30-60 mins on my own if allowed - and all in Spanish and while that's good and I did understand I felt a bit on the spot, like she didn't believe I could understand her.
She also put a bloody mask on when she came out of the ticket booth, which disturbed me a bit. (I just hate them, and I wondered if she would want or expect me to wear one, *and* for the first time I realised how weird it is talking to someone and not being able to see their lips move. I can understand Spanish just fine without seeing lips move, but when I was looking at her and the lips were "missing" it just felt weird. Or maybe it was just my mask pseudo-phobia playing up.)
Anyway, after that I wandered round a bit more and went and had a small mexicana (including small flakes of tortilla chips - to be fair I had half seen and understood this in the menu, and ignored it, but it was a bit weird) pizza at the small but kind of OK Pizza Ninja just off main square (I hope it's all unlicenced use of the brand, TMNT stuff all over place) which was about 21.5k but I probably unnecessarily left a 2k tip. Got to watch first part of Super Mario film on TV (Spanish, with Spanish subtitles) while waiting/eating. (If it's available on a flight I'll probably watch the whole thing, but I'm not exactly on tenterhooks having had to stop just as Peach and Toad (?) arrive to tell the toadstool people things to evacuate.)
So I then wandered round a bit more, managed to find the small "Cafe Canela" newagenty type place I had aromatica and cake yesterday and had a large into and a piece of some different cake for maybe 4k today. I asked the woman on way out if she knew where buses to San Gil went and she said the terminal - I asked if this was the one to east of town and she said yes. I then mucked up by querying something she'd said about La Glorieta and somehow she thought I was asking about Sogamo (sp) so any idea I could communicate properly went out of the window.
Oh, that reminds me that earlier during post-museum wanderings I popped into a larger sweet shop cum cafe and asked if they had tinto, they didn't but on asking if they had any kind of coffee I got a latte/white coffee of sorts (quite nice) for about 1.8k, I left 0.5k on table as tip tho again not sure that was necessary. They had some nice-but-vaguely-depressingly-cute sweet packages on display and as I left I asked the woman if I could photograph them and she said yes, so I did.
I then wandered a little bit more and walked back to accom, calling in at Fruitimax fruit supermarket thing to get about 2lb of "manzana ana" for 5.6k (these are presumably local, as various other apples were around double the price).
Can't say having pizza was super-smart and I felt my gut churn a bit as I was waiting, but I do feel like 90% OK and I did kind of fancy it. Rightly or wrongly I feel pizza is a cool weather food - I remember sweating and eating that pizza in Liberia in CR, for example - and it's also something that can often be tourist-priced. Tunja may be the last place I'm in for ages which is not particularly geared towards tourists (especially not foreign ones - I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I don't think I've seen another obviously foreign tourist while here, nor have I heard any English spoken outside the host woman here) and where the weather is cool. (Today it veered between nice to have fleece on and slightly warm with it on. I think it also just rained the tiniest bit not long before I had pizza, just that kind of fine mist in the air feeling. FWIW a lot of locals also seem to be wearing jackets or vaguely fleecy tops, not all of them though.)
As I say, wish I:
- spoke Spanish better
- felt more relaxed using the Spanish I have (which would also help previous point)
- hadn't felt vaguely awkwardly "maybe left out" and foreign and fifth wheel-ish etc wrt that walking tour business
- had been more "openly interested but confident in trying to clear up details" about it
But meh meh meh, can only try to get better with things like this etc.
I was feeling this morning - after trying to quickly skim guidebook for any stuff here, and it was mainly those two houses/museums I did go to today - that I'm just touristing all wrong. The guide book mentions all sorts of hiking and tours and beautiful countryside etc round here and VdL and I'm just not going to any of it. Of course you can only do so much and I do want to move on to San Gil and I'm trying to compromise between breadth and depth etc etc and there really is no write or wrong but the thoughts are still flitting through my mind.
I also as I've mentioned keep feeling a bit BNM. OTOH it isn't generally as if I seem to be seeing other people socialise enormously when I can't. Yes annoying GW was talking to that Montreal couple in VdL hostel and she seemed to kind of ignore me a bit, but I didn't make an effort to talk to her, and this was only for one half day. It's not as if my Bogota hostel was full of other people meeting and socialising, and in the VdL hostel I did feel a bit out of it that first night but otherwise it's not as if everyone else seemed to be meeting each other and I didn't - it wasn't *that* busy, my dormmate kept to herself in general and didn't just not talk to me, etc etc.
Probably some sort of lurking and chronic psychological flaw on my part makes me prone to thinking I "should" be meeting more people and living in a constant social whirl just because I'm "travelling" . Even though - while I do like to meet people to some extent - I am also genuinely happy having some time to myself and the idea of being constantly "on" socially sounds exhausting and horrible.
It's a small thing but I keep catching myself getting genders of Spanish nouns wrong, even basic ones, and that is shaking my confidence further. None of this is helpful of course, but I'm noting it because it *is* happening.
I think I am not so desperate to stay here that I am going to ask about another night. I will look at booking San Gil accom later and tomorrow I will trog over to bus terminal and/or see if I can experiment (it's an experience in itself as well as maybe helpful) getting a local bus over to the terminal. I get the impression from r2r and/or guide book that there are frequent services to SG, maybe hourly, and it's about 4h, but I'm far from trusting either of those. (One r2r link I clicked on this morning took me to a bus company website which doesn't even let you choose Tunja as origin, never mind where you go. It is I suppose possible this is one of those weird LA things where you have to *know* the bus's start and end points, e.g. maybe I was supposed to choose Bogota as start because *obviously* the bus from Tunja started in Bogota.)
I do need to do some exercises tonight/tomorrow in case I don't have privacy in SG - I genuinely haven't looked yet, I probably do want to be in a hostel for chance of getting in to some kind of chat, but I can probably take it or leave it wrt dorm, but if it is a lot cheaper I may well do another dorm, given I can/will have done a modest amount of clothes washing here. (The trousers don't need washing as much but they are probably the most awkward to do "secretly" just on size grounds, and I've got those done here.)
Apart from exercises and booking SG accom I don't think I have to do too much tonight. Probably go to bed 9-10ish and try to be up 8-9ish tomorrow for a fairly casual day of bus terminal visiting and filling spare time wandering city centre.
While in the slightly fancy cafe on main square waiting for 1pm tour:
- I noticed some kind of coffee+aguardiente drink at 10k, I was tempted but felt not smart middle of day, toyed with getting one 5pmish before coming home but also felt a bit indulgent after just having had tinto+cake at cafe canela, I may go there and have one tomorrow afternoon
- music was quite good and I recorded/googled a couple of the songs to check out later, which I think were "Muerte En Hawaii" by Calle 13 and "Ya no se baila como antes" by Rupatrupa (maybe acoustic version??)
1912 Just listened to Muerte En Hawaii, definitely the song from cafe and it's made me smile with just a hint of tearfulness, but that's not quite the right way to describe it. (It's ridiculous given that I'm quite aware how minor all the things I've written above are, not just in the grand scheme of things, but even in the context of just this trip, but somehow there's something about the song that gives me "it'll be OK despite these (minor) fuck-ups" vibes. Which may or may not be entirely something I'm projecting onto it.) Think that is definitely going to be one of those songs I listen to semi-regularly which is associated with a particular holiday - like "No te sientas tan importante" on that bus in Guatemala. There's something kind of cheerful and non-arrogant and bouncy and also "Urban Spaceman"-y about MEH.
1927 And yes, although there may be multiple versions, " Ya no se baila como antes" is the other song I heard. This isn't hitting the spot in the same way as MEH right now, but it does kind of appeal and I could see it becoming a favourite. I'd also need to think harder than I want to right now about what the lyrics are actually saying. I mean, my beliefs don't have to align with a song for me to enjoy it (FFS, while no super fan I quite like The Clash, but their politics are most certainly not mine), but still, I would at least like to know what the song is saying. (I mean, I more-or-less understand the lyrics already. But there are definitely a few subtleties where I'm guessing at the meaning of words or where it's not quite clear if something is meant a little ironically.)
(Like for example - and the top YT comment on the version I watched is just this quote without comments - "es tan bonito ser un inconsciente, es tan rentable ser un miserable" . I just looked up those words to be safe. Given a/the theme of the song seems to be that "they" are spreading mistrust and fear (and I am paraphrasing after hearing it twice etc), are we to take that "es tan bonito" literally, or does it have a sneering "ignorance is bliss, but you shouldn't want to be ignorant" tone, or what? And it doesn't seem to me that being "un miserable" as such is profitable financially, although we could take this to mean being a seemingly wise doom and gloom person is "socially" profitable (the bear case always looks smarter), or maybe we could interpret it to mean that even if you don't actually believe it, spreading misery and fear is (financially) profitable. Most of the song seems to my naive non-native ear to have a clearer "don't listen to all the negativity" kind of vibe, but bits like this add to my uncertainty as to exactly what it's meant to mean.)
1935 Not wrt these songs, but I do feel I'm "working a little hard" at the Spanish aspects of the trip. I should maybe try to worry about it less. And not try to deal with second or third order concerns about whether someone speaking to me in Spanish is worried about whether I understand them or not.
(I'm *not* working hard in the sense of going and reading about grammar or what have you, even if that might actually help. I am thinking about new words but that is probably vaguely helpful and at least not harmful. But worrying over-much about if or how well I can communicate instead of just going for it and trusting that over time I will get better is probably not helpful.)
1943 OK, I haven't watched this but trying to find date for MEH (2010 IIRC, and the duo performing are from Puerto Rico), I see claims the music video's images are about destruction of dolphin habitats and have nothing to do with the words (I watched an unofficial lyrics video, so not seen this) and another website saying the words are about a guy sent to to Hawaii to avenge the death of his friend. Fuck knows. That does at least fit the song title. Maybe there are layers here. I did see descriptions of the lyrics as about how good someone could be given the right love or something (paraphrasing), which is not quite how they are touching me right now but which feels about right and in the same ballpark as my interpretation. Meh. I suppose I take from it what it makes me feel and that's that.
2006 Had quick poke at SG hostels. Lots of places have swimming pools. I "need" to try to swim when I can to avoid losing progress. I honestly don't know if I will be able to bring myself to use a hostel pool, and even ignoring "social" issues I have concerns about sunburn which would probably mandate swimming near dawn or dusk. They are also probably small but who knows.
Dorms run about USD10-15 night, privates are roughly double that. I am not exactly short of money, but it does help to keep costs down where possible (the less I spend the more I have for other trips or big ticket items like the boat trip, which I will need to book in a day or two). Given I've had a private here I am rather tempted to go for a dorm in SG. I've got my eye on one hostel which actually has "only 4 beds free" in a 4 bed dorm, so may in fact be quietish (of course this is a mixed blessing wrt socialising - if somewhere is deserted I ain't meeting anyone, but if it's heaving with smug young things I am unlikely to meet anyone either) and some of the other hostels have 8 or 10 bed dorms which would probably be fine but at the same time is maybe less pleasant than necessary. This hostel has free cancellation anytime so I may book it now.
Incidentally I don't think I am coughing a lot, I am making a bit of an effort not to do it so "automatically" even when on my own (I think in part it's just a bad habit I've formed) but I also suspect the cold-ish thing lingering around before and over Christmas is kind of going. So I don't think I'm massively annoying in a dorm.
Some of the hostels on booking.com do seem to be giving a bit of a "party" vibe (which would be appealing if I were younger *and* more confident at the same time) but I think the one I've selected is not super that way, and at the same time a lot of it is marketing.
Actually this place is USD27 for 4 nights in 4 bed dorm (a bargain compared to CR, I do like the prices here) and an economy private room (double with private bathroom, admittedly) is USD74, so more like three times the price. Still very affordable but my inclination is to try to alternate, so I get to save some money (I honestly don't think dorm adds much to my socialising chances, though I guess it's non-zero) but also get some privacy and improved chances of doing laundry etc.
I think this hostel has a bar but that's fine. This often just means "we have a fridge and sell beer" but no one uses it, and sometimes also means "please don't bring your own beer in" , but even if that's true, I am not desperate for beers right now so if I end up going without that's fine, and of course I can patronise the bar, and it just *may* be helpful in socialising.
2028 OK, booked that. Free cancellation up to check in feels too good to be true, it wasn't too blatantly shown on later booking screens but it is probably the case and it should be fine - I don't intend to exercise this option. From the photos I suspect the pool is more suited to sitting in that actually swimming and thus I may well not even attempt to use it, but at least there is a chance it will let me get some practice in.
2039 Just popped out to put bottle of water in fridge and flat is deserted. I still haven't paid either. Not a big deal.
2100 It is a bit chilly in here again, though not wearing fleece yet.
2140 Realised (luckily before losing anything) Android native file/copy to/from USB stick is sometimes failing and showing "1 item not copied" - but that item is *the folder being copied*. It leaves what it copied before something failed on there so I hadn't noticed. I just redid everything with Ghost Commander which is less convenient but at least seems to work.
If I didn't get confused I saw the poster about that funeral I saw at cathedral again today and photographed it, FWIW. Name and date would confirm.
2236 Had shower. Didn't want to but made myself wash some uw, drying conditions here not super favourable but I decided not to be over paranoid and leave them on an empty "soap and similar crap" rack hanging in shower along with trousers from earlier and as bathroom window is open they may well dry fairly well - in my room I tend to have window shut at night. I want to start dorm stretch (and in a hostel where the main negative comment seems to be about shared bathroom:guest ratio too) with as many clean clothes as possible.
FWIW I noticed this today but it's been an ongoing thing: I am in sort of womble mode, stashing random things that come into my possession into my pockets, like sachets of sugar I got with my tinto today and didn't use and paper and plastic bags and tissues that not-too-messy street-ish food comes in. Back home I'd resist, but here it feels a mix of silly and prudent. I don't normally take sugar, but then I also normally have a fairly easy regular meal schedule at home and maybe I'll find myself hung over or feeling knackered and having that sachet of sugar will turn a random coffee into a pick-me-up or something, or having a bit of tissue will save me from a toilet emergency. (I do always have a few sheets in a plastic bag in back trouser pocket, assuming they haven't disintegrated, but more is always helpful I guess and fleece pockets are relatively capacious and this stuff isn't that bulky.)
Still vaguely miffed with myself re "hike" tomorrow and associated stuff, but not feeling too bad. I added at least one and maybe two songs to my personal music memories library today, I could see MEH being a go-to cheer-myself-up song over longer term too. I have at least tried to learn from the "hike" business, even if it's easier to say eg I will try to just not worry about speaking Spanish and relax and do it than it is to actually do that (del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho...). And I made the "not taking the super easy option" decision to book a dorm in SG. (Of course, my desire to save money makes this easier than it might otherwise be, but it's not just about the money. I do want to be prudent but I do spend money where it's necessary or useful in order to do fun/memorable things - but as long as I'm having little bursts of privacy for mental and practical reasons along the way, staying in dorms sometimes is *not* compromising on fun/memories/quality of trip to save money - if anything slightly the reverse.)
I have a vague feeling I was going to write something else but I can always add it to tomorrow's entry.
2245 Just in case it's not clear, timestamps are true, but they *don't* imply a gap in writing. Sometimes there is a gap, sometimes I just decide I've been writing a long time and to put a timestamp in. This one for example is continuing the writing I started at 2236.
As last night I feel oddly warmer in room post-shower than I did pre-shower. Maybe it's the body-warming effect of the shower.
Anyway, to bed I think.
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