OBJECTIVES
Summer
Break, July, 2015. After an absolutely brutal year, where work, school , and
record snowfall over Boston kept me so busy that I rarely had enough time to as
much as catch up with friends, I was really looking forward to this
trip…..Puerto Rico, and Pereira and Cartagena, Colombia. The plan was to enjoy
a relaxing, tropical vacation, with a good friend, who I unfortunately do not
have a chance to see much anymore, while also marrying off one of my best buddies,
while also meeting new people, learning new things, exposing myself to
different cultures, and exploring new places. This trip fulfilled all of my
objectives. I spent quality time with some of my best friends. I made new ones…
residents of small Caribbean Islands, people just 10 minute drive from my house
in Boston, soccer prodigies, startup business owners, wounded Iraq and
Afghanistan war veterans who told me about how the US government takes opium in
Afghanistan and then sells it to big pharma, and of course, local Colombians
and Puerto Ricans. The vacation was about weddings, parties, continued
relationships….but also about new beginnings and unsought opportunities. It was
about travel….by plane, car, foot, and ferry, but also by bike, ambulance, brujita,
and garrucha. Sure, there were some bumps and bruises along the way (literally!).
But this is what life is all about, isn’t it? We utilize our vacations from
work to enjoy ourselves, make new memories, and form stronger connections. We
make new friends. We catch up with old ones. We learn and appreciate new
cultures and lifestyles. We try new things, go on adventures, enjoy natural
beauty, make our own parties. Yes, sometimes we shall fall down. But we get
back up. We deal with the pain and keep going, until we reach the finish line.
Only then can we rest up, heal, go back to work….and get ready to do it all
over again. This is how winners are made!
PUERTO RICO
Saturday Night: We arrived in
this American territory, the only one where everyone speaks Spanish. Since
1917, Puerto Ricans have been granted American citizenship. This means that we
could continue to show our licenses instead of our passports, and more
importantly, that our phones could still be used to call and text without
wi-fi. Puerto Rico may be going the way of Greece in terms of its tanking
economy and debt issues, but you wouldn’t know if you check out the party
scene, as we did this night. People here love to drink, dance, and party on the
streets. Unfortunately, I soon discovered the hard way that girls here will
refuse to dance with you if you don’t know salsa! And salsa is the ONLY music
they play in Puerto Rico. It is a pity that we were not in San Juan on Friday
night, though. Saturday night clubbing was fun and all, but on Friday nights,
the streets with the bars and clubs are literally cordoned off, and the locals
have crazy street parties, including loud music, dancing on the streets, and
lots of drinking. It sounds just like Spring Brea, or the annual street parties
at public colleges!
Sunday: We rented a car. The renting
company seemed pretty determined to make me purchase their auto insurance; they
demanded to see a copy of my policy! So after an hour of looking around online
for my damn policy, I finally found it,
and could just use my own auto insurance (pro tip: being insured by your
employer helps….you can also find confirmation emails in your work emails). After
we finally got the car, we went down to the beach, except it started pouring
for the entire day. Another bummer. We made the most of this by eating at some
local bars, watching baseball and MLS soccer, and being entertained by the
random bicyclists who cycled in with their stereos, and threw a dance
party…..right on the street! You guessed
it…..lively, addicting salsa music! At a pizzeria, an ad to buy a house caught
my house. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, on the beach, for just $180 K? Sign me
up!
Monday: Beach day! We travelled to Flamenco
Beach, ranked as the 3rd best beach in the world, according to Trip
Advisor. Good luck getting here, though! You need to stand in line at 4 AM
(yes, 4 AM, not a typo), just to purchase the ferry ticket! Or, you could do
what we did, which is arrive at 8:45 AM, find out all of the tickets are sold
out, and fly in via private plane, while enjoying the beauty of Flamenco Beach
from up in the sky. Getting here was totally worth it. Few things in life are
better than a beer with friends, on white, clean sand, overlooking a
green-blue, ocean, with a smooth sandy bottom, as the sun glimmers like gold
over the waves. Actually, yes, one thing is better….snorkeling on the nearby Tamarindo Beach, seeing all kinds of reefs, fish, even giant sea turtles. It was
just a fun, relaxing day at the beach. After such a hectic 2015, I needed a day
to myself to just chill out, hang out with friends and relax, and boy did I get
it. When you go to Puerto Rico, ignore the city beaches, they suck. (the ocean
is rocky, and they cordon off the swimming area; also the beach areas are
small) Plan a trip to the islands, where there are some of the best beachesin
the world!
Tuesday: Time to get drunk
on the Bacardi tour! Although the Bacardi family originally started their
business in Cuba, their distillery is now in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The
business immigrated shortly after Fidel Castro made Cuba Communist, and his
government started taking private property and profits. Cuba’s loss is our
gain! We received a full tour of how Bacardis are made, and the steps in the
process to make one of my favorite rums. I was amazed at how much equipment is
required to make rum, and especially by how large the factory was…..making rum
takes up lots of space! The best part was the opportunity to make our own
drinks, though. I made 3 different Bacardi drinks (yes, I obviously drank them
all myself), and I even have the diploma to prove my new degree in Bacardi
brewing! Who said you can’t earn a new degree, while on vacation! So….who wants
me to make you a drink?
Wednesday Last day in
Puerto Rico. What better way to spend the last day before our flight out to
Pereira, than to explore Old San Juan! The city was founded in 1508, by the conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon. It is
surrounded by a fort, which the Spaniards build to ward off their European
rivals and pirates. A military cemetery abuts the fort, just outside of the
Atlantic Ocean. Wow, what a city! Gorgeous architecture, with so many colorful,
old buildings. Narrow streets filled with shops, Spanish-style, as I’m told. Old
San Juan is just a wonderful place to walk around, do some shopping, enjoy
nature, and marvel at the beauty of architecture. It is open late at night if
cruise ships are in, but closes early on days when there are none.
PEREIRA, COLOMBIA
Thursday started off nice and early, as we
all hopped on the bus, made new friends, and went down to Salento, a suburb of
Pereira, Colombia. This town was once a primary route from Popayán to Bogotá, over
the Quindío Pass ( "La Línea"), but was only established as an
official town in 1842. Salento is such a pretty little town! We walked along
the streets of this typical Colombian community, checking out the shops, as we
walked up a staircase in the Andes Mountains. From the top, we were treated to
a spectacular bird’s eye view of the town. So may rooftops, all perfectly
aligned with the streets! We also got the opportunity to try out Colombia’s
number one specialty, coffee. Black, sugar, much caffeine little caffeine…..so
many options to choose from!
Before
going on a serene hike in the Cocora Valley, looking up at the lovely Andes
Mountains and enjoying the waterfall, we planted trees, for various reasons.
With these trees, we wish for peace between Russia and Ukraine. We hope for
better relations between Russia and the USA. We desire Colombians to enjoy the
same standard of living as the Germans appreciate. With these trees, we pray
for friendship over conflict, for tolerance over division, for leaders to show
the courage to unite the people of the world, rather than continue using us as
political pawns by dividing us. With these trees, we call for understanding and
friendship between the Russians, Ukrainians, Americans, Germans, Colombians,
Indians, Chinese, Brits, and all other nationalities not represented by our
party, Not just for a wedding, or for a week, let’s build better relationships
with all of the people in the world, forever!
The
hike up the Cocora Valley was fun. It’s a serene nature walk, surrounded by the
Andes Mountains and these tall palm-like trees, called “wax palms”. We went up
to the waterfall, where we crossed this small bridge to enjoy the view. After
taking a break for some quality dinner at an authentic Colombian restaurant, we
hopped back on the bus and went down to the hot springs, in the Andes
Mountains. Despite the chilly temperatures, the hot springs were actually quite
pleasant for swimming, relaxing, and socializing. Historically, various people,
from the ancient Greeks and Romans, to Russian czars and their families, have
gone to hot springs to cure various physical and mental ailments. Many recovered
from their illnesses, and it’s no surprise. The hot springs are relaxing. They
are soothing. They are therapeutic. Just sit back and enjoy. Or go down under
the waterfall, if you’re feeling particulary adventurous. Once I got out, I did
not even feel cold anymore.,…but I did feel healthy, happy, and in good
spirits!
Friday: The morning started off with a tour
of a coffee farm. We were shown how various brands of coffee are produced, and
how it is inspected for quality. It was a cool experience. Along with humans,
dogs and peacocks coexist on this farm, seemingly unafraid of strangers. While
I personally am a city guy, who would quickly tire of the farm lifer, there is
something beautiful and romantic about living out of town, making your own
food, and not being dependent on anyone else to survive. The people who made
coffee on this farm were clearly enjoying their work, and were so passionate in
sharing their knowledge with us.
The
rest of the day was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for the wedding. Except,
the guests had no clue what they were supposed to be doing for the wedding! While
waiting for the bus, some friends and I ran into a childhood friend of
Juliana’s (the bride) mother, except he told us was an uncle. He, in turn,
thought that we were supposed to go to the church for the rehearsal, and so
drove us there, except nobody was at the church! So we drove back and drank rum
with him instead, until the dinner. The language barrier was kinda an issue! Finally,
at the dinner, everyone socialized some more, drank, and had a jolly good time,
calling it an early day, excited for the big day tomorrow.
Saturday: Finally, the big
wedding day! It started off lazily enough with me just chilling by the pool the
entire morning and much of early afternoon. Little did I know how much energy I
would need to make it through the day! After the deeply Catholic wedding at the
church, the party began. There were hired dancers, performing traditional
Pereiran folk dances. After dinner though, it was our turn to dance. And drink
Auguardiente, the Colombian vodka. Straight up shots. 2-3 times. One after the
other. On multiple occasions. Let me tell you something. I have been to
numerous weddings, and NONE were more fun than this one! We took funny photos
in silly costumes. We put on pretty little lights, giant glittery hats, and
wigs, and danced the night away. Colombian music. Russian. American. Indian.
Today’s hits The 90s. The Macarena (really). And took more shots of Auguardiente,
deep into the early morning, where extremely inebriated, we went back to sleep
off our hangover, after experiencing one of the best parties of our lives. I
don’t think ever had such a fun night….and
the bar is set extremely high to entertain at my own wedding!
While
wedding parties are fun, let’s remember the real reason why we were all here.
It is to celebrate 2 people who are in love. What is true love? It is surviving
through all of the distractions of 4 years of college, and still coming out in
the same relationship. It is continuing to build the relationship
long-distance, despite the inconvenience of commuting between Boston and
Connecticut (closer to the NY side). It is the challenge of the guy getting
suddenly laid off, needing to leave the USA, and starting a new life in
Germany…and the girl saying goodbye to her family and friends, packing her
bags, and joining her lover to start a new life together, in a new country, on
a new continent. That’s true love. That’s commitment. Anton and Juliana,
congratulations on getting married! It is clear that your love for each other
is so strong that nothing will tear it apart, and I wish you much health and
happiness together. May you have a long-lasting marriage, filled with passion,
adventure, and excitement. Thank you for sharing this happy moment with me and
allowing me to play a small part in your love for each other.
As
you prepare for the next chapter of your lives together, just know that I shall
always support you, and be there for you every step of the way….just let’s
continue to keep in touch, and meet up again sometime soon!
Sunday: What does one do the morning after
a heavy night of drinking and partying, at 7 AM? Sleep in, nursing your
hangover, lazily lounging by the pool in the afternoon? Nope! Enjoy the
beautiful views of the Andes Mountains by going on a bike ride, followed by a
hike, of course! Just one problem. I have never mountain biked. It takes
practice, and it takes some getting used to….but before you succeed, you fall.
And fall I did, bruising most of my left arm, the palm on my right hand, and
most painful of all, spraining and straining my right wrist, which I’m still which
I’m still currently recovering from. But you know what? I got back up on the
bike. And I did not fall off again. While I did not finish the bike ride out of
consideration for the rest of my group, as I did not want to slow down the
experienced riders in my group, who clearly wanted to go faster, I gave it my
best. Tomorrow is a new day. I might fall again, I might once again be in much
pain, but I will get up, and fight to finish the race! Time to practice some
mountain biking!
Having
rested and gotten used to the pain in the Jeep a little bit, I joined the
others to continue our adventures. First, we took the brujita to the river. A brujita
is a cart on tracks, which is powerd by a motorcycle. In what seems like a
scene form a fiction movie, when 2 brujitas move in opposite directions,
everyone gets off one of them, one of the brujitas is lifted right off the
tracks, the other one continues along its merry way, and then the brujita that
was lifted gets placed back on the racks, and continues on its journey. Then,
to cross the river, we took the, garrucha where laborers pull a cart, by hand, via
rope, across the river. Basically, transportation in Pereira seems like very
laborious work! The locals come here to
camp on the weekends, but we hiked up the Andes Mountains, braving the winding
roads and the treacherous turns and streams to reach the springs, where we took
a dip in our undies, not having brought swimming suits. On the way back, we
drank a Colombian beer named “Poker” (you know I’m bringing one to the next
casino!), and had to recycle the empty bottles back into the shops’ freezer. It’s
more economic….the empty bottles are reused (and hopefully washed well!),
saving money! The hike was difficult with all my painful injuries, but this
just made it more interesting. Unable to utilize my right palm, or much of my
left arm, I had to great creative and improvise my steps. Strategy with
endurance, calculations before decision-making. On the way back, we drank a
Colombian beer named “Poker” (you know I’m bringing one to the next casino!),
and had to recycle the empty bottles back into the shops’ freezer. It’s more
economic….the empty bottles are reused (and hopefully washed well!), saving
money!
After
our morning exercise, it was time to explore the city of Pereira. Not much to
see, though. There are a bunch of casinos, but make no mistake, this is no
Vegas. The casinos have a bunch of bingo-like tables, all numbered. No, we did
not play….something called a language barrier and a lack of time. We also went
to a local café and ordered 6 types of different juices. We enjoyed the “maracuya”
( made form a South American ‘passion flower’and the “guayaba” (made of guava,
a tropical fruit), were neutral on the “Curuba”(made out of bananas), and
disliked the “Tomato de Arbol (a tomato juice)” and the “Araza” ( a type of
fruit found in the Amazonian rainforest).
When
I got back to the hotel, my friends freaked out about my injuries and peer
pressured me to see a medic. So I called form one up at the hotel, and he took
a look and said that all of my injuries were “artificial”, which was great
news. Oh, also, my mom emailed and called. I had to get back to her, and she
already knew that I went biking because one of my friends told her…..so a fun
conversation, as you can imagine! The shower was some of the most painful stuff
I’ve ever had to go through, though. My bruises were in excruciating pain form
the soap, but thankfully this was just a one-time thing, and there was no more
such pain when I showered the next day.
Monday and Tuesday: I spent these 2
days at the Hotel Sonesta, recuperating from my injuries. Except not really, as
I made the mistake of playing tennis on Monday (remember the medic cleared me),
which just made my wrist hurt more. On Tuesday, since we were about to fly out
to Cartagena, I was convinced to have the medic check up on me just in case,
better be safe than sorry! And they freaked me out when the nurse said that my
wrist might be broken, gave me a shot in the buttocks, and told me to go to the
hospital! So we went via ambulance. On the way there, we got to see some more
of downtown Pereira. At one point, a motorcycle crashed in the back our
ambulance! We almost made new company at our ambulance party, but the guy on
the bike pulled it out from underneath the ambulance, and then just drove away,
as if nothing happened! At the hospital, my hand was X-rayed, and I found out I
“only” had a sprain and a strain. The doc wrapped up my hand, gave me some anti-bacterial
drugs and some painkillers (which I didn’t use, as the pain was going away) and
discharged me.
Compare
the costs of urgent care in Colombia to the US. In the USA, an ambulance ride
alone costs about $1,500 K. An X-ray costs $190 for a wrist. Also, a doctor
seeing you for 15 minutes, about the time I was seen is about $100. Pills in
the USA cost about $80 per bottle (the cost for Travelers’ Diarrhea pills, for
example). In Colombia, the ambulance ride was 100% FREE. Total urgent care
costs for everything was just $160. 4 different pills cost just $20 bucks,
combined. Difference: $2,000 in the USA-$180 in Pereira. It just goes to show
that the US has a broken health care system. By failing to regulate the prices
of pills, we basically subsidize prices for the whole world, as pharmaceutical
companies must keep below a certain price ceiling in most countries, so make up
profits in the US by artificially inflating prices. Meanwhile, ambulance
companies, hospitals, and doctors all want a piece of their pie, too Clearly
changes to the American health system need to be made…not just to insurance,
but to the costs of the hospital process, and especially pharmatheutical prices….
CARTAGENA:
Wednesday and Thursday: Cartegena became independent
from Spain on November 11th, 1811, and the number “11” is very significant to them, so it was quite fitting
that our plane landed at 11 PM!. The plan was to see the city of Cartagena on
Thursday, then go to the beaches on Elephant Island on Friday. However the
thunderstorm on Thursday, which lasted for several hours, put the dampers on
this plan. We were stuck at the hostel till the night, when we went to the
square and took a horse-and-buggy ride. Speaking of horses, I learned a cool
fact about equestrian statues…one leg off the ground means that the rider died
of unnatural causes (i.e. disease, duels, etc), 2 legs symbolize a death in
battle, and all 4 legs on the ground tells us that the rider died of natural
causes (old age). Unfortunately though, since it gets dark in Cartagena at 6b
PM, we did not see much of the city on Wednesday, though we did end up at a
pretty cool bar. Except I couldn’t drink due to the anti-bacterial medication I
was taking to nurse my bruises form getting infected….bummer!
On
Thursday, the weather was much nicer, so we took a 2 hour tour. It quickly
became apparent why Cartagena is the only
city in the world that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are so many
brightly colored houses, lining typical Spanish-style narrow streets. On some
of the huge windows, there are balconies full of flowers! Around the city is a
fort (Spaniard colonists always built forts to protect themselves from other
Europeans and pirates), which overlooks the ocean. Climb up, and you can see
the ocean, with highscrapers in the distance from one side, and like the only
parking lot in the city (if you drive in Cartagena, may God have mercy on your
soul) and if you turn around, rows of brightly colored houses in the opposite
direction. I was surprised and amused that the people of Cartegena have
basically stopped using libraries, instead preferring to use their phones or
laptops! As our tour guide explained, the only library in town is owned by a
bank, and on a good day, maybe 7 people would visit….of whom 5 are there for
the free Wi-fi and the air conditioning! One of the coolest things about Cartegena
are the door knockers. Door knockers symbolize your career; a lion knocker represents
a warrior, a mermaid a fisherman, an owl a teacher, a hand a priest or nun,
etc. Also, the better you know someone, the more you knock; strangers knock
just once, friends up to 4 times.
TAKEAWAYS AND LESSONS LEARNED
I
really enjoyed my break in Puerto Rico and Cartegena. The people were so
friendly! They showed me how to salsa, and taught me Spanish. They took me
clubbing in their own cars, made sure we weren’t cheated, and watched our backs.
They came up to drink with us. Everywhere I’ve been, the people were laid-back,
relaxed, and up for a conversation, language barriers overcome by Google Translate.
There might be economic ,problems in Puerto Rico, or issues with drugs and
violence in Colombia (well-publicized, but got better, recently), but it doesn’t
mean that we need to stop living! Puerto Ricans and Columbians love to party,
love a good time, and love making new friends. Such nice people!
The
city centers of Old San Juan and especially my favorite, Cartagena, are
delightful to walk around in. So much color and history, so many pretty sites!
Also decent locations for shopping, local restaurants and pubs, and a great way
to meet people. Few things beat the beauty of the Andes Mountains, though. Just
some stunning views of nature. Calms the nerves. Distresses from all of the
work and school drama. Everyone should go for a Jeep drive, a bike, and a hike
here, and explore the beautiful nature, while getting some exercise. Your
health, both physical and mental, will thank you for it later!
I
would like to thank the Panovs for being such gracious and wonderful hosts,
showing us the best nature Pereira has to offer, and for putting us up at the
Sonesta Hotel, where we had everything to spend some comfortable nights, and
especially for allowing me to be a part of this special occasion for the two of
you. I would also like to thank Alok, not only for being such an awesome travel companion,
finding cheap flights, and hostels with the best views and people, but for convincing
me to see a doctor to treat my injuries, and then going to the hospital with me
and even helping me buy my pills. Also, thank you Andres Ospina and his wife
for showing us the best party spots in Pereira, while making sure that we have
a good time and make it safe back to out hotel, as well as taking the time to
come to the airport to say goodbye to us. Finally to all of the new friends I’ve made,
we shall hang out again soon. It doesn’t matter if you live in Colombia, San
Martin, India, or Boston, I have no doubt that we shall go on a trip together
someday. This is not a goodbye, just a see ya later!
