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Dan's
last night in Baranquilla
Dan
Uno was leaving Barranqullia on Monday after our trip planned for
Tayrona so the Thursday night was the only chance to organise a
send-off for him. Shortly after getting back from the sunset from
hell (as I was nursing my bites), we sprang the surprise. Dan had
really wanted to arrange something but we'd kind of left him in
the dark about the surprise meal!
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| Dan's
leaving party |
We
left for our favourite restaurant - Crepes and Waffles - at around
8pm. We were the first to arrive but Dan knew everyone had been
invited because the table was so long. We sat and let the table
fill up around us. It was only around 1.5 hours later that everyone
had finally arrived.
Karaoke
competition - win a live chicken!
After
dinner, a small crowd of us ended up at a random karaoke place.
Some of the group had been before - when they came, the winner of
the karaoke contest was presented with a live chicken!
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| Doing
karaoke |
No
chicken visible this time, we stayed until the early hours of the
morning enjoying the South American tunes as well as singing on
stage "La Bamba", which was well received. However, when
we started singing "I Will Survive", the organisers of
the competition turned us off and asked us to leave. I didn't think
we were that bad...
Fun
& games - back to the pre-schools
On
Friday, Juliet and I met early to buy some things for the pre-school
children we were going to visit later in the day. We had decided
to buy some balloons and plastic balls to play with the children.
Patricia and Jorge, two of the local AIESECers, came with us later
in the day. As we arrived, it felt hotter than normal.
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| Juliet
plays with the children |
We
blew up the balloons which were an instant success. The children
danced, throwing the balloons as well as the balls we had bought.
Originally we had wanted to play some games but with so many children
we simply weren't able to, with all of them wanting so much attention
and just trying to get them in a circle was not possible. We stopped
trying and just played with the children until it was time for their
lunch.
Forty-seven
degrees centigrade!
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| James
- too hot! |
I felt
hotter than I had felt before. The driver who had bought us to the
school had left us and we didn't realise we had to make our own
way back. By this stage, I was dripping but we made it back to the
university. Juan K later told us that it had been the hottest day
in Barranquilla this year, over 47°C! I was amazed it was that
hot. It's often been over 40 degrees but it's amazing what effect
a few degrees more can have - I had definitely felt worse than I
normally did.
Tayrona
National Park
On
Saturday morning, I woke at 5.30am to begin the journey to Tayrona
National Park. Juliet collected me in a taxi. We arrived at Dan
Uno's - who was late. I called him on Omar's mobile (which is where
he was staying) only to wake him up - he had overslept having had
a big night out with his workmates after his last day. Dan Uno finished
work a week earlier than the rest of us to travel around the country
and visit Jen in Menizales. We decided it would be better to meet
Dan direct at the bus terminal...
Mobile
phone issues
After
arriving in Colombia, I decided to get a local Ola! SIM card. Purchasing
a phone was far from easy. For security reasons, you need to provide
a photocopy of a national identity card (e.g. passport) as well
as having passport photos so you can be issued with a proof of ownership.
This is due to the high incidence of theft of mobile phones.
Although
the others liked the freedom of not having a phone, it was very
useful in certain situations including waking Dan on the morning
of Tayrona! It is not possible to call mobile phones from most landlines
and there would have been no way of contacting him without my mobile.
The other problem with mobile phones in Colombia is that currently
you can't text people on another network.
A big
enterprise in the streets are people who allow you to use their
mobile phone on a per minute basis - so if you have to call another
network it's cheaper. These people often give you the hard sell
as you walk past, trying to get you to make a call. I don't understand
- if you don't want to make a call, why would you be convinced to
phone someone when being given the hard sell? 'Make a call, make
a call!'
Back
on track - getting to Tayrona
When
trying to buy our coach tickets at the bus terminal, we were approached
by a man who directed us to the Costena booth on the other side
of the terminal. He told us it cost 8000 pesos, less than £2.
We agreed to go with it after we confirmed it was a direct bus to
the entrance of the park. When it came to pay however, it was 10,000
pesos each. Tickets already printed, we begrudgingly paid and got
on the bus.
We
were supposed to be definitely meeting Dave (an AIESEC trainee from
Strathclyde) and maybe some others but we had trouble getting hold
of them. A few minutes before the coach had to leave, Dave, Julia
(from Kansas) and Gregor (from Germany) opened the coach door.
Lucky!
By chance, they had been approached by the same guy who had told
them that their English friends were already on his coach. It was
really great to see them, especially as it was our last weekend
to spend time with them before leaving. As we sat on the coach,
I looked forward to the next few days. Others who had been to Tayrona
described it as paradise!
Written
by James Eder
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