All Manner of Treachery

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Peru:

In 2006 a waterfall called Gocta was discovered by the outside world. Natives had kept it secret for centuries, fearing the curse of the mermaid who lives in the pool below. It´s the third highest waterfall in the world.

I once saw a family of five on a single 125cc motorcycle in India, I thought they´d reached the weight limit for such a small bike, but Lima proved me wrong. Although there were only four, they were four hefty men.

Ecuador:

I´ve only known Ecuador through the window of a bus. It reminded me of what a child depicts in a finger painting: black and white cows, green grass, blue sky, and white clouds. Things seemed to be in order.

Columbia:

An interesting thing happens in countries that, due to unrest, have been closed to travelers in recent years; the whole country sets out to prove that they really are a nice place to visit. It´s happening in Columbia now and it makes for a good time. People are incredibly friendly, and inordinately helpful –if they don´t have an answer for you they´ll go and find it. Besides that Columbia is beautiful, I´m reminded of scenes from ¨Mighty Joe Young.¨

We know a guy who works at the U.S. embassy in Bogota. He and his wife hosted us in their posh apartment, fed us prodigiously, and gave us tours in their car. On Independence Day they took us to the Embassy to celebrate properly with other Americans. The Embassy is beautiful, although it´s not in the best part of town. Just before we arrived there we passed the seedy looking ¨Eros Motel, ¨ known for its hourly rates.

The Ambassador gave a moving speech. I got a little emotional and, despite my country’s flaws, I am proud to be an American. His speech included mention of the 2007 hostage crisis with the FARC. The Columbian army gave one of their helicopters a decoy paintjob (mimicking the Red Cross), and boldly flew into the FARC´s camp. Someone who was able to mimic the FARC commander´s voice had, moments before, been on the radio with the camp´s leader, explaining that the Red Cross would be permitted to transport the hostages to another FARC stronghold. The order didn´t make a lot of sense, but the rescuers had the nerve to stay in character, and since it appeared to be the commanders will, the hostages were released. ¨Counter-terrorists Win! ¨

My knowledge of Bogota´s previous mayor, Antinus Mockus Civicus, made me predisposed to falling in love with the city. Mockus, as he is affectionately known, is the most unconventional politician I know of. To encourage traffic law observance he hired an army of mimes to make fun of j-walkers etc. Accident rates fell drastically. He made a television commercial that featured him, in the shower, explaining how to bathe without wasting water. Thanks to his water campaign there is potable water piped through the entire city (nearly unheard of at this latitude). Mockus would regularly dress as ¨Super Citizen, ¨ -complete with spandex and a cape- and wander around downtown gaining support for his initiatives. I find his style of politics refreshing. So many politicians get their way through corruption and domination, Mockus twists people’s arms, but he does it righteously. At one point Mockus got up to make a speech in an auditorium full of rowdy students. The crowd simply would not quiet down; he was unable to begin his speech. Mockus coolly walked to the side of the podium, did an about-face, and mooned the entire student body. He waited patiently through their uproarious reaction, and then the room fell silent. He pulled his pants up and proceeded with his speech as if nothing had happened.

We’re in Cartagena, Panama, an old pirate town through which a lot of South American gold passed on its way to Europe. Concentric stone walls, and several forts, were used in defense against many ransackers, including Sir Francis Drake. Although the city has a new face, the pirate vibe remains, including general pirate iniquity. The assortment of prostitutes is astounding: fat, thin, tall, short, African and Latin. The only common trait seems to be ugliness.

There are no roads through the Darien Gap (between Columbia and Panama). The area is controlled by the FARC and abounds with all manner of treachery. We´re looking for a boat in order to circumvent these problems. It looks like it will cost about three times what we anticipated. Ouch! I guess we´ll write it off as an investment in our own future.