September 20, 2008
It's a travel day, but not by plane. The distance between Cartagena and Barranquilla is probably 75 miles or so. The
thought of climbing on a transit bus isn't particularly appealing, so after checking out of the hotel, I drag my stuff to a taxi
waiting outside. Of course, the driver speaks zero English. Not having enough Colombian pesos on hand to pay the fare, I
show him my MasterCard and say "Barranquilla?". He nods and off we go.
It's clear within a few minutes that he thinks I want to go to an ATM at a bank named Barranquilla. Mass confusion. I
frantically dig out my dictionary hoping to convey my needs. Back seat charades and my laughable Spanish ensue. He
calls his boss and drives back to the hotel. I climb into another taxi, and we're off again - this time to my destination.
The trip is what I expected: a two lane road with lush vegetation lining our route. It was actually an uneventful ride on
pretty decent roads. It was a little surprising to have the driver suddenly stop in the middle of nowhere, get out, and
relieve himself. Couldn't he have done this at the gas station ten minutes ago? When you have to go....
With nothing to do but reminisce on my first few days in Colombia, I jotted down some common themes I observed during
my stay. Among them:
1. There must be a law stating that every house must have at least one dog. Further, all dogs must be allowed to roam the
neighborhood. Dogs everywhere, and most of them look pretty darn mangy.
2. There is one traffic rule to keep in mind: anything goes. This applies to cars, trucks, scooters, donkey carts, pedestrians,
and dogs (see item 1). Craziness reigns. If there is a gap, there is a mad rush to fill it. If people acted like this in the States,
there would be mayhem. Somehow, despite the endless close calls, there are no accidents. And all of this is observed in
vehicles without functional seat belts. It is not for the faint of heart. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Well, you
won't find many atheists in Colombian taxi cabs either.
3. Using one's horn is as natural as breathing. Someone going too slow? Honk. See someone you know? Honk honk.
Warning pedestrians you're coming through? You know what to do. Colombia is beep beep country.
It's a travel day, but not by plane. The distance between Cartagena and Barranquilla is probably 75 miles or so. The
thought of climbing on a transit bus isn't particularly appealing, so after checking out of the hotel, I drag my stuff to a taxi
waiting outside. Of course, the driver speaks zero English. Not having enough Colombian pesos on hand to pay the fare, I
show him my MasterCard and say "Barranquilla?". He nods and off we go.
It's clear within a few minutes that he thinks I want to go to an ATM at a bank named Barranquilla. Mass confusion. I
frantically dig out my dictionary hoping to convey my needs. Back seat charades and my laughable Spanish ensue. He
calls his boss and drives back to the hotel. I climb into another taxi, and we're off again - this time to my destination.
The trip is what I expected: a two lane road with lush vegetation lining our route. It was actually an uneventful ride on
pretty decent roads. It was a little surprising to have the driver suddenly stop in the middle of nowhere, get out, and
relieve himself. Couldn't he have done this at the gas station ten minutes ago? When you have to go....
With nothing to do but reminisce on my first few days in Colombia, I jotted down some common themes I observed during
my stay. Among them:
1. There must be a law stating that every house must have at least one dog. Further, all dogs must be allowed to roam the
neighborhood. Dogs everywhere, and most of them look pretty darn mangy.
2. There is one traffic rule to keep in mind: anything goes. This applies to cars, trucks, scooters, donkey carts, pedestrians,
and dogs (see item 1). Craziness reigns. If there is a gap, there is a mad rush to fill it. If people acted like this in the States,
there would be mayhem. Somehow, despite the endless close calls, there are no accidents. And all of this is observed in
vehicles without functional seat belts. It is not for the faint of heart. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Well, you
won't find many atheists in Colombian taxi cabs either.
3. Using one's horn is as natural as breathing. Someone going too slow? Honk. See someone you know? Honk honk.
Warning pedestrians you're coming through? You know what to do. Colombia is beep beep country.