As I crossed the border into Ecuador, I stopped to reflect on my four months in Colombia, and amongst all the wonderful memories of the mounains, the food, the villages and the coffee farms, it was the warmth and friendliness of the people that stood out. A few examples.
While I staying with Nati's aunt in Medellín, I used to take the dog for a walk every morning and afternoon. There was a lady, Judith, who lived a few doors away and always seemed to be pottering around in front of her house. I often stopped to talk to her, she was very friendly but a bit of a chatterbox and it was difficult to get away somtimes, so much so that I'd sometimes cross the street to avoid her. When I took the dog for a walk for the last time before leaving, I stopped to say goodbye, and when I returned home half an hour later, she was waiting on our doorstep with a bag so full of chocolates, sweets and other goodies that I had to give half of them away as I couldn't carry them all.
Riding from Manizales to Santa Rosa, a guy on an old racing bike pulled up alongside me and we got chatting. His name was Fernando and he was returning home from his job in a bakery. We rode together for about an hour and, as we were approaching his village of Chinchina, he first stopped at a fruit stall to buy us some grenadillas, then invited me for lunch with his family. When we arrived at the house I realised they were not the wealthiest of families . There were three rooms - kitchen, dressmaking workshop and one bedroom where he, his brother and his sister all slept. So I felt a little guilty when I was given the largest lunch. Even though I wasn't that hungry, they were watching me so expectantly that I forced myself to finish everything, even the frijoles with the bits of pork fat in it. After lunch, Fernando insisted on accompanying me to Santa Rosa, where I was able to repay at least some of his kindness with some fruit shakes and cakes.
Heading toward Santander de Quilchao, I had been warned a couple of times to avoid the villages of Candelaria and Villa Rica because 'they were full of Afro-Colombians and I would probably be robbed'. Well, as I was approaching Villa Rica, there was a big storm approaching and I was feeling hungry so I decided to stop there to get something to eat while the storm passed over. It was indeed a mostly Afro-Colombian community, and it was the friendliest place I'd been in all my time in Colombia. Just about everyone I passed smiled and greeted me (I tended to get quite a few menacing stares in other places), one guy bought be a coffee, and I had three people offer to put me up for the night. In retrospect I should have stayed, Santander was nowhwere near as welcoming.
And then of course there were Nati's family and friends in Medellín, who went out of their way to make my stay there enjoybale and make my submersion into Latin American life an easier one.
While I staying with Nati's aunt in Medellín, I used to take the dog for a walk every morning and afternoon. There was a lady, Judith, who lived a few doors away and always seemed to be pottering around in front of her house. I often stopped to talk to her, she was very friendly but a bit of a chatterbox and it was difficult to get away somtimes, so much so that I'd sometimes cross the street to avoid her. When I took the dog for a walk for the last time before leaving, I stopped to say goodbye, and when I returned home half an hour later, she was waiting on our doorstep with a bag so full of chocolates, sweets and other goodies that I had to give half of them away as I couldn't carry them all.
Riding from Manizales to Santa Rosa, a guy on an old racing bike pulled up alongside me and we got chatting. His name was Fernando and he was returning home from his job in a bakery. We rode together for about an hour and, as we were approaching his village of Chinchina, he first stopped at a fruit stall to buy us some grenadillas, then invited me for lunch with his family. When we arrived at the house I realised they were not the wealthiest of families . There were three rooms - kitchen, dressmaking workshop and one bedroom where he, his brother and his sister all slept. So I felt a little guilty when I was given the largest lunch. Even though I wasn't that hungry, they were watching me so expectantly that I forced myself to finish everything, even the frijoles with the bits of pork fat in it. After lunch, Fernando insisted on accompanying me to Santa Rosa, where I was able to repay at least some of his kindness with some fruit shakes and cakes.
Heading toward Santander de Quilchao, I had been warned a couple of times to avoid the villages of Candelaria and Villa Rica because 'they were full of Afro-Colombians and I would probably be robbed'. Well, as I was approaching Villa Rica, there was a big storm approaching and I was feeling hungry so I decided to stop there to get something to eat while the storm passed over. It was indeed a mostly Afro-Colombian community, and it was the friendliest place I'd been in all my time in Colombia. Just about everyone I passed smiled and greeted me (I tended to get quite a few menacing stares in other places), one guy bought be a coffee, and I had three people offer to put me up for the night. In retrospect I should have stayed, Santander was nowhwere near as welcoming.
And then of course there were Nati's family and friends in Medellín, who went out of their way to make my stay there enjoybale and make my submersion into Latin American life an easier one.
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Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteYou sound so relaxed and happy, and obviously surrounded by good people.
Un abrazo,
Elsa