Vagabonding : 2009 October |

Into Ecuador

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Every traveler will argue over who has had the worst local bus experience.

I myself have broken down on the highway several times, rode for 8 hours sat on a box of onions, seen a pet bird escape from its cage and cause a panic, nearly took a permanent nap from carbon monoxide fumes….you name it.

Everyone has a bus nightmare story.

¨Chicken buses¨ as they are sometimes lovely referred to are never a pleasant experience, but are necessary in any country for budget travel. Riding on a stinking, half-broken-down bus is a rite of passage for any proper backpacker.

I´ve had my brains rattled out on mountain roads in many countries, but I have to say that Ecuador or South America in general might take first prize for spine readjusting rides.

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Posted in Ecuador |

Bullfights and ladyboys

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The crowd was in a frenzy.

After navigating some rough neighborhoods to find the arena, braving a roaring pop-up thunderstorm, and waiting 2 additional hours past the start time for the ring to dry, my very first proper bullfight was about to commence.

I sat on a wooden bench squeezed in between locals waiting for the carnage to start. The ring was solid mud so throwing a man into the center with a 400KG sharply horned and pissed off animal promised to be exciting, if not gruesome.

This would have to be one studly Matador to climb into that mud, and I looked forward to making him one of my new heroes.

When the show finally started restless kids shut up all at once, vendors stopped shouting, and all eyes turned toward the action.

What I saw will probably haunt me for years to come….

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Posted in Colombia |

Heading South

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I pulled the brown curtain shut on my overnight bus from Bogota to Cali.

The AC had created a nice frost built up inside of the window and as we put distance between ourselves and the city lights, winding into the mountains, I couldn’t help but think that I was probably missing some incredible scenery out in that blackness.

I also couldn’t help but wonder if the FARC or other guys with AKs and a few kilos were out there somewhere. They have been reported to stop night buses, but hopefully tonight would be a night off and I could get some sleep….or the closest thing offered by a rattling bus anyway.

We rolled into the city of Cali in the early hours. Cali is the second largest city in Colombia and is famed as the Salsa dancing vortex of the world. I couldn’t wait to see locals dressed in their sexiest moving to Cumbia, the Colombia version of salsa.

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