How Weird is This?

Last night the heavens again let loose thereby causing a landslide closing the road from villa de leyva to the main highway. We allowed ourselves 5 hours to traverse the 170 kilometers from the small town to the airport.

Traffic in outer bogota would give any raging torontonian a run for their money.  Even after clearing the land slide it took us only an hour and bit to get to Bogota. The other hour and a half was getting just to the airport.

All roads in bogota feature four straight one way lanes for traffic with multiple off ramps: now they are regular streets, not highways.

There goes the logic that if we simply build more roads and lanes traffic will cease to be deadlocked.

To quote "Field of Dreams" : Build it and they will come.

Cars and more cars.

They won't get less, just more and more and more. Just like India.

The Santa marta airport lies right beside a golden beach where colombians swam the ocean.  Into santa marta itself which the lonely Planet complained was boring and spread out albeit with some good restaurants.

We were led to believe the place was some industrial rat hole sans heart.

Leaving out hotel tonight in the centre of old santa marta  and a half block away we entered into a huge pedestrian zone that was wilder than New Orleans at carnival.

Thousands of people spilling out from restaurants, clubs and street bars and cafes. This is only 7 pm mind you.

People performing socca; tribal drumming; merengue; Reggae, rock n rock and African-colombian chants: an ethnomusicologists dream.

Jewelry  makers, hip hop dancers and people juggling fire on every corner, the place so crowded you be wary of being a mark - the artful dodger awaits in the shadows of old pillars in the simon bolivar square.

Back in the 60s there was the iconic film "Easy Rider" co-directed by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. Two hippie motorcyclists drive across the country to find america.

There is a scene where they wait to drop acid in new Orleans and it's really weird. Not just because of the realist method acting direction, but Umm also because they are also on acid.

Sans acid  just looking for a restaurant I was reminded of a quip from Fran Lebowitz:"to go to to Rome is to realize Fellini doesn't make movies, he makes documentaries.




























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