Well, That's Weird

I know I left you hanging on that last post, waiting to hear about our drive into the jungle, but I want to take a moment to side track to focusing on the people and the culture of Colombia. Every country I visit, I find it's the little differences that always what make me smile. It's the quirks that give you insight into their culture or, ours by reflection. Here are a few of the funnest ones I've picked up on.

ONE WAY STREETS: Our time in Cartagena was spent among the tiny roads of the old walled city. These tiny roads were a tight squeeze for the surprisingly large, United States style cars, but didn't stop Colombians from attempting to cram them past parked cars or imposing buildings. As you can imagine the network of roads needed one ways because you simply can't fit the cars going both ways. In many circumstances, one way streets can be super frustrating, you want to be where you can't quite get to...always. But the Colombians have a great way to deal with this! You just back your car down the street. This way you are getting to where you want to get to without the hassle of driving around the block, finding the correct alley and navigating a maze. Yes, that is right, simply throw the car in reverse (don't worry, the cars around you will make way) and back into and down the street. Should there be a cop watching you, thinking about giving you a ticket, you have reasonable probability that you were NOT attempting to drive down the street the wrong way, because your car is, in fact, facing the correct direction. The 1st time we saw this was out a restaurant window and we were shocked, what on earth was this person thinking?!? A few more times witnessing it and we decided there was a touch of brilliance to it.

ICE CREAM: I like ice cream, it's a fine treat, but I can take it or leave it. A great ice cream time to time is fabulous, like when you are at the Trevi Fountain in Italy and the world's best Gelato shop is right there. But Colombians, at least where we have been visiting, have a serious thing for ice cream. When in Cartagena, I thought it was because it was so damn hot, made sense that you'd want something cold, but in the mountains where it is cool, that theory had to be thrown out. Maybe the reason why it caught my attention was because in the United States, you rarely see big tough looking men, eating a double scoop ice cream cone. In the USA, macho is going without delicious ice cream...or anything else that could challenge how masculine you are. In Colombia, that is absolutely not the case. Farmers, rough men that are taking a break from their work, congregate and chat...with ice cream cones. Wise old men that have seen more than we could imagine, rock onto the back legs of their wooden chairs and discuss topics of the world...with ice cream cones. Families stride out in the evenings and every single person in the family has an ice cream cone. Once you see that it is a country wide obsession, then it makes more sense why every single place you go, shops, cafes, even bars, all have ice cream.

WAITERS: In the States, at a cafe or a restaurant, the waiters/ waitresses, hover. They are always coming by to up-sell your ticket, see what else they can fetch for you and are at your side with the slightest of head nods. In Colombia, you can sit at a busy cafe for a 1/2 hour before anyone will come to see if you want something to drink. Once you get said drink, you will not see the waiter again. You can chat with friends or read a book for hours and not be bothered. Which is great, if you don't want anything else, but if you are hoping for another coffee or a bite to eat...you could be a 100yrs old before someone checks on you if you just sit there. All our usual tricks didn't work either. Catching the eye of your waitress was beyond difficult, it's as if they are told that making eye contact with a patron is rude unless you have been asked to do so, formally. The whole head nod is taken as saying 'hello', no seriously, they will smile and nod back at you but STILL not visit your table! Know what you have to do? Clap AT them. Maybe you have encountered this in your life, but this was a first for us and incredibly uncomfortable. After watching locals initiate a crisp 1, 2 clap that instantaneously brought a waiter to their side, we figured it out. We felt so weird about it, that we didn't do it correctly for the first few times and since we didn't do it correctly, we didn't get the result we wanted, which made us all the more uncomfortable. We decided it was easier to walk right up to a waitress and ask for what you wanted. But as it is when you melt into the culture around you, you get used to the sounds and activities, and before you know it, without pausing in conversation, I slkapped my hands together in a loud distinct 1, 2 clap and ordered more coffee for us. Once you get the hang of it, it is awesome! They will completely leave you alone, no urging for you to pay your bill and leave or any untimely interruptions, just an efficient, polite exchange, when YOU want it.

WHATSAPP: Given that I am about to be 40 and live in rural New Mexico where people actually fight to keep cell towers out of their towns, I did not realize that the app "WhatsApp" was sweeping the globe. I had heard people ask if I was on 'WhatsApp' or tell someone "I'll WhatsApp you later!", but my reference for it ended there. Now, in another country where I wanted to contact people at home, the absolutely free app that allows you to talk or call if on WiFi, is a necessity. Now, backing up for reference, we really have a crap system for WiFi where we live in addition to crap cell service so I couldn't imagine how this app would work other than waiting until I got back to our hotel each night or something like that, it seemed very limiting. BUT as it turns out, all across Colombia, the cafes and restaurants and center plazas, offer free WiFi! I seriously felt like an old person figuring out this 'amazing new invention'.

CHEESE: For a country that doesn't have much to offer in the way of cheese, I mean in comparison to France which has hundreds of different delicious cheeses, Colombians put cheese in literally everything. Want bread? It has cheese in it; it can range from baked on top to an actual thread of it through the center. Want a sandwich? It will absolutely have cheese on it. Pizza of course has cheese on it, but no sauce...which is really bread with cheese...only flat. Want a doughnut or pastry? Oh yes, it will have cheese in it. It is always the same, white, fresh, un-melting cheese too. I have to say, I love this somewhat potent addition to everything, but if you didn't like cheese and my son does not, then it can be a strange issue to contend with.

There are of course so many other delightful idiosyncrasies that have been discovered on this adventure, things that probably made us glaringly obvious as tourists that we did incorrectly, but it takes time to fall into the rhythm of a place. Now that we have, we love to sit and watch new comers at the cafes. The other day, a group tentatively selected a table and sat down, clearly they had been travelling for some time, a look of being worn in had settled on them, yet as they raised their hands and mildly clapped 1,2,3, we knew they were just starting to 'get it'. I couldn't help but smile as I signaled the waitress with the correct 1,2 paid her, told my husband I'd WhatsApp him to meet up in a little bit and set off to get my daily ice cream.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!