Leaving Colombia Attempt #4

We woke up at 4:30 by a voice shouting in the distance. The word "Pasto" triggered this internal alarm. We got up from our very un-soft beds, grabbed our bags and ran off to the terminal. In the rain, I ordered a coffee with sugar and 2 buñuelos (some round bread ball, made with cheese and deep-fried). For a coffee without sugar I ad to go to the next stool, where it was custom made for this strange outlander that drinks coffee black. I gave the coffee to Mar who was already waiting in the goods compartment of the pick-up truck. Fortunately the bench was fitted with a soft comfortable cushion because the road was everything but comfortable. It led us over a dangerous, bumpy road and our toes started freezing as the fog made it pretty chilly but prevented our fear from kicking in as we didn't realize the conditions we found ourselves in.
In Pasto we hoped to find my bank card waiting at the office of Servientrega, the Colombian Express Post. However, after a call with the hostal in Bogotá for the reference number, we learned that the card hadn't even been sent. Next day, they lost track of the card. Later they found out that the person who was going to send it, was ill and had the card with him. The day after that, nobody was in possession of 2 Eur necessary to send the card (pay on receive wasn't possible). When they finally send it, we found out that it takes two days for the card to arrive and unfortunately the office was closed on saturday, sunday and monday was a holy day, so all official instances were also closed on that day.
Another fine example of the impossibility of planning in Colombia. Instead of passing through Pasto we got stuck here for 7 nights. The morning of the 23th we finally crossed the border without any further problems. My passport in Colombia was valid till the 24th (and it would have costed me a fine of 700 000 Pesos if I had crossed the border after the valid date of my passport....)

Leticia Intermission

For several reasons, Puerto Asis is a dead end until we get certain things done that we can't perform here so we leave for Pasto with the bus from 16h.  Unfortunately we find out in Mocoa that no bus to Pasto went today nor will go, so we need to stay there for the night. Twice unfortunately, because we hoped to spend the night in the bus, saving us the cost of a room. As soon as we get off the bus, a pushy person tries to sell us a ticket to all places in the country and a room. The price he names us (5000 pesos) convinces us to check it out and we decide to stay in the hostel for a final price of 7000 pesos for the both of us (that is 23000 pesos cheaper than what we mostly expect to find). The hostel, which is basically two floors the size of a big room, divided by wooden byobus, making these the size of a bed + 15 cm, is right opposite the Terminal, which is very convenient as they tell us that sometimes a minivan shows up at 5 am going to Pasto. If this is the case tomorrow, we will shout through the window, grab our stuff and jump into the minivan...

Finally on the move again

After they fired me from my role as manager/cook/waiter/dish washer from Restaurant Amadeus (aka Restaurant Fatima) due to the fact that I renamed it Restaurant Amadeus, but primarily because I wore no shoes, I decided not to stay in Bogotá much longer. Unfortunately I was waiting for my bank card that had been stolen a few weeks earlier on a drunk night in a concert somewhere. The fourth Monday after my new card had been sent, I decided to wait no longer and made a transfer through Western Union from my credit card so I had some cash to pay back all the loans I had made and I was ready to take off.
Mar, who had never been in the south of her country was excited to join me (although she threatened me that she didn't want to wait around any longer, which is one of the reasons why I decided not to wait for my card any longer either). Her abuelita (grandmother) and her dad were not that happy with her decision as for the upcoming elections this region wasn't the safest because it is in the south that the FARC (Fuerzas Armada Revolucionarias de Colombia) reside. In 2000 the FARC closed down all connections to a village called Puerto Asis and drove the population to near starvation to force the government to review their agenda (which they didn't).
It's in this town, that's a connection for goods and people with Leticia, a village far into the woods, that we are waiting now. Waiting for the elections to pass, because no administrative services are being performed and although the danger is as usual exaggerated, it is still safer to stay in the town than being on the road to avoid contact with the FARC. We want to get to Leticia, which is only reachable by plane or by boat, in the cheapest possible way. A passenger boat takes about 15 days over the Putumayo, the river that ends up in the Amazon, which is where Letitia is situated, on the border with Brazil and Peru. The Putumayo meanders its way going in and out Ecuador, but that doesn't mean that my passport will be considered valid when I arrive after its valid date, the 24th of March at the border, so I will have to take actions to extend it again before I set off to Leticia.
Yesterday we went to the harbour where goods are being loaded (by hand) on the pontons to ask if any of these sailors is willing to take us aboard to work for our transit. Their eyes and reactions tell us that this is a sheer impossibility as we need a marine-working permit, but a little later we find out that it's also a matter of trust and that we have to stick around and get to know some people to make the transit easier. Nevertheless we already start dreaming from spending our time on one of these boats as it slides through the marvelous rainforest where we'll expect to be surprised and thrilled by the environment...

Mushi Mushi

Villa De Lleyva, a city about for hours from Bogota is famous for its magic mushrooms. After rainfall you can scout for them in the mountains.
Pieter, a friend that I met in Bogota, visited the place and came back with some.
On friday afternoon we met in the hostel with 4 other people that also wanted to try these mushrooms.
We made some tea from the mushrooms, drank it on the roof and decided to walk to the park some 40 minutes walk away.
Only after 10 minutes of leaving the house we started feeling the effect already, so when we passed the first park, we were eager to sit down and take our shoes off.
We sat together in the park, laughing, jumping, running, until the sun started to set down.
Two of the girls wanted to go to the bathroom somewhere, but it seemed such a mission in that frame of mind that it took them looong to make a decision.
The biggest building of Bogotá towered over our place where we were sitting (we already called it 'home') and the numerous toilets on all the floors of the building became the subject of the conversation. We formulated a vague plan to sneak to the top of the building and although nobody believed we would make it, we started walking towards it anyway.
At the bottom of the Colpatria Tower, we found some fast-food restaurants where we released ourselves from digested fluids.
The tower was of course a tourist attraction, being the tallest one, so we paid 3000 pesos, left our beers behind and took the elevator to the top.
As usual the top wasn't really the top. There was one floor more where helicopters (one at the time) could land.
Security wasn't too tight, so I climbed over the fence that secured the stairs and ended up all alone on the landing pad. The sight that was revealed to me was absolutely stunning.
Instead of the fences blocked view, I had a 360° view on Bogotá and for the first time I had an impression on the size of the city. As far as I could see, there where streets stretching out in all directions away from the mountains. Little later Pieter also joined me on the roof and when Holly also arrived, we smoked a joint on the roof and tried to convince the others to come up too. Apparently they were still too spaced out to do the climb.
Half an hour later, we went back down (security had discovered that we were up there by now) and joined again with the rest of the group. When we came out of the building, in 7th Avenue, the street was freed of cars and lots of artists were displaying their skills along the walk down.

Ayuahasca #2

Building Community Place

During the two weeks that we were building the community place 'Arco Iris', we experienced lots of misunderstandings and tension, although we were living in a beautiful green environment. Everyday we woke up and took a shower under the waterfall before we prepared a wonderful breakfast with lots of fruit, bread and coffee.

Taita

Just before you arriving at Arco Iris, first you cross the property of Taita Don José. Don José is a Chaman who prepares Ayuahasca. It's a process that takes 6 days. The first day I decided not to drink Jahé because I thought it was too expensive, certainly because last time I didn't experience nothing at all but some nausea and diarrhea. The next day lots of people were present at the Taita's. Amongst them was also another much younger Taita. He asked me if I wanted to have some rapé. I had never heard of it so I agreed to give it a try. Rapé is a powder made from in the shadow dried and pulverized tobacco leaves. The taita told me to open my mouth and then he took a little tube and blew some of the rapé in my nose. A hefty burning feeling filled my head and tears ran out of my eyes. After a few minutes I started sneezing and with every blow my head cleared out a little more until I felt liberated.

Then the taita looked at the many wounds I had gathered over the last few weeks and I asked him why I kept on hurting myself. Was there some mental/spiritual connection ? So he asked me if I had been drinking Jahé and he said he was going to talk to Don José to arrange something for me.

The First Night

That night I drank the first cup of Jahé (which tastes absolutely horrible). After not even 15 minutes the nauseous feeling was too strong and soon I emptied my stomach by vomiting. About 1 hour later I drank again a cup ad this time I was able to keep the Jahé in my stomach. After a while I felt a nice but strange feeling, but it only lasted for 5-10 minutes. The rest of the night I was between waking and sleeping waiting for another cup too take. While waiting I probably fell asleep when the third cup was due, so I woke up in the morning a little disappointed.

The Second Night

This night everyone already left, so it was just Lukas, Me and Mar. (And 2 other people in a tent, but they weren't going to drink). The taita told us to smoke some parvatti first to allow the Jahé easier access to our minds. This time I was able to keep the Jahé in my body/stomach for 20 minutes. After a while I started looking for Mar to ask her if I should drink a second cup immediately thereafter. I found here in the woods where she was making strange noises and strange movements. She said: “Jahé is in you. You don't need another cup.”

That made me a little agitated so she said to call the taita if we wanted to drink more. We shouted a few times his name, but he seemed to be sound asleep. Again I went back to the woods and asked Mar to help us out. When we managed to wake up the taita he said to make a fire and then we could drink.

In the mean time it has gotten really dark. When there's session with lots of people, candles are lit everywhere, but now for the three of us this wasn't the case... Lukas drank and when it was my turn, I answered the taita's questions about how much I felt from it. In response he took a jerry can and refilled the bowl with Jahé and stirred it thoroughly. I nearly couldn't see anything, but for the Taita, being almost blind, it didn't really matter if there was light or not.

I finally took the cup from his hands and drank. The substance wasn't nearly as well mixed as should, so I swallowed some hard pieces which tasted even worse than the first time. I lay down on the mattress that we put there for the night and closed my eyes. When I felt nauseous again, I stood up to go for a walk and noticed that of the campfire we had made were only a couple of glowing sticks left. I stirred up the fire and decided to go to the forest.

I didn't really know what to do, but to relax I started doing some Yoga. After not such a long time I still felt nauseous and I walked out of the woods, into the starry night. Suddenly it was like the nausea 'tilted' from a vertical to a horizontal position and I realized that the nausea was the Jahé. I just had to allow the Jahé to take over my mind and not doing that results in nausea. I felt how my brain stopped processing and a warm feeling came like a soft storm in my head. For a brief moment the whole scene was set in a bright light and I could see everything clearly. The experience invoked my curious mind again and the thinking stopped the experience. I tried to get back but trying is exactly what doesn't help so I got a little frustrated as I couldn't get my ego out of the way.

I walked back to the others and when I found Mar, I suddenly felt a connection between everyone and everything. I held Mar in my arms and told her that I saw now that she was me and I was here. She was very happy that I finally experienced the Jahé after so many attempts.

Then I laid down on the mattress again where, in the mean time, Ricky, one of the dogs was laying down too. I went into a dreamy state and I heard Mar somewhere in the distance making whirring, funny sounds. I have a weird experience of connection with everything, the guitar, the dog, the taita, mar, Lukas, Father, Mother, Sister ,Brother, Brother-in-Law and Tristan.

I get up and again try too hard to get the feeling so I get frustrated and decide to get the guitar and play some music. I can't find it at first in the dark and suddenly realize I'm acting in a rush because I'm afraid the effect will wear off before I experience it fully. Then we go up to the taita's 'room' because Lukas wants to drink more. There we find the other people that are camping there sitting with the taita around a candle. There smoking a pipe so we sit down and join them. I feel the effect of the Jahé in a wonderful way of observing my reality. I start playing guitar and it's like the strings and the tabs emit light. The people in the circle start cheering and one person says :”He's making the guitar sing !”. When I hear this I become proud and instantly I loose the touch because my ego gets in the way. I decide that I'm not worth the guitar at that moment so I put it away.

Little later I notice that Lukas is waiting to drink more, since he isn't experiencing any of the things we are experiencing. The taita tells us again to make fire and then he will come down.

Lukas drinks and the taita asks me if I want to drink more. At first I say yes, but then I feel how the Jahé is in me, is always in me and I doubt for a long time. Eventually I decide not to drink.

Next thing I remember is that I see a 'plane' of true reality where we know everything. It feels like shedding your skin and become 'in the light' of this true reality. Even with my eyes closed I can see everyone standing in a crystal clear white light. It costs me some struggle (to let go) when I enter this plane and Taita and Mar cheer when I reach that 'level' (although I'm not moving and not making any noise. The next thing I know is that the dog next to me, the floor underneath and Mar become the same thing as me. Suddenly Mar is next to me and we embrace and kiss like angels. We tell each other numerous times we're sorry and then we laugh and we sing.

I feel like all that exists in reality, is me/part of me, put there (by me) to show me the way to the light (and you and everyone else).

I laugh because I've always known that we're one, that everything is one, but I keep on forgetting every three seconds because I/We love to play this game and I/We love to forget. I realize that distance does not exist and feel everyone I know present, like everyone I want is there, that moment. The material world is nothing but an extension of energy. I can sense the whole range of elders that came before me.

When the experience faded a way, a wonderful clean feeling stays with me. I know now that Jahé is always in me (always has been), but it's hard to get to that stage without the help of the plant. Still the memory is fading but right now it feels like something has changed forever.

Because I know I know

I know you know

You know I know

We know that we know

Thy Tsjee

That day I woke up with the sound of the river. Laura had already left. I walked from my tent up to the van where a big pot of coffee was boiling on the wood fire. We drank it with Pamelawhich is a solid block of raw sugar boughtpretty much from the source. There is plenty of such a place where “Kania” (sugar cane) is set into a rolling press to float into a series of metal containers under which the fire is booming. Each container contains a more brown version of the previous bigger container until the smallest one holds a thick dark brown syrupy substance, which they mold into cubes during the cooling period of the now becoming still hot, delicious, sweetness called Panela. So we use a knife to gnaw some pieces off to put in our coffee. And we drink. And enjoy. When we finish doing that, we continued to do some more nothing. 2 of the girls start making weed zapatos, a local dish from only oil, flower baked in oil. They make thin discs and we fry them well through. This gramar is shit and have also changed the tense, did you notice? Anyway, the zapatos (with weed) came with quacemole (with salt).


Alexi, a guy from France proposes to go for a swim and do some Ty Shee. Tai chi is an 'eastern somewhere'- meditation, relaxation technique whereby you breathe in and out deeply and slowly while doing postures/ making movements referring to water (Like Bruce Lee's water).


Doing this in a the cold at first, but little later sensationally re-energizing water flow made this a mystical experience (helped a hand bythe zapatos. When we came back we did some more nothing....

Bus 666

From then on my/our average speed would increase a bit...

Around 9 pm another bus comes along through the center of Isnos. This bus is full as well, but the driver agrees to seat us in the pass way for an illegal off-the-record one-time group-reduction/inconvenience allowance.

1 hour later I start to realize that the abominable state that the road is in is not gonna get any better soon. My body already aches everywhere from bumping up and down and is cramped from the tiny space it is crammed in. At a certain point the road is so bad that people fly out of their seats. Many of the passengers start yelling and whistling for a moment as a complaint and one woman in the back is nearly in tears as she yells at the driver that she has a baby in her lap. From then on the driver takes these points a little bit easier and the trips recedes to it's normal bumpy character. 10 mins later the bus stops and 2 mins later the engine switches off. We're happy to be able to get out of the bus to stretch our painful bones and some 5 m away from the bus we smoke a joint while joking about the driver being a pirate (he has no adjudant like all the others) and about how this was supposed to happen due to the bus' call sign: UJF666.

The driver and some other guy tinkle a bit with the engine and manage to start the engine over new, but it makes a loud rattling sound (supposedly from the water-cooling fan). The engine is switched off and the problem fixed. When walking back to the bus, I see through the front grill that a fan (supposedly from the water-cooling fan) is not running. An hour later this happens again, which makes me happy, as I was in a far less comfortable position as before and thus desperately watching the public speedometer lingering between 6km/h and 22km/h at the most.

Again the problem is fixed in 15-20 mins. We stop a little later again to eat a piece of bread with some unbranded, white cheese and a cup of hot Panela, company service.

Two other stops (problems with air-pressure) and three hours later we climb out of the bus at a place that appears to be in the middle of nowhere. It's 3 o'clock at night so everything appears that way. A local that helped the bus driver to some more air points us in the right direction and tells us it's an hour walk to the hot springs and we're on our way.