A thought, just before we go.

Last days, slowly rolling by, mind and body unwilling to move, waiting for the inevitable. All roads lead back home.

Trying to think back, to put it all in little memory boxes, and store them in my mind forever. I'm rubbish at remembering specific events, and instead I remember blurry feelings, remember feeling good at the side of the road in Argentina waiting for someone to pick us up, it felt good next to that river, next to the train tracks, in our friends' house. It also felt sad, lonely, and confusing quite often. It was confusing watching the world go by in Bolivia, trying to understand why the world is the way it is, how much is each and everyone's fault, trying to not feel guilty, to make myself feel more guilty, to just try and enjoy it. Trying to feel less like a tourist, and also less like a ponce who likes the word "traveler" too much.

Wow.

I hate goodbyes.

Colombianadas

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We left Cusco, to head to the coast of Peru, the capital, Lima. Lima is a weird mix of London and Nicosia, but not necessarily in any of the good ways. Massively westernised, a McDonald's at about every five steps, but completely and utterly unorganised, with one of the worst public transport systems of South America. Lima is built on a desert, next to the Pacific ocean. Although you wouldn't be able to tell it's a desert if you just saw the center, it's given away when you enter the city by bus, where you witness the hundreds upon thousands of people living in ramshackle houses, much like, if not worse than, the famous brasilian favelas. The contrast of extreme riches and extreme poverty is shocking, although it's intensified by the fact that the rich areas are straight out of hollywood hell. To be short, I didn't much enjoy Lima, I got strange urges of constantly wanting to consume starbucks coffees and Big macs and to buy buy buy. The fancy shops and many Starbucks and crouded streets, made it very hard to feel in any way at peace with the place, and I wanted to get out fast.

Northern coastal Peru is still pretty much all desert, but the towns are smaller and usually more pleasent. Trujillo was a nice suprise, with a pretty colonial center, and a much more "Peruvian" rather than Californian vibe to it, although all in all, Peru was not what I expected, especially after a month in Bolivia. Apart from Cusco that is, which despite being very touristy, still has a more genuine feel to it. Without meaning to sound like a dick.

After that straight into Ecuador and its capital Quito, which is rightfully a UNESCO world heritage sight, with one of the best perserved historical centers in South America. It's a shame we didn't have enough time to see Ecuador, since while crossing most of it in a day by bus, it seemed charming. And hot, very hot.

After a few days in Quito we headed into Colombia. The last stop in my trip, I've been told by many that Colombia is great, and so far, yes it is. The people are so friendly it's sometimes creepy (but in a good way), and so far the scenery is lush. There's constant rumba, salsa and cumbia in the air, and there's a vibe of good times ahead. Popayan in the south was our first stop, a good choice, as it's a lovely little sunny university town, with friendly people lazing around on sunny hilltops. From there we went to the desert of Tatacoa, where we went to an astronomical observatory for a bit of stargazing. Getting there and back was a mission and a half, although highly worth it, just for the experience, and for the many colombianadas we witnessed. A colombianada is something extremely kitch and colombian, just type colombianadas into youtube and you'll see what I mean. They are something I, and I believe most cypriots, can highly relate to, as Cyprus is pretty strong in the area of Colombianadas. Although of course there they have to be called Cypriotadas. On the way to the desert of Tatacoa we sat at the back of an open truck, with great views of the countryside, and a friendly Colombian telling us about recent political happenings. On the way back our truck broke down, and the driver had to tie it to another truck, which pulled us up the hill, while the sun was setting. The driver then untied our truck and said "don't worry, it's all downhill from now". Great. Slight note: the lights didn'twork, which meant we were rolling down the hill in pitch black, a cliff on one side, the driver with his head sticking out of the window, and the woman sitting at the front constantly crossing herself, in the name of Jesus Christ, hoping beyond hope that we wouldn't all die. I was in the back playing pirates with a cute 5 year old colombian girl, with way too much energy. At the back of a truck, a man with half his teeth in place, silently moved in and out of the picture. Of course the other problem was that it wasn't all downhill, so we kept getting stuck, and having to wait for a car or truck to drive past to tug us again. Colombianadas! When we finally made it back to Popayan we all felt like survivors of a shipreck or something, and it was sad to say goodbye.

We're now in Cali, the city of constant rumba. After spending the day just outside town next to a the river Pance, we're now back at Javi's friend's house, with a beer and some good movies downloading. Sometimes one misses ones' creature comforts.

Two weeks left now.