Today I made my way up to the Caribbean coast, to visit the famous port city Cartagena. The day didn't start too well, however: I was told that my 8 am bus wouldn't run because it had to be repaired. Instead, they put me on the 9 am bus to Sincelejo, a town about two thirds on the way to Cartagena. Later I wondered - was the bus really in need of repairs, or did they cancel the service because there were only two passengers? In any case, I couldn't help but feel that some kind of apology would have been nice; a packet of cookies, a coffee, or a soda - all of these would have cost the bus company virtually nothing, but would have significantly increased my sense of satisfaction with them.
In the end, the journey worked out well enough: in Sincelejo, I caught a minivan to Cartagena that even dropped me off in the center instead of the bus terminal, for about the same price as the original trip. At lunch break, surprisingly, there were even some beautiful flowers to be seen:
On the road, I noticed that highways - or roads bypassing villages - are virtually unknown in Colombia. As a result, every single collection of houses along the road has a set of speed bumps installed; otherwise cars and trucks would just speed through and put everybody's life at risk. As it is, the only life at risk is that of the traveler who gets annoyed to death by his bus slowing down to almost zero and then speeding up again - the procedure being repeated every five minutes.
Something else I'm quite fed up with on the road is seeing stickers that say 'dios es amor' (god is love) on cars and buses. Somehow I'm suspicious of drivers who put their life into the hands of a god like this - will they drive less responsibly because they believe he's gonna save them anyway?
Another thing I noticed in Colombia is that Colombians have yet another distinct Spanish accent. In some respects, it resembles Argentinian Spanish. For example, the 'll' in Medellín is not pronounced as a /j/, but rather as a /ʒ/ (Argentinians would use /∫/ instead).
They also use a different expression to respond to somebody thanking them than the rest of Latin America. Everybody else so far said 'de nada' (it's nothing). Colombians say 'con gusto' (with pleasure) instead - which appears a lot more friendly to me :-)
Something that Colombians seem to be proud of is that their tap water is drinkable, at least in some parts of the country, including the metropolis Medellín. Indeed, since I left Argentina and Chile behind, Colombia is the first country that has drinkable tap water. Looking at the wealth and development of Latin American countries, I guess that drinkability of tap water could even be seen as an indicator for progress. All things considered, not a bad source of pride, wouldn't you say?
In the end, the journey worked out well enough: in Sincelejo, I caught a minivan to Cartagena that even dropped me off in the center instead of the bus terminal, for about the same price as the original trip. At lunch break, surprisingly, there were even some beautiful flowers to be seen:
On the road, I noticed that highways - or roads bypassing villages - are virtually unknown in Colombia. As a result, every single collection of houses along the road has a set of speed bumps installed; otherwise cars and trucks would just speed through and put everybody's life at risk. As it is, the only life at risk is that of the traveler who gets annoyed to death by his bus slowing down to almost zero and then speeding up again - the procedure being repeated every five minutes.
Something else I'm quite fed up with on the road is seeing stickers that say 'dios es amor' (god is love) on cars and buses. Somehow I'm suspicious of drivers who put their life into the hands of a god like this - will they drive less responsibly because they believe he's gonna save them anyway?
Another thing I noticed in Colombia is that Colombians have yet another distinct Spanish accent. In some respects, it resembles Argentinian Spanish. For example, the 'll' in Medellín is not pronounced as a /j/, but rather as a /ʒ/ (Argentinians would use /∫/ instead).
They also use a different expression to respond to somebody thanking them than the rest of Latin America. Everybody else so far said 'de nada' (it's nothing). Colombians say 'con gusto' (with pleasure) instead - which appears a lot more friendly to me :-)
Something that Colombians seem to be proud of is that their tap water is drinkable, at least in some parts of the country, including the metropolis Medellín. Indeed, since I left Argentina and Chile behind, Colombia is the first country that has drinkable tap water. Looking at the wealth and development of Latin American countries, I guess that drinkability of tap water could even be seen as an indicator for progress. All things considered, not a bad source of pride, wouldn't you say?
