Coming Home

I think the hardest part about travelling is coming home. You miss it when you are travelling and want to hug the people who love you and support you. But for me it has really been the hardest part, its the realisation that while so many things about me have changed and while my appearance hasn’t really changed I know for certain that my mind has been altered by the people I’ve met and the places I have visited and although you know that your different not many others can appreciate it and treat you like you have changed. After the initial excitement of coming home and being the new thing around, suddenly normal life takes over. You mentally have to swing your mind back around to think about jobs, university, and relationships. Your brain is split it two, thinking that nothing has changed at home and then trying to input your changed self into a familiar yet strange place.

 It was the same when I came back from Atlantic College, but the difference was that I could call Cat or Ciara and realise that though we finished school we are still all there for each other and the understood how much I had changed in the two years I was away. Now coming back from travelling, while away people are only in your life for a fleeting few days sometimes even a week but then they are gone to continue travelling or go home. And yes I have kept in touch with a lot of people I’ve met and it is a relief to know you can text them or call them when you feel at loss. But then because you are at home, you start to question the relationships you had out travelling, where they false friendships? Do they really know me?  But I think for me the answer is yes they are real friendships and yes they know me. They know me without the rest of the past events of my life that follow me around at home. They just know me; they know me as the person I presented and that is such a freeing feeling and one that I really miss. Here I am the odd person. The one who runs away. 

And frankly I am tired of being put into a box, and I guess when you get home the hardest part is to fully embrace yourself, the changed self not just sit back into your old husk and be safe. What gives the people you know the right to treat you as though nothing is different, if you are different then just put a mirrored box over your head and reflect all the assumptions that you will be exactly the same.

Coming home is the hardest thing. But instead of bashing your head against the wall, I’ve realised I must embrace it, the people around me and myself. Let myself be changed.

Cartagena

I arrived off the plane hungover and exhausted from the previous night of partying with Rishi and Nelson. I don't regret the decision to stay up drinking and partying till my flight at the moment but I totally regretted it while lying in the heat waiting till my bed was unoccupied. But let's not dwell on hangover moments, Cartagena was absolutely stunning. 

After napping for a few hours I met my co-year from AC who happened to be in Colombia at the same time. We ate a yummy lunch of arepas rellenas (filled corn patties with whatever goodness you want that day) and delicious fresh juice which was the perfect lunch for a hot sticky day. It was lovely to catch up with Tania during lunch and wandering around the old town. The old town is absolutely beautiful, the architecture is a combination between crumbling fishing village and Italian villa. And the flowers climb the verandas giving the sense that a giant octopus has wrapped it's leafy tentacles around the multi coloured buildings. After losing about half our body weight through sweating we decided to head back to the hostel and say our goodbyes. Quick dinner with my lovely Danish roommate, yummy crepes this time :) and then an early night ready for a full beach day the next day.

The beach (Playa Blanca) was beautiful, crop out the venders and the sunburn and the day would have been staged in a movie. Actually the vendors were a bit of a joke there were so many of them but Cartagena the city is surrounded by meters if not miles of slums from the surrounding area, all of the inhabitants trying to save as much as possible while living in the slums, and the beach goers definitely gave them business. Katherine (my danish roommate and friend) and I watched this lovely british guy get totally sucked into the ridiculous deals that were people handed willy nilly along the beach. We eventually rescued him from a crowd of sellers as he kept saying "Hola" instead of "No gracias." which had us laughing but he was utterly confused.

After chatting for a while we decided to head back on the late bus (well we kinda had to unless we wanted to stay overnight and with the mosquitos around even at the hostel back in cartagena I wasn't keen). We bounced along the dusty road back to our hostel, invited the british guy for drinks and then a lovely american photographer who was helping/working with Spencer Tunick (Check out Spencer Tunick Bogota) to do a arranged naked photoshoot with about 8,000 people in Bogota the day after I left. And let me tell you...Bogota is not like Cartagena. Its really cold even in summer, so 8,000 people got up in the really cold early hours of the morning and where placed around the main square in Bogota in order to just be. Nude and human. 

Back to Cartagena, we had a lovely night drinking with people from the Hostel. Stewart the lovely scottish/australian guy who helped us by giving us some of his aloe vera as we both looked very much like over cooked lobsters, joined us in the evening for drinking as well as the guys from the beach and a guy I knew from Medellin. All lovely people, but as I was so sunburnt I decided to just have a quiet night.
(New town on the right, old town on the left)

The next day followed our quiet night and we just chilled as it was both our last nights. Met to absolutely lovely English girls who I chilled with for the next day and totally clicked with them and I hope to see them again. After seeing a failed sunset, I had the most delicious and expensive meal Ive had in Colombia, but it was so good it was worth it. And the company, Stewart and Katherine, was excellent. More drinking (as it was my last night) but ended up just chatting to Alex who was the guy from Medellin, we talked about random stuff and it was super lovely and hopefully we will meet again as he to lives in the UK. 

 (My nest Burlesque act for sure!!)

My last day in Cartagena wizzed by and I wandered around taking last minute photos of the beautiful, timeless, colourful buildings. Covered by vines and though provoking graffiti. Some from the same artist that I had learned about in Bogota.  

(So adorable)

Off to Bogota, lovely last night in Hostel Sue who treat me like family. And then onto UK. 

Besos
xx

Budget travelling

Note to self and fellow travellers....never travel with only one card. Luckily I don't have much time left in my trip as my card is now cancelled and now I must rely on emergency money and money I have lent from a friend who was also travelling in Buenos Aires. It is surprising how limited you become especially in a place like Cartagena where prices are first world. But on the other hand there is suddenly so many things that open up as you try to look through and find odd activities to do that don't cost an arm or a leg. It's been pretty eye opening because as a traveller I relied heavily on my card and being able to take money out and when that ability is taken away from you it really leaves you feeling stuck as now there is no back up or security in having the card. But it is also incredibly freeing as what you have is all you have so you are more careful and appreciate everything.

Human kindness is also so prominent in travellers because everyone has been in some situation with money, passport or valuables. 

Just thinking out loud :)