A traveller I met gave me a nice example the other day (thank you Steve). You are abroad and havn´t had your favourite tipe of cereals for a long time. So what do you do if you finally find them in some shop. You know they are well overprized. To the local people this a luxury item.
Of course you buy them because you want a bite of home. I think we travellers can be 'glad' Coca Cola is a multi national company. It's an affordable sip of home for everyone.
At least to me it is.
I have an idea. I just lie to these sharks. So I tell them I will get a ride whith one of em if they let me use one of their phones to notify my friends that I have arrived safely.
I know everyone needs to make a living and I also don't like lying but the prizes they asked for was daylight robbery.
I am diallin Sofia's number. The phone rings. The ringing stops. Someone answers the phone. Sofia has a very manly voice i think. The voice explains it's name is Christian. Cristian in fact is Sofia's bf who had been sent by sofia to pick me up instead. Like 10 meters I see him waving his arm so I pay the taxi driver for using his phone and take off.
Luckily Christian speaks english and we get along very well. He tells me Sofia is lying in bed with Dengue fever. I truely feel sorry for her and at the same time I am glad she sent her bf instead. He is so kind and helpfull. He explains how things work around here.
Unfortunately my brain has shut off. You are with someone local now. You can relax. Let him do the steering. This vessel only wants to finally reach harbour.
So Christian tells me all these probably very useful things and my brain can only process half of what is said. I think he told me he was biologist. Not???
I am truely sorry Christian..
We are wandering through the city. We are taking some buses. I have no fuckin idea where we are. Thei weight of my backpack gets heavier and i activate my brain to tell Christian two things:
I need a bit of non air plane food (preferably while sitting down)
I need a Colombian pr paid card
Both things we find in a mall. As it turns out the prepaid card is worthless as with some cards you can only make national calls. If you guys want to call your folks at home you need to buy a Virgin card. Apparently Richard Branson's company owns the best operating mobile network in Colombia.
My cell works now so cheers Richard.
I get myself a bite in a little shop that looks like you could buy food and a pair of shoes at the same time. I have a type of fried bread - a local dish - what was it's name again?? Christian told me only a minute ago... Again sorry Christian. One of the things my brain couldn't process anymore.
It's getting dark and Christian tells me that the bus ride actually takes another 1 and a half hours. This number my brain can process just fine. Fuck! Another 1 and a half hours in a crowded bus. At least thats how I pictured it. I am considering my options. I could contact one of my other couchsurfing contacts and see if he or she agrees to spontainiously host me for a night. A hostle would also be an option but nah! Not tonight. I want my own room and my own bed.
I don't want to be a pain in anyones arse so I agree on purchasing the ticket to Varsana.
Christian explains to the busdriver that I am from Germany and that i don't have a fucking clue where I am going. I am not getting half of what they are saying. That is how much my spanish sucks.
I only understand the word monasterary. The busdriver nods. He seems to know the place. My backpack goes into the trunk of the Minibus. I hop into the front seat and Christian and I exchange a few more words till we say goodbye.
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