BOGOTÁ

"The City 2600 meters closer to the stars" is what it is also called. 9 Millions habitants live here, all from diffirent backgrounds: indians, mestisos, blacks, whites, yellows, and the few tourists walking around. One can see if the tourists walking around have been here for a while or have just arrived for the newcomers walk tensed, look around for anything supicious and hardly smile or greet. But if you, as a tourist, take a little time, say a week, to get to know the city and its people, you will feel no threats nor tension, only if you look for it.
It appears to me that Colombians, better said Rolos (people from Bogotá) have had a long period of very bad times behind them with the civil war, corruption, poverty, drugs and its drugwars, (that still continue today althought is seems to have entered a period of tranquility) that they don't want to act bad anymore. They have had enough and they don't want to live that downward spiral no more. That maybe one of the reasons why there are so many students walking around. And also for the policy that now is used in Bogotá: the poor people are not allowed to enter the city and are kept in places citypeople won't show up.

One of the 'barrios' where they live is called Ciudad Bolívar, in the South of Bogotá. Even though French, Canadian and Suisse fundations help to create a wellfare (health, food and education) in that area, it is unwise to enter it, let alone at night. Because like in every big City criminality flourishes at night. But in Bogotá it is more likely to encounter a gun instead of a nife, and if it is a nife it most likely will be part of a group of five to ten, twelf angry men. But don't let this scare you nor believe everything you read or hear; it might as well be a group of twelf foxy women ready to dance with you.
Around Latin-America Colombia is known as Locombia, Bogatá as Drogotá and the people are known for their wild parties and friendliness. They are curious, ask questions and are helpfull. They seem fearless but alegre, warm and willing to share what they can: food, shelter, drinks, knowlegde, anything. The countryside is endlesly versatile: from mountains and vulcanos with white summits to black and white beaches, jungle and desertlike areas. The land incredibly vertile displaying colours of all kinds. But one has to travel through it to get a glimpse of the beauty of the land and its people. Fearless and curious.

Niños de Peguche, Ecuador

TRIP STARTS AT 23-03-07

• EQUADOR - Quito
• COLOMBIA - Bogota
• BRAZILIE - Manaus
• SURINAME - Paramaribo

San Pedro

"La Medicina" is what the indiginous people call this haluciganic tea made of the cactus San Pedro, or San Perdrito. It is used to help with whatever problem one has who takes it, with the guidance of a a so called Sabio, or Shaman. The cactus grows only at specific places close to fresh water like rivers or lakes.

One cuts only the green skin of the cactus and one boiles it for two days putting in the skin in the same water, as to create a high concantration of Mescaline.

Normaly the tea is consumed in ceremonies guided by the Sabio. A ceremony normally begins in the evening and lasts till the break of dawn. First all participants smoke tabaco to make contact with the spirit of San Pedro and ask for answers to whatever questions they have. It may be to find clarity in ones actions, or a cure for an illness or prosperity in ones work. Then the medicine is consumed followed by singing. While singing participants have to again focus on their personal questions. Followed by on other consumption of the tea, an other smoke, one last consumption, a "Limpo", a cleaning of the negative energy in the bodies of the participants and then a ceremonial meal.

If used correctly, it is used to obtain personal strenght in order to find answers, conscience or unconscience to the questions one has during such a ceremony.

Most people tend to forget this aspect of the ceremony and rely totally on the words and capacities of the Sabio, who most of the time ends the ceremony with a "Limpio", giving the people the idea that after the cleaning the can live there lives just like before, with the idea that they had a "Limpo", making them feel better without profound changes. Of course there are these who deal different with the effects of San Pedro and use it to learn about their lives and thoughts and starts over with new insights optained during such a ceremony

Buscando otros Mundos

"Seeking other worlds"
Of course it is clear that people tend to have the same driving forces behind their way of life. Especially in western societies it is very clear which are the driving forces behind the peoples actions. For example the need to have goals, to mean something, to be important, to be loved, to seperate yourself from others, to create an unique identity. But also the fear to loose, especially things one charishes, fear of things that are different or unknown, the fear of solitude, the fear of death.
In short one is driven by 2 things, will and fear. One has to be aware that will is not allways your own for most of the times it is a will formed by conditionings coming forth for society and history. The same counts for fear.

Of course there are many other cultures on our bonito mundo that share these driving forces. And there are cultures that deal with them completely different. But it is in the small, sheer forgotten cultures where one can find a different world, driven by respect in stead of fear, and where individual will is not regarded with such high moral necesity for they know we are more NOT individuals then indivuals because, like Neo said in a post here: "We are one". We are more simular the we are different. So why act like it?

ECUADOR: van Sierra tot Strand

Als je aan Ecuador denkt denk je al snel aan straatmuziekanten met panfluiten, armoede en het houselied waarin iemand steeds roept: "ECUADOR!".
De mensen die er wel eens zijn geweest kennen "El Condor Pasa" en weten dat het land mooi is en dat er wel degelijk een westers geörienteerde mentaliteit is (kapitalisme/katholisisme), dat er veel indiaanen leven die voor het grootste gedeelte Quicha spreken (een taal afkomstig van de Inka´s) en dat er ook een veel armoede is. Ecuador, met Bolivia en Peru één van de weinige landen in Zuid-Amerika waar indianen nog doorgaan voor de meerderheid.
Ruim 40% is indiaans waarvan verreweg het meerendeel afstammelingen zijn van de Inca´s en nog altijd dezelfde taal, Quicha, spreken. "Pitatankanki" bevoorbeeld betekent "Wie ben jij?". 2% is zwart, 2% blank en de rest is een mix van het een en ander. Maar net als in de rest van de Zuid- en Midden- en Noord-Amerikaanse landen heben de indiaanen het het moeilijkst.

Behalve in Otavalo en Cotacachi en omgeving. Historisch gezien hadden zij altijd al een handelsgeest gehad, ontwikkeld door de geliefde handarbeid en textiel die zij produceren. Daarbij komt ook kijken dat Otavalo en omgeving, in de provincie Imbabura, een klein paradijs is: enorm vruchtbaar vanwege de aanwezigheid van twee vulkanen Cotacachi en Imbabura (helaas geen foto´s), het vele water (het regent nu al meer dan twee weken af en aan) en de sterke zon.

Imbabura is de man en is kleiner dan zijn geliefde Cotacachi. En als ze allebei besneeuwde toppen hebben, wil de legende dat hun liefde voorelkaar het heftigst is. Hoe heftig zou hun liefde zijn als ze allebei tergelijkertijd uit zouden barsten. Misschien zijn ze dan wel juist heel erg boos op elkaar. De legende heeft daar geen verhalen over omdat dit nog nooit heeft plaats gevonden in tijden van mensen en legenden.