where is ilana?

[whereisilana]

October 11: Home is where you travel

You know those movies where there’s something that’s so beautiful and amazing and picturesque, and seems unrealistic, like a dream… Like two people standing with their feet in the ocean looking at the forever sea, in the middle of the night on a completely deserted beach talking about the depths of life and how to make it count. Then one person says to the other, “I want to remember this moment for the rest of my life.” That happens when you travel. Or watching two strangers lock eyes, start to salsa dance, and you witness the beauty of them falling in love right before your eyes. That happens. Or dancing until the sun comes up on a table on a beach, without a care in the world, not worrying about anyone or anything happening around them. That happens too. And there’s also getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, being really hungry, and realizing there’s a hole in your mosquito net, having more mosquito bites than inches on your body, far too frequent stomach aches, sitting on busses for hours, missing busses, eating food while being attacked by flies, knowing there’s something crawling on you but not wanting to move because you’re almost asleep even though the electricity is out so there’s no fan and you’re sticky and hot, smelling worse than garbage and having no other clothes, going to sleep soaking wet with sand everywhere, cold showers, all of it. There’s so many situations that occur which really suck. But when the incredible moments happen, all of those shitty, annoying times become part of the adventure which you love so much, and every moment, good and bad, suddenly becomes part of the life-altering, unforgettable experience.

This guy who was volunteering at The Dreamer hostel in Palomino has been traveling for 6 months. He’s from Orange County and his name is Cameron. He made this incredibly inspiring video that showcases him and many people he’s met along his travels. In the video, they state their name, where they are from, and where their home is. The name of the video is “Home is where you travel.” If they are on Machu Picchu, that’s their home. Cartagena, Home. Patagonia, home. Lima, home. Wherever, home. 

I’ve never heard the question asked when traveling “where do you live?” Because their answer will be, “right here.”

I know it’s been 10 days, but I guess my Asia trip taught me how to backpack, which to me is not just about having a backpack and moving around with no plan. It’s an emotional and spiritual trip, testing your limits constantly, and opening your mind to things that never existed before. I was able to quickly snap into the mindset of living in the moment, living with my backpack, living with strangers who quickly become friends, and making wherever I am “home” in an instant. Living in the moment is a genuine feeling, as if nothing before this moment in my life matters, and nothing that happens after this matters. Just right here, right now is all there is - taking all the energy you have in your heart, mind, body and soul, and giving it to the moment you’re in, the person you’re with, the beauty you’re surrounded by, the adventure you’re living, and the story you’re creating. 

Life is just a story anyway, and we’ve all been given the power to write our own.

Until next time…

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list."

[whereisilana]

Kevin sent a sneak peak of my photo shoot in Palomino for Buena Onda 🌊 Www.thebuenaonda.com

[whereisilana]

October 11: drunk travels

I'm concerned if they're going to let me in the country. I look like I have Ebola. I'm wasted, I'm dragging my feet, can't walk in a straight line, and the only color on my face is black from my eye makeup I obviously didn't take off. We got home around 430, and my alarm was set for 6, even though it should have been set for 530. What can I say, I like to live on the edge. 6:03a I'm up! And all of a sudden it was 6:28a and I realized I just closed my eyes by accident. Hate when that happens... I throw my shit together, wake up Maria, she calls a cab, and I stumble downstairs. The cab driver is asking me where the airport is. I cannot communicate with this man in English, let alone Spanish. I just kept saying "aeropuerto, rapido por favor!" And like, really? You're a cab driver. Knowing where the airport is is a really important part of your job. My head was out the window for the majority of the ride there. I was pretty sure there was going to be a vomit situation. Luckily I made it there, although for the next hour until I ate, I made sure there was a trash bin in site. He couldn't have dropped me further from JetBlue. So I'm waddling along with my backpack falling off my back, I finally get to JetBlue and they tell me I need to go back to the other side to get a tax rebate form or some shit. I looked at them with my glassy red eyes and said "can I please put my bag down?" She said no... Then I begged a little and told her that aguardiente es muy loco and I can't carry it. She let me check in first. Wooop. But the check in lady said once she checks me in, I have 5 minutes to get the tax form so she can input the number. Nothing takes 5 minutes in an airport and my brain is operation at about 4%. So now I'm walking as fast as my heavy legs will let me from one end of the airport to the other looking for this tax form situation, everyone is pointing me in different directions. Immigration, oversize luggage, back to check in. No, please stop sending me in circles! I would have cried but exerting any energy would have surely resulted in the throwing up to start. You know once that starts, it doesn't stop. I finally get this tax form and I'm running like a zombie back not to miss the 5 minute mark... I wonder what would have happened if I did. Now in immigration, there's signs for Ebola everywhere. According to the news I haven't seen or read in 10 days, the airports are super strict and you may be asked to get your temp taken. That was like when I was in china and they shoot lasers at your head to determine your temperature. I made it through. Phew. I still have pesos, not that I've ever been concerned with my ability to spend money, so I bought an excessive amount of dulce de leche, hot sauce, ate some eggs, coffee, and coke, and here I am on the plane... Full emergency row, drunk, spread out, surely going to sleep, and when I wake up, I'll be in the USA. I've been saying my next trip is India, and I'm reading Shantaram which is making me want to go more. But I need more South America in my life. The culture is unbelievable. The people are beautiful, they have such a lively energy, it's incredibly romantic (partly because dancing is basically having sex standing up with your clothes on, and they dance... A lot), and I could listen to people speaking Spanish all day. There's a ton of history, untouched territory, scenery, greens, parks, nightlife, dulce de leche for breakfast, and a confidence about Latino people that's rare to see. For example, no matter how fat or skinny you are, you wear that dam string bikini, and you love every minute of it. You shake your booty every day, and you smile all the time. It's awesome. Exploring a country is much different when you know the language. In Asia, I obviously couldn't get around by saying hello and thank you in Thai, and everyone speaks English. Here, at least I've picked up on a lot that I've forgotten over the years, and enjoyed speaking it so much. But I would have been able to appreciate a lot more if I had better Spanish skills. I want to study it more and then visit again. Overall Colombia is just incredible. Incase that message hasn't gotten across.. People think it's dangerous. Well, it's not. Just don't buy cocaine from strangers on the street and don't waive your iPhones in really crowded places. That's pretty much the only rules we were given at the hostels and by other travelers. But don't do either of those in NYC either. I saw a tiny bit of Colombia and I can't wait to go back and see more of both Colombia and South America. And the rest of the world...

[whereisilana]

Maria's dads amazing cars. Me and Felipe after the soap party

[whereisilana]

October 10: bogota country club graduation party

I finally arrive in Bogota after a long and stupid day. I got to see the city a bit on the ride over. There streets are filled with artwork graffiti. Their city actually encourages the graffiti. I don't know if you have to pass some sort of artistic ability test to be allowed to paint, but it was one stunning piece of work after another. I arrive at Maria's after the driver of course asking me how to get there, and me if course saying "yo no se" (I don't know) about 30x. Eventually we got to Maria's apartment. I'm absolutely blown away. I've been gone for 10 days, not 10 years, but the there's still a considerable amount of shock value when reintroduced into a society outside of hostels and hammocks. Her apartment was so gorgeous, 2 bedrooms, both with white beds with these huge fluffy blankets that I wanted to curl up in. I showered the most amazing shower. It's hot water. Talk about extremes?! I haven't had a proper shower in 7 days. And here I arrive in an apartment that would be $2 million in nyc. When I got out of this glorious shower of heaven and unlimited conditioner, I asked Maria for sweatpants to hang out in until we go out. I felt bad opening my backpack at all in her apartment, I was not about to allow shit smelling clothing infested with Colombian river, farms, scorpions and anacondas touch her cloud-like bed. I lay down and watched batman in espanol. I really want to improve my Spanish skills, and I didn't know how to change the channel. Maria and her 2 French friends are fast asleep after a long day of drinking. She actually met them in nyc about 6 months ago. They had been working at bars and restaurants learning about how to run the business and then spent 2 weeks in Texas learning how to properly BBQ. These guys are going to Rio for a month of vacation, and then going to home to open a BBQ place in Paris. Awesome. It was weird I felt like the trip is over once I laid in a real bed. I mean, it is. This is a party but not my backpacking trip. This is just a party in a city that people say is awesome, although I have no opinions since I sat at the airport in Santa Marta instead of seeing bogota. I got ready. I ironed my hair, took my makeup out for the first time this trip, and drank a gin and tonic with muddled cucumber in a kitchen of granite and stainless steel, listening to surround sound, with heels on. It was confusing because an hour before that I was on the verge of dreadlocks and had been wearing a dress that I haven't taken off for 36 hours. Yeah, I woke up Thursday morning, put the dirty wet dress on, wore it all day, slept in it, and wore it the entire next day. Gross. Maria's driver picked us up in her Land Rover while we drank aguardiente out of the bottle for 40 minutes to the restaurant which everyone told me I must go to. Except first we had to stop at a graduation party. Talk about a drastic change. From not showering for 5 days to a fully catered graduation party at a country club where these absolutely beautiful 23-25 year olds are getting dropped off by their drivers. They are the rich kids of bogota. Their hair is perfecto, and they looked like a bunch of middle/upper class American kids to me. Nice bags, great shoes, gorgeous leather and wool coats, fur scarves (it's cold in Bogota). I guess I just wasent expecting that? They all show up with a bottle (or tekpak) of aguardiente. It's the Colombian liquor. Only 25% alcohol and kind of taste like sambuca, but it goes down waaaay too easy. Way. Too. Easy. They are drinking it like water. So, I drank it like water too. When in Colombia... Everyone was so nice, we were dancing, I was trying to speak Spanish with people while they were speaking to me in English, which they all spoke very well, as you'd imagine. Suddenly it's 2am and I realized were definitely not making it to the restaurant, which at that point was fine by me. I had a little too much aguardiente for my stomach, so I ran to the bathroom and threw up. The 28 year old American throwing up at a party with 23 year olds Colombians. Pathetic. I was totally fine, drank some water and rallied it out. I'm hanging out with this guy Felipe, and all of a sudden there's silly string all over us and everyone. It looked like silly string on crack because in less than 5 seconds the entire outdoor area is white. But yuck, I went to pull off what looked like silly string, and it was the consistency of shaving cream. They call it party soap or some shit. So now I realize I am covered in this oddly good smelling foam soap, and there are girls literally ringing it out of their long straight hair. That's how much there was. Just like New York, it's not uncommon for fights to break out late in the night when you put a bunch rowdy young people in a room. Fight away. There's guys holding guys back, there's pretty girls crying, and mascara running down their cheek. Then, on the other side of the room there's another fight. Different boys ripping different boys shirts, different mascara running down different girls faces. Not like dangerous fighting, like probably fighting over a girl, country club fighting. Oy. It's 4am and so so so time to leave. Maria calls her driver and we're off. I was absolutely hammered at that point, and I have to be at the airport in 3 hours.

[whereisilana]

Oct 10: fail

I have to get to bogota ASAP, and I'm really far away with no flight booked. I woke Andrew up to help me get off this farm because I don't know how to get around. So I checked out and he got me on a bus and bid farewell. From being at the ranch, my stuff is literally filled with spiders and ants and other creepy crawlers, the smells have gotten worse, if that's actually possible, and it's becoming quite distinct. I'm on a local bus alone for the next hour. I still have battery in my phone, as I tried hard to save it knowing I have a big day, and there's not really usable electricity at the ranch right now. Anything that's plugged in with any metal, you get shocked from, so when you want a beer, you use a wooden spoon to open the fridge. Point being, I was not taking a risk and plugging my phone in. Its about an hour ride. I had to get back to the other dreamer hostel in Santa Marta to get my backpack, go straight to the airport, and get my ass to bogota. I felt like it had been about an hour, so I asked the bus driver where dreamer hostel was and he literally stopped the bus at that moment and said to get off here. Thank goodness I felt that I was near or I would have been really far. I was literally right in front of the hostel. Perfecto. So far so good. I get into the dreamer, go to the luggage room, grab my bag, and ask to call a taxi for the airport. The taxi driver is taking me the most ridiculous way possible. He stops to get gas, and then he's on these absolutely unpaved back roads, when I do know it's a pretty straight shot to the airport on the main road. I thought for a minute, this would be a great time for me to get kidnapped and sex trafficked. I'm driving through ports with containers, and back alley side roads with warehouses. I took a deep breath and realized there's absolutely nothing in the world I could do at this moment if that's about to happen. 20 minutes later we get to the airport. Alive. Success. I go up to the counter, no one is there. Next airline, they say they are sold out of every flight. Oh fuck. Ok next airline I see is a star alliance airline. So I call Mr. Rick brown, dad, to see if he could work his magic and get me on the next flight out of here! No luck. Flights are full. It's a fucking national holiday. The next flight available is at 330. What a way to spend your last day. I guess my last day in Vietnam was also the worst day of my Asia trip too. A very nice man helped my buy my ticket online in all Spanish. Although I must say, my Spanish has improved drastically over the last week. It's sooooo hard to get around here if you don't know Spanish well. I can understand a lot more, but still have trouble speaking it well enough to get me around. I happen to have found people who speak Spanish very well. Except Toni. The two of us together was a joke. We could hardly form a whole sentence! Sitting on my backpack in the airport, smelling like shit, my legs are itchy as hell and my skin is going to fall off if I keep lathering hydracodizone cream on like its body lotion. I met this couple who was leaving the ranch as we arrived who I also met briefly in palomino. They said they were taking the 330 flight today, and I was like "oh I'll be out by 10am, I hope I don't see you at the airport!" Well, here I am at 2pm and I just ran into them. I failed today. I could have been in bogota all day enjoying the city, shopping (sorry, no gifts people) and enjoying the last day. Instead I'm just chillin, writing, reading... Meeting some nice people. But I'm in an airport. I decided I'll be saving up for another Latin America adventure.

[whereisilana]

Oct 9: Rancho not as Relaxo as I wanted

From the time I arrived at the farm, I was in a bit of a trance. I took a nap, and I was just in a really quiet mood. I wanted to chill as hard as possible over the next 12 hours. It was so quiet there, there was literally the sound of nothing, mixed in with little chickens and waterfalls. It's also my last day before bogota, which to me right now, represents going home. There was 8 of us that went to the ranch, plus a few volunteers like the chef, who was amazingly talented, and this girl who sat at reception. When we originally walked up, I was like "I know you." We took the bus together from Cartagena to Santa Marta, she's a 25 year old Canadian girl who quit her job and now lives on the farm for a few months. I was in a bit of a feisty mood by the end of that bus ride because it was Yom Kippur. She said she could tell I was hungry. So I told her all about my break fast story. She was so sweet and beyond chilled out after living on this ranch for the past 4 months... Around dinner time these two other girls from London arrived. I met them at the dreamer this morning briefly. They were adorable, like 22 year old gorgeous well dressed best friends who just finished college and are traveling. She had a romper i loved I wanted to buy it off her. They arrived and she was wearing these sparkly silver shorts, a really cute low cut tank top, makeup, and hoop earrings. It was so beyond out of place on a backpacker trail, let alone a ranch in a rural village on the coast of Colombia. Get the picture?Anyway, after dinner all they wanted to do was play drinking games and card games and fucking ice breaker type games which are all really fun, but I was having none of it. All I wanted to do was chill on a hammock with good people. It's very uncommon for me not to be able to adapt to what's going on and just be fun. I was being so quiet (also rare) and just not myself. So at midnight I put myself to bed. I slept in a tiny little hut in the middle of the jungle with just a bed and mosquito net. There's a "door" which only has the bottom half. It's to keep the chickens out. I loved the farm, it was one of the most tranquil places I've been. But I also knew I had a big day ahead of me. I needed to get up by 7 to get my bags in Santa Marta and get my ass to the airport!

[whereisilana]

Welcome to the Rancho Relaxo! Such beautiful views. Geoff feeds his pigs, aka eventual dinner. The "reception" desk. Yes, that's just a pile of homegrown pot.

[whereisilana]

October 9: el Rancho relaxooo

I've gotta get out of Palomino. Not because I don't like it. I do and I could stay here until all my blood is sucked dry from the bites... But because clearly I've spent more time here than anywhere else in Colombia, and I was supposed to be in Bogota 3 days ago. I'm happy I didn't buy a flight. I knew I didn't want to be tied to anything. Although I do wish I got to appreciate Bogota a bit more than I will. Not to worry, I'll be back. Andrew, the guy who sells alpaca scarves and socks, and lives off his sailboat has some friends from Canada who opened a ranch outside of palomino. His friend Owen, and Owens girlfriend Kelsey are also visiting him. They were going to the ranch. It's called Rancho Relaxo. It's a completely self sustained ranch in the middle of nowhere. They grow all their own vegetables and fruit, bake their own bread, and eat their own pigs and chickens. There's about 6 people who volunteer here, 3 of which are amazing cooks. There was another couple from England who also joined us. We hopped on the bus, drove along beautiful cliffs next to the Caribbean Sea, until we arrived in a remote location known as the "Rancho Relaxo." Once we arrived, we got a little tour of the grounds and the animals were eating for dinner. We all went for a swim in the waterfall which felt amazing after a long hot ride. They were cooking lunch, so of course I was delighted to offer my assistance. He said sure, and he grabbed some lemon basil from the bush, a head of garlic and he said chop the garlic and basil and we're good. I was very happy to be in the kitchen. We're pretty much just hanging out all day, I took a nap in the hammock, walked around, went on a little hike to the top of the mountain, and now I'm laying on the hammock, listening to the amazing sounds of the jungle, the frogs, birds, and trees, while one of the guys is playing guitar. There's only 8 of us here plus a few people working. It's so serene and I don't know what to do with myself, but the beauty is, I don't have to do anything. I'm drinking beer and sitting on a hammock in a hut while my friends are reading books, chatting, playing chess, jamming on the guitar. I smell so bad I don't know how to explain. It's not my skin (well kinda) but my clothes have a stench I can't describe and there's nothing I care to do about it, not that I can anyway. What makes it okay, I don't care, and everyone else smells the same. This life is like a movie, except it's my reality.

[whereisilana]

Last night at The Dreamer hostel in palomino. Alex and i won the pool tourney!

[whereisilana]

October 9: goodbye teun.

There's a 4-6 day trek that a lot of people do here. It's called the Lost City trek, and it starts in this area of Colombia, Santa Marta ish. I would love to do it but I don't have that time. Toni has been wanting to do it but we've been stuck in palomino because, well, it's just hard to leave. This morning he was off. He woke me up on his way out, and I'm happy he did. I've been traveling with him my entire trip. From the minute I got to cartagena, I said hi to the first person I saw, and we haven't left each others sides since. We ate every meal together, talked, gone to sleep, woken up, and done every activity together. Toni was my perfect travel partner. He's a 22 year old Dutch chiropractor/physical therapist, traveling alone for about 4 months. He has a girlfriend (who he broke up with on the bus ride to Santa Marta because she seemed to be needy and annoying), and he's about 2 weeks into his travels. He very nice, smart, strong, and he's fixing my TMJ. I call him my body guard. He doesn't leave me, I don't leave him, and when we do, we make sure to tell each other. I think people mess up when they find people they want to travel with by sleeping with them. Seriously, it's a very common conversation I have with people where they were enjoying this persons company, and then "this and that happened and now in trying to ditch them and they won't leave me." I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner. Toni very much does his thing. He's charming and good looking, and just really cool. You'd never think he was 22 if you met him. People with different upbringings, cultures, and education have a different wiseness to them. That's not to say that they are any better or worse. But I have my interpretation of a 22 year old American boy, and it's not this. I'm really going to miss Toni!! Bye Teun!!!! (his real Dutch name)

[whereisilana]

Oct 8: Sometimes you get stuck places, which is fine... Unless you're leaving.

This morning I was definitely supposed to leave to hike through Tayrona national park. I didn't. When I first arrived in palomino, I thought to myself, you're not staying more than 1-2 nights max. The Mosquitos are out of control, and there's nothing to do here. Also, I only thought I was going to be here 1 night and then go hike Tayrona and possibly sleep in the park. I didn't want to hike with my backpack so I packed only my little backpack with my cotton dress, 2 tank top, jean shorts, cotton shorts, a bathing suit, sneakers, flipflops, shampoo/conditioner, razor, toothbrush/toothpaste, comb, and a sarong. If there was anything I wish I had that I don't, it's pants. And more underwear... That said, I found exactly where I'm supposed to be at the moment. Since we didn't get to buy anything yesterday when the electricity went out at the cotton family's house, Kevin wanted I go back to buy stuff for his business. He invited me on the journey 'take 2' to actually buy clothing. We ate breakfast (aka I poured more dulce du leche on my plate) and headed off. They were so happy to see us, as we were them. Kids were in school though. I began trying everything on again, dripping sweat and all. And we picked out about $200 USD worth of clothes. It was not only high quality, but clothing is very expensive in Colombia. We got 10 items. On our way home, we stopped at a local shop and Kevin ended up being interviewed by a Colombia student asking about an Americans take on politics in Colombia. Kevin is very educated about the politics and current events and I was able to understand a lot of what he was saying, which of course I impressed myself with. We get back and a bunch of people were going tubing again, including this guy I was hanging out with last night who I am beyond intrigued by. His name is Andrew from Canada, and he owns a business manufacturing and selling alpaca scarves and socks made in South America, lives on his sailboat yacht, and has been for the last 4 years. He has a team of 25 people who sell at Christmas markets all over the country which completely sustains his unbelievable life. He eats fish and rice on the boat, and is now hiring people to take of the yacht for him. Wanna talk about creating the life you want for yourself? This is who you meet when you travel. Ask them if they are happy, and listen to the way they describe their happiness. Look into their eyes and there's no doubt that there is a such thing as pure bliss. I had considered going tubing, but they left by the time we got back. And, I'm happy they did. I ended up hanging out with Kevin all day, modeling his clothes on the beach. I've never modeled before and I don't know that I'll get the opportunity again, but wow. What an experience. I was not just randomly modeling in a weird way. I was in handmade local clothes that we bought from a local family, laying on the beautiful beach of palomino. I was beside myself at that moment. I was running in the ocean, sitting in the jungle, I was climbing on trees, laying in the sand, my hair was in it's own world completely, no makeup, no nothing. I don't know how I looked, but I felt beautiful. The situation, the scenery, the waves and sounds, the Mosquitos and frizzy hair, all of it was just incredible. Kevin has to keep working, going deep into villages to find the source of the product I had to say goodbye to him and Katy this afternoon, unfortunately. They'll both be in nyc soon and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again. Now were just hanging out, drinking, taking advantage of happy hour which comes ton quickly every night, it's pouring, the lights are out (and have been the last 24 hours) with little spurts of electricity to flush the toilet, connect to the Internet, and make some food. I don't want to leave. I could be stuck here, forever.

[whereisilana]

October 7: buena Onda

At the bar last night, I was talking to Cameron (a bartender at the hostel from LA) about organizing tubing. Lots of people were very into the idea of getting rum and coke and laying in a tube in the jungle for 3 hours. So, we woke up and people were waiting outside all ready for some direction on what time were going and where we go. I'm like uhhhh where's Cameron? They're like "well he said to find you." Great. How did I get in charge of this? I'm pretty dam organized when it comes to planning things, so eventually I got the group of 8 together, we got tubes, got rum and coke, and hiked the hottest hike of life with with huge tube on my back. 45 minutes we got to the top, and we were off! The jungle was absolutely breathtaking. The colors were so deep, the birds were beautiful, and the rum was strong. It was a perfect morning. Similar to Laos, tubing is a pretty big activity in palomino. Especially because there's not all that much else to do. Palomino is a small, relatively untouched village, where the highest glaciers are the closest point to the beach than anywhere in the world on a clear day, you could see the glaciers from the beach. We tubed down to the beach and walked back to the hostel. When we got back, there were a few new people hanging in the pool. Immediately I knew 2 of them were from the states. They were both from Nebraska, Katy and Kevin. Katy is Kevin's friend from high school. Kevin moved to Medellin about a year and a half ago but was having trouble getting a working visa without a contract, and a contract without a visa. He decided to start selling La Mochilas, which are the bags people use here. They are handwoven cotton or sheeps wool woven into beautiful little bucket bags. Buena Onda is now a fully functioning website where he is beginning to being able to sustain his life. I was talking to him about the women that make the products and where he gets it from, etc. So he said "come see for yourself, I'm going to look at these wild cotton dresses. Let's go." So I grabbed my sneakers because he just finished telling me about how the last time he did this, he ended up going on a 5 hour hike. We walked down the road until we found these dresses. It was a storefront of a little house that had some dirty cotton dresses hanging up that looked handmade. Immediately in my head, I'm like ehh. These could be cute but nah. Then me and kevin really started looking at them, and they are absolutely beautiful. I was putting them on, being his model. They fit a little strange because they are made for Colombian bodies. I've got curves and an ass, but I'm still really small compared to most Colombian women. Many of the clothes didn't fit me as is, however when they are produced a little differently, I would absolutely pay money for these in the states. The whole time we were talking about his business and what he wants. What a amazing life! Definitely stressful at times, but he gets to live and breath this amazing culture day and day out, he gets to know the indigenous people, speaks very good Spanish just travels around running most of his business from here. So we're there for about a half hour before it starts raining. But raining is not the right word. Someone poured the entire ocean in palomino. I've never seen rain like this. It was beautiful, and we could see the lightening bolts in the jungle, but there was also no way we were walking back to the hostel in this. So we waited, we played with the triplet children of the lady who worked/lived there. 2 boys 1 girl. The boys were climbing all over Kevin, and the girl is curled up in my lap, and every time there was thunder, she would nuzzle in my chest. I obviously fell in love hard for this one. So the rain continued, we hung out while they "showered" the kids, got them in pjs and gave them bottles. It was adorable and amazing and hilarious, but I was like, are we actually going to sleep here? 10 people died last week getting struck by lightening and the storm wasn't giving. Eventually the lighting was further away. I was wearing sneaking and knowing I might hike tomorrow, I didn't want to get them soaking wet. I took my sneakers off and we started (or continued) the adventure. We walked about 4 minutes and the rain was wild again. We jumped under a little awning from a closed store, and once we realized we were going to be stuck there for a bit, it was time to smoke a joint. Drugs like that are made for situations like this. Sorrynotsorry. So now I'm high, with Kevin, and were just chillin, sitting on the floor on the streets of palomino for another 15 minutes just talking and hanging out. The next trek was to a restaurant across the street. We sprinted across, hoping and praying there would be beer! No mas cerveza (no more beer). Stayed there for a few... Next stop, 5 minutes down the road to another store. Short break, and then the last store, and the final walk home. There's 6 inches of water and absolutely pitch black in the street. I was holding his hand because I had no idea how deep it was at any point, we were falling all over the place, laughing, yelling. It was a prime moment I realized that everything that happened the past 3 hours is why I love traveling, but more so why I love traveling like this. Eventually we arrived back at the hostel soaking wet, everyone was like "where were you!?!?!" I couldn't even explain the story. I needed a beer.

[whereisilana]

Life is an adventure if you just let it happen. This is my munchkin I practically babysat with Kevin while we were shopping for his clothing brand in the states. The rain was obvious, but worth every minute.

[whereisilana]

"You could be swept away from land and drown"

[whereisilana]

October 6: eaten alive

I finally got a decent night of sleep. I was passed out before midnight, and woke up at 9am. I felt pretttty good. Surprisingly, I thought I was about to have the worst night of sleep ever because earlier in the night when I was hanging by the front desk, a girl came up with a bunch of bites (that didn't really look like bedbugs) and said she thinks there might be bedbugs in her bed from last night. She said she slept in Spain #2. (Room name and bed number) well....... I am in Spain #2 tonight and my stuff is on the bed right now. I run back, pack everything up and change my bed. But now it's all I'm thinking about. I check my new mattress and sheets, underneath, with a flashlight, like a maniac. I'm proud of my overall reactions to bugs when I travel, as normally I just kill things with my hands or ignore it, where as when I'm home, if there's an ant on my foot, I freak a little. Anyway, bedbugs are another story. That's not something I can tolerate, and if I found one on me or in my bed, I'll most definitely cry. I think I was safe. I wanted to head to Palomino, which is supposed to be beautiful beaches and jungles, tubing, rafting, and small village serenity. Once I got up and packed my stuff, I headed over to breakfast. There was some dulce de leche for the pancakes, so obviously some of that sauce was going on my plate. I must have been too excited because I squeezed it so hard that it exploded all over me. Perfect! Took my shirt off, washed it, and hung it to dry until we left. I had already packed my stuff up and left it in the luggage room because in the next few days I'll be hiking, and only wanted a small backpack. So that shirt better dry fast because it's all I have access to right now. Toni was headed this way also, so he joined me, thank goodness because it was a local bus to get there for 2 hours and I was shirtless. Head out the window, shirt out the window, feet out the window, two hours and $4 later, we arrive in palomino which is a tiny tiny village, and were greeted by 4 big Colombian guys in their 20s on motorbikes telling us to get on. I'm like, no. Toni is like "yeah I don't want to walk." I'm like okay, they'll either actually take us to our hostel, or take us into the woods with our money and rob us, but it's a 30 min walk if not. Lucky for us we arrive at the hostel. We walk around, meet some other people, and stay in the pool for about 2 hours with only our heads above water like everyone else to avoid the Mosquitos. I've never see so many Mosquitos in my life. We end up going to the beach for lunch, we eat the best food I've had since I'm here. We pick out fish from a bucket, and they bake it with all these herbs, and it gets a side of like a burnt coconut rice and a salad. It was out of this world. Although, I shoved it down my throat because we were literally being eating alive by sand flies. Toni literally shoved the food his throat so fast that he had a fish bone stuck in his throat for the next 3 hours. The rest of the day consisted of drinking beer and smoking pot (that's all there is to do here) and hangin. The bartenders are both from California which was fun. When backpackers run out of money, it's common to just stay wherever it is you are, and volunteer. You get a free bed and they feed you, and generally you're working as a bartender all day and night, and sometimes there's a few other tasks for the gringos. There's a 2-3 week minimum commitment you make to them. I wish I had time to do it. It's so fun, you're meeting so many different people and just hanging out. I most certainly wouldn't do it in palomino. While I really like it here, the mosquito situation is out of control. Last night i was hanging with these guys from Switzerland, one of which has a huge bandage on his arm because he got infected with parasites from scratching his mosquito bites so badly that he made a open wound, and then the blue bottle flies attacked it and laid eggs in his elbow. Andddddddd that's all for now.

[whereisilana]

Oct 6: arrived in Palomino! 2 hours later we decided to have a war with the bugs. Mosquitos-1, ilana and Toni-0 Woof. I want a rematch.