43 long nights full of sleep. I’ve been sleeping there as I don’t ever remember sleeping. It was good in many ways.

One of my task there was to update the Wordpress based website, which I would definitely do in a different way if there is another time. The other tasks went from weeding, harvesting, shelling, toasting and grinding coffee, to preparing the soil for planting “frijoles” (red beans) by removing roots and other weeds. Each volunteer there was also assigned a daily task in the house we stayed at (Casa Nuestra), going from cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner, to cleaning floors and toilets or watering plants. I don’t really remember ever cooking breakfast (maybe the occasional overly‑squished French toast… ;)), but I do know I found a new enjoyable passion in baking cakes, tarts and breads, with or without yogurt, with or without chocolate inside or on top, with or without banana or nuts and dry fruits, with or without aguapanela (a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do)…

It’s also been a perfect time to experiment on a topic I discussed with my sister in the past, which was the absence of showering and the global balance of the body bacteria. One pretty intense storm ended up breaking the main water distribution system of pretty much the whole area, and we spent one week without any water, funnily enough, neither from the pipes nor the sky, which did not even allowed us to gather rain water.

The outcome was not horrible, even though I let the habit of a hot and soapy shower back as soon as it became possible. Changing clothes on a regular basis, and the quasi absence of farm‑work for me this week probably helped a bit to keep the smell in check. ;)

We also spent a few evenings watching films and documentaries, with “The man from Earth”, “Zapatistas, crónica de una rebelión”, “Por mis pistolas”, “The Matrix”, “Spider-Man Homecoming”, “Annihilation”, “USS Calister” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (awesome!) in the dorm, with “amazing Sebas” surprising us with Popcorn or Chocolo cake!

I don’t exactly remember how we ended up talking about this after “Spider-Man Homecoming”, but I really enjoyed this conversation with Craig about reactions when facing a conflict, with “Opposition” in the West and “Convolution” in the East. His “humble assertiveness” really made a point. :)

Of all the volunteers, there had to be a girl that would turn my head, right? Right. We enjoyed what we could in this community context while it lasted, despite my (our?) messed up feelings. Maybe in a different context with a clearer head and feelings; I’m not out of the woods yet, apparently.

Casa Nuestra was some sort of heaven on Earth where we could watch the rain coming from afar, observe the magnificent sunsets from the balcony or, for the most adventurous of us, from a crest trail not far away. The days where the sky would be populated by too many clouds would be for looking at the lightning in the distance at night, silent chaos in the sky.

The rivers surrounding the house would prove both nice for a walk and a bath or simply to watch the water pass by and chat, and useful during the waterless week. A few companions of other races usually tagged along during these little excursions. The dogs (Lucas, Guardian & Dana) and the cats (Pepe & Jerónimo de los Andes) were often part of the trip despite the way back up to the house, particularly tough on Lucas and Andes.

I also rediscovered hens actually like to sleep above the ground. They were forever surprising me when I walked to the dry toilets at night and saw them perched in the tree, with the creepy “Blair Witch Project” style light of my headlamp.

Some less friendly‑looking animals would also crawl the house, including scorpions (not leading to a pleasant ride if bitten, from the information I gathered), snakes and spiders. I kept my shoes upside down and above the ground.

The work included working in fincas, which came with bleeding fingers when weeding coffee and they would find broken glass, blisters when cutting wood with the axe to eat the oven, falling on slippery slopes because of the rain while collecting bamboo and, most importantly, the reward to see plants grow and nature share its fruits in the end.

Being driven back to Casa Nuestra at night also involved looking at the stars, feeling human warmth and people cheering at the hills filled with fireflies, offering us an incredible light show, or smiling and laughing just because the day was good, as any day working in the finca of the Taita.

Talking about Taita, I will remember talks with him and Nena about Interstellar and the fact that love might be the last discovery that could explain things we can’t understand yet (thanks to Fred for sharing thoughts on the topic earlier in Bogotá).

So many things lived there in such a short amount of time, including the three times cold showering with a bucket of “hierbas aromáticas” before starting anything, but also less pleasant experiences. Chimú ended up being the worst for me.

The Chimú is a paste of refined tobacco that you would let dissolve in between your teeth. It is meant to purify your energies and prepare you for physical activities. The first time did not do anything to me, beside not being very pleasant on the taste, and it seems I mostly benefited from its toxic properties the following times. The simple act of writing these words makes me slightly nauseous; I would like to be kidding but I’m not.

The Rapé, or Hosca was really tough on me the first time, with the impression I was going to faint, the impossibility to move for probably an hour and a half, the lack of control of my muscles and the vomiting. The next day was also not pleasant. The following times became increasingly better, although I would refuse it the day we were leaving. The vibrations one might experience are actually nice and it can really make you feel better after a while. I jokingly compare this to hitting a wall with your head, it feels awesome once you stop. ;)

That being said, a few people had milder experiences and I will not forget Dina crying and smiling in the same time, or the hugs and support while we were going through similar experiences.

I just have a strong reaction to tobacco, apparently.

A more pleasant ceremony would involve being smacked by nettles while a mix of incense and plants would be burned in a thurible around you, along with someone, the Taita or one trustee, reciting mantras.

But most importantly, being there felt like being in an environment where love would be the main protagonist. Despite how horrible and painful I might make it sound, we were always accompanied and taken care of, also with the occasional humming birds flying randomly around us at times of despair (read “trying to control oneself and not give back your lunch”), or pajaros carpinteros (woodpecker), tucanitos or barranqueros (relojero, or motmot) in the trees surrounding us.

Other birds seen during this month and a half would include beautiful blue birds (maybe Blue seedeaters) in Valle de Cocora, the Guacamaya on the road to the Taita’s and the ballet of gallinazos (turkey vultures) all around the area.

The last weird experience will have been Yage, with Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip and “Waiting for the Beat to Kick In…”. I had this song in my head the whole day, waiting for anything to happen, because beside a quick head‑rush that lasted at most 5 minutes, I did not really experience much.

Now…

I never really listened or took the time to read the lyrics of this song, mostly because they go really fast for me, but are disturbingly relevant with what I was expecting from the experience at the time. They do resonate a lot today and I’m slightly in awe (I like oxymorons too).

I almost never saw the kids of the school of Barcelona Alta, but the day I went to attend the English and physical education classes will stay in my memory for sure.

All started well with kids learning some English words like actions and fruits. I brought the Frisbee Goulven gave me last year for the occasion, and specifically told the kids we should not play in the school courtyard because I didn’t want to end up on a roof. Of course, when we came back from playing football and other activities, one of the kids who kept the Frisbee on the way back threw it slightly too high. So I ended up climbing, walking cautiously on the edge of the fibre cement boards covering the roof, and reached the prize. The way back proved more adventurous, as I took another path and one of the boards was cracked. It collapsed under my feet. The experience was quite scary and I got the chance my feet found a wall and the metal structure of the roof after trying to surf on the falling boards, which allowed me not to fall five meters down. Phew!

I was mostly physically intact but we still had to fix the roof before the daily rain.

I guess we all learn lessons every day, and this hopefully will not change.

Thanks to all the Futuro con Futuro crew and the volunteers who came, went and stay while I was there. It was amazing and I hope I can drop by or meet again.

There would surely be a lot more stories to write, but I’ll let each one of us remember and share them in the future, maybe around a cake…

Facing difficult times can never be totally pleasant, especially when it’s so heavily charged emotionally. That being said, I believe (I hope) we managed to handle this reasonably well, although my mind has been a roller-coaster since then.

Knowing oneself helps to take the right actions. In my case, knowing I was going to be down way more than I’d like to be, I took on me to exercise more. That included making cardio exercises, which incidently, could also help for the hikes I would like to do in Colombia and Peru, respectively La Ciudad Perida and the Incas trail to Machu Pichu.

The cardio really only consisted in climbing to Monserrate twice a week and sweating like hell while working on producing endorphins. It works well for a while, I have to say. :)

These are the times I did between the gate at the bottom of the trail and the porch of the church:

1. ±60’ on the 21st of February: I took a few photos on the way; it also both felt necessary to rest a bit from time to time, and enjoy the very nice surroundings.

2. 46’36” on the 23rd of February without stopping.

3. 45’28” on the 28th of February without stopping: I met Alfredo on the way back. We discussed about our respective ordeals and I got invited to eat with his family.

4. 43’46” on the 3rd of March without stopping.

The 28th was particularly interesting because of this encounter with Alfredo, 56, photographer who went to France in 1998 to shoot the FIFA World Cup. He also happened to have climbed this trail in 33 minutes when he was 33. Much more exercise for me! :)

He and his wife invited me several times to have a chat, and I accompanied them at the mass on the Sunday before leaving Bogotá. It was quite incredible to be part of this, in a very tiny church on the outskirts of the city. All of this kindness was really good and somehow suspicious at some point, considering all the nasty stories you can hear about Colombia…

Another exercise I didn’t practice for a long long time was climbing outdoor. We first met with Hsuan in Zipaquirá, had a walk around the city, wandering within its truly beautiful cathedral where the structure made of visible brick is amazing. We then had a long conversation and moved to Suesca the next morning.

I found the day we spent with Rock Climbing Suesca both refreshing and reassuring, going back to climb rock instead of indoor walls with such a great group of people. :) The days were both challenging, relaxing and educational, as Dani and Oscar was really keen on motivating and teaching basics, along with hosting us for the night.

The week after was difficult, but busy in a way. One of my excursions led me to the botanical garden of Bogotá. I am not much of a botanist but I wanted to wander visiting a location that would not be crowded and refreshing in the city. The garden allows for a few hours’ walk, with a variety of atmospheres and way too many plants i could remember the story of. The only downside could be the planes flying over to land in the nearby airport, but even this can be somehow interesting, lost in a urban jungle, looking up for a trace of civilization.

I also went to Cine Tonala after Laura, one of the lovely staff at El Yarumo, recommended me to go. It was both a visually and culinary beautiful and delicious experience, and funny too thanks to Ana, met that night, with whom I shared a useless walk, a delicious vegetarian burger, a lot of stories (maybe too much for my brain that night :) ), and Only lovers left alive in one of the coolest rooms I’ve had the pleasure to watch a movie in so far. :)

Talking about the lovely staff of Yarumo… Staying there for a few weeks allowed for really different encounters and bonding, including the staff. Cesar, Herman, Laura, Lina, Stephanie and Alcira were all welcoming, attentive, funny and supportive. Leaving was quite tough as they really helped in many more ways that would be expected from a hostel staff. I could write way more things about them, including the mixtape I received as a parting gift, but I also feel being more verbose about their kindness will never give them enough credits in the end. I love these guys and will surely visit again.

I roamed the streets of Bogotá a bit, albeit a lot less than my usual self, but the Graffiti tour was worth paying for, as you learn about styles, history of Colombia and Bogotá as well. I also had the opportunity during the tour to see the Alliance Française which presence I find impressive considering all the cities I’ve been to so far, with a representation in most of them.

The rest was spent on cleaning, coding, writing, calling and planning the rest of the trip, which is now.

But that’s for another time… ;)

While listening to my sister’s mixtape, Nicole reacted to this very long track. I had to answer: “It’s Bach, it’s never over”.

That’s all Folks!

The first person to tell me about Managua was a volunteer at a hostel in Léon. She told me not to stay there and just go to Granada because Managua was a “shithole”.

I was a bit perplexed but one or two others told me similar things, albeit in another vocabulary.

It sounded correct when I got my bag open in the urban bus leading me from one chicken bus station to another, on my road to Matagalpa.

Still, coming back to Managua after a parenthesis in France, I wanted to see by myself what Managua could offer.

I was told by yet another person that Managua can be nice if you’re not a tourist. I am now convinced she was right, as after walking the city for 5 hours, the most memorable times have not been landscapes or empty landmarks, but a puppy with which I played, and kids from poorer areas playing baseball in the street (with their crowds of supporters!), or these girls pulling their old big barbie cart in order to make it a cool super fast tricycle.

It somehow reminded me of China in some places, where life happens outdoor.

I also stumble on this chicken bus painter and asked him how much time he needed to paint the bus: 8 days if the bus is clean and he “only” needs to add a layer. One month if the paint needs to be scrapped off, polished, etc. This is lightening fast for me, as the decoration can sometimes be quite elaborated.

The flights from Managua to Bogotá went without problem. I was first wondering if a bit more than an hour would be enough, and it occurred that 10 minutes was really all I needed to change flights in the airport.

Colombia is now; it had and has its ups and downs, but these will be for another post.