Transient

transient [ˈtrænzɪənt]

adj

1. for a short time only; temporary or transitory

2. (Philosophy) Philosophy a variant of transeunt

n

1. a transient person or thing

2. (Physics / General Physics) Physics a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit

[from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go]

transiently  adv

transience , transiency n

 

People will always come and go in your life, but living in a different country you realise this far more often than if you stay in one place for a long time. You make bonds and connections with people more quickly than you perhaps would at home and yet sometimes you stay more detached so as not to be hurt when the person leaves.


Tonight I said goodbye to a friend who has come to mean a great deal to me in a relatively short space of time. I've only known him since June and until the past few weeks, we would only see each other quite randomly as his work was based outside of Quito. We've been hanging out together a lot for the past two weeks and our friendship has moved to a different level of closeness, not in a boyfriend/girlfriend scenario, but just the closeness you have to someone you know well and are completely comfortable with. 

I'm really going to miss him and I'm feeling pretty sad tonight.

Couch Delinquency!

Over the past week I have been in a state of denial over the amount of work I have to do and been out several times! This reached it's optimum this weekend!

I went out on Friday night to a certain Irish bar that I like to frequent on a fairly regular basis. Much as expected a good time was had by all and several beverages were consumed. However at closing time, I did not wish to leave the bright lights of Quito and accepted an invite back to a good friend's place (well his girlfriend's actually). Another good mate came too.

In the company of these two handsome gentlemen, I giggled away the night and much of the day. It was one of those lovely occasions when you end up with lots of 'in' jokes that will instantly make you laugh whenever they are mentioned or you have a flashback to the night!

I passed out at about 3pm as did one of the previously mentioned chaps. Waking up at 10pm, we discovered our compadré was missing in action...so we returned to the scene of the previous night's debauchery and were reunited once more.

Further beverages ensued, including some fairly lethal shots of tequila and sambuca. I danced and laughed and happily got a lift home at about 3am!

It's been the best weekend I've had for a while here. Big thanks to the other couch delinquents who made it possible!

New Year's Eve at Tayrona

On New Year's Eve, after a few more days chilling out in Taganga, we arrived at Tayrona National Park. We walked for about an hour through beautiful forest until we reached Arrecifes.

 

This was my first glimpse of the beach at Arrecifes and it took my breath away.

 

 La Piscina

We continued walking around beaches and through coves until we got to Cabo de San Juan where we had booked hammocks for the night. Previous experiences of hammocks that week made one a little wary, but I figured that I probably wouldn't sleep much anyway so it wouldn't matter.

During the course of the afternoon whilst sitting on the beach and doing very little, quite a few of the people I'd met in Cartagena wandered past. It was nice to see them again and I ended up playing Frisbee with some of the lads.

In the evening we discovered that if we wanted to eat we had to pay 25,000 pesos for a meal, there were no other options. So we coughed up the dosh and kept fingers crossed that it would be good.

Meanwhile there was a beach to sit on and a full moon to gaze at!

As expected the meal wasn't great and it took a long time to get served. However it was fun being with a good group of people.

As the night went on, I was waiting for the party atmosphere to get going, but unfortunately it never really did - the music just wasn't good enough. The location couldn't be faulted though and I enjoyed the sound of the sea and the sight of the moon.

I think it's the quietest NYE I've had for a very long time, not that I didn't enjoy it, but I would have liked to party more. I think I would have gone out more in Taganga if I'd realised what it would be like there.

All in all though, a great holiday where I saw many different things and had a great deal of time to relax, which was most definitely needed at the end of last term! 

I know from talking to people that Tayrona is much busier than it was 10 years ago and they haven't been happy when they've returned to it. For me, it was the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen - I really felt that I'd arrived in paradise.

La Guajira

Cabo de la Vela, La Guajira 
Originally uploaded by Fiwit

On Monday the 28th, Paula and I got up at stupid o' clock in order to go on a tour to La Guajira. We got to the bus at 5am and were mightily surprised to find ourselves with a bus load of Colombians - we had expected it to be a small tour of about 4-5 people, not 30!

The bus was freezing because of the air conditioning and the tour guide (affectionately named 'fat wanker') decided we should all introduce ourselves - impressed, not!

We stopped for breakfast in Riohacha -it was dire! The choices were shark, something else decidely fishy or mince. All were gross looking and tasting from what I could see - I ate very little. On the plus side though, the toilet was clean and fairly pleasant.

We continued onwards to Uribia - the indigenous capital of Guajira...where we stopped at a shop, so the Colombians could buy alcohol...hmm. The toilets here were considerably less salubrious. I got some interesting photos though, so I was quite happy.

The last stop of the day was Cabo de la Vela - a beautiful bay that stretches for 2km and is inhabited by the Wayuu people. We had hoped, foolishly, for decent food and accommodation here. Unfortunately the food was fairly boring (but ok if you like fish) and the accommodation consisted of hammocks, with little or no space between them.

In the afternoon we decided to opt out of the tour and spend the afternoon on the beach.

Dinner was much the same as lunch - an early night was had by all. I was actually the last awake, reading until about 11pm.

The hammock situation was not great - I was lucky that I had Paula on one side of me and a lovely Swedish girl we'd met on the other because if you moved you could feel the person next to you. Paula was not so fortunate and was fairly sure her other neighbour (male) was engaged in some nocturnal activities with himself.

Another early start, with yet more bland food. We visited salt flats in Mauare which was quite interesting, particularly photographically. Then onwards to Riohacha; lunch and back to Taganga (which was rapidly feeling like home!).

After all the dire food, my vegetarianism went out of the window and I indulged in a very good steak at a fantastic restaurant back in Taganga.

Taganga, Colombia

Sunset, Taganga, Colombia
Originally uploaded by Fiwit

I arrived in Taganga on Boxing Day - it was lovely to meet up with Paula again and hear about her adventure to the lost city. I also regaled her with stories of my adventures in Cartagena.

We had a peaceful couple of days. I have to say it was very exciting to stay in a room with only one other person in it and a private bathroom!

I spent a considerable amount of time reading in Taganga, which was lovely and very relaxing.

Also, the sunset watched over a few beers was just beautiful.

Cartagena

City Wall, Cartagena
Originally uploaded by Fiwit

The rest of my stay in Cartagena was great. I saw the sunrise on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - which is always good in my book!

Christmas Eve was fun - a lot of us has dinner at the hostel (which was actually a complete rip off, about $18 for a bowl of rice). However the atmosphere was good and we ended up in a Cuban bar just down the road.

I have to admit that I got pretty bored waiting around for people to decide where the wanted to go and was tempted to bugger off on my own - but salsa dancing to a live band sorted me out. Especially when told I was a better dancer than Colombian girls. I'm sure it was a line that had been used many times before, but it still did my ego a lot of good. Particularly as some of the younger girlies really liked this guy!

On Christmas day, we all cooked food and had a much better meal than the previous night!

Calling home was quite weird as my family couldn't really hear me to well and it made me feel very disconnected and a bit sad. You can't really shout when you're in a room full of other people also trying to call home.