Omid and I want to go to the barber. We find a cool one go. Omid is usually a very talkative person, who starts a conversation with everyone. He does it at the barbershop as well. I felt too tired to listen. It was hard to keep my eyes open. Halfway through, I notice that he also stopped the conversation and was almost falling asleep as well. Afterwards I start to look for analog films for my camera. This is where I stumble upon the problem of Latinos’ willingness to help. If they don’t know the answer, they still want to help you and just send you off to the next shop. This became a problem. I was sent all over town with the answer that the analog films I am looking for might be around the next corner. That evening I was not successful. I head back to the hostel feeling frustrated and defeated. The fact that I booked a party hostel just made it worse. I still fell straight asleep anyways. David was not pleased either that I accidentally booked a party hostel. We both were sleeping through it anyways. If you’re too exhausted you can sleep everywhere, but mistakes happen I guess. The next morning I wake up and I am back to my mission to find those camera films… I stumble into the same problem, though. Everybody is pointing me in different directions which is driving me crazy at some point.

Tip: If you are in central america and face a similar problem. Ask a few people and take the location that is named the most. This will lead to the most successful one.

I almost gave up. I get back to the others and I make one last effort and try to get to a mall, which a few people recommended. The others want to join so we grab a taxi. Here you can see the awesome personality of Omid. Five minutes in the car and he already starts a party with the taxi driver talking about salsa and latin music. What a legend!

We get to the mall and I immediately walk to the camera store. I almost jumped into the air when I saw that they had analog films for my camera. I happily bought five of them. Finally I can continue shooting analog pictures. Sadly the mall was directly located where David and me first got dropped off when we got to Santa Marta. So if we just took the time then I could have had amazing pictures of the lost city hike… What are you going to do? In hindsight everything seems to be so obvious.

After that small hustle we finally get to go to Palomino. Palomino is a small beach town located on the Caribbean coast. There we meet up with Jolisa and Teresa again. Basically most of the Gorillas, the hiking group to the lost city, is in Palomino. We hang out and still have lunch together. I guess when you experience something amazing together for four days you turn strangers into friends. I didn’t expect to go surfing in Colombia but the conditions are pretty nice.

You can see the crazy beach break. The wave is just chaotic. It reminds me of the northern sea chop I surfed in the Netherlands. Literally a random breaking wave on the banks. When I was there, there was a strong rip to the side as well. I went in anyways. One day it is even bigger than expected. I head out but get completely obliterated on the first bank. It is shallow with a big wave breaking every seven seconds. This means, that a wave will hit you every seven seconds. Barely time to navigate and paddle out. I am really scared not to get hit by one of those waves on the banks. Which of course was the case. The others sit at the beach chill and watch me. I almost gave up, while paddling out. I knew it was scary and I know it is not that fun when you’re scared. I am also pretty stubborn though. Maybe just one wave… After a long time I finally could paddle out. Finally a minute to breathe behind the breaking waves. It is still irritating seeing a wave rear and build up but then suddenly disintegrate. After another fifteen minutes I see a wave that could be surfable. I paddle until I feel it’s power. At this point habit takes over and I get to my feet. Once on the wave the drop and the sliding down the wave begins. In the beginning this feeling was normal. However as I slide down the wave I notice that this part is unusually long. I ask myself how big this wave actually is. While surfing this wave I felt really relaxed. This is so unusual for a big wave. A wave that big I have never surfed before… It was almost like time stopped. Feelings stopped. It was like a spiritual moment where nothing else mattered. Just me and this massive of a wave. Me and the ocean with it’s massive force almost being one. When I reached the bottom I stood up completely, which is another thing you rarely do on a surfboard. As I stand up I take a peak over my shoulder to see how big the water wall over my head really is. Wow! I was allowed to ride it in a particular way. A wave that was twice as big as me. After riding this wave way to relaxed the fear starts to kick in again. This is way too big for me! I immediately head back to the beach. I am done for that session. But damn was the feeling crazy as I realized I just surfed the biggest wave of my life. Some people of the group saw it. They confirm that this wave looked absolutely insane. Wow what an experience!

I like this place, so I decided to stay for a week. The others, however wanted to explore the most northern part of South-America. This place is a desert apparently. Yes, Colombia has a desert unbelievable right? Actually Colombia has two deserts. They head there and get into a roadblock of the indigenous people. The people ask for more territory and more support from the government. Meanwhile I stay in the jungle go surfing and sip on fresh coffee and eat french pastry.

When they came back, David and I decide to head straight to Medellin. The overnight bus is supposed to take 15 hours. At this point you probably know how it goes. These fifteen hours turned into agonizing 20 hours… What did you expect? Luckily, I slept through most of it, though. We get out and we get to see how crazy Medellin really is. The valley is completely build out. Buildings go as far as the eye can see. In the valley itself, as well as on the slopes. Food is sold everywhere and Salsa is blasting from every place. Usually I don’t like cities, but this one seems pretty charming to be honest.

In Medellin there are many communities and quarters. These are divided into 16 Comunas for administration. David reads in a guiding book about Medellin. This is what it said: Some of the Comunas are dangerous due to poverty, drugs and crime Quarters like Comuna 13 are to be avoided.

We talk to a few people and everyone seems to recommend us to go to Comuna 13. Do they want us killed? Do they not like us? We check the date of the book and it is from 2005. Today Comuna 13 is one of the most colorful and active quarters of Medellin. This change happened in 18 Years! We decide to see for ourselves. And we are stunned. Many street arts and graffities fill the street. Micheladas are being sold everywhere and music is playing everywhere. It is also known as the hip-hop quarter.

The smells of fresh Arepas, barbeque, beer, and mixed fruits get on to the lively street. It is also Samana Santa, the Easter week, which makes these streets extra packed also by Colombians. We stroll the colorful streets enjoy a fresh sugar cane juice and one or two Micheladas find our hand as well.

We leave the quarter slightly tipsy. It is very beautiful to see people enjoying themselves, when you know the history. It is probably less then 15 years past where this was one of the most dangerous quarters. I will make a separate blog post about the transformation of Medellin.

We want to check a small viewpoint in the center of Medellin. We get there and it starts raining. I wouldn’t even call that raining I would call it pouring. We gave up on the idea, found a local bar and got a beer while waiting for the rain to stop. Behind us there is salsa music blasting as loud as possible. Later we saw that someone was playing salsa on vinyl. It doesn’t get any cooler than this.

The next day we join a free walking tour. I expected it to be mediocre, but it was surprisingly good with loads of information. We heard a lot about the culture and the history. It was often really dark and saddening. As the guide told us how he was hiding in shootouts, saw his cousin getting shot and how the nation was betrayed by the extreme right, the extreme left AND the government. It almost brought tears to my eyes, as he told the stories of misery and betrayal. Still the Colombian people are smiling and enjoying the better times. They cling to the few hopes they had and hold on to them.

One example of hope was represented by the metro. Dio told us, that the metro is one of the most powerful symbols of hope for the people in Medellin. Nobody dares to scratch it, damage it, or put a graffiti on it. We took a closer look and it is actually true! The cable cars and the metro is really clean!

I head to Gutapé next. David decides to stay in Medellin. See you next time! Cheers!

The bus arrives and is a bit crowded. I get in. Remember I am still carrying my surfboard with me. I always have to bargain and pay for my surfboard and for my luggage. Then once I arrived in Managua the biggest chaos starts to unsettle. My internet stopped working and I need to find a bus to Granada. Apparently this one leaves from a different station. 20 Taxi drivers start to fight for me while I try to find the bus station. It got really hectic so I just walked a little. I manage to find a bus that leads me to the right bus station. From here I went into the most crowded bus of busses I have seen so far. They put my surfboard together with my backpack on the dashboard of the bus and I was shoved in the back. There was literally no more space for one more human. The situations can often get hectic . A trick I picked up on the road is having a little bit of cash in a different pocket than the wallet. This has several advantages. For instance it gives you ground while negotiating. You can pull it out and say you don’t have more. It gives you more credibility and usually they led it slide. It also hides your location of your wallet to pick pocketers. As I stay in the back I just pray that my backpack is left untouched. So after an uncrutiatingly long journey I finally arrived in Granada. My back is hurting as hell, but I made it and my backpack was left untouched! However poverty is really high in this country and I wouldn’t even blame anyone poor for trying to steal from there. It’s the environment that creates these kinds behaviors. You would probably act the same under these circumstances. That said it is still nice to see that nothing happened and most people are still honest.

I always calculate the estimated travel time like this. I look at google maps for the time it takes with a car. Multiply by 2 for busses and put a safety factor of 1.5 on it. I still overshoot the time every time. I tend to forget the waiting times between busses. In the end you arrive where you want to go. Nothing to stress about because I have the time anyways.

Anyways in Granada I meet Nick again. We went volcano boarding together. We hang out and get some food again. It seems to be the vibe between us. Granada is very beautiful and is an old colonial town. As an European I somewhat find it ironic sometimes. You travel to distant countries to have a look at the culture and you end up looking at churches that have been build by Europeans. A lot of tourism is flocking to the colonial cities. It is even more ironic. Imagine working here as a local and knowing the brutal history of colonialism. In the end you see westerners coming and not working. Just like in the old days. But hey it’s still nice architecture and tourism is also creating an economic opportunity for most locals. So it is probably not as bad as I think.

Honestly there is much to do in Granada. I was just too tired to do anything. I was super sore from surfing and traveling and I needed to write the blog so I got coffee, a massage, wrote and rested. You can visit an active volcano and see the lava. Nick did do the tour and showed me pictures. I regret it a bit that I didn’t go. But then again I saw the Acatenango in Guatemala which was one of my favorite things I saw. The city itself has much to offer as well. Colorful houses fill the streets. Hidden gardens in the inside of shops and cafés. The best parts are always the vibrant markets that sell you everything you need and have some of the more interesting food to offer. In this case I had a plantain burger. So the buns were replaced with fried platanos.

From Granada I head to Popoyo. I take a bus hop in, negotiate the price and off we go. In Rivas I switch busses and then I am almost in Popoyo. There I have to walk for an hour on dirt roads to get to the beach. I recorded a video for friends where I wanted to show the bad sides of traveling. I was in the middle of nowhere with my full luggage and surfboard and needed to walk for an hour. Literally a minute after I send it to friends I got picked up by a motorcycle. I could not stop laughing about this situation. 5 minutes later I send them pictures of the beach. My luck seems to guide me well. I decide to stay for a week for several reasons. I am pretty exhausted and I don’t want to hustle my board around anymore. Heck I just want to surf! So I look up a guy that can repair my surfboard. After texting a few people and asking around I found a guy that will fix it. Remi Saucier, a French Canadian guy, living a few month in Nicaragua. He agrees to fix my board and invites me to a few surf sessions to Santana. I happily agree. Santana is a crazy breaking wave that barrels even on the smallest hint of swell. It is a fast wave and I suck riding it. So much more I can learn!

Turns out Remi is sponsored by Red Bull. Not for surfing though but for fishing. I can’t help but wander what kind of lives some people live. The water here is so damn cold. I end up taking 30 min sessions in the water. Get back to the beach warm up and repeat. I didn’t expect the water to be this cold. Apparently the lake Cocibolca is creating thermal winds. These hit the ocean and create currents that bring the deep sea water to the surface. I never thought I need a wetsuit in the tropics but here I am freezing my nuts of. I surfed a few different spots. The beginners bay is the closest to my accommodation and located at Magnific Rock. As the name suggests here is where all beginners gather to learn surfing. It is a fun longboard wave for semi rest days. While Remi repaired my board I got one of his 10′ longboard to surf beginners bay. It was a fun day and I was not used to such a large longboard. Sometimes I though I could easily make that wave only to realize that the nose is kissing the water already.

Just behind Beginners Bay lies the actual wave of Popoyo, a dreamy wave of an A-Frame. An A-Frame is a wave that breaks on the peak in the middle and then rolls to both sides equally. So in the optimal to surfers are surfing it in opposite directions at the same time. Popoyo is above rocks and reefs though, which caught on the reef after taking a particular wave. The fins of my board let me know immediately. I was stuck for fifteen minutes on the reef. Waiting for each wave to pass. I couldn’t move because I couldn’t see the ground. I couldn’t paddle because it was to shallow. So I had to wait until the set was finished until I could paddle back out again. Nonetheless it was a nice wave. The lineup is really fierce and competitive. In between locals and good surfers I often found myself struggling for a wave. It is a hard pecking order and you need to fight for a wave if you want to surf it. Otherwise another person is taking it. At some point I just gave up and stayed in the inside and caught the smaller ones that were not breaking in the back. The wave is worth it though. You just need to be a little bit more careful where you go on low tide. Above the wave there is a bar where locals and visitors come to watch the spectacle or the sunset with a cool kombucha or beer. The vibe is as usual slow and relaxed.

Rumors are being passed about a Secret Beach party. I decide to book a ticket and go with the roommates of the accommodation. After booking you didn’t get any confirmation so we were all a little bit worried. We first go to a bar and the others start to drink. I haven’t touched a beer in month and the last time I really stayed up late was in Mexico… So I opt for a juice for the beginning. This turns out was the right decision. So Warmy, Robin, Christian and me start to talk. We loose track of time and suddenly we have to hurry and get the bus. It is a chicken bus that takes us to the party. Turns out just showing a screenshot of the payment was enough. I can tell you being sober in this bus was a surreal experience. Loud music blasting. People talking shouting, screaming and singing while we carry on through the dark bush of Nicaragua. After an unknown amount of time we arrive. I didn’t have high expectations but damn, the Techno Set of the DJs was really good. The bass is hammering onto the beach while the wind blows through the hair and the stars shine above us. I get a beer and think to myself maybe a few beers will do the trick. As the evening progressed further I noticed that it will not stay at a few beers. Robin and Christian the absolute two legend just bring more and more beer for the whole group… Damn I can not even keep up with the pace. So I always end up with two beers in my hand… I mean I am not complaining.

Further into the night the wind blows and at some point it started to rain a little. Nobody cared and everyone was even cheering it on. It was warm and the wind and the rain a welcome change. Honestly it just added to the flair of this beach party. It just rained enough to cool you down but never enough to get your t-shirt wet. If that isn’t perfect I don’t know what is. So we take the bus back as Christian proceeds to talk to the whole party. The next morning we take it slow. We sit in a cafe and slurp one Cappuccino after another. We just talk and hang out. Later I see them again. as you just happen to bump into each other.

What a time to be alive! What a good time. I haven’t been partying since month. Most of the time I spend alone so there is no need for beer or going out. I go to bed at 10 p.m. and wake up at 6:30 a.m. Everyone who knows me from home doesn’t believe me because at home I would get up at 8:30 a.m. I like how I can focus on surfing for a while. It is truly a mesmerizing sport that is far more than just a sport. It is being in tune with the winds, the tide and the ocean. You time your day after high and low tide depending on the spot you want to surf. You look at weather patterns, the moon and the swell to determine where you are going. Even if you have horrible sessions. The only thing you will remember are the good waves you got. You often have shitty sessions where the waves are too big, too choppy, too small, too fast. You try to learn and adapt. There are sessions where you are two hours in the water and catch one wave. That is enough to keep you going. Keep on trying. Improving your surfing so you can battle those conditions better. Honestly it is just mesmerizing.

So I get dropped of near Santa Ana and the first thing I have to do is get on a chicken bus. By the way, a chicken bus is an old school bus discarded bus imported from the USA. They usually pimp it with bright colors from the exterior. On the inside there is often loud music blasting from the speakers. Even if the German government advises not to use these, these are the best and cheap ways to get around.

In Santa Ana I already notice how strange this country really is. Bitcoin is accepted everywhere and they just use the US Dollar as a normal currency. Every turn I take there seems to be some vendors selling something. The whole city just feels like one big ongoing market. And I noticed something else. It is damn hot in the city. Coming from the Guatemalan highlands I first have to adjust to 35° again while being drenched in sweat. While walking through Santa Ana I get whistled at by three different women. Okay this country is really crazy! But everyone seems really open and just wants to talk.

The next day I rent a motorcycle and explore the area. First I head to a waterfall, that is supposed to come from hot springs. For this I ride it through the serpentines of the volcanoes. It takes me about an hour to get there. Because of the departure of Sally I was feeling down for the last few days but this eased my mind. Driving around and stopping where I want brings a nice change. I arrive around 9:30 a.m. at the waterfall and there seems to be no one there. Jackpot! I undress and get into the water. It literally feels like stepping into a hot tub. That is crazy and I enjoy my personal natural hot tub in the morning.

From here I drive another hour to a Apaneca. Honestly the cruising around on the newly paved volcanic roads are just made out of a dream and were even better than the actual destinations. The maze is bound to a lot of other fun things. You can go on a really high swing. Though I am not really in the mood for anything. I just have a coffee and try the maze. How hard can it be? So as I am I run into the maze without a plan. I tell myself I will figure it out eventually.

In my mind I already tell the victory stories on this blog of how I mastered the maze. After 15 minutes I come close to the center. There is supposed to be bell. I am just one turn from goal. But then the maze turns into a different direction. I see that it was not the right path. Damnit! After 30 minutes. walked every path I could find. But not the right one. After 45 minutes I gave up and proceed to leave the area. However right in front of the exit I see a picture of the maze from above. I try to memorize the way and I walk back in.

Not all who wander are lost.

 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

But I got definitely lost…

After 20 more minutes I gave up completely. My ego is hurt, as I walk away ashamed. But you are not supposed to take your ego too seriously. So I just le tit go. I still can ride the motorbike back to Santa Ana as well! As the afternoon slowly sets I wind my way back down through the curving road. Getting down every meter seems get warmer and warmer again.

The next day it is time to pack my backpack again and go to the beach to get the fix of my surfing addiction. As I notice how expensive the beach is there are just a few places that are really cheap. I book a place in La Libertad and take the bus down there. From Santa Ana it super easy. You take the 201 to San Salvador and in San Salvador you take the 102 to La Libertad for the mere cost of 1$. I make my way to the coast. I notice how there’s a lot more tin roofs and garbage in the streets in comparison to the other countries I’ve been to. Not that this didn’t exist in the other countries, it is just more noticeable here. When I arrive at the place the owner tells me that he is overbooked, but the lady across the street has a room for me. So here I am in the poorer neighborhood finding myself surrounded by tin houses and barbed wire fences. The smells often change from grilled chicken to sewage in an instant. Stray dogs, cows chickens and goats just wander around the neighborhood as well. The roads are dusty and when a car drives by be sure to hold your breath until the dust settles.

Marias house, the place I stay at, is really basic. The lady herself made homemade masa and tortillas over the fire. There were chickens and a rooster running around, as well as three dogs and a cat. If you think this is nice. Think again when the rooster and the dogs wake you up 5 a.m. and then 5:15 a. m. and then 5:23 a. m. and so on. Nevertheless I enjoyed it and I am glad that I had this experience. When you are left with the question of how dangerous this is I can assure you the opposite. The people were greeting me with a big smile and most of them even wanted to talk and know things from me. They were actually happy to see foreigners in the same neighborhood. The country has gone through a lot in the last 50 years so it is somewhat understandable as tourist bring a new industry with them which provides work and hope for a lot of people over here.

This is as local as it gets. I get to know the local surfing culture as well. Piris ding repair is the place to rent and buy surfboards. If you go there, there is most definitely a small gathering and a party going on. You know it is going to be a good day if the rooster wakes you up at the first sunlight and you just straight up go surfing. Here I meet Arnau as well. We share some surfing sessions together.

I came for a day and I stayed for a week in this neighborhood. The people and the local surfbreak is just too nice! Even in the water the people cheer you on and have a good time. Something I am not really used to as westerners will most likely fight you for a wave. Here they were encouraging you to even go.

One morning I go surfing and it is supposed to be big and good. So I go out and no one is there in the morning. This is usually a bad sign. I get in and after 15 minutes I know why. It is scary. Big waves roll in and I am directly in the impact zone. After taking four waves on the head I lose my board. Having to swim against the currents while your board is far away is even more scary than with the board. Another wave hits me and I tumble through the water holding my breath. Where is up where is down. I don’t know anymore. It is a dark place to be but you can not panic because then you use your oxygen faster and run into the danger of getting unconscious. After what felt an eternity I shoot up through the white water and grasp for air. Breathing never felt this good. Time to get out…

In the evening I am really excited to go surf again. Arnau and me watch the waves and then paddle out. The excitement goes down really quickly. The waves are still super big, about 2,5 meters and scary. If you’re lying on the board paddling towards these monstrosities it even looks bigger. You need to stay calm though. The biggest set of waves hits exactly when we tried to paddle out. Arnau just made it out of the impact zone and I get caught inside. After getting several waves breaking directly over me I have enough. When you are hit in the impact zone you just get washed away. So for this day it is just watching the locals rip the waves like it is no big deal.

That’s the thing about surfing. You can have several good sessions and your ego is getting bigger. Once a big swell hits you know you have a lot to learn and the ocean is always the boss. This is what surfer get through. You get up at 6 in the morning because it is supposed to better that day. You walk through the tin neighborhood to get to the spot only to be beat down by the ocean. You even go again the same evening just to be beat again. This is because in between those bad session, the roosters waking you up and the mosquitos biting the hell out of you you still enjoy it. There is this golden session where you get into the water and start catching waves. At some point time stops. It is just you and the next wave. Your possessions doesn’t matter. It is just you and the waves. What you are going to do that day doesn’t matter. It is just you your surfboard and the next wave. Your feelings and problems don’t matter. It is just you and the next wave. You stop thinking at some point and get into this deep concentration. When you have such a session no one is talking anymore. Everyone is just existing and focusing on their surf. It is the best state of consciousness you can ever be in and a mesmerizing feeling. Other call it the deep state or the deep focus. When you really focus on work, do an intensive sport or do a fulfilling hobby you probably know what I’m talking about. You just get another dopamine rush when you ended your ride on this moving wall of water. Some scientist even compare it to a gambling addiction as the dopamine hit is mostly the same. You get it in an unpredictable manner as every wave hits you different. There is never a wave similar to the one before. Almost like winning on a gambling machine. Anyways it is the healthiest addiction I ever know and I am glad I can live it to the maximum.

Until next time for more surf. Thank you for reading!

Then on departure day it was hard too. Leaving my girlfriend my friends and family that I love. It made me clear that I am now alone. Alone in the world. I have to look out for myself and there can only be help from strangers. This feeling and a feeling of unease stayed with me the whole day, even when I made it to Madrid. I was already questioning if this was the right thing to do. After that many month of preparation. I was feeling foolish. Was this really my dream or was this dream enforced on me via social media. I went to bed with this horrible feeling.

In the morning I got up. Took a shower and had breakfast. Then it dawned on me. I have a whole fucking year to do whatever I like and I am complaining? How ridiculous! I can do whatever I want to do for a year! Or maybe rephrase it. I can do whatever my budget will allow! But still!

So after this breakfast I started my day in Madrid. The city changes over the day quite drastically. It is like 2 cities. One at night and one in daytime. Different shops open during the day and some bars and restaurants open at night. I was heading to the next park to enjoy the sunshine and the weather. While I was going I noticed that it was still pretty cold. 12° C. But once the sun came out it was 25°C and very pleasant.

Once it was sunny you could enjoy with shorts as well! So I cleared my head and explored the city.

To wrap it up I had some nice conversations with strangers.

Until next time!