The Waiting Game of Colombia

We're all in a funk.  Waiting.  Unknowns.  Lots of them.  While still trying to remember all is fine, we have time, we can wait.  It's easier said than done to patiently wait.  Patiently makes me think there's some pleasure to be had in waiting. It's the journey not the destination right?  Blah blah blah - where's our van?!!  :)

There's actually a lot of waiting in overland travel - waiting till it's a reasonable time to make noise when you wake at dawn, waiting at borders, waiting for check in times, waiting to find out where you'll sleep that night as you just can't plan too far ahead. One has to kind of become Zen-like many times throughout the day when so many things are out of your control. I'm definitely a work in progress, somedays I feel like I am succeeding a little, but most days, I still need more unwinding to embrace 'manana manana' aspect of life here.  

I'm bad at waiting.  There I will admit it. But is it really all my fault?  Dare I share this culpability with the society and family I was raised in?  I think I could fairly generalize that Americans are bad at waiting, they want what they want when they want it.  The instant hits.  When was the last time I let a list of wants build up, let the wait build up before clicking the order button?  Let there be want I say.  Bring on the wait!  

After almost a month of waiting in Panama, we finally loaded our dear Falkor into a container sharing with a Swiss couple to cut down on costs. We were pleasantly surprised when our bill on the Panama side came in at $1200, not the $4-6k we were quoted as exploring our options to cross this stupidly close gap where no cars can go.  

We woke at 4:00am to make it to this muddy side of the road in Colon Panama where our long awaited loading would take place.  We needed to wash our vans beforehand so Colombia port masters won't reject them upon arrival.  Uh yeah, notice the giant mud puddles? They want only loading day mud I guess - we were all filthy again!

Gordon was a manly man and backed it up on the trailer, and then drove it into the container, with a mere 1/2 inch on each side while holding our mirrors in.  

The van ahead of us needed some weight to make the height.

It was definitely a nailbiter hoping your home would fit as we had measured.  But Gordon was a pro like he had done it a million times before.

But at least that part of the waiting was over, the van was out of our hands now, and we faced our next fears of getting Gus on the plane as an emotional support animal to fly to Colombia and await our van there.  We had read lots and heard lots, and hoped we had all the documents in good order and they wouldn't look too closely at him being the max size possible they would allow.  It's so subjective to who you get at the check in counter so we were sure nervous.  But after a nod from the supervisor (checking that Gus is cute I assume) we were okayed to board.

Since Gordon was out of the container and the seamstress (seamstrer?) of our relationship he got Gus's patch on and we boarded our 55 min flight from the smaller airport out of Panama City with the cheapie Wingo airlines.

He boarded the plane like it was a private jet for him, slept thru the whole flight, and we commented how it must have been our crazy van driving that prepared him for an easy flight.  What a good boy - taking it all in stride.  

The Panama Canal thingy from the air.

When we landed, we had an unfortunate turn of events that Gus's neck was swelling up, getting bigger by the hour.  Luckily we were in a big city so were able to go to a 24 hour vet - because of course everything always happens on a Sunday night doesn't it?

We got in right away and they thought it might be a complication from his bite at our house sit in Costa Rica.  Agh more waiting and definitely terrified thoughts running thru our minds of what could be wrong.

After an exam where they shaved him they noticed puncture holes and revised to thinking it was a tick bite or bug bite reaction - poor guy, but he would be alright.  Lots of meds and rest.  He was definitely a very tired boy, he'd had a big day.  And I learned the word for tick in Spanish which just sounds mean - garrapata.  GARRAPATA!

We all needed some TLC so Gus got some Beggin' strips (dogs don't know it's not bacon) and we pulled out a special treat Gordon had brought back from the USA - a puzzle!  What a luxury vanlifers don't normally get to do!  We all chilled out and worked on it, a refuge from the heat and humidity that basically makes Cartagena unwalkable between 9-5pm.  We enjoyed eating passionfruit, that tastes and smells much better than it looks!

While we wait it out in Cartagena we ran into some German friends from our flight also waiting for their truck, and really enjoyed getting to know them.  I love when the universe puts your path ways close together so you have to bump into them again and again.

The next day, while grocery shopping I got a WhatsApp (everything here is done in WhatsApp) that Gus's blood tests were back and he tested positive for a blood parasite.  He needed 3 days of intensive IV treatments and then 20 days of antibiotics among other drugs.  Poor puppy, the meds made him pretty tired and slow, and he didn't like going to the vet for sure that often.  More waiting and taking it slow to make sure he gets better.  I think the drugs made him more sick, but this is a pretty common parasite here so we hope they know what they are doing.  We did some research ourselves too, but also still have many questions.  

Back to the waiting game of our van in the meantime we hear our container was delayed until July 24 or 25 from the original ship date of July 9. Try to tell a person who planned dates and travel for a living to just chill and wait!  

A mini freak out ensues (more Megan than Gordon) of what we'll do with ourselves for 2 more weeks in this scorching town and we rescramble all our plans, only to hear the next day - whoops it actually did ship, and now is arriving tomorrow!!

 I cancel a ticket home I just booked, but we are stuck with a rental car we can't get out of, so off to another town to explore we will go until we're called back to clear our container.  All the meanwhile I'm telling myself to get with it - this is not a real problem.  So what you get 2 more weeks, then not 2 more weeks - you're in Colombia on the trip of a lifetime - get with it girl.  

I admit it, rolling with unknowns and enjoying the moment can still be a struggle for me.  And then throw in a dash of self flagellation of why am I not enjoying every moment when I have SO much in my life and all is okay.  We are waiting for Gus to heal and waiting for our van to get back on the road.  No it's not about the destination, it's about the journey and I guess I'm just excited to explore Colombia and get this going again.  I know we aren't alone as Cartagena has handfuls of us overlanders all anxiously awaiting our homes.

Now I have a new kind of waiting feeling to contend with - waiting to find out how the final futbol match on Sunday will go between #1 Argentina vs Colombia!  I know I know Megan is talking about watching sports?   I never care about sports in the US but man the air here is filled with sparks of excitement that one can't help but soak in.  Will Colombia take home the Copa Cup for the 2nd time in 23 years and continue on their 28 game winning streak?  I sure do hope so, for the lovely people of Colombia - who are stuck with me, while we wait.  

Gus is getting better, the van will be here when it's here, and our puzzle is finished.  Life carries on, so while we wait, I'll work on having a little fun in the unknowns and enjoy the peaks of this amazing country so far.