The good news: I managed to get the van out of customs in Cartagena. The bad news: it cost nearly $3000 in travel, wait, bribes, fees, and paperwork. The good news: I was able to leave Cartagena to Bogotá. The bad news: I had to finally face Colombian highways. The good news: someone came with me, Manuel Zuñiga, an artist and great fan of travel. The bad news: he doesn’t drive. The good news: we took the "safe" road through Bucaramanga (guerrilla-free). The bad news: it was the worst topographic road i have ever taken in my life. Trip to Bogotá was 24 hours, mostly behind huge tractor-trailers. The bad news: the road is completely militarized, with military checkpoints every 20 km. The good news: the soldiers have been very respectful and decent with me. Colombians like Mexicans thanks to ranchera music and Cantinflas. The bad news: we have U.S. plates in guerrilla territory. The good news: everyone here thinks that Alaska is part of Canada. The good news: we made it to Bogotá, and this morning installed the schoolhouse at the Quinta de Bolivar, the most appropriate space for the project so far. My host and friends, Carolina Franco and Maria Clara Bernal, from the University of the Andes, have been generous and enthusiastic. Daniel Castro, the director of the Quinta, has been doing an exemplary education program in this museum for years.
The very, very, very bad news: upon three hours of being in Bogotá, and after surviving the road, guerilla, and customs, once I was already registering at the hotel lobby, the impeccable "hotel manager" took my laptop bag- and disappeared. I lost thousands of pictures documenting this project, as well as all my phone numbers, lists, and other materials, aside to a $2500 G4 laptop that I will likely won’t afford to replace again, plus now my ability to continue reporting the project on this page has been severely hampered. The hotel manager’s impersonation apparently is an old trick mastered by the "professionals" here. Too bad I had to learn about this trick by being an active part of it.
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Las buenas noticias: conseguí salir de la aduana en Cartagena: las malas noticias: me costó casi $3000 dólares entre gastos de viaje, mordidas, y papeleo. Las buenas noticias: realicé el trayecto a Bogotá por la carretera de Bucaramanga, donde no hay presencia del FARC. La mala noticia: es la carretera topográficamente más peligrosa que he manejado. La mala noticia: la carretera está completamente militarizada y me detuvieron constantemente. La buena noticia: los soldados colombianos adoran a los mexicanos, invocando a Cantinflas y a Pedro Infante. Y ahora las muy malas noticias: a las tres horas de llegar a Bogotá, y después de haber sobrevivido la carretera y me registraba en el lobby del hotel, el impecable “gerente” tomó la mochila con mi laptop y desapareció. Perdí miles de fotografías documentando el proyecto, y muchos otros materiales vitales para este proyecto. El truco del gerente falso aparentmente es una vieja estrategia utilizada por los “profesionales” de aquí. Lástima que tuve que enterarme de esta tradición a través de participar directamente en ella.