Evening,
While we're walking up the stairs to the dining area of the hotel, we pass by a couple of ladies. We offer our morning greetings & were greeted by rolling eyes & those nasty up & down looks. Stivalis said, the nerve of them to be rude. I replied, yeah & they're ugly on top of that also. I find out later, that these, ahem...ladies were from Bogota. It seems folks from Bogota & other cooler parts of Colombia, come to Tumaco, to get their "beach thing" on. Unfortunately, we ran into a few ugly Colombians. We shook it off & had our brunch, which consisted of fish (red snapper), potatos & a salad. With brunch done, we headed to the main beach area, which was about 200 yards away. The beach was a little dirty with some of yesterday's human garbage & natual debris washed up by the high tide. The water was green, but relatively clean. The water temp was a welcomed escape from the heat & the blood suckers.
After splashing & dunking each other in the water for awhile, we stretched out on our "rented tent". A few locals rented these little 6' by 4' thatch tents for about 4 or 5,000 pesos. After chillin for awhile, that unmistakable noise returned. This time six copters flying in close formation, were flying no more than 50 yards above our heads. They were so close, I could see who had mustaches! We're wondering, why so close to the beachfront, where folks are trying to chil & have fun. Flying above the copters were 3 cessner type aircraft with the tails that resembled those old doubled tailed WW2 aircraft. They circled over, and over again. Once they landed about a half a mile away. The practice shooting resumes for 40 to 75 minutes. Great selling point, in trying to lure people from other than Colombia to Tumaco.
After freshening up, we head back to Auntie's. During the ride to Auntie's, a few Army trucks whizz right by us. Our driver swirled & pulled over, shaking his head & cursing. This was the first time, I've seen a Colombian cab driver get rattled. I got a quick peek at who was inside the truck. Soldiers & other men with fatigues on, with their hands bound behind them. I quickly turn my head, remembering what my daddy used to say 'bout certain situations... "You don't know, & you don't want to know". We told the family what we saw. One of the younger primos told me...I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING...OK? NO PROBLEMA AQUI MI PRIMO, NO PROBLEMA AQUI!!!!
A few more cousins (dayyum, that makes 'bout 40+ now) stopped by to meet me. After a few (dozen) cuba libres, the conversation took a serious turn about Plan Colombia. Dayyum near all of the blame on the Colombian side of Plan Colombia was layed at the feet of Pastrana. The family complained that virtually none of the money has made it to the local farmers. One primo, left his small farm because, it was fugmagated without any prior notification! Since the Plan Colombia was started, the local police all but disappeared, being replaced by the military. Make no mistake about it. Tumaco is a military camp, not a real city. Considering the cost of one of those copters, would repair several schools that I saw. Trust me, after looking at those schools, I wouldn't enter it, let alone any of my children. Indoor plumbing is sparse to say the least. Every house I visited, had the bathroom in the far left hand corner of the house. But ya know? I didn't hear much complaining about their conditions as I did about the promises the politicians have made.
The conditions most of these folks are living in are deplorable. Not one you would want to spend anymore time in one of these structures than necessary. The Hotels that we stayed at are kinda rough, to those used to more American styled hotels. If you can deal with the blood suckers, heat, and lack of cold water. Give Tumaco a shot. Stivalis said, we are not returning for atleast 2 to three years...We'll send them photos of the wedding....lol
Next - The Boca-Grande fiasco & real up close & personal with Plan Colombia participants.....YIKES!!!!
Peace....Howard
