When talking about the problem of refugees, we use dehumanised language, which reduces Human tragedy to numbers and statistics. But this suffering concerns real people, who – just like us - have families, loved ones, friends; their own stories, dreams, goals ... Only when you sit down opposite a specific person and look into their eyes, ...
2016-02-04 Pasto – Quito
I woke up this morning because I was feeling a bit cold. Right away the security came and asked me to sit straight and then she asked me for my travel destination. I answered that I would be going to Ipiales, to the border and she replied in a pretty unfriendly manner “buses are already ...
2016-02-03 Popayan – Pasto
I woke up in the middle of the night because I was feeling a bit cold but stayed on my bench because I wanted to continue enjoying the unforgettable magic impressions from yesterday that were circulating in my brain. Impressions gone, time to get up because I had the feeling as well that today travelling, ...
2016-02-02 Popayan
I have had the best sleep in weeks, in months and I did not want to wake up and only the phone call from Robert made me get up, slowly, very slowly. I was late, the agreement with Robert had been 09:00 hours at the main square; Colin was ready and so he went to ...
Pacha Mama / Mother Earth / Mutter Erde / Mãe Terra / Madre Tierra / Pacha Mama
Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. She is also known as the Earth/time mother. In Inca mythology, Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting, embodies the mountains, and causes earthquakes. She is also an ever-present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on this Earth. The ...
2016-02-01 Cali – Popayan
I slept and rested on my bench on the third floor unnoticed by the security as long as possible and walked then back to the only bench with plugs next to it and occupied all the 3 plugs. I worked on the usual stuff, recharged the usual equipment and after 2 hours I was ready ...
2016-01-31 Pereira – Cali
I had met the Jehovah witnesses yesterday at their stand here at the bus terminal before they went home and I met the Jehovah witnesses this morning again. They are very present, very, very proactive helping other people, whatever helping means to them. I asked for the bus to Cerritos, the village just outside Pereira, ...
2016-01-30 Pereira
I had seen the center of Pereira yesterday during my desperate search for the battery charger and I wanted to go again today with more time, a better mood and a full battery. The time to recharge the battery took longer and longer every day but the battery had to last until I have a ...
2016-01-29 Medellin – Pereira
My efforts to sleep yesterday were more or less successful; I must have been pretty tired from the nights before. Relying on reaching my planned destination had become a challenge since I depend on hitchhiking, since I depend on others basically but I have managed to reach my planned destination every day for the last ...
2016-01-28 Medellin
Humans get used to almost everything and I am in the process of getting used to sleep while I am sitting. I got easily used to eat Colombian potato 3 times a day, I got used to live of 5 Euros a day and I got used to carry my 15 kilogram backpack with me ...
2016-01-27 Santa Fe de Antioquia – Medellin
I had found a truly interesting and historical place to sleep yesterday, the courtyard of an old Spanish cortijo which had become now the local hospital. I woke up with the impressions from yesterday, the scenic spectacular drive, the amazing family and the fact that I had made more than 400 kilometers in a day; ...
2016-01-26 Arboletes – Santa Fe de Antioquia
I did not have a good sleep last night but somehow I really, really enjoyed the location, the terrace with the palm leaf roof which felt like a hut and the feeling, the warm wind in my face and the complete silence. I had to get up though just after sunrise because the 70 year ...
2016-01-25 Monteria – Arboletes
I did not sleep very well, had kind of woken up when the security came and asked me about my next destination; to ask for your next destination was the polite security question to homeless that pretended to be a passenger at the terminal, a guy like me. I got up and answered that my ...
2016-01-24 Monteria
I changed one blue bench with another early this morning when the first passengers arrived at the terminal and it was getting busy and noisy. I recharged the battery and rested for another 2 hours. The service of the security and his concern for me was excellent, exactly when the battery was 100% charged he ...
2016-01-23 Tolú – Monteria
Maybe I had an agreement with the hospital security with respect to my bed, the stone bench next to the entrance. Maybe I was just wrong about the rental time because the security woke me up at 04:30 hours in the morning and asked me to leave. Maybe he wanted me to walk to the ...
2016-01-22 Cartagena – Tolú
This morning the security manager or airport manager woke me and my 2 neighbors and asked us to get ready; get ready for what? I would have preferred to rest a bit more but at the same time I wanted to use the full day to hopefully make it to today’s planned destination, the beach ...
2016-01-21 Barranquilla – Cartagena
I did not sleep very well, too many things on my mind, too many uncertainties and always my baby Matilda. I started working right away and wanted to do as much as possible while I still had access to the internet here at the airport. I had set the alarm for 10:00 hours, the time ...
2016-01-20 Barranquilla
I did not sleep very well, too many things on my mind, too many uncertainties and always my baby Matilda. She was in good hands with her aunt, I had been in very good hands with my aunt, still I did not really like the idea that she was now without her mother and without ...
2016-01-19 Riohacha – Barranquilla
With the agreement between me and the emergency driver in mind I had a good sleep last night. I got up and went straight to the main street and out of town back to the exact same spot from yesterday afternoon. I did not have luck yesterday and it seemed I would not have luck ...
2016-01-18 Cabo de la Vela – Riohacha
[videos file="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHIqYB2ROQ" width="" height=""] My batteries had been dead since yesterday afternoon and I could not take pictures of the truck full of indigenous and the bull on the floor or of the sunset with the witnesses of Jehovah. I needed to recharge the battery and asked at the minimarket opposite our hut for a plug. ...
2016-01-17 Riohacha – Cabo de la Vela
With the agreement between me and the emergency driver in mind I have had a good sleep last night. It was Sunday morning and I had to search the city for a plug to recharge the battery. A lot of the snack stands used to have an electricity extension cord coming from somewhere to supply ...
2016-01-16 Santa Marta – Riohacha
With the backpack as my cushion, I had a good sleep again and woke up when I heard someone coming who sat down just a few meters from me. I had noticed already before that my corner was popular day and night for marihuana smokers from the village and this morning was no different. What ...
2016-01-15 Santa Marta
Without the backpack under my head my sleeping position had not been as comfortable and my sleep not as deep as the night before. I wanted to recover the missing sleep of the night now in the morning and stayed as long as possible in the shade; I did not really get more sleep but ...
2016-01-14 Santa Marta
I was up early and walked directly to the beach. One of the beach bars was closed and offered me perfect conditions, shade, a seat, a plug for the battery to recharge and a plug for the notebook to connect. The computer started but I could not open my archives, something was wrong. When I ...
2016-01-13 Barranquilla – Santa Marta
Before I could leave the airport and move on I had to recharge the battery for the camera, a daily necessity for quite some time now. The bus stop was right at the entrance to the airport and only a handful of people were waiting together with me for the right bus. I wanted the ...