San Gil Night Terror

It had to happen sooner or later. The peace of Barichara & Guane would be obliterated into an cacophony of chaos. San Gil is not only loud & chaotic, it's also crowded, narrow & cramped. Everyone is rushing around between small buses, taxis & horse carts along steep passages that don't look like they were designed for anything larger than the horse carts.

The hostel was equally crowded full of adventure rushing youths without even a hint of common courtesy. Come to think of it, the adventure high backpackers didn't seem all that much different than the cocaine-fueled ones. A Japanese boy rushed passed me to grab the last bottom bunk leaving me to climb up to on three bunks up. I thought the Japanese were one of the last cultures to respect elders? Guess not, because not only was he rude, he smirked & gloated with his bottom-bunk prize as well.

During the night the packed dorm room was abruptly terrified in unison when one of the girls began screaming at a pitch that could easily land her voice-over work in the slasher film industry. Everyone just froze trying to figure out who was screaming, whether she was being attacked & if we too were in danger.

After my eyes adjusted I could see her up on her knees rocking. Then she just curled back up & went to sleep. I'd tried the crunchy fired ants, Chicha fermented drink, got a fresh haircut, swam in Los Pescaditos & bought some fique treats. Capping it all off with blood-curdling night terror screaming, my Barichara peace was officially a memory. Time to keep moving on toward Villa de Leyva.