Travel: Obsessions & Overuse
Obsessions
Moving around constantly, always meeting new people, and doing something different every day can be thrilling, but some days the travel lifestyle feels too demanding. When I get the urge to slow down, I look for a spot to settle in for a while and build a mini-routine around a regional activity. This can be a focus on hiking, dancing, surfing… In places like this, the travelers and tourists tend to stay a little longer, and temporary communities form with the common interest. These places offer the chance to enjoy a slow life, appreciating the little things.
I really love how I have been living these last 2 months– chill, taking time, staying longer, lingering over a cup of cooling tea. Wandering the streets, imagining the lives of those who live behind the colored windows.
It’s dancing, my new way of travel. Spinning around, smiling and making connections, one at a time. Not leaving until my body and mind are exhausted from the activity, feeling satisfied. Intense, and yet graceful.
Journal excerpt: Jan 7, 2024 (about Colombia)
Some of my best memories traveling are in these towns because I really got to know the area and made deeper connections while focusing my time and energy on one activity, converting it to an obsession. When all you have in a city is dance, you will be dancing all day; in a sleepy surf town, what more is there to do than find good waves to surf?
My whole life for this brief period of time starts to revolve around the new passion I’ve discovered. But at what point is it too much?
Dancing in Colombia
Late nights, good music, cheap beer, and a culture where to dance is to live. Nightlife in the warm-welcoming country of Colombia is hard to beat. No matter if you find yourself in a small pueblo or a metropolis, there will be salsa or merengue music blasting from the streets or main square, just waiting for a pair to join the dance floor.
As you can imagine, it was hard for me to resist the warm culture and the opportunity to learn salsa in Colombia. The charming setting of my introduction to salsa dance was in the self-proclaimed Capital Mundial de la Salsa (Salsa Capital of the World). Cali, Colombia popped up on my radar on my first solo trip from someone who had learned their stylish dance moves there. I was aware of the reputation that it is not the safest place to visit, but just like Chicago, most of the crime happens in the dangerous neighborhoods that you can avoid. Cali quickly jumped to the top of my future travel destinations, and I knew sooner or later I would make my way there.
Situated in the Andes Mountains, a heartbeat from the Pacific, Cali may not at first seem impressive to the critical eye. The architecture casts a grey over the streets, a melancholy that can easily be overcome by the culture and ambiance.
There is street art at every turn, and you can’t surpass the cheap, delicious street food or the nightclubs, full every night of the week.
When I arrived in the long-awaited Cali, I was suffering from food poisoning from a bad empanada I had eaten en route. After many electrolyte drinks and a few days in bed recovering (yes I was down bad), I was happy to get out of the hostel and explore.
Their vibrant and fast-paced Salsa Caleña was a challenge to follow, so I took advantage of the inexpensive classes to learn the basics. I was thankful for my instructors and new friends who were patient with me through those first steps. The moves I learned, I took to the clubs and practiced with both friends from the hostel and strangers alike.
My daily routine looked something like:
- Free hostel breakfast
- Walk to the dance studio for my individual salsa class
- Go to the market or make lunch
- Afternoon group class
- Eat dinner with hostel friends
- Hang out, get ready to go out dancing
- Dance !!!, Sleep, Repeat
Should I stay or should I go?
After one full week of pure dance, I felt the pull to discover more of Colombia. What more was there waiting for me in this beautiful country? In retrospect, I was living the dream, having an incredible time learning a new skill amongst friends. Leaving was absolutely not necessary! But, since the beginning of my travels, it has been an internal struggle to stay somewhere longer than a week. Once I started a routine, I would run off to the next destination to begin again.
This is a dilemma I still face, although to a lesser extent now. Should I make a temporary home or pick up and explore somewhere new? I started traveling with an insatiable craving for constant new stimuli and situations, in the form of places, people, and cultures. I was scared to get too comfortable in the places I was passing through.
I spent the next five weeks traveling quickly, and not feeling quite fulfilled. As the day to return home approached, I had this recurring thought that I wasn’t ready to leave, a feeling that I hadn’t yet accomplished what I wanted here. My intuition was telling me that I would miss my fight, that I would stay in Colombia.
Two days before my return journey in November, there was news regarding the au-pair Visa for which I was to apply in Ohio. There was no hope in receiving it, so there was no longer a time restraint on my return home. After a big decision-making day, involving a dramatic chop of the hair, I changed my plans to stay in Colombia for two more months, for a total of four. Although not an easy decision to make, since it resulted in my first Christmas away from home, in the end it felt right all the way to the bone.
I would be back in Cali for a proper goodbye, and for much more dancing.
Return to Cali
The reunion with Cali was sweet, welcomed back after a month in Antioquia spending time between Medellin and the countryside. I came just in time for the Feria de Cali, a weeklong celebration of Cali’s vibrant culture between Christmas and New Years. Upon my return to the infectious atmosphere, the dancing every single day, the salsa music everywhere, I was aware of what I had been missing. During the festival, my love for the place was rekindled and I vowed to stay as long as I could, dancing away the rest of my trip.
I am so grateful for these extra months granted to me, staying and lingering longer in this wonderful country, in the city where I feel home echoing in the walls, the trees, the people. In the way we dance, in the water I drink. It says to me, “you are home. Unpack your bags and stay a while”
Journal excerpt about Cali: Jan 7, 2024
As my activity picked up in Cali over the weeks, my ankle had slowly started feeling weird, with such lack of haste that I didn’t give it a second thought. I can deal with that later. As I reached the tail end of my trip, I wanted to take advantage of the remaining time. Each day, I would consider resting but decide against it in favor of the more exciting, instant gratification option of, you guessed it, dancing.
Final Straw
Most nights out, I appreciated the sweet combination of dancing and sweating, drinking water instead of beer. But something you can’t say no to is a party bus with your dance school, especially somewhere as vibrant as Cali. The day turned into the night and the Cuba Libres into shots. Every song pulled me towards the bus’s makeshift dance floor; there were many near-falls among the dancers as the driver sped up and slowed with the traffic. It seemed that the more alcohol, the less this was an issue. And there was not a phone in sight (aka I have no photos. You’re just going to have to trust me).
This particularly active day proved to be the final straw. When I woke up the next morning, it was with an ankle that protested the first steps of the day.
I love Cali! Truly, truly truly. I went on the bus party- la chiva- [last night] and I’m happy, it was a fun night…My foot is getting worse, because I got drunk and danced for 7 hours. HAHA it’s funny when I think of it like that. It was worth it.
Journal excerpt: Jan 12 or 13, 2024
After some investigations, I deduced that it was a minor overuse injury from the past weeks’ lack of stretching and force on the muscles and joint from dancing. The recovery plan? Rest. Hot compress. Less walking, less dance… Not what Becca with one week left in Colombia wanted to deal with. It was inconceivably difficult to imagine not continuing with the schedule of dancing all day, every day. Besides, when would Cali have me back?
Facing the challenge: Overuse
My heart and body are in contrast right now. All I want to do, ALL DAY (forever) is dance. My heart feels it. I feel it, the desire to move. Complication: the body. My foot needs rest. … To not dance? I will have to leave Cali.
Journal excerpt: Jan 12 or 13, 2024
I made a compromise to limit my activity and had a few more days dancing the less intense bachata, finishing out my package of individual lessons. Soon I was forced to confront reality: regardless of the easier footwork that bachata offered, my ankle needed some proper rest.
In a place like Cali that runs on dance for caffeine, how would I find the juice to make it through the day?
A week or two of rest at this stage would be enough to reverse any damage. All I had to do was occupy my time with another activity.
But the quick switch of my daily routine had me questioning everything. Mentally, I was a wreck. My energy was drastically affected, feeling it impossible to fill the time with anything else.
Without being able to indulge in my obsession, I felt lost, unable to do what I wanted, like a child in timeout. A whole day passed with time slowly dripping away while others laughed through their mistakes on the dance floor.
For three days, I made the hard choice of resting from dance. Reading, exploring markets, cooking, and socializing were enjoyable enough, but it proved difficult to stay in Cali without hopes of returning to the dance floor.
I said my goodbyes and left the next night.
Reflect and grow
I fell in love with dancing, with Cali. My epoca [time] here, right now, is over. It was amazing and I am so thankful. I can accept that there isn’t another night at La Topa Tolondra, at Rumba y Salsa, because I had many great nights. Now, I am supposed to find another way to spend my last days in Colombia. There is, contrary to popular belief, more to life than dancing 😉
Journal excerpt: Jan 16, 2024
Once I left Colombia and dance was not synonymous with life, I could reflect on the situation in a more neutral light. Hindsight is 20/20. I could have done a handful of things to avoid this particular end of the story, but I am grateful for all aspects of the tale. When I recall my time in Cali one year later, it is not tainted with the last few days that I struggled through. Maybe next time, I will be able to find the balance between obsession and overuse.
See you next week!
Here’s some of my favorite salsa songs that remind me of my time in Cali:
- Oiga Mira Vea, Guayacán Orquesta
- Cali Pachanguero, Grupo Niche
- Lloraras, Dimension Latina & Oscar D’Leon
- En Barranquilla Me Quedo, Joe Arroyo
- Daniela, Rodolfo Aicardi & Los Hispanos
- Ayer Y Hoy, La Combinación Vallenata & Jean Carlos Centeno