(Belated) happy halloween from Colombia

This country knows how to party. The night began with a chiva---a brightly colored Colombian party bus very similar to those ubiquitous San Francisco cable cars that troll the city with drunken revelers hanging off the sides. The chiva rolled through the city of Santa Marta and neighboring outer barrios as bottles of aguardiente (a local moonshine that could power a truck), local rum, vodka, and god knows what else were passed around.

We ended up at a small, cramped club that looked like everyone was carrying concealed weapons. But it ended up being a perfect way to end the night---the music was a great mishmash of Latin hiphop and salsa, and the crowd inside was surging with the music. The club officially closed at 3am, but the party just poured out into the streets. The music and dancing went on, and men with styrofoam coolers around their necks sold beer to the revelers.

This is a country that enjoys the good things in life, and it shows.