Transported by Taxis

I know I might sound spoiled by admitting this, but I really miss having my own car.

(North) Americans are known for loving their personal transport, and in the context of Colombia I definitely fit that stereotype. Cars here are extremely expensive to buy (think high import taxes), insure, fill with gas (Colombia is the country with the second highest gas prices in the world despite neighboring Venezuela), and park (even outside of the city). Which makes them a luxury. But I still miss being able to travel independently.

The past few days have shown the effective change of weather to 'winter,' and it seems like every single time I want to travel anywhere within the city it starts raining as soon as I step out the door. Which means that I have taken up the Colombian past-time of standing under eves for long periods of time watching the water dump down on the city, excusably late for meetings and utterly frustrated. I wish that I could just get into my car whenever I want and travel door-to-door without having to pay someone else, give directions, or worry about safety beyond the normal perils of the road (arguably more life-threatening than anywhere else I have driven).

Mind you, Medellin does have a fairly well-organized transportation system. The metro is amazing; running efficiently, cleanly, throughout most parts of the city, and most importantly, close by my apartment. There are always buses careening through the streets, but despite my best efforts to understand their routes, I have not been able to find any consistency and often find myself further from my destination than when I started. And most importantly, there are always taxis.

Taxis have been my saving grace. When I am dressed up for a Rotary meeting and don't feel like changing modes of transportation three times in high heels, I will call a taxi. If it starts to rain and I absolutely have to be somewhere soon (and in a dry state), I will duck into a taxi. Or, if I have to transport a finished painting and I don't want to smudge anyone else's clothes on the metro, I will hail a taxi.

Another bonus is that Medellin happens to have the lowest taxi prices in the whole country. The minimum price is about $1.30, and rarely will I spend over $5 getting from one end of town to the other. Tipping is not customary so I don't have to add in an extra few pesos unless the taxista was entirely helpful, say, unloading my groceries into the elevator. Many taxi companies rent out their vehicles to associated drivers, and I have been told that it is not rare for a taxista to spend more on gas and payment to the company than they earn from customers. Sad indeed, but hey, I do appreciate their cheap labor.

The only problem is that the combined friendly nature of paisas and the lonely nature of taxi driving often lead to many undesirable or uncomfortable conversations. Every taxista has some story to tell, comment to make about the weather, or even worse, compliment on my eyes. (I have taken to wearing sunglasses, even at night, to avoid the gawking). The short, autobiographical story posted below is an example of such an encounter: