San José del Guaviare: Colombia's best department capital?

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Medellín, Bogotá, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cali, Bucaramanga. In roughly that descending order, these are the top cities for immigrants to Colombia.

San José del Guaviare: It's far from a dull backwater.

As populous, fairly well-connected, and relatively cosmopolitan urban centres, it's not surprising that they attract foreigners from near and far.

When it comes to smaller towns, the likes of tourist-heavy Salento, San Gil, and Villa de Leyva are to the fore.

Outside of the aforementioned, plus perhaps about another dozen places, if immigrants settle elsewhere, it would most likely be by accident rather than design. Or employment or a relationship brought them there against their better judgment.

The Guaviare grind

Now, while San José del Guaviare, like Colombia in general, has seen the number of foreign tourists grow in recent years, few seem to stick around. (I'm not including Venezuelans — they're not really foreigners in Colombia, being from a país hermano/brother country as they are.)

That tourism in the Guaviare department is on the up is understandable. There are some stunning sites to be seen around San José, some of which I wrote about after my first, brief visit in 2018, and the town is not difficult to get to from Bogotá.

Yet, it's also understandable that few visitors stay longer than needs be. The town itself isn't quite in the quaint cohort.

Revved-up motorbikes and the coming and going of cargo trucks in the river port area mix with loud music from a stream of competing bars to ensure there's plenty of noise around the centre from dawn to early morning. Add in the stifling heat — often in the high 30s degrees Celsius — in the heavy, dusty air and it's easy to see why many may find it a bit too much.

Yes, it's on the banks of a majestic river, the Guaviare, but its murky waters aren't the most inviting for a refreshing dip.

'The barefooted Indigenous kids who enter some establishments looking for free treats can get a little annoying after a while — 'Ah, not again lads!' — but they're not going to pull a knife for non-compliance.'

The pristine waters that run into the impressive natural wells, pozos naturales, do offer aqua relief. But located 10 km from the town, they're not exactly a comfortable walk away. And as they are inside a protected park, there's also a 10,000 COP entrance fee to access them. OK, there are a few swimming pools in the town but it's nice to have natural, cost-free options.

Thus, why would one stay in San José del Guaviare when Colombia has so many other more attractive alternatives?

Outside of my penchant for finding delights in the drab, relishing the rough and ready, the town has what can be described as more pleasant pull factors, as I discovered after over two months there.

Safety first

For starters, as department capitals in Colombia go, it's surely one of the safest. One can wander about the place at any time pretty much assured that nothing untoward will happen. It's virtually free of delinquents. Fair enough, the barefooted Indigenous kids who enter some establishments looking for free treats can get a little annoying after a while — 'Ah, not again lads!' — but they're not going to pull a knife for non-compliance. I don't think they would, anyway.

So while it's not unique in having friendly, helpful residents, this lack of petty crime (petty for those who don't suffer it, that is) gives it an advantage over many other big towns and cities. (The reason for such lack of in-your-face crime may be due to darker forces behind the scenes, as I explained in my Pacific Puerto Asís story.)

Also, as a single guy, I found its women to be refreshingly free of this insidious idea that the white foreigner comes with riches to raid.

What's more, that hustle and bustle of the centre and adjacent river port area is balanced out by far quieter neighbourhoods in most other parts of the town, such as the Bello Horizonte and La Paz barrios.

In terms of accommodation, it's on the cheaper end of the scale compared to the bigger department capitals. I've been told furnished studio apartments can be rented for around 600,000 COP per month (that's roughly 120 euros).

Speaking of value for money, more-than-satisfactory, standard two-course lunches cost between 6,000 and 9,000 COP. The equivalent in most of Bogotá these days is about 12,000 COP. (I must note here, in similar-sized, similar-vibe Granada in the Meta department, from where I write these lines, such lunches are available for 5,000 COP and monthly accommodation is equally if not more cheaply priced. But Granada is not a department capital — that may play a part in pricing.)

Tax and vax haven

Guaviare is, however, one of the five VAT-free departments of Colombia — the others are Amazonas, Guainía, Vichada, and Vaupés.

So with a range of everyday products tax-exempt, one might expect the cost of living to be notably cheaper. Yes, some things are less expensive than Bogotá but others, such as beer, are not. One explanation, given to me by a tienda owner, is that the VAT-free status is cancelled out by having to pay protection money — a vacuna/vaccine, as they call it — to the real power-brokers in the region, the guerillas, the darker forces I referred to earlier.

It's generally just property owners and business people who are forced to pay this vacuna. So the likes of tenants and employees should see some benefit from the tax-free status.

I noticed that motorbikes, the preferred transport option in San José, are in the VAT-free category. I assume it's the same for bicycles. For if I were to return for another prolonged period, I'd look into buying a bike. I figure cycling would be a great way to visit the likes of the natural wells and the town of El Retorno, 30 km to the south. There are many other places to pedal to as well. The topography is fairly flat, after all. Although the heat makes up for the absence of crippling climbs.

I suspect this is the mental trade-off for me in San José del Guaviare. Because, as I've proclaimed before, I am a fan of altitude. Yet, I do also like climates where one can dress light 24/7 — it complements my minimalist outlook.

Now, if you're of a more cosmopolitan composition, San José is unlikely to excite you. But a dull, insular backwater it is not. And since my first visit over six years ago, its population and urban area have grown, making it a livelier spot, for better and for worse (it's more the former, for now at least, I feel).

In fact, if for some reason I had to base myself in one of Colombia's department capitals, from all those I know, San José del Guaviare would top my list.
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Kamala control: Letter to the editor

@wwaycorrigan

My riposte to a letter in the Irish Independent from Kamala Harris fan, Jessica Toal.

It can be found online at https://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/letters-doubling-of-penalty-for-unresponsive-jobseekers-is-a-courageous-move/a1873078418.html.

It's something I discussed in a more general sense in a previous blog story, Goodbye Nanny State! Hello Overbearing Mother Society.

Why live your own life when the government can live it for you?

 

The mild rover

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

'Oh, the wanderer is back.'

It's a remark often directed at me whenever I return to Ireland. You see, some people in my birth country think that I'm a full-time traveller.

This year Wrong Way has been more of a rover than before.

The main reason for this, I figure, is down to where I've been based: Crazy Colombia.

Irish emigrants in the more popular locations — Australia, Britain, Canada, the USA — live abroad but someone like me is a wild rover, to take from the eponymous song (although I'm unlikely to return with riches similar to those of the oft-remembered, unnamed Wild Rover).

'They think it's all rover'

Now, while at times I think I'd like to rover regularly, the reality is that I've been more fixed than floating when it comes to moving around. Constant changing of my abode within Bogotá over the years doesn't really make me a rover. Yes, mentally I may have never really settled in — and on — Bogotá but my physical time spent there betrays this.

Taking miles travelled as a guide, I wager many so-called settled folk in high-income nations have covered more ground than me since 2012, my first full year in Colombia. Or they've at least flown over more ground than me.

Only this year could I justifiably be called a rover, but perhaps more of a mild one than a wild one.

For starters, I've had no fixed abode in 2024. January was spent with family in Ireland. On my return to Bogotá in February, an acquaintance invited me to stay in his luxurious, spacious apartment. March and July also saw me in a salubrious setting in the Colombian capital, apartment-sitting for friends. In between, I had a total of a month, in two separate stints, working in Palomino in the La Guajira department on the Caribbean coast and when in Bogotá I stayed in the box room of an acquaintance's apartment — it was a way of recouping money he owed.

'This current wandering at least provides some relief in these wondering times.'

From February to July, outside of my travels to Palomino, I also visited San Juan de Rioseco, Moniquirá, and Chocontá, as well as double trips to both Pacho and San Luis de Gaceno.

Since early August I've been out of Bogotá, a largely unavoidable four-night return in the middle of that month aside. It started with ten days in Puerto Asís, followed by eight days in La Chorrera. I flew to the latter via San José del Guaviare, which has been my main base for over two months. From San José, I've taken in the nearby towns of El Retorno and Calamar.

I do have a banking matter to attend to in Bogotá before the end of October but I am not at all sure where I'll go after that.

Capital crime

While there are certain things I miss in the capital, when I have no solid reasons to be there, well I don't really want to be there, particularly when it means I have to house-share. (The cost of a private hotel room in the provinces is usually cheaper than getting a basic, unfurnished studio apartment in Bogotá, if one can be found, that is.)

All this time outside of Bogotá represents my longest stint away from the city while remaining in Colombian territory.

It's largely the result of, as one can probably guess, having no steady work mixed with much uncertainty as to my next move. And this is unlikely to change in the coming weeks.

On the whole, I'm largely relaxed about the situation — a bit too relaxed, some may argue. That not having access to a kitchen is one of my main concerns shows that I'm not exactly at breaking point. Being able to cook, to have greater control over what I eat, is important to me, all the same. It would also be nice to truly have my own place, but I will most likely never get to enjoy such a luxury in Colombia.

Whatever about not being able to cook these days, there's a cornucopia of food for thought simmering in my mind. If only I could get a peso for each thought, then I wouldn't have to worry about sourcing gainful employment.

My current wandering at least provides some relief in these wondering times. Being a mild rover has a cathartic side.
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Cop on, Colombia, for biodiversity's sake

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

It shouldn't surprise those familiar with Colombia to be told that many of its citizens are proud, understandably so, of their land's rich biodiversity.

'No country is more beautiful than ours', is a common pronouncement. Some even proclaim they have no desire to leave the place because of its beauty, even though most of those who say this haven't physically seen much of the national territory. As good a reason as any not to leave, I guess: 'I have to explore Colombia first.' (One also needs some savings to travel.)

Can you spot the hero turtle in this litter-filled Colombian swamp?

Misplaced pride

This I-love-my-country banter has been backed up by a recent survey carried out on behalf of World Wildlife Fund Colombia. When residents were asked for their main feelings about the country's biodiversity, 44 per cent of respondents gave pride of place to um, pride, while 46 per cent said it worried them. Just nine per cent said they were indifferent to it.

Pride aside, it is true to state that few regions in the world can match the diversity of flora and fauna that makes up what we today call Colombia.

The range of landscapes and climates plays a big part in this, from glaciated peaks and Andean páramos all the way down to dense tropical jungle and a coastline that touches the globe's two largest oceans.

How much, though, the average Colombian does to help sustain this biodiversity is open to much debate. According to the World Population Review's Mismanaged Waste Index, the country is at best mediocre in dealing with its refuse.

Backing up the overall, national picture, is the easily observed individual mismanagement and apparent recklessness in waste disposal. It can bug those of us brought up to be angered by litter louts.

Plastic people

I addressed this topic, particularly the popularity of single-use plastics, in a 2018 piece titled The Disposable Republic of Colombia.

Since then, the state has introduced some measures aimed at reducing this reliance on plastic. For example, customers must pay — or are supposed to pay, at least — for each plastic bag used to package shopping in supermarkets and suchlike.

I'd like to see something similar for plastic cups. They're still overused in many standard cafés/panaderías and beer-serving tiendas. Why some Colombians prefer to have their hot coffee in a slowly melting plastic cup when a porcelain one is available is beyond me. And then there are the accompanying plastic straws for stirring one's brew; such wanton plastic pullulation. (Do note that in the World Wildlife Fund survey, 63 per cent of respondents said plastic pollution was a chief concern.)

'Colombia's rich biodiversity has little to do with the humans who inhabit the territory. Maintaining that richness, though, has a lot to do with us humans.'

Colombia's waste mismanagement should come under greater scrutiny in the coming weeks as the city of Cali gears up to host Cop16. If you, like me, are a bit confused, indifferent or even annoyed by all these talking-shop Cops, this one is the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (Cop16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). That makes more sense now, doesn't it?!

Words are easy to express. Acting on them is another matter.

Cop16 aside, it smacks of a lack of cop-on to regularly brag about the country's biodiversity and natural beauty but do next to nothing to keep things that way. Or worse, to actively, if apathetically, engage in practices that harm the environment.

Colombia's rich biodiversity, after all, has little to do with the humans who inhabit the territory. Maintaining that richness, though, has a lot to do with us humans.

Reducing material diversity

About the best way to manage potentially harmful waste is to keep it to a minimum in the first instance i.e. reduce consumption so that there's less of a need for both reusing and recycling. And on that front, overuse of disposables aside, Colombia appears to do better than some high-income nations. There can be upsides to not having much of a disposable income.

As for reusing, opting to repair damaged goods — be they clothing, footwear, electronics, etc. — is normal here.

In other Western countries, the default setting over the last few decades has been, 'If it's broken, bin it', rather than try to fix it first. This mentality finally seems to be changing but the repair industry isn't as established in the likes of Ireland and the UK as it is in Colombia.

What's more, while many high-income nations are seen to manage their waste well according to the aforementioned Mismanaged Waste Index, it's fair to ask what that management entails. Those who see it as little better than a cosmetic exercise that comes with high energy requirements and associated costs have a valid point at present.

OK, litter is unsightly but does it make a major difference if it's concentrated in one area away from the eyes of most or spread out all over the place?

As mentioned, aiming to reduce the amount of waste we generate should be the main goal. And many of us in the comfortable classes can do more to cut back on our use of non-essentials.

Doing so would give us something to be genuinely proud of, for those of us who truly care about the natural environment, that is: Less material diversity, more biodiversity.
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Fending off irrelevance in the Artificial Intelligence Age

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

'I read an article the other day that explained just how bad alcohol can be for one's health. So I've decided not to read any more.'

Hopes of a life largely free of AI and Big Tech may be impossible in the coming years.

Yes, it's an old one. And if it were to be taken seriously, it's a prime example of shooting the messenger — if one with such a fondness for booze could actually aim accurately, that is.

Anyone able to think straight these days knows that drinking to excess is unlikely to lead to a long and healthy life. Ignoring uncomfortable truths does not make them go away.

Ignoring is bliss

Yet, not all uncomfortable truths are of direct personal concern so ignoring them may, somewhat paradoxically, improve one's overall health.

For example, some studies have shown that regularly consuming the news can be damaging to one's well-being. So while terrible things are happening all over the world, it's not always in our best interests to be aware of them, particularly if there's little to nothing we can do to make them better.

The counterargument is that the world is so interconnected these days that even a small positive action on our part could help to resolve a complex issue in some distant place. For example, deciding not to buy products from a particular company that is believed to engage in questionable practices or is ethically reprehensible. Nonetheless, to do such a deed doesn't mean one has to be engrossed in the news all the time.

It is said, too, that to have a more positive outlook on life it's important to surround oneself with positive people and to think positively. Seeing as how the majority of the news fed to us is negative, dining on it daily can't be good for our state of mind.

With total abstinence practically impossible for many of us, moderation is the goal — like it is for imbibing and many other guilty pleasures.

Disillusioned

While I find myself getting angry with the narrative of certain news items — see Living with unsettled and unsettling questions for an idea of some of those — stories about the rise of artificial intelligence often leave me feeling disillusioned.

Yes, AI comes with opportunities as well as challenges, yet I find myself drawn to its negative side. In general, this is to do with the possibility that AI will make billions of us largely irrelevant: irrelevant in our usefulness to society in any case.

In an April 2024 post, More artificial intelligence, less human intelligence, I wrote about some of my concerns in this whole area. In the intervening period, having happened upon a copy of Yuval Noah Harari's book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, first published in 2018, my fears have only grown.

'Biotechnology will provide our sustenance far more economically, sufficiently, and environmentally friendly than antiquated agriculture. Rewild rurality, hack humanity.'

As I touched on in a February 2024 article, Merging a life vacation with a vocation, I often feel that studying Humanities at university and the subsequent career path I've followed have left me particularly vulnerable to the aforementioned irrelevance.

In less disillusioned moments, however, I do at least think about areas where AI and Big Tech are going to have a harder time dominating human life. Yet, the relief from such ruminating is only temporary.

Biochemical beings

Take sport and physical activity in general, for one. While sports, as it is for most sectors of life, already use a lot of tech, we still fall back on the raw emotions — the blood, sweat, and tears — that are triggered when humans compete. How can technology provide such real, raw thrills and thus satiate both the competitors and the spectators?

Well, if we are in essence nothing but biochemical beings ripe for manipulation by advanced algorithms, then real physical sport could become obsolete, replaced by virtual contests that push all the right emotional buttons, minus the bumps and bruises on the body. Or even just replaced by some pill that gives us those feelings.

But won't we need to at least exercise so we burn off the calories to stay in shape? Again, medical and technological advancements could see staying in shape become a simple process, with one's metabolism kept at an optimum rate to be physically healthy without having to do rigorous workouts. (We already have the fat-fighting drug semaglutide — sold under the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy — that is apparently working wonders for some heavier individuals.)

In that scenario, those of us who dream of returning to a simpler, self-sufficient life living off the land, may find that such a practice is deemed damaging to society as a whole. Biotechnology will provide our sustenance far more economically, sufficiently, and environmentally friendly than antiquated agriculture. Rewild rurality, hack humanity.

For the Luddites/Luddite lites amongst us, the need for some human toil in construction does look set to continue for a while longer. (Although, being based in Colombia and seeing manual labourers still doing a lot of heavy lifting, my thinking may be a bit skewed on this. In high-income nations, machines are doing more and more of these construction chores.)

Of course, it's impossible to predict to just what extent AI and technology will further take over our lives. The inexorable rise of the machines doesn't inevitably mean the downfall of most humans.

There is also the power issue at play: the machines don't run on fresh air alone. Not yet, anyway. So as long as they rely on human-controlled sources of energy — and data — to function, we shall still have a significant role to play (some of us, at least).

Whatever lies ahead, we should focus on fixing and improving things in our present lives, as much as we can, that is.

Future issues are unlikely to trouble us if we can't get a handle on today's problems. We can ignore the unsettling news all we want but this doesn't make it disappear. Merely wishing it away is sure to accelerate our own demise.
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La Chorrera in Colombia's Amazon: Bloody past, insecure present

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

There is a view in certain circles that Indigenous peoples in isolated areas live a largely wholesome and simple life, at one with nature, in stark contrast to us folk in more digitally connected, fast-paced societies — a version of the noble savage idea.

Isolated reserve: There are no roads into La Chorrera but the airline Satena flies there. Arriving by river is also an option, but a complicated one.

This is true in some instances and areas. There are still tribes in existence that continue to shun Western civilisation.

Yet, many indigenous, even those who still live on their native lands far away from the original centres of colonisation of the country in which they now find themselves, have adopted high-income-nation habits — be that for better or for worse.

This is the case for most of those who identify as indigenous that I've encountered in South America.

One might think that the situation would be rather different on a secluded indigenous reserve, an area where the original natives — Who is an original native? — are left to live relatively autonomously from the intruding state.

Green gold

Both the settlement and area of La Chorrera, which the locals call the true heart of the Amazon, is one such reserve.

In terms of its autonomy from Colombia, well there is no state police presence. Filling that void, nominally in any case, is the indigenous guard. The Colombian military does have a base nearby but the soldiers rarely get involved in local affairs even if, at times, their intervention might be welcome.

The people have their own executive committee for internal affairs, with a president, vice president, and certain ministerial/secretarial posts.

As for agricultural self-sufficiency, the Igara Paraná River that flows through the region provides fish, as well as a plentiful supply of water. Most homesteads also have their own poultry, the odd few farm pigs while the ever-retreating wild animals in the surrounding jungle are occasionally hunted, with el blanco (whiteman) guns, of course.

'An elder told me that a commander in a nearby guerrilla group is planning a social cleansing of the area and has a list of those who are considered a burden.'

Root vegetables such as cassava (yuca) and yam (ñame) are staples, alongside plantain and a host of tropical fruits.

The tobacco plant, too, plays a big part in the culture, chiefly in the form of a paste called ambil, almost exclusively taken by men.

Ambil is often consumed alongside the region's green gold, or what some in other parts of Colombia convert into white gold, the coca leaf.

In La Chorrera, coca is ground down — together with a palm tree leaf to soften the bitterness — to a fine powder and consumed in the mouth. The idea is to slowly transform the powder — which has a powdered-milk texture — into a paste in the mouth before ingesting it gradually. This pick-me-upper coca powder is called mambe and its consumption is again a male preserve.

Coca leaves that aren't destined for mambe are sold, currently at 100,000 COP per kilo, to outsiders who, one assumes, use them to make cocaine.

From what I observed and what I was told, cocaine isn't at all popular in the area.

Beer necessities

Yet, what I've been told is growing in popularity — but not grown locally — is marijuana use among the community's younger folk. Elders say this has led to an increase in insecurity.

I did occasionally smell it and noticed some young men a little stoned but I can't say that I felt that unsafe in the settlement, despite warnings from some to keep my wits about me when wandering about. (This is in stark contrast to supposedly dangerous, more easily accessible towns such as Puerto Asís and San José del Guaviare, where inhabitants are quick to talk about how safe they are. Yes, people there could have been trying to lure me into a false sense of security but I never sensed anything untoward — and nothing untoward happened.)

Home comforts: One of the over 100 houses the Colombian government is building and gifting to La Chorrera.

One La Chorrera elder even told me that a commander in a nearby guerrilla group is planning a social cleansing of the area and already has a list of those who are considered a burden. How true that is, I guess time will tell.

The main annoyance I encountered was those who like a beer or six — beer being another product very much not of the region. Some boozers weren't shy about asking — in an aggressive tone at times — el blanco to finance their drinking. (At between 5,000 and 8,000 COP for a 330 ml can of Poker, it's around four times more than what I pay for beer in my preferred watering holes in Bogotá.)

The various winged pests of this jungle outpost were less of a nuisance than these opportunist extortionists.

I had thought that being Irish and, with it, the link to Roger Casement and his efforts in alerting Western powers of the terrible rubber-era genocide of the Indigenous that took place in the region in the early twentieth century might have cut me some slack — I'm not just another blanco. But no. In fairness, most did start referring to me somewhat more affectionately as el irlandés once they got to know me. It's the Peruvians and the British establishment these beer-seekers should be pestering, not me. (See my 2016 post, Remembering Casement's Colombian connection for background.)

'The chuck-it-anywhere approach goes against the narrative that care and respect for the natural environment is one of their chief concerns.'

Now, while I wasn't there long enough to draw any solid conclusions, it did appear to me that it was the men from the more square-faced Uitoto (or Huitoto) tribe who were the annoying drinkers while the rounder-faced Boras seemed far more benign. More research is required. (For the record, the greater La Chorrera area is composed, in the main, of four traditional tribes: the aforementioned Bora and Uitoto, together with the Muinane and Okaina.)

Virtual autonomy

Mentioning tribes might bring one back to this idea of scantily clad Amazon natives. The reserve may like to see and even sell itself as autonomous but the clothing — like the beer, many food items, internet plus free WiFi from the national government, smartphones, televisions, motorbikes, and even the timber for new state-gifted houses — very much comes from outside. Football shirts are particularly popular for the men, as is football in general for all. Indeed, football brings the community together more regularly than any traditional event.

Even at a traditional dance that I had the serendipitous pleasure of attending in the Santa Rosa settlement, a four-hour boat ride upriver from La Chorrera, there was nothing native about the attire. For sure, the dance and refreshments were traditional but the look was more Bogotá barrio than Amazon jungle.

Considering the dance came at the end of a two-day football tournament, let's not be too critical of the lack of effort on the dress front. And respect to the attendees from Puerto Sabalo in the Caquetá department. Theirs was a two-day journey, mixing boat travel with long walks. Despite such endeavours, or perhaps because of them, they won the men's tournament.

Less respect is forthcoming for many locals' rubbish disposal. The chuck-it-anywhere approach goes against the narrative that care and respect for the natural environment is one of their chief concerns. The same goes for the practice of bathing and cleaning clothes in the river with modern soaps and detergents.

This isn't me having a go at them. I'm in no way suggesting that they must return to a more primitive life. (Although this is something I often think I'd like to do, I don't think there are many in La Chorrera who want it.)

It's more a case that it bugs me when some people from afar put such indigenous types on a pedestal, as role models for us modern monsters to follow. Also at play is the mildly aggressive this-is-our-land attitude of a small number of La Chorrera natives.

As pointed out, it's not a truly autonomous indigenous reserve. The sane-headed locals are well aware of this and are very welcoming of unobtrusive visitors. And, as it currently operates, it's unlikely La Chorrera will survive as a functioning entity without attracting the right kind of outside assistance.

Those who want all the whiteman goodies but then act as if outsiders aren't welcome or are merely to be taken advantage of, let's see how they'd do living completely autonomously.

Remember guys, you won't be able to beer or Google your way out of it.

*There are various accommodation options in La Chorrera. Hospedaje Fátima, owned by a lovely elder — abuela as they say — of the same name (Fátima, that is!), is one of the better options. It's 25,000 COP per night for a humble en suite room with WiFi as good as you'll get anywhere. Plus, Fátima is niceness personified!

**A special mention, too, to Marina and her mother Irene who operate as a restaurant/snack food joint. Well worth checking out. Also, Jorge who runs the tienda by the main dock is a very helpful gentleman and a member of the executive committee. I mention these because they run businesses in the settlement but there are other friendly locals who are only too willing to help for no ulterior motive.
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Google/Gulag Blogger's faceless, unaccountable, cowardly censors. What are they afraid of?

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Most if not all bullies are also cowards. They pick on the relatively powerless, knowing that they are unlikely to meet any significant resistance.

'Nothing to see here. Move along.'

Bully Blogger

Google Blogger has been showing itself to be a bully of late.

In the last few weeks, it has deleted two of my blog posts for what amounts to reasons unknown. Or 'just because'.

The first to be summarily done away with was 'The case for non-pharmaceutical defences against covid', originally published in November 2021. On 12 August last, Blogger emailed me to inform me that this story was now binned. An audio version of it is available at https://youtu.be/cOnUpPoUkjo.

Then on 02 September just gone another pandemic-era post, 'The vaccine vexers', originally published in September 2021, got the chop (audio version at https://youtu.be/Z8hRwiHfrTs).

Here's the text of that latest email Blogger sent to me, worded the same as the 12 August correspondence:

Hello,

As you may know, our community guidelines
(https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we
allow – and don't allow – on Blogger. Your post entitled 'The vaccine
vexers' was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates
our guidelines and deleted the post, previously at
http://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-vaccine-vexers.html.

Why was your blog post deleted?

Your content has violated our misleading content policy. Please follow
the community guidelines link in this email to learn more.

If you believe that we made an error, you can request an appeal:
https://www.blogger.com/go/appeal-post?blogId=2732538313987233397&postId=7490742377544475627.
You may have the option to pursue your claims in court. If you have legal
questions or wish to examine legal options that may be available to you,
you may want to consult with your own legal counsel.

We encourage you to review the full content of your blog posts to make
sure that they are in line with our standards as additional violations
could result in termination of your blog.

For more information, please review the following resources:

Terms of Service: https://www.blogger.com/go/terms
Blogger community guidelines: https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy

Senseless censorship

So my content has violated Blogger's 'misleading content policy.' Yet, Blogger doesn't tell me what it is that is misleading. It seems to think that by reading the community guidelines I'll find out why my content was deleted. I have read the community guidelines and they don't shed any light as to why these posts have been labelled 'misleading'. It's similar to the if-you-don't-know-what-you've-done-wrong treatment from an irate girlfriend.

Not agreeing with somebody's take on contentious issues in which there is still much ongoing debate is not the same as that take being misleading. Also, going into specifics of the content, which Google Blogger fails to do, it's a fact to say that some people have non-vaccine-acquired immunity, i.e. natural immunity, to covid-19 and therefore don't need the jab. To state otherwise is not only misleading but potentially deadly and it further erodes trust in public health.

Blogger avoids specifics because it simply wouldn't be able to win the argument. 'You are misleading because we say you are misleading', that's the approach. What's more, its guidelines are so general that they can be fitted to suit the platform's own perspective on every occasion.

This is the big problem for small fry such as me. Google Blogger can do and does what it wishes with content published on its platform and there's little we lightweight users can do to fight back, save for, as mentioned in the email, appealing the decision or taking legal action against the company. I've done the former but, unsurprisingly, have thus far received no reply, while the latter is something few modest bloggers could afford to contemplate.

It's like a country that has strict entry requirements for would-be visitors. We may think the requirements are unnecessarily restrictive but the country can set them as it sees fit.

In this case, Google Blogger is letting it be known that it is against science, rigorous debate, and free speech while it supports Big Pharma and censorship.

Who's really doing the misleading here? Bully Blogger, you can delete all my stories if you wish but all you'll be doing is revealing your autocratic aims. Welcome to Gulag Blogger.
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