The Beach's foreign traveller

 This post is a continuation of the The Pillars of The Beach post. If you have not read it, I suggest you read it to follow the story of my stay in La Playa, away from the coast.

A trivia to begin with - How is the first main street of La Playa named? It is named Calle de Belén de Jesus - translating to Jesus of Bethlehem Street. 

Continuing from where I left in the previous post, after a long and tiring day of exploration, I went back to the hotel for some rest and refreshments. Before going though, I was looking for dinner options for me to come back later. There was a pizza place run by 2 brothers, right in the center and I asked if they could make some vegetarian pizzas. They gladly agreed, and I told them that I would return later in the evening.

During this day, I was glad that it did not rain. It had rained the previous day though. After a couple of hours, I made my way back to the center, walking this time. I felt curious for the dusky hours in La Playa, hence I made walks along the main streets, shooting pictures and videos as I went on.

Narco trafficking in La Playa

Once I was near the CAI, I was stopped by a policeman, whose superior, asked me for my id, and enquired what I was doing there at that time. It was about 7 pm and was not late, hence it felt odd. I told the policemen that I am from India, working in Bogotá and was on a trip to La Playa. The supervisor explained that this region of the country had problems with narco trafficking and extortion gangs, hence I had to be careful while going out. Well, Norte de Santander is a border department with Venezuela, and the capital Cúcuta was only about 4 hours away. That town had real problems from the refugees crossing the border due to the political situation here. However, the narcotic traffic was news to me at least from La Playa.

I am well aware of the situation on narco trafficking in Colombia, though my assumption was always that this was through the plains and not through here. May be I am wrong, well, it was a shock to me.

The policemen suggested that I leave the center as soon as I can, which of course I was going to do after having dinner. 

I had pizza, or a couple of slices of it in the restaurant I had described above and continued to walk and take pictures away from the CAI. Being honest, I never felt for a moment that it was dangerous or this weird sensation of something going on, which I have felt a lot of times in Bogotá. Hence I really did not mind and probably you too should not, if you visit this town.

Venezuelan Plates in La Playa

Another side story that I wanted to tell you is about the Venezuelan registered cars and motor bikes that were very common in this town. There were brands that I have never heard or seen either in Colombia or in other countries that I have been to. Empire, Bera, were some brands that I saw for motor bikes and I always get curious in looking at the number plates. That has been a secret hobby of mine since I was young(?). The number plate gives a lot of information about the state or the city where the vehicle is from. In Colombia, for cars, buses, trucks and heavy vehicles, the plates will have the name of the town where it is registered. However the numbering scheme for motorbikes will not have the town. For Venezuela, however both the bikes and cars had the names of the towns and it was a curiously interesting exercise to find the names of towns that I have never heard of before. Portugesa, Yaracuy, Lara etc.

When I enquired about this, I was told that with the political situation in Venezuela, people sell their vehicles across the border in Cúcuta normally for a lot less price and Norte de Santander being a border department, there is a special permission that authorizes people to drive with a Venezuelan plate for a period of time. 

How true is this, I have no clue. However, it was interesting to see unfamiliar brands and plates. 

Coming back to the story after dinner, I continued to walk in the center before eventually making way back to the hotel. The night was pleasant and I had some nice conversations with the people in the hotel including the kids of the workers. 

Closing thoughts

I spent about 42 hours in this town, spending 2 nights, and a full day. I was mesmerized by the beauty of this town and how small it was. The estoraques is one main reason for visiting the town, however I was more interested in the architecture of the town itself. A town with 3 streets, people that were very friendly, the magical vibe of La Playa, with those empty streets that I had for myself when I walked through them, the curious tourists that stared at me, for being an obvious foreigner, those kids that wanted pictures of me, that helpful señor of the cafeteria, that gladly showed me another shop as his coffee was sold out, the old señor of the drogeria, that sold me an excellent cream for backache, the lady in the hotel that showed me the perfect place to shoot the sky, the lady from the fast food restaurant that happily converted a hamburger into a vegetarian sandwich, I felt welcome every moment I spent in this town.

Will I go back if I get a chance? Absolutely. I am interested to visit this region during La Festival de la Cebolla, La Playa’s own festival.

After all, La Playa is a Colombian town that no Colombian I know, know about!