I want rooster soup

Sep 19/10 – Balsita – Colombia

This morning the rooster came to visit early again, at 6am. At least he was not as early as the day before, when he came at 4am, but he was just as keen, and was not happy just singing loudly at my door but actually had to go around the whole room, several times, just to make sure that I would wake up.

I never thought that I would say that in Colombia, but it was quite cold. Balsita is a small community up in the mountains. The population here is what they call “paisas”, which is white people. The men wear some sort of scarf around their shoulders, a hat (cowboy style), a machete tied up at the hips, and boots. It is quite different. They also talk very fast and with an accent almost impossible for me to understand.

Tensions about the conflict are very high, with active groups present in the area and so the impact on mental health is the main cause why MSF comes up here. We had a slow day yesterday since there was a communication problem and the local radio station did not broadcast our arrival until the evening. Therefore, all the people came down from the nearby villages today.

Lots of horses parked on the street where the chickens, pigs and dogs also lived. Keeping the dogs out of our clinic was an almost impossible task. It looked like we were the veterinarians without boarders (hey, here’s and idea for the vets out there, those pets need you!).

Since it is Sunday, it was like a big event. The men played soccer all day. There was music, dancing, little shops selling treats, and a movie in the evening set up by the red cross: Shrek, a classic, followed up by a documentary on nature subjects.


Anyways, tomorrow we leave early to Llano Rico, so I better get some rest.