THE
INCREDIBLE COINCIDENCE OF BEING CUBAN
Things
happen for a reason, I had been told by the Indians, just we don’t understand
the significance, which became clearer only many days later.
Many
years ago a talented pianist from Havana, came to be part of a Symphony
Orchestra in Cali. She met and married a Colombian artist and they moved down
to Puerto Narino in the Colombian Amazon, sharing their time between the
outpost in the Amazon and the largest city in Colombian Amazonia, Leticia. She
continued her work as a teacher of Music to children and adults. I had met her
on my earlier visits to the Amazonia and in February 2018, I stayed in her
Hostel in Puerto Narino and spent a lot of time talking about our favourite
subject: Cuba!
I
had just arrived on a red-eye flight from Miami to the Bogota airport. I went to use the toilets at the departure
area upstairs, and spotted a trio of passengers emerging from the Restroom
area: I looked carefully and I recognized Ileana.. we had a hearty reunion and
she introduced me to her companions: a Cuban Doctor specializing in Paediatric
Surgery and his Colombian wife.
During
my travels, I do not search for other travellers , least by their
nationalities, I avoid tourists like a plague, as they are only thinking of
getting to their next destination. But it is always a pleasure to run into
people you have met before, in another setting. This does not happen often, but
when it does happen , what a pleasure it is.
Ileana
and I were able to spend some time together in Leticia before she took the boat
home to Puerto Narino.
Indians
had taught me that our interactions in life are about relationships. They do
mean genuine relationships, but not the fake relationships that we are often
drawn into.
We
planned to meet again in Amazonia.. and there is always Cuba..
