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house, the Columbian woman picks a mango from a nearby
tree, peels it and feeds me. As she slices she tells me that of
all fruit the mango is the dearest to her because she was
born under a mango tree next to the Rio Magdelena and
each time she holds a mango, each time she peels a mango,
she is reminded of her mother who raised her on nothing
but mangos and mother's milk. Listening to her I am aware
that she has not once digressed into a discourse on the life
cycle of the mango, it's horticultural significance or even
mentioned the word bile. There is nothing biological about
her. Focusing again I find she is telling me that mangoes are
an excellent treatment for bee stings although she admits
she doesn't know how it works, only that it does. Hearing
this freshness of faith in the unknown, it resounds in my
ears like the roar of jets overhead. We stay here at La casa
de Montez the rest of the day eating mangoes and talking
about everything we see around us that is not the color
blue, and eventually, we sleep.
Awakened by the heat of the noon sun, my hands and
face sticky with the mango's juice and pulp, I notice
someone has placed a pair of boots by my side and, looking
over, I see that the Columbian woman also has a pair of
boots by her side and they are crimson red. I've never been
able to remember the literary color code of what means
what and so I decide to make my own and the first entry is
red which, for now, will mean dancing. Lying here thinking
of colors, but coming to no conclusions, I fall back asleep.
The sun has made another revolution and mornings in
Cartegena are visibly steamy as the dew and the juice and
the pulp dry on my face. The Columbian woman who had
risen before the steam comes out of the house wearing her
crimson boots and carrying a large tray of several different
mango concoctions and a pot of coffee made from beans,
she says, which she ground especially for me. As we eat
and drink she tells me that we will be going to visit her
grandfather who still lives next to the Rio Magdelena which
is not far but is a strenuous hike.
The farther we travel from Cartegena the thicker the
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