Colombia Part 5: Smells of Cow

Let me start by saying that I spent a good hour in a cow pasture today, just chillin. After the city life in Medellin, we moved further south to check out the good life and apparantly relacing on lush green pastures is one of the things you do. We spent 2 nights in the mountainous city of Manizales (pop 300,000), just enough time to take a voyage to the 5th tallest volcano in the Colombian Andes, El Nevado del Ruiz. We made our way up to just shy of 5000 meters (roughly 15k feet for you Yankees lol) with stops along the way to learn about the land, the plants and the history of this glacier.

I am so taken by this country. For those of you who think Colombia is all about cocaine and the FARC, you are so wrong. As we delve deeper into the country we are seeing beautiful, lush lands filled to the brim with cows and horses, nature reserves, crystal clear rivers, snow-capped mountains and muchas Palmas de Cera (the national tree of Colombia at 60 meters high). The people here love their land and take care of it, it's a treasure they grew up respectimg and now...low and behold here people....have found a way to utilize the idea of sustainable growth that benefits their pocketbooks and the environment. What a concept! Stepping down from my soapbox now...and...okay down.

So Katie and I decided that la vida buena (the good life) was going to be in a town of just 7,000 further south down the Gringo Trail - welcome to Salento! A quant, colorful little city set among the hills and further surrounding mountains. It looks like a scene from a Hollywood movie; men and women saunter about in Colombian cowboy hats, jeans, boots and panchos while tourists and locals alike hang out of their bright balconies onto the plaza, enjoying the fresh air both day and night. Horses share the streets with pedestrians, few cars and lots of motobikes.

Our hostel (Estrellas sin Fronteras) is like a cleaner version of camping. You open the window from our room and you view the horse stables, upon approach you walk down a good 20 stairs made of old tires past chickens and cows, but the water is hot (yay!) and the kitchen has gas, works for me. We feel quite at home already and spent the day trekking all the way to the neighboring town of Cocora, where we hit some trails, bought some goods, layed in the cow pasture and enjoyed the over-the-top views that had you wanted to run through the hills like a scene from The Sound of Music. I didn't FYI, I can't get too dorky too often :)

That said, we will probably be here a bit longer. Tomorrow we are taking a good saunter over to a small coffee farm to get some samples and see how they do it here. I am in coffee heaven right now - missing Starbucks is so not an option here. Sorry Darla!

Colombia Part 4: Medellin...Medellin...Oh Medellin

Wow. Medellin. A beautiful city in so many ways. I am amazed each time we leave our hostel at how gorgeous this city can be when just less than 10 years ago the street were filled with death and the fiasco that was Pablo Escobar. I am enjoying talking to locals about the progress and were they see taking this city into the future.

The streets are clean because they have started recycle programs, put trash cans on every corner and created jobs in the garbage industry to have more boots on the ground so to speak. They are the first and only Colombian city to have a Metro line that takes you across town and out to certain barrios (neighborhoods). They have enforced street parking, people follow traffic signals and walk signs - I even saw bike lanes during one of our long walks. Amazing.

It really shows the resolve of these great people here; to be able to transform their government, eliminate loads of poverty (still lots, don't get me wrong) and clean up a city in virtual ruins is inspiring. Power to the people :) We found a great hostel in a middle class neighborhood full of tiendas, cafes, small business, hostels and a hop, skip and a stumble to the bar strip where the blend of various music types blends into the air.

I am so enjoying the views of tall, green, lush mountains (most full of beautiful cattle farms), brink buildings winding up the hillsides, colorful graffiti on the walls and art, art, art... For an even better view today we took to the skies in a paragliding little adventure. After heaving myself out of a plane this past year at 15,000 feet, running and jumping off the side of a hill was a walk in the park. While not the same thrill, natural high and pure rush I got from skydiving, the views were incredible and it was a highly relaxing ride. It's always nice to be up with the birds, although it has me craving more action.

Tomorrow we plan on exploring more of this grand city of nearly 2.3 million to see the botanical gardens, university districts and some great statues, murals and colorful parks Medellin has for us. While I think I could buy flat here and call it a day...the adventure must continue, so stayed tuned because I think it's gonna get even better!

Colombia Part 3: Geeks and such

What to share...what to share... Well, we arrived in Cartagena, got our accomodations settled and headed out for Indian food, because we like to live on the edge. We were the first into the restaurant located on a narrow, crowded street in the Cartagena hood of Getsemani, however our gringa scents must have attracted all the whities because it was soon crowded with many others. Wiffs of shit flowing in made the experience that much better. Mmmm....

En route to Cartagena from Santa Marta I gave my Facebook info to a 12 year old Cost Rican boy. Looking forward to seeing how that goes. Perhaps I can adopt hahaha

Pissed off the cab driving upon arriving something fierce. He really seemed put off by my insisting on the ride being 3 thousand pesos less than his origional price offered. Um, he didn't have to let us into his crap cab ya know! Funny though, I laughed when I told him the exact street and he gave me a sideways staredown for a good 10 seconds. What a turd.

Staying at the Hotel Holiday where I have been before and sharing a room with Katie and a lady from Australia named Mandi. She cracks us up with her wild stories and Aussie lingo. She looks like the typical seasoned travelor with her short gray hair, flowing dress over pants and assortments of great ethnic jewelry.

By the way, in case you didn't all know, it is totally socially acceptable as a travelor to rock the loungpaints and jogging shorts with your flip flops and fanny packs. You can in fact maintain your sexiness. It's true, I have found many a hot guy to be wearing this dork outfit and yet it doesn't phase me. In the U.S this nerd wouldn't get the time of day of course, but the foreign accents pops them from a 3 to a solid 7 on the scale, if you know what I mean - and I bet you do!

Off to soak in mudbaths of a volcano tomorrow before taking the night bus to Medellin - cannot wait to see the former drug capitol-turned artsy city! You will here more about this I guarantee.