So much seems to have happened since my last e-mail! Earthquakes, mice, face swelling...Let me just tell you all about it.
Backing up a few days, we left the beauty of Solento to experience the salsa dancing capitol of the world, Cali. I have to be honest here, Cali has little to offer during the daytime hours - it's muggy, kinda dirty, and reminiscent of most large scale urban sprawl cities I have had the pleasure to experience in my life. However, nightfall creates a vibrant scene of salsa dancing that wouldn't have Baby sitting in a corner if you know what I mean. If you don't know what I mean, get up on your pop culture people and rent Dirty Dancing.
A couple days of a hot city and we popped off to see a small village by the name of San Cipriano. Now the people of this little place are ingenious because there is only one way in an out of this crazy place, and that's by railway. You may be wondering how that is ingenious since we have been using rail for years right? Well, there is no train. These dark chocolate colored people (oh, I said that) have rigged up motorcyles to plank boards and toat you throught the jungle down the tracks at amazing speeds. An experience for sure.
Safe and sound, and for sure the only gringos in the town of just 700, we settled into our little hotel (El David) for some good R&R, hahaha. Soooo....first night I wake up to a rustling sound, turn on my flashlight and discover I have a little mouse friend in my room - yay! After befriending a cat, waking up Katie and trying to convince two little Colombian girls to check my room for said mouse, I just go back to bed.
The reaction of the hotel guy was the best, he thought me crazy to care about a harmless mouse and explained it like this, "it's just like Mickey!" I should have told him I am more the Donald Duck type.
Night two arrives after lazy swims in waterfalls and long UNO competitions with local kids who just love Katie and I for some reason. I just close my book an drift into sleep when all of a sudden the earth starts moving. Am I in L.A?! Nope, but yes, it's a rather nice sized earthquake we are having. Local reaction the next day with breakfast lady? "No big deal, everyone is fine, it happens. Did you want milk in your coffee?" and conversation done. Great attitude! However, my North American self was kinda hoping for Newschannel 8 to cover the story endlessly for weeks. No such luck.
After a few days of mice, an earthquake and my repeatedly telling people I don't have nor want a boyfriend, we take the track out of town and head towards the grand ol' Pacific Ocean. However, we have no info on where to go or stay because tourism is still nothing much in this area. I find that just following the flow and listening to locals advice works well so that's how we end up in Juanchoco. Still not sure if this is an island or a jetty as it doesn't appear on my map, we took an hour boatride to our little oasis for a few days.
We splurged on a two night ''all-inclusive'' (soooo not Sandals) hotel with ocean views, a pool, air-conditioning and a T.V. (Ahhh!) so we could relax in comfort a few days, and that's what we did. Nothing. Pure relaxation while I waited for the swelling in my face to ease; thanks to some lovely mosquitos that feasted on my eyelides, nose, forehead and cheek all night. I mean, thanks mosquitoes, my goal was to look like I had elephantitis while at the beach.
Thankfully by the time night fell on our final day I was back to normal, whatever that is. Back to reality of sorts, we made it to Popayan! Looking forward to exploring this Spanish Colonial city, taking in some nightlife, doing some bike rides, maybe mount another horse and perhaps enjoy a volcano or two before trudging forward in our little adventure. Colombia, you just get better and better.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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!
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!
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.
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.
Colombia Part 2: Lazy Tagangan Days
Life here on the Caribbean Coast is simply amazing, 'simply' being the operative word here. There's no rushing, people saunter about happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of big city life - or they are all stoned - but either way, it's amazingly relaxing. No pressure, no schedule, no time.
In fact, the other night a bunch of us were hanging out in the communal rooftop bar/lounge area here at the Oso Perezoso, playing games, listening to music, talking, drinking....you know...when Katie and I were asked if we were going out with them to the disco down the street. First thing I did, the damn American I am, was to look at my watch. 1am. Katie and I exchange glances like, well, it is late perhaps we should go to bed....when the token Aussie of the group (a commonplace thing in travel to have) asks us, "Why not? You have big plans tomorrow or something?" Hmmm....do I?
I laugh and say, "I have to go to the ATM...." While a trek to the ATM does mean a bus ride to the next town over and the often unneeded worry of getting robbed because you just pulled out a wad of cash equal to a months pay or more for some locals, it's not an excuse to not go dance to local beats while on holiday. We all got a kick out of this for some nerdy reason because all of us starting laughing about what a lame excuse that is. I mean, back home if a friend invited me out I would say, "Sounds like fun, but I have to go to the ATM today." However, with travel in off the beaten path locations this can be a bit of an adventure. Anyways, this was just a good reminder to let go, relax, go with the flow [man] and just enjoy this. Oh, we did go out by the way and danced our asses off until about three in the morning, in case you were wondering.
So while some of you might think it sounds like we are doing a whole lot of nothing here in Taganga, let me ensure you that we are. That's what people come here to do! Museums? Nah, I'll wait until the city for historical learning. Do my hair? Be productive in some way? Why?! It's the beach people. Hikes to seasonal waterfalls, lazy strolls along the beach walk, people watching (which is awesome here what with the mix of city vacationers, Argentinian clowns, local fisherman, daytime drunk gringos and street dogs) and reading a book in the hammock is productive enough for me right now. It's no wonder people come here to visit, come back often or just never leave.
This is all about to semi-end as we leave for Cartagena on Wednesday to explore one of the most beautiful big Caribbean cities I have ever scene. I cannot wait for Katie to fall in love with it as I did before. Until then, we will enjoy the lazy days of nothing but good conversation and meeting new friends.
In fact, the other night a bunch of us were hanging out in the communal rooftop bar/lounge area here at the Oso Perezoso, playing games, listening to music, talking, drinking....you know...when Katie and I were asked if we were going out with them to the disco down the street. First thing I did, the damn American I am, was to look at my watch. 1am. Katie and I exchange glances like, well, it is late perhaps we should go to bed....when the token Aussie of the group (a commonplace thing in travel to have) asks us, "Why not? You have big plans tomorrow or something?" Hmmm....do I?
I laugh and say, "I have to go to the ATM...." While a trek to the ATM does mean a bus ride to the next town over and the often unneeded worry of getting robbed because you just pulled out a wad of cash equal to a months pay or more for some locals, it's not an excuse to not go dance to local beats while on holiday. We all got a kick out of this for some nerdy reason because all of us starting laughing about what a lame excuse that is. I mean, back home if a friend invited me out I would say, "Sounds like fun, but I have to go to the ATM today." However, with travel in off the beaten path locations this can be a bit of an adventure. Anyways, this was just a good reminder to let go, relax, go with the flow [man] and just enjoy this. Oh, we did go out by the way and danced our asses off until about three in the morning, in case you were wondering.
So while some of you might think it sounds like we are doing a whole lot of nothing here in Taganga, let me ensure you that we are. That's what people come here to do! Museums? Nah, I'll wait until the city for historical learning. Do my hair? Be productive in some way? Why?! It's the beach people. Hikes to seasonal waterfalls, lazy strolls along the beach walk, people watching (which is awesome here what with the mix of city vacationers, Argentinian clowns, local fisherman, daytime drunk gringos and street dogs) and reading a book in the hammock is productive enough for me right now. It's no wonder people come here to visit, come back often or just never leave.
This is all about to semi-end as we leave for Cartagena on Wednesday to explore one of the most beautiful big Caribbean cities I have ever scene. I cannot wait for Katie to fall in love with it as I did before. Until then, we will enjoy the lazy days of nothing but good conversation and meeting new friends.
Colombia Part 1: The Arrival
We arrived after a loooong flight into Cartagena around 2:35pm, walked a block to hop a van to Barranquilla, which of course meant total confusion on price and destination. Why? I don't know, it's just always that way here. Commence the crazy, death defying, go-kart race of a van ride. Here, tailgaiting, break slamming and illegal passing that misses creating human road kill is the norm. Also a bit fun....in a sick way.
Van 2 proves better, as in plush seats and warm darkness that provokes sleep. So sleep I did, and not just due to exhaustion bit because I had to pee, bad. Sleep just helped me forget that fact. Taxi ride after van took us up the hill and over to Taganga. Greeted by cool winds we finally had arrived at our first destination.
After quick hellos to Brit and Nathan we trudged down to the main strip along the Caribbean Sea for some eats. Settled on my fav pizza lady. Pizza? In Colombia? Oh yes, all handmade freshness that makes your tastebuds go crazy. Since this isn't a food review I'll stop there.
Tired and kinda grimmy from a near 24 hour travel we crawled into bed - I called the top bunk - and slept a solid 9 hours. Well, the 6am sunrise and massive amount of birds did have us briefly up, but nonetheless we slept great. Breakfast of fresh fruit, granola, juice and Colombian coffee provided fuel for our little hike to see a great view of Playa Grande, Fisherman's Beach and the Tagangan Bay before we took a nice dip in the sea, stared at bare-assed Colombian women in bikinis and Colombian families taking in the sun on their January breaks at the beach.
Lunch of homemade soup filled with delicious local veggies and chicken and then a little siesta. Sundown shopping trip for necessities: Coke, lime, rum and arrepas. Oh - we also indulged in a deep fried egg covered in deep fried breading, followed by deep fried potato with, oh yes, hot dog and hard boiled egg. Won't be repeating that one!
We will be hanging here in Taganga enjoying the relaxed pace of life before jetting off to Cartagena and then....you'll have to wait and see!! Okay, off to enjoy the Tagangan night with friends - new and old!
Van 2 proves better, as in plush seats and warm darkness that provokes sleep. So sleep I did, and not just due to exhaustion bit because I had to pee, bad. Sleep just helped me forget that fact. Taxi ride after van took us up the hill and over to Taganga. Greeted by cool winds we finally had arrived at our first destination.
After quick hellos to Brit and Nathan we trudged down to the main strip along the Caribbean Sea for some eats. Settled on my fav pizza lady. Pizza? In Colombia? Oh yes, all handmade freshness that makes your tastebuds go crazy. Since this isn't a food review I'll stop there.
Tired and kinda grimmy from a near 24 hour travel we crawled into bed - I called the top bunk - and slept a solid 9 hours. Well, the 6am sunrise and massive amount of birds did have us briefly up, but nonetheless we slept great. Breakfast of fresh fruit, granola, juice and Colombian coffee provided fuel for our little hike to see a great view of Playa Grande, Fisherman's Beach and the Tagangan Bay before we took a nice dip in the sea, stared at bare-assed Colombian women in bikinis and Colombian families taking in the sun on their January breaks at the beach.
Lunch of homemade soup filled with delicious local veggies and chicken and then a little siesta. Sundown shopping trip for necessities: Coke, lime, rum and arrepas. Oh - we also indulged in a deep fried egg covered in deep fried breading, followed by deep fried potato with, oh yes, hot dog and hard boiled egg. Won't be repeating that one!
We will be hanging here in Taganga enjoying the relaxed pace of life before jetting off to Cartagena and then....you'll have to wait and see!! Okay, off to enjoy the Tagangan night with friends - new and old!
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