Life is good. It is very good. Everyone got here without a hitch. Wyatt and I met them at the airport with two bottles of champagne and frozen water to keep it cold. It was amazing seeing them all file out and made me realize how much I had missed them all these last 3 months! We all piled into a bus and headed for Taganga hot and sticky with frizzy sweat hair, and big backpacks. It was pretty hilarious the reaction that 8 gringos recieve walking down the street!
We have been drinking steadily, swimming, laying on the beach, eating fresh shrimp coctail they mix up for you and serve with big saltine crackers, eating fruit and little else, drinking cold beers in the ocean, reading (Chealsea has already read an entire book), and staying up till dawn. We even have a beach dog buddy that follows us everwhere, even comes to sleep at the house sometimes who we have given the lovely name of Milktoast. She was dubbed that probably around 5 in the morning by me, Shannon, Graham and Wyatt because she has a small patch of very white fur on her neck that looks slightly like toast. Today is supposedly ¨dry¨as there is an election tomorrow, but we will see what that really means. We have been living off of 2 bottles of booze and 2 crates of beer a day, so this could be a blessing or a curse.....probably a blessing for our livers. We have rented a big house with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, 3 bathrooms, and an open air patio upstairs with 2 hammocks and the breeze off the ocean. Pretty nice. We made fish tacos last night that were so good. We went and bought the fish at dusk when the boats came in. I think tonight we are going to drag out matresses to the patio and watch movies outside.
It is beautiful here, everyone is finally relaxed and feeling very much on vacation. It is kind of weird to have Portland in Colombia, but I like it, and it has been interesting to have other people around all day to talk to and experience it all with, giving me and Wyatt a little space from each other.
I am going to find a wifi place to post pictures soon cause I have some priceless ones! Mom, will check flight status before you arrive, no prob! Have a great trip if I don´t write before you leave and will see sooo soon! Micah, we can´t wait for you to get here!!!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Lunch= camarones a la criolas y cuba libre....muy bien!!!
Colombians are some of the friendliest people ever. People call you friend in the street, and use "mi amore" as a term of endearment, even to some gringo travelers. The owner of our hotel carried my bag up 3 flights of stairs. The cabbie turned down payment untill he had gotten all our bags out of the car for us. The young guy in the van/bus from Taganga gave me his seat so I wouldn't have to sit in the sit that almost dangled out of the ever open van door. People shake our hands and ask us where we are from, and talk to us in rapid spanish, all smiles. I love the people here, and the scenery is not bad either. I just wish I handled extreme heat a little better. I get really sweaty and puffy, and red, and so bug bitten! But I think the incredible beaches, and food (fresh seafood is hard to beat! And eatting it on the beach under thatched palm roofs is the icing!), the people, and the fresh wind off the water make it so that I can't imagine being anywhere else. Tomorrow morning Wyatt and I are hoofing it out to the airport early morning with champagne on ice (as long as it lasts!) to meet up with 6 weary travelers from Portland. Then we will make our way to Taganga and set up house for the month we will be there. Really looking forward to seeing friends and relaxing beach side for a while!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Taganga is much prettier than Santa Marta, so all the pics are from there
On the cliff above Taganga.
This is where we spent the afternoon!!
Look how clear that beautiful Carribean water is!!
Santa Marta/ Taganga
Sunday was our last day in Cartagena. We walked to the beach that morning, through pretty empty streets, and past a church where they were playing "Ave Maria" inside, and it was loud and beautiful in the streets, and seemed like it was just for us. We ate watermelon and cantalope and watched the waves. We drank beers, and sat in the park. It rained really hard for about a half hour, and then the streets were dry about 15 minutes later and steaming like a sauna. It was about the hottest day yet.
Yesterday we took the bus to Santa Marta, a very pretty drive along the coast, and through small towns. Santa Marta is a port town, right on the water, long stretch of beach right where we are staying, and really close to Tayrona national park. Of course we are staying on prostitute row again, our streets being mostly comprised of bars and pool halls, and hookers. But our hotel is nice, the people are really nice, and we already have our neighborhood restaurant and bar established.
Last night we went out to commemorate the halfway point in our trip. We drank 18 (!!) beers, I put away 8 myself, which is the most beer I have had in one sitting since high school I think! They don't clear the beer bottles off the table, keeping tabs of how much you have byt he shear numbers. I was impressed by us. We met the really nice proprietor, Rueban, who was just so sweet. There was also this funny French guy named Bruno, who is a nurse here, lives in Bolivia, and vows he will never live in France again. He looked like a gollum, small and sinewy with not much hair, very animated, and liked to talk to the small stunted cats who loled around in chairs. He also showed us pictures of him teaching a young anteater ju jitzu.
Today, we took off for Taganga to check it out before all the homies come. It is about a 15 minute bus ride from SM. The buses here are anything from an old van, to a schoolbus painted up all crazy, to regular buses. But they deck them out!! There are crazy paint jobs, decals, stickers, etc. I saw a bus the other day all done up in blue paintings of the virgin mary, and said "BIG BOSS" really big on the front in stylized lettering. The one we rode today had green tassel/fringe tacked up around the windows, the doors are permanently open to swipe people up wherever they toss out their hand for a ride, "oh shit" handles all through the inside, for good reason with all the cliffside turns and high speeds they drive. The town was laid back, though lots of construction is going on, and street paving, the face of the town is definately changing with all the recent surge of tourism. Rumour is they are putting in white sand beaches. but there is still a good amount of laid back chill. The beach we ended up on after a cliff side hike with stunning views, we had almost to ourselves, and the water was amazing. We spent more time in the water than out. I think I am going to like hanging around here for a month.
Yesterday we took the bus to Santa Marta, a very pretty drive along the coast, and through small towns. Santa Marta is a port town, right on the water, long stretch of beach right where we are staying, and really close to Tayrona national park. Of course we are staying on prostitute row again, our streets being mostly comprised of bars and pool halls, and hookers. But our hotel is nice, the people are really nice, and we already have our neighborhood restaurant and bar established.
Last night we went out to commemorate the halfway point in our trip. We drank 18 (!!) beers, I put away 8 myself, which is the most beer I have had in one sitting since high school I think! They don't clear the beer bottles off the table, keeping tabs of how much you have byt he shear numbers. I was impressed by us. We met the really nice proprietor, Rueban, who was just so sweet. There was also this funny French guy named Bruno, who is a nurse here, lives in Bolivia, and vows he will never live in France again. He looked like a gollum, small and sinewy with not much hair, very animated, and liked to talk to the small stunted cats who loled around in chairs. He also showed us pictures of him teaching a young anteater ju jitzu.
Today, we took off for Taganga to check it out before all the homies come. It is about a 15 minute bus ride from SM. The buses here are anything from an old van, to a schoolbus painted up all crazy, to regular buses. But they deck them out!! There are crazy paint jobs, decals, stickers, etc. I saw a bus the other day all done up in blue paintings of the virgin mary, and said "BIG BOSS" really big on the front in stylized lettering. The one we rode today had green tassel/fringe tacked up around the windows, the doors are permanently open to swipe people up wherever they toss out their hand for a ride, "oh shit" handles all through the inside, for good reason with all the cliffside turns and high speeds they drive. The town was laid back, though lots of construction is going on, and street paving, the face of the town is definately changing with all the recent surge of tourism. Rumour is they are putting in white sand beaches. but there is still a good amount of laid back chill. The beach we ended up on after a cliff side hike with stunning views, we had almost to ourselves, and the water was amazing. We spent more time in the water than out. I think I am going to like hanging around here for a month.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cartagena
Where we live, the green and gold hotel Wyatt is walking towards
The second floor is a bit of a maze, with nice tiled walkways, a few open balconies, lots of plant life.
Old and new
The gates into the old town from Getsemani (our slightly seedy neighborhood)
Our time in Cartagena has been slow moving, pretty uneventful, and relaxing. I think we are getting a little restless...we have been moving for a while now, to be slowing down is taking a little time to adapt. But it is nice. Once we get to Taganga, are near the water and can swim every day and all that, I think we will be able to settle in.
Today was so hot, and my burns had the sun scared sting in them, that I hardly wanted to leave the comfort of the fan all day. But it gets a little claustrophobic in our small room, so we ventured out a few times. Cold showers are a godsend, when the water is on, which is every other day it seems. I truly love the evening times, and when the sun starts to fall on the horizen the city gets so pleasant. We have started going to the water to watch the sunset every night, yesterday with a bottle of cane liquor and some cold limonata, the limeade sold from huge vats of juice and ice from the street cart. So good, and the ocean breeze blowing through is intoxicating. We also tried a warm fresh arepa (sp?) with a smear of fresh goat cheese and butter. It had the potential to be so good, but the butter put it way over the top. We have gotten the store bought ones with our set lunches so many times though that are so bad, just to have one that was made fresh was pretty good.
We have started eating one meal a day in the afternoon, the rest of the time all that seems necessary is fresh fruit, water, and cold beer. I always forget how the heat messes with your hunger patterns, and you eat so much less and so much lighter.
I don't have much to report, we have been reading a lot, and walking through the city, which is beautiful and hard to get tired of.
Today was so hot, and my burns had the sun scared sting in them, that I hardly wanted to leave the comfort of the fan all day. But it gets a little claustrophobic in our small room, so we ventured out a few times. Cold showers are a godsend, when the water is on, which is every other day it seems. I truly love the evening times, and when the sun starts to fall on the horizen the city gets so pleasant. We have started going to the water to watch the sunset every night, yesterday with a bottle of cane liquor and some cold limonata, the limeade sold from huge vats of juice and ice from the street cart. So good, and the ocean breeze blowing through is intoxicating. We also tried a warm fresh arepa (sp?) with a smear of fresh goat cheese and butter. It had the potential to be so good, but the butter put it way over the top. We have gotten the store bought ones with our set lunches so many times though that are so bad, just to have one that was made fresh was pretty good.
We have started eating one meal a day in the afternoon, the rest of the time all that seems necessary is fresh fruit, water, and cold beer. I always forget how the heat messes with your hunger patterns, and you eat so much less and so much lighter.
I don't have much to report, we have been reading a lot, and walking through the city, which is beautiful and hard to get tired of.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Bocagrande in the distance, with the old fortifying wall and a tower in the foreground.
The marina
The wall
The fortress unexplored.Also, I just re-read what I wrote in the last post...."freshly caught veggies"....I need to proofread more often is something I tell myself often when I go back and read back over what I have written. Anyway, that one was pretty funny.
It rained this morning, which started the day off a little cooler with a breeze. It was nice. We walked down to the huge stone fortress, just outside of oldtown which Wyatt was telling me has an impressive maze of tunnels inside and cannons up on top. But, since he was last here they hiked the price of admission up from about $2 to $7 a person, which I felt was exorbitant (sp?), so we passed it by. I know it probably does not sound like all that much to go see an historic monument, but we have been hit up at these tourist stops so much along the way, at ridiculous tourist prices, and you can walk along the fortifying walls around much of the city for free, that it didn't seem worth it.
We walked down the Bocagrande, the area where the high rise hotels, and the small stretch of beach are that looks like Florida. We fantasized about beautiful tropical beaches we have been to, and ones we hope to go to. We have a bad habit of talking about the next trip before we are done with a trip. When we got really sweaty and thirsty we stopped to have beers at this cool, open air bar. We ate dinner at an Indian food restaurant and the food was plated so pretty I wanted to take a picture but we were in the bar area with a red light on and it made the food look uniform and weird. But the main thing is we had a salad. A real good salad with cucumber and tomato and red pepper, and carrots, with a nice vinnaigrette. It's been a while, veggies have been cooked or non-existant. There has been a pretty major craving. We have had tons of nice fresh fruit though, just easier to find good, peelable fruit, than veggies. I was looking at Delane's blog today and feeling so envious of their beautiful garden and Gavin's armfuls of freshly caught veggies, and remembering last summer when Wyatt and I could hardly keep up with the bounty out in the side yard garden that Joyce planted and was so fruitful! I really have missed that during this trip.
Rain started falling again as we walked back, up prostitute ally by our hotel, the music at the disco was starting up, the offers of cocaine were plentiful, and cabs honked at us from all sides.
We walked down the Bocagrande, the area where the high rise hotels, and the small stretch of beach are that looks like Florida. We fantasized about beautiful tropical beaches we have been to, and ones we hope to go to. We have a bad habit of talking about the next trip before we are done with a trip. When we got really sweaty and thirsty we stopped to have beers at this cool, open air bar. We ate dinner at an Indian food restaurant and the food was plated so pretty I wanted to take a picture but we were in the bar area with a red light on and it made the food look uniform and weird. But the main thing is we had a salad. A real good salad with cucumber and tomato and red pepper, and carrots, with a nice vinnaigrette. It's been a while, veggies have been cooked or non-existant. There has been a pretty major craving. We have had tons of nice fresh fruit though, just easier to find good, peelable fruit, than veggies. I was looking at Delane's blog today and feeling so envious of their beautiful garden and Gavin's armfuls of freshly caught veggies, and remembering last summer when Wyatt and I could hardly keep up with the bounty out in the side yard garden that Joyce planted and was so fruitful! I really have missed that during this trip.
Rain started falling again as we walked back, up prostitute ally by our hotel, the music at the disco was starting up, the offers of cocaine were plentiful, and cabs honked at us from all sides.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Last few from Bogota
The view in La Candaleria
Sweets and savories....
This is the look I get when I try to take his picture....he is a pretty good sport about it though.
Bogota at night.
In the cable car on the way downThe beginning of our vacation from our vacation....
We arrived with barely a hitch. That is, after arriving at the bus and being told there was no 4pm bus (which we had tickets to) that we were on the 6pm bus. Well this has happened a few times already were they don't sell enough of the earlier time bus so bump people to their later time bus. Wyatt wanted nothing to do with that so he returned our tickets and bought some on a different bus that left sooner, were cheaper, and on a better bus! The bus ride was pretty much a breeze, only 20 hours, a few movies, a dinner stop, calm quiet riders, comfortable seats, nothing to it! And the ride was really pretty. There was a surreal stretch where there was silent lightning every minute or so, big, bold lightning that lit up the sky w ith huge bolts, but no rain or thunder. And during that stretch we noticed in the huge dark fields, tons of tiny points of flickering lights. Our best guess was fireflies, but not sure. Anyway, was a strange but cool bit of night riding.
We made it to the outskirts of Cartagena around noon today and were met with a wall of humid heat getting off the strongly air conditioned bus. Then we had to jump on the shuttle into town which took about 45 minutes of clogged, dusty traffic. And then we were ushered into the agtes of the old town, and moved through the maze of streets lined with beautiful buildings, some old and crumbling, some new and clean, with the strong smell of flowers in the air. It feels so different in this kind of climate. People move differently, things go slower, less rush, people hanging out on their stoops because of the heat, people leaving their doors open so my voyueristic eyes can look in and guess at their lives. It is a really pretty city, and right on the water. Not the prettiest beach ever, but that sea air is still nice. We went and got beers and watched some Colombian street dance performers who were amazing! Really, the way these people move their bodies is beyond me. After dark is my favorite time in the tropics, it cools down just a little and hanging out just feels good. We ate watermelon on the patio for dinner, and now are laying under the fan in our room.
We made it to the outskirts of Cartagena around noon today and were met with a wall of humid heat getting off the strongly air conditioned bus. Then we had to jump on the shuttle into town which took about 45 minutes of clogged, dusty traffic. And then we were ushered into the agtes of the old town, and moved through the maze of streets lined with beautiful buildings, some old and crumbling, some new and clean, with the strong smell of flowers in the air. It feels so different in this kind of climate. People move differently, things go slower, less rush, people hanging out on their stoops because of the heat, people leaving their doors open so my voyueristic eyes can look in and guess at their lives. It is a really pretty city, and right on the water. Not the prettiest beach ever, but that sea air is still nice. We went and got beers and watched some Colombian street dance performers who were amazing! Really, the way these people move their bodies is beyond me. After dark is my favorite time in the tropics, it cools down just a little and hanging out just feels good. We ate watermelon on the patio for dinner, and now are laying under the fan in our room.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bogota
Today it is rainy and smoggy and muggy. We are getting on a bus in a few hours heading up to the coast and Cartagena! We are both so excited, for a few reasons. After this we will be on the coast of Colombia for over a month, longest bus ride being the one to Santa Marta which is 4 hours, which after all the looong distance buses we have been on will be a welcome change. To be in one place more than a week just sounds so awesome, we are both tired and ready for some sun and relaxation! And for freinds to arrive! In a little over a week we will have 7 (!) people coming to meet up with us in Santa Marta and Taganga to party it up for Shannon's birthday!! So looking forward to that! Actually, we are having quite a few visiters the second half of our trip. Will be awesome!
On a sour note, I had a scary experience last night. After getting food, Wyatt and I went to the grocery store to grab some beer and I decided I wanted a little sweet fix, so we got a brownie to share. It had almonds on it, but other than that the ingrediants sounded pretty tame. When we went to eat it I had the usual sensations I get from eating peanuts, ugh, and went to brush my teeth to try to prevent more of an allergy than I needed to by getting rid of any traces. That's when the regular uncomfortable itching in my mouth turned into a throbbing weird pain, and weird swelling sores started to appear on my tongue. This has never happened before in my life, so naturally I freaked out a little. Wyatt got me the Bennedryl, and I just had to wait it out. My tongue swelled up to about 3 times its normal size which along with being uncomfortable, made my speech difficult and very lispy. Wyatt also said my face swelled a little (pretty picture, huh?)The swelling went down a little in the next 2 or 3 hours I was awake, but then I passed out without much change. When I woke up this morning, thankfully, it was almost normal, but I was left with an uncomfortable question in my mind. Is the allergy I have had going on 30 years changing NOW and getting new symptoms? Or, am I allergic to something ELSE I don't know about? Either way, it was not listed on the ingrediants list and I have no way of knowing.
On the other hand, our time in Bogota has been pretty nice, we went up one of the hills on a cable car last night at sunset to watch the lights come on in the city. It was beautiful, and the city is huge and sprawling, and the veil of thick smog made it so none of my pictures really captured much while the sun was out. Oh well. It was still very nice and worthwhile, and the lights at night were lovely.
We also went to this crazy flea market on Sunday full of amazing amounts of old....stuff. Definatily some was crap, but there were some awesome things in the piles as well. It was also a nice change from the artisania that I was expecting.
We bought our plane tickets yesterday for the Central America leg at the end before we come home too, so most of our travel is mapped out and taken care of as well. It feels nice to have a loose plan, to have room to wiggle if we want to but have an idea of where we are headed. Not much else to report, just a good feeling about getting to our next destination, and entering the second phase of our trip. The 21st of September marks the half-way mark of our trip, which I can hardly believe!
On a sour note, I had a scary experience last night. After getting food, Wyatt and I went to the grocery store to grab some beer and I decided I wanted a little sweet fix, so we got a brownie to share. It had almonds on it, but other than that the ingrediants sounded pretty tame. When we went to eat it I had the usual sensations I get from eating peanuts, ugh, and went to brush my teeth to try to prevent more of an allergy than I needed to by getting rid of any traces. That's when the regular uncomfortable itching in my mouth turned into a throbbing weird pain, and weird swelling sores started to appear on my tongue. This has never happened before in my life, so naturally I freaked out a little. Wyatt got me the Bennedryl, and I just had to wait it out. My tongue swelled up to about 3 times its normal size which along with being uncomfortable, made my speech difficult and very lispy. Wyatt also said my face swelled a little (pretty picture, huh?)The swelling went down a little in the next 2 or 3 hours I was awake, but then I passed out without much change. When I woke up this morning, thankfully, it was almost normal, but I was left with an uncomfortable question in my mind. Is the allergy I have had going on 30 years changing NOW and getting new symptoms? Or, am I allergic to something ELSE I don't know about? Either way, it was not listed on the ingrediants list and I have no way of knowing.
On the other hand, our time in Bogota has been pretty nice, we went up one of the hills on a cable car last night at sunset to watch the lights come on in the city. It was beautiful, and the city is huge and sprawling, and the veil of thick smog made it so none of my pictures really captured much while the sun was out. Oh well. It was still very nice and worthwhile, and the lights at night were lovely.
We also went to this crazy flea market on Sunday full of amazing amounts of old....stuff. Definatily some was crap, but there were some awesome things in the piles as well. It was also a nice change from the artisania that I was expecting.
We bought our plane tickets yesterday for the Central America leg at the end before we come home too, so most of our travel is mapped out and taken care of as well. It feels nice to have a loose plan, to have room to wiggle if we want to but have an idea of where we are headed. Not much else to report, just a good feeling about getting to our next destination, and entering the second phase of our trip. The 21st of September marks the half-way mark of our trip, which I can hardly believe!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Pictures! On the road, and in Bogota!
The shoeshine business is alive and thriving here!
Tiny juice box of rum!
Bullfighting stadium.
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