My Plan

From Top to bottom, left to right: Los Llanos; Lago de Tota; Popayan; Cali; Eje Cafetero; Barichara; San Gil; Bogota, Villa de Leyva.

During the next month I'll be traveling throughout Colombia for Frommers and my plan is as follows:

1.) Spend a few days exploring Bogota.

2.) Take a bus out to Bogota to Villa de Leyva, a really beautiful colonial town.

3.) Take a bus to El Lago de Tota, write a box review for El Pozo, a hotel I've heard a lot of good things about.

4.) Take a bus to San Gil, do some water-related things, maybe some hiking; it's known for being outdoorsy.

5.) Go to Barichara, supposedly the most beautiful town in Colombia, explore nearby towns if we have time.

6.) Go to Villavicencio and Los Llanos for the International Cowboy Festival which I'm sure will be very exciting. (It can get pretty rainy here in October though, so I don't know if we'll get a chance to see the supposedly very beautiful sunsets)

7.) Back to Bogota for a few days.

8.) Take a bus to Medellin, do the hotels/restaurants there, visit with the ladies I used to work with if I have time and money.

9.) Explore the coffee growing region (If I can find traveling partner).

10.) Take a bus or plane down to Cali, visit with Alexandra for a few days.11.) Take a bus to Popayan, include a one-page box review of this city in Frommers.

12.) Back to Bogota.

I'd like to go to Parque Tayrona and Amazonas over Christmas break if I'm able to find a job here. So, if you are free or want to take a vacation after October 15th, please let me know. I am currently accepting travel companion applications.

Journal of A residence and Travel in Colombia

I am reading this book by an Englishman named Charles Stuart Cochrane, written between 1823 and 1824. My uncle recommended it to me and it's pretty entertaining, especially as I'm moving to Colombia so I will probably be seeing things through his eyes when I first get there.

Some of Cochrane's observations:

"The greater part of the civilized Indians of Colombia has been, and still is, a class totally degraded." This is still true, I'd say.

"Every politcal point is discussed with much animation and gesture; but nothing unpleasant arises from this freedom of debate, where every man expresses his sentiments without offence, for they have a mild temper naturally and too much good sense to quarrel for difference of opinion." This observation seems to have been premature. Have not met many people who would describe Colombians as mild tempered.

"They have no idea of giving a quiet dinner party in our English style; if they consider themselves obliged to give a dinner to a stranger, they invite a great number to meet him; load their tables with dishes, and spend in one day what would support their own family a month at least. " I think this still rings somewhat true.

"Kindness of heart is a characteristic of a Colombian, who will put himself to great inconvenience to assist his friend..." Also think this is a pretty accurate observation.

"The majority of women are by no means handsome; they certainly have fine eyes and dark hair, -- but neither features , complexion, nor figure are good when compared to those of Europe. Some have, when young, little bloom on their cheeks, but in general, a sallow or Moorish cast of face meets the eye." He doesn't find Colombian women attractive, but luckily for me:

"The men, taken as a body, are far handsomer than the women, and their dark complexions more agreeable to the eye."

So that is what I've learned from Cochrane so far. I will see how much has changed in Bogota and Colombia in the last 200 years...

Colombia in Three Days!

On Wednesday morning I will be leaving for Colombia and will be there for an undetermined amount of time. It all depends on if I get a job after I finish the Frommer's project. I am excited to be going and am really hoping to visit a lot of Boyaca and Santander this time around. My uncle gave me this book about a 19th century English traveler making his way through Colombia, so perhaps I will use that as my guide! I love small towns and the tackier the better, so if anyone out there has any good suggestions, just let me know.

My record-setting tan (personal record) has nearly faded to pre-Panama levels and will probably continue to diminish in the cloudy, cold mountain climate of Bogota. The good news is winter clothes is much nicer than summer clothes so I will be much better dressed in Bogota than Panama City.

Life without a car in the American suburbs feels backward and wrong. As there is nothing to do within walking distance of Belle Pond Farm, my week days have been filled with Anthony Bordain, Samantha Brown, Dr. Phil, Discovery Channel and netflix movies. This time of unemployment (or between job transition period sounds better)and car-lessness has also given me an opportunity to explore my artistic side, which resulted in a Bavarian style birdhouse for my aunt and five Moroccan-style wooden plates, one for each person in my family. I am also currently working on three Moroccan style mirrors for my other aunt. Meals mark the passage of time, so I look forward to making my father lunch with unnatural enthusiasm. One can only go on so many walks. After walking around the neighborhood 72 times, you realize that everything is the same as it's always been and aside from noticing that one of your neighbors got a little lazy with their yard this year, you better have enough to think about because your surroundings aren't going to entertain you.

Luckily, it's really only the daytime that gets a little dull. I've gone out quite a bit, traveled to Vancouver a few weekends ago, went to the Farmer's market with Rasha yesterday, had a little going away party yesterday with my family and some friends, got to see Stone's new place, went on a few bike rides and went camping. So I can't really complain (even though I just did) but you don't realize how much freedom a car allows until you don't have one.

Next time I blog it will probably be from Colombia, from my grandmother's apartment. I love being around all the old ladies because they think I'm so young and have all the time in the world.

Wear a Helmet

Yesterday I was happily riding my bike on my usual path, thinking how well I've been doing with daily exercise and how much I love my bike. Well, there were a bunch of spriklers watering the grass and trying to avoid getting wet, I braked suddenly on a downhill and flew over my handle bars, landing face first on the pavement.

So now the right side of my face is scraped and bruised and I have my first black eye. Not bad, I guess, to go 25 years without a black eye! My right leg is swollen and I can't sit down, bend my leg or put my weight on it...I look a little bit like Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notredame, but with a limp.

Luckily, yesterday I spent a lovely day with my grandmother, which, of course, inovolved a trip to the craft store where I stocked up on wooden things to paint. It's as if I knew I'd need something to keep me entertained for the next week or so. Being the housewife that I've become, I enjoy crafts, along with cooking and talk shows, but not cleaning, so many of you out there will soon be receiving painted wood gifts, such as jewelery boxes, bird houses, platters and plates.

I guess I won't be hiking or biking too much this weekend on our camping trip (luckily it hurts to eat so I don't have to worry about overindulging in chips and marshmellows). Maybe I'll just go fishing now that I'm an expert and catch the night's dinner while everyone else is out enjoying the outdoors :(. I hope I don't still look the way I look now when I go to Colombia; it's hard enough getting anyone in Colombian tourism to talk to you because they're so suspicious of everyone, but if I show up with a black eye, swollen face and limp, I don't think that will help.

Wonderful Vancouver Vacation!

Just got back from excellent three-day Vancouver vacation with Emily and Rasha, both of whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, so I was doubly excited about seeing Vancouver and seeing my friends. I think it was actually one of the best vacations I’ve been on: No arguments, good food, lots of activities and going out!

Vancouver is kind of a mix of Portland and Seattle and is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a Pacific-Northwest city: Mountainous, cloudy, edgy, druggy, strong Asian influence (lots of sushi!), outdoorsy and fun in a laid-back kind of way. Rasha and I talked about it and came to the consensus that we’re just too mainstream and not edgy enough for Pacific Northwest cities, although they do make excellent vacation spots.

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been in Panama for the past five months, but Vancouver seemed particularly expensive…a glass of wine cost about $9 and the cheapest bus ticket $2.50. The only thing that was inexpensive was sushi, which appeared to outnumber burger joints 10 to 1. I haven’t gone out in the U.S. for a long time, so maybe those are just normal prices and my perception is skewed by my time abroad.

On our first full day, we walked around the city and Rasha and I did some shopping while Emily visited the Vancouver Art Museum. I insisted on wearing four inch heals even though there was a heel nail poking the sole of my foot, but after about an hour of that, I realized the magnitude of my mistake and bought the first cheap flat shoes I found. So as of 1pm Thursday afternoon, I became about a foot shorter than both of my travelling companions in all pictures.

In the afternoon, we rented bikes and rode around Stanley Park, Vancouver’s version of Central Park, and it was a really amazing bike ride…lots of water, mountains and beaches. I was in biking heaven. Later that night we had a drink at our hostel where we were joined by a 70 year old man who informed us that men can have purses too and showed us his. He then started talking about the Canadian army’s role in Vietnam and let us know that 10 percent of Canada’s navy is made up of women. In a hotel full of mostly 20-something year old men, our group of three managed to attract a 70-year old grandpa with a purse. So anyway, we left the old guy pretty fast as he was pretty weird and went dancing for a couple hours at Hip-hop/soul/funk night at a local bar, which felt pretty much like your standard Adams Morgan bar, same kind of crowd and everything.

The next day, after a most educational and enriching trip to the Museum of Anthropology, where we saw a bunch of totem poles (see picture below), we headed to Wreck Beach, a fine nudist beach. The first thing to catch my eye was a young groom-to-be running laps around the beach with assless briefs and about a dozen cans of beer tied to his underwear. I guess that’s some kind of pre-wedding ritual in Canada. There were lots of naked old people and very few naked young people. Funny how the old ones like getting naked more than the young ones. We spent the evening drinking whisky at a very nice-pub like place with long benches and excellent ambience. The last couple of months in Panama really ruined my low tolerance, so a night out is no longer as cheap as it used to be, which is a real shame when one lacks money, which I do. Vancouver is apparently the Hollywood of the north and Rasha wanted to see some celebrities so we headed to Elixer after the pub, which is supposed to be ground zero on the celebrity-spotting scene. Unfortunately, they all decided to stay home that night.

And here I am, back in D.C., at least for the time being. Camping in southern Virginia next weekend! I am still looking for travel companions to Cartagena/Medellin, so spread the word…

Vancouver and Other Observations

Tomorrow I go to Vancouver with Rasha and Emily. Well, I'll meet them there and come back on Saturday, so long as there's room on the flight. I'm not sure if I should fly via Chicago or Denver -- if Iget stuck in either city because the planes are full, I think I'd rather explore Denver on a mini vacation. I am very excited as I've heard that Vancouver is a really nice city, and we'll be there Thursday and Friday, so we'll have an opportunity to enjoy the nightlife. I liked Portland and Seattle, and Vancouver is supposed to be even nicer. I will also be able to wear more creative outfits I wasn't able wear in Panama because it was so hot, and hot cities aren't generally on the cutting edge of fashion. Not that I am either. I haven't seen Rasha in almost six months, so I'm extremely excited to see her! Maybe I will run up to her like in the movies and she'll twirl me around and everyone around us will cheer at our emotional reunion.

Today I biked to Fairfax Corner -- it was a serious, 7 mile uphill ride and I was extremely proud of myself because I could feel the burn. I was only going about 8 miles an hour most of the way, but still, being the lone biker en route, I kept thinking how impressed the passing cars must be with my high level of fitness and endurance. However, when I arrived at Caribou, I felt an uncontrollable urge to order a high rise caramel cooler that, it turns out, has 430 calories. I'll have to bike at least 15 more miles to burn that off. But I've been dreaming of a frappaccino for weeks now, so at least I've satiated that craving.

Fairfax Corner is pretty nice; there's quite a few these planned community type things spread across Fairfax County. You have miles of highway and unimaginative strip malls dotting the landscape, and then you have this little town square type thing every now and then with upscale boutique shops, a nicer than average movie theater, European style street signs, attractive brick buildings and plenty of midrange restaurants with lots of outdoor seating. I guess we're all attracted to this layout because it makes us feel like we have something authentic and quaint, but when you think about it, it doesn't exactly work as a planned community because the nearest grocery store is a couple miles away and beyond the .25 area of the town square, you have to drive everywhere. And another thing that's funny is that the people who work at these coffee shops like Caribou and Starbucks are the kind who dye their hair black and have lip piercings and pride themselves on their extreme individuality, seemingly without realizing they're working for massive chains in which each store must offer the exact same thing as the other and stick to the same layout/atmosphere/ambience in order to promote a united, well-recognized front.

But even if the idea of being able to walk everywhere doesn't quite pan out with this relatively new town square idea, it's still nice to have something pretty once in a while. I think it's a pretty American thing that nostalgia and quaintness is thoroughly planned out and created to the last detail to mimic something else. But I was also thinking that the U.S. is a pretty nice place to live if you like stability, moderately friendly people, convenience, dependability and opportunity. I think there are places with happier people, a higher standard of living, more social services and more efficiency, but I think that the U.S. probably has one of the best overall standards of living. Maybe it doesn't win in any one category, but it's near the top in most, so it comes out pretty well. There's a lot of waste and excess, but I think that's a result of relatively few people per square mile in a very, very large country. I wonder if in the end I'll end up back here or if in the end I'll sacrifice some stability and convenience to live in a place with happier people. Colombia does, supposedly, have the second happiest people in the world....