Mountains

The mountains are calling and I must go.
   - John Muir

Colombia

Sorry for the slight delay in posting. I’ve been in the land of very slow to non-existent internet for the last week or so. I believe we left off with me headed for Colombia. So… here we go!

First, a quick explanation of why I went to Colombia.  My lovely friend Lauren, who I’ve known since the first day of college, is teaching third grade at an English school in the city of Cali, Colombia.  She offered to let me visit, and who was I to say no?

I arrived in Cali after a day of flights that took me through Wichita, Dallas, Orlando, and Miami.  I was lucky enough to sit next to a frequent Cali visitor on my flight from Orlando to Miami.  He gave me the scoop on where he thought I needed to go while in town.  He also warned me that I was stepping into the plastic surgery capital of Colombia.  He told me, “There are no ugly women in Cali, only poor women.”  Once I knew what to look for, he couldn’t have been more correct!

Lauren picked me up from the airport and we headed back to her apartment.  She had to work the next day, so I spent Friday catching up on my laundry, taking a quick walk around the neighborhood, and enjoying the view of Cali from Lauren’s terrace. 

I finished off my day of leisure with a pedicure at the local spa.  Friday evening, I joined Lauren for her school’s talent show.  Her students were so cute and relatively talented.

Saturday morning we headed out early on a four hour trek to the mountain town of Salento.  We took a taxi to the bus station, then two busses from Cali to Salento.  Thanks to a few very large signs, we found our hostel, The Plantation House, and dropped our bags.  We grabbed some lunch, hiked a huge staircase to a hill overlooking the town, then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the numerous artisan shops along Salento’s main street.  We found lots of great souvenirs and Christmas gifts for our family and friends.

The next morning, we ventured back to the town’s main square for breakfast and jeep ride to the Valle de Cocora.  The guidebook warned, “there’s always room for one more in the jeeps.”  Lauren and I didn’t expect to be the ‘one more’.  We ended up standing on the back bumper holding on for dear life!! 

Good thing it was a short trip.  Upon survival arrival, we found a guide and a couple horses to help us make our way through the valley.   Fernando and his two trusty trail horses led us on a 6-hour walk through the valley and along (and sometimes through) a beautiful river. 

We enjoyed stunning views of the valley and surrounding mountains from a lookout near the top of the trail as well as a stop for a quick snack at a cute little house popular with humming birds.  By the end of the ride, we were covered in mud and a little bit wet from the rain and the river, but it was an experience I will never forget.

That evening, we finished up our shopping and enjoyed a nice dinner before collapsing into bed.  The next morning, we went on a tour of our hostel’s coffee plantation.  The owner explained the differences between types of coffee and then explained the entire process of growing coffee from planting the trees through roasting the coffee beans.  We saw rows and rows of coffee plants, along with bananas, pineapple, bamboo, and several other fruit trees while walking through the plantation. 

 Having seen all we came to see in Salento, we headed back to Cali just in time to enjoy dinner at one of Lauren’s favorite local restaurants, Crepes & Waffles.  Yummy!!

Lauren had to go back to work on Tuesday, so I ventured into Cali’s historic district for a look at the city’s first buildings.  My tour included stops in many of the city’s churches as well as a walk through La Merced, the monastery where the city was founded. 

The people in the museums at La Merced were kind enough to dig out a booklet of English explanations for the exhibits and even treated me to a guided tour of the museum’s art exhibits.  Such sweet people!  My path between churches led me along the river through central Cali.  Lining the path were a series of concrete cats painted in interesting patterns. 

I wrapped up my visit to downtown Cali with a long climb up San Antonio hill before catching the bus back to Lauren’s apartment.  A quick note about Cali’s bus system (the Mio): cleanest busses I’ve been on anywhere ever.  Period.

I got back to Lauren’s just in time for me to meet her housekeeper, a sweet older lady named Rosa.  Rosa worked her magic on our very muddy horseback riding shoes, cleaned Lauren’s apartment and made us a wonderful supper.  She’s awesome!  As if I hadn’t gotten enough exercise walking around town all afternoon, I spent two hours Tuesday night with Lauren at the local gym where she’s an aerobics instructor a few times a week.  Wednesday was a day of packing and rest for me with a quick trip to the store to pick up the last of my souvenirs. 

Very early on Thursday morning, I was treated to a ride to the airport by my very own chauffer (I still had to pay for it, but it was more comfortable than a taxi!)  While my experience on the way to Colombia was relatively easy, the trip home was anything but.  My flight from Orlando to Dallas was delayed, so I had to stay the night in Dallas.  I also had some damage to one of my souvenirs.  The airline has agreed to have it fixed, but it’s going to be a pain.  Despite the challenges of getting home, I had a wonderful trip.  I can’t wait to visit wherever Lauren goes next!

USA Week 3

Sorry for the long delay between posts.  It's been a busy couple of weeks, as you will soon see.

After my stop in Lincoln, I drove another 4 hours south to Wichita, KS.  I swapped rental cars then headed to a downtown Wichita bar to meet my former PEC co-workers for a traditional First Friday evening.  It was great to see and talk to so many of my friends again.  It’s amazing how much and still how little changes in a year.  I spent Friday night with my friend Melanie, her husband Todd, and their dog Kana.  Melanie and I used to get Kana, Sam, and Roxie together when we lived in Wichita, and Kana thought I would have my puppies with me when I arrived.  Unfortunately, she was wrong, but that didn’t temper her enthusiasm.

Saturday morning, I did a quick drive-by of our house just to confirm that it was still standing.  It’s still there – hard to tell what kind of shape it’s in from the outside.  Drive-by complete, I headed to my friend Sarah’s house to get ready for our friend Chad’s wedding.  The wedding was beautiful, as expected. 

The reception was short, but I still had plenty of time to catch up with many of my friends from our old church over cake and punch.  We sent the bride and groom off in their fully-decorated car, and then moved the party to a local restaurant for dinner.  I even got lucky enough to meet the mysterious and previously unseen Adam, Sarah’s boyfriend.

Sunday, I re-joined three of my friends from PEC for a girls’ night at Amanda’s house.  We ate fajitas, built a fire, and roasted marshmallows while catching each other up on the last year’s events.  The next day, the four of us spent the day shopping in cute little boutiques all around downtown Wichita before taking in the move Crazy, Stupid, Love. 

Tuesday was action-packed: a quick stop to say hi to my friend Kim, lunch with one of my former bosses at PEC, and a three-hour drive to Kansas City to see Chris’ sister Grace and her family.  I really enjoyed my time with Grace, Brandt and my two nephews Lucas and Adam.  I can’t believe how much the boys have grown in the last year.  The highlight of the visit was getting to eat lunch with Lucas at school!

Because of my itinerary was still up in the air when I made plane reservations for my next stop, I had to drive back to Wichita to catch and early-morning flight.  I squeezed in a great dinner with another of my former bosses at PEC before making sure everything was ready for my flight to Cali, Colombia.  Yes… you read that correctly… Colombia!  Wonderful pictures and stories about that trip to follow.

USA Week Two

My second week back in the US has been filled with almost as much excitement as the first week.  On Tuesday, I spent the day with my Mom.  We cleaned in the morning (yuck!) and rewarded ourselves with manicures and pedicures in the afternoon.  Bright and early Thursday morning, I headed to the airport to pick up a rental car for my drive south.  I stopped in Omaha and had lunch with two of my friends from college, Greg and Diane.  It has been several years since we’ve been able to get together, so it was a real treat to see them.

I continued south to Lincoln where I spent the afternoon with Chris’ sister, Joy, and her family (husband Jason and sons Sam and Simon).  I spent the evening visiting with Chris’ Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Al as well as Chris’ parents.  Friday morning, I headed back out to Joy’s house for a second attempt at a few family pictures (the little boys were in no mood the night before).  Simon never really came around to the whole picture idea, but as soon as I showed Sam the remote control on my camera, he couldn’t stop taking pictures of himself!

He even showed me how to take pictures with his camera. 

 I finished my drive to Wichita where I met up with many of my friends from PEC.  It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces!  I am really looking forward to the next week.  On the agenda: Chad and Thea’s wedding, spending the day with Sarah, girls’ night with Melanie, Amanda and Jenny, a trip to Kansas City to see Chris’ other sister, Grace and her family, more time with various friends in Wichita, and… the start of my trip to Columbia!!