Back to Europe-- Amsterdam

So after a few years away from Europe, the time has finally arrived for me to find my way back. I have a lot of friends over there that I have been waiting to see, and I am also excited to see a few places I have never been before. This trip will also be a little different because I will be traveling with someone for the first time, at least for the first few weeks, my cousin Tyler.

After a long day of flying, we finally arrived in Amsterdam, our first stop along the way.

It really is a bike city here. It seems like everyone is on a bike and that there are as many bike lanes as there are car lanes. You do have to really pay attention when walking around though, and the complex system of bike lanes seems to put pedestrians in the constant crossfire of schoolgirls riding by, middle-aged men bringing groceries home on the back of their bikes, and the leisurely recreationists just out enjoying the sun. Within our first few hours, both my cousin and I had narrowly missed being taken out by enthusiastic Dutch cyclists.

We visited Rijksmuseum, the National Museum, where we were treated to 15 or so paintings by the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt. His play with light and dark in his images is still very awesome to see and brings a realism to his paintings that I haven’t found in the works of too many other artists. After the museum, both Tyler and I felt as if we were about to collapse from exhaustion, having basically been awake for the last 27 hours, with only 3-4 hours of sleep separating us from 72 sleepless hours.

After a resuscitating 3-4 hour nap, we almost felt normal again and decided to head out to see Amsterdam at night, and that meant one thing—the Red Light District. Okay, so up until this point, Amsterdam seemed to be pretty typical of a lot of European cities—many old alleys and streets full of little shops and eateries, tons of people walking the streets all the time, and old buildings and fantastic architecture dominating the skyline. Well, the Red Light District definitely separated Amsterdam from the rest of the European cities I have visited, in one way or another. Nowhere else have I seen half-naked girls sitting and standing in shop windows, (illuminated by red lights of course) smiling at passersby and inviting them to come in for a visit. Sex was selling all over the place, with erotic shops and boutiques, as well as strip clubs and places advertising live peep shows lining both sides of the old canalways. In fact, there was even your typical Erotic Museum and Sex Museum, both of which were strictly for educating the public on the history of both eroticism and sex. I personally did not have the opportunity to sample these two museums, but I am sure that the displays were quite interesting, and the interactive movies were even more entertaining.

It was very surreal walking through these streets, and then realizing how different that it was from good old Utah! Well, I guess my cousin couldn’t ever have as much culture shock as he must have experienced there. It was very interesting even for me. The prevalence of cafes is also astounding, especially considering that every one also promotes itself as a “smoke club” where you can buy marijuana and smoke it there. I’m sure that if you are a pothead, Amsterdam would be close to Nirvana for you, but since I don’t think I exactly fall into that category, it was just very interesting to see and didn’t really affect me in any way. Oh, that is except for the ever-present smell of weed permeating every street and alley. At times, I almost felt that I was getting high just by being there. That feeling definitely started to wear on me after a day or two.

After a decent night’s sleep finally, we took a guided tour around the city, which ended up being very entertaining and informative at the same time. We learned about the history of the city, from its founding, to its development through the Dutch East Indies Company, and then the occupation of the city by Nazi forces during the second World War. Some of the most interesting things to see were how some of the buildings built around the canals were slouching into crooked positions because of the fact that their foundations were sinking in the swamp-like ground below them. The famous Febo chain of stores was something different. Here you can purchase on-the-spot hot snacks, sandwiches, and anything else that you might want when you have the munchies after passing the time in one of the cafés. However, the difference is that you buy them out of coin-operated vending machines. Neither my cousin nor myself dared to try the aforementioned snacks, for fear a good portion of our trip would be spent on the toilet. We also learned that one of the favorite pastimes of drunken Amsterdamers is to try to find bicycles that aren’t locked up (there are over 85,000 bicycles stolen within the city limits each year!) and to throw them into one of the several canals in the city, trying to see which ones create the biggest splashes. In fact, this is even occasionally done with those little Smartcars, since you can almost literally give them a heave and they will roll along, right down into the canal. Hmm, I know that wouldn’t be funny for the owner, but I would kind of like to see that.

It is still remarkable to me how many close encounters with cyclists I see daily. It seems like the locals on the bike are playing some game that rewards them for mowing down tourists. They are pretty good at at least scaring us with their kamikaze riding. And scooters being able to zoom down the bike lane? Horrible idea! Having someone cruising at 25 miles per hour basically along the sidewalk is just asking for trouble.

One highlight of our trip to Amsterdam was our visit to Ann Frank’s house. This was a little weird because the exterior is all surrounded by metal and glass, almost like it is in a cage. No pictures were allowed inside, unfortunately. The fact that the family hid in that space for 2 years is downright amazing and something I can’t even imagine. Perfectly covered by a bookcase, the hiding rooms were much bigger than I thought they would be, but still, a very crammed, little place that would drive anyone crazy. The experience was very cool, and I especially liked this large photo of Otto Frank, Ann’s father, looking back into the attic 5 or 6 years after Ann had died in Auschwitz. What a powerful photo, with his mind seemingly transformed back in time to the hardest difficulties he would ever face. The experience definitely sparked my interest to read Ann Frank’s Diary, which I learned is the second-most translated book in the world, just after the Holy Bible.

Another highlight of mine was seeing the incredible number of famous Dutch tulips present in the city. I love tulips and it was great being able to see bright red and gold tulips all over the place. I am sure that if I had a girlfriend here, she would be drowning in tulips every week, just because I couldn’t help myself.

So here are my final thoughts of Amsterdam, before heading off to Bruges on a train tomorrow. Amsterdam is unlike any other city I have been to before. The fact that prostitution and marijuana are legal here creates an environment I would almost compare to Las Vegas. If these were things I enjoyed, I would probably think that this place was amazing. However, I generally find that the types of people Amsterdam attracts are the kinds of people I would rather not mingle with too much. The canals and bike-friendly environment of Amsterdam are really cool and it would probably be a pretty cool place after you get out of the tourist areas, but we didn’t have enough time to really explore the city like I wanted. I think that Amsterdam is just so hyped up that you can’t help but to have very high expectations of this place. I know I did. However, when I compare it to many of the other cities I have visited throughout Europe, I find that there are several other cities in which I would rather spend my time. It was nice seeing the city that is so famous, or maybe infamous, around the world, but now it is time to go see another city that I suspect will be a little more to my liking- Bruges, Belgium.

Finishing Up on the Coast

Well everyone, as most of you know, I have returned back to Salt Lake City from Colombia now, but have yet to write my final blogpost about my time on the coast. So after getting reacquainted with the snow and cold here, I am finally ready to do so. So here it goes....

After my amazing week in San Gil, I flew to Santa Marta, a large city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Considering the incredible times I had in the smaller, less-touristy towns of Santander and Boyaca, I decided to stay out of Santa Marta for the most part, and spend my time in Taganga, a little fishing village about 15 minutes from the big city. Wow, this decision turned out to be a great one!
Taganga is a cozy little fishing village located in a valley between mountains, settling into the coastal landscape with its own bay. It brought back a few memories of Madagascar and the fishing villages I lived in there, although those were much poorer, less developed, and "true" fishing villages in the sense that the only thing that occurred in these villages was fishing. Anyway, after walking around the little town for awhile, carrying my backpack and asking the locals about all the possible places to stay, an older gentleman directed me to a really cool hostel overlooking the bay. The hostel was run by a friendly American couple, and offered a sweet rooftop terrace and bar with hammocks and everything else. Like all places along the Caribbean coast, Taganga was pretty hot and the rooftop terrace proved to be a lifesaver, especially with the famous Taganga winds blowing all afternoon and evening. The sunsets from the harbor were also very beautiful.
While in Taganga, I met a very nice lady who ran a little eating establishment out of her home. I ended up eating there every night I spent in the little village, and also met her two boys, who taught me a new card game, and made it somewhat difficult for me to eat my dinners, between all the cheering and dealing going on in our high stakes games.

From Taganga, I traveled to the incredible Parque Tayrona, a coastal national park full of beautiful beaches and gorgeous mountains, including the Sierra Nevadas de Santa Marta, one of the highest coastal mountain ranges in the world. It was about a two-hour hike through the jungle and then along the beach to arrive at Cabo San Juan, one of the last accessible beaches along the park's interior. Cabo had a calm bay and a great beach for relaxing and swimming, along with a little bar and cafeteria to buy food and drinks. After trying to arrange to sleep in one of the hammocks high above the rocks of the bay and finding out that they were all full, I decided to ask about the other hammocks that were still free. I talked to a guy who had spent the previous night in these hammocks, and after he showed me the 75 or more mosquito bites along his one arm that he had acquired the night before while sleeping, I decided against staying the night in those horrendous contraptions and instead, set my backpack down on the deck of the gazebo high above the water, and ended up sleeping (okay, I actually didn't sleep a minute that night) while sitting in a chair on the gazebo. I guess the weather wanted to punish me for not paying for a hammock because it rained on me for about 2 hours during the night. Although it was very miserable and one of the longest nights of my life, there was something cool about sitting there in the dark, all alone, and just watching the ocean do its thing while listening to the waves crash up against the rocks. I was very happy to see the sun come up though, and then to hike back out and get back to Taganga.

After another day in Taganga, I took a bus over to the jewel of Colombia, or at least in the tourists' eyes, Cartagena. I stayed in the Getsemani area of Cartagena, where many of the hostels and tourist attractions are located, just outside the Old Town. The first thing that struck me about Cartagena was the heat. It was very, very hot and very, very humid. I arrived in the evening, so I didn't get a true idea of the heat and humidity until the next day.
The Old Town, which is really the only photographed area of the city, is very pretty. It is a treasure trove of colonial architecture, cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriages, and festive cultural plazas and performances. It was really nice walking around the Old Town at night, after the blazing sun had decided to rest for the day, and while the bright and colorful lights illuminated the colonial architecture and the dance groups came out to show off their moves in many of the several plazas. I actually came across a charity concert that was being held in one of the main squares of the city, and after befriending a security guard, was offered free entrance into the concert. However, because it was an international, black-tie event (concert for a Landmine-Free World), and I was wearing shorts (although they were nice shorts:) and a t-shirt, I decided not to spend much time there, for fear of attracting attention because of my stylish wardrobe. I did get to see Juanes, a famous Colombian music artist, perform a few songs, which was really fun.
While in Cartagena, I decided not to do the typical tourist thing and run all over like a chicken with its head cut off. I did not even look at my guidebook, but spent all my time just wondering around the Old Town, being totally spontaneous, and visiting the places that seemed to be the most "local" around. I enjoyed visiting the little food stands along the water, sampling ceviche (think of a type of raw fish stew), popping my head into the various little markets, and talking to completely random people. I was very surprised to find that outside of the Old Town, Cartagena seemed to be a very poor, rundown city. It reminded me a lot of Cairo, with the magnificent Pyramids standing just outside a city of filth and garbage. While walking around some of the areas outside of the tourist center, I probably felt the least safe in these areas than in any other area I visited during my trip. I know that within 5 hours of arriving in Cartagena, I was offered cocaine at least 20 times, approached by 4 or 5 prostitutes, and had one guy approach me like he wanted to fight. It was very interesting and I never knew what to expect next.
It was strange seeing the street markets start to fill with Christmas trees and other holiday items, while I was sweating profusely and trying to find some respite from the relentless heat. I guess some people can get into the Christmas spirit in a place like this, but not me. I need snow, cold, mountains, and all that stuff that I find back home in Salt Lake. Most importantly though, I need family and friends around me to make the holiday season special. At the end of my trip, I was very grateful that I had had the opportunity to see so much of this beautiful country that has been painted in a tarnished fashion by the media for so long. I was able to see for myself that there is so much more to Colombia than FARC, cocaine, kidnappings, and murder. There are beautiful people, diverse landscapes, dancing like nothing you have seen before, bustling metropolitan cities, relaxing towns and villages, and memories to last a lifetime. In summary, the national motto of Colombia says it best: "El riesgo es que te quieras quedar," or "The risk is wanting to stay."
Thanks to everyone for joining me on this Colombian adventure, and I am sure another adventure will be following soon:)

Final Pictures---
Parque Tayrona: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/AF5D9F23908C?source=pw980

Cartagena: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A1485123908D?source=pw980

Relaxing in the Boyaca Region

I have spent the last few weeks in the Santander and Boyaca regions of Colombian. These regions are considered some of the most beautiful of Colombia, where people go to relax and get back in touch with nature. They also provide the gateways to access the tallest mountains of the country, those in El Cocuy National Park. It is a little off the beaten tourist track, as there are not many large cities in the region and transportation is a little tricky sometimes. It is a very beautiful region, with decent size mountains everywhere you look, and then small colonial villages and towns settled down into the valleys.



From Bogota, I stopped in Zipaquira for a few hours to see the famous salt cathedral. I saw a salt cathedral in Poland, near Krakow in a little town called Wieliczka, and that was one of the most impressive things I have seen, so I was not expecting this salt cathedral to measure up. Anyway, the salt cathedral was incredible, and much larger than I expected. It is larger than the salt cathedral in Wieliczka, but lacked the detailed sculptures, pews, altar, and other ¨church-like¨ things that you find in churches. The Zipaquira salt cathedral had the stations of the cross in salt and huge shafts where crosses out of salt were displayed, along with kneeling pews for praying. However, I never really felt like I was in a holy place, or even a church. It was definitely impressive, especially the size of this place (you could easily get lost in there), but the intricate, detailed pieces and the powerful emotion I felt while standing in the Wieliczka cathedral was lacking.



I can say that the tiny town of Zipaquira has another cathedral in its little town square that really impressed me. It was just a simple cathedral, nothing special to the naked eye, but it was one of those places that you walk into a just get hit with some sort of feeling. It doesn´t happen to me very often, so I take notice when it does. This cathedral was something special, and much more impressive to me than the salt cathedral. The shame is that probably an incredibly small percentage of tourists that visit Zipaquira actually even see the cathedral from a distance. Or, maybe that is a good thing too, and part of the reason it does provide a special sensation to the person that does take the time to witness its grandness.














After Zipaquira, I continued on to the little city of Tunja. Tunja is the capital of the department of Boyaca and is the highest departmental capital in Colombia, located at an elevation of almost 8,500 feet. At this elevation, the city is significantly colder than any other city I have visited on my trip thus far. Days are nice and cool, and nights are colder, probably in the low 40s. Tunja is a university town, with something like 5 or 6 universities calling the city home. Therefore, most of the people walking the streets are young people. Unfortunately, I was not able to experience a weekend there, as I spent two days there, just to sample the city and see the colonial churches that the city is famous for. Well, just as my luck would have it, I chose the week during which all the priests were on retreat, and only 2 of the dozen churches were open. I was not able to see the interior of the grand cathedral, which I was a little upset about, but I did see the insides of the San Franciscan Church and the Church of Santo Domingo, which were both decorated in the Baroque style, with lots of gold and elaborate statues. While this is cool in one way, I prefer the simple churches. Call me a simpleton. I know. I can´t help it. When I think of God, the last thing I think about is gold and showy, gaudy decorations. To each his own (or her own) I guess.






After Tunja, I spent 4 days in a colonial town called Villa de Leyva. This charming little city is very peaceful and laid back. The roads in the main part of the town are all cobblestone, and there are very few cars driving the streets. It has one of the largest main town plazas in all of South America, and is the place to hang out at night, when all the little tiendas and restaurants are playing music at night and the square (called Plaza Mayor) transforms itself into the gathering place for old and young alike. I spent a few nights hanging out on the steps of the cathedral at night, watching over the square, talking to random people, and even listening to a few student bands play their rattles and other instruments as the town fountain in the middle of the square drew the young crowd into dancing and singing.



While in Villa de Leyva, I was able to visit some of the sights around the town. One really cool place I was lucky enough to visit was El Fosil. This place is the original site of an archaeological dig that uncovered the largest intact fossil of a prehistoric marine animal. The kronosaurus measures around 30 feet long and looks like a giant crocodile with huge, wing-like fins that propelled it forward. It must have been quite a sight for anything else in the sea. It was really, really cool to see, and just to imagine something that is 120 million years old is crazy!! 120 million years ago? Wow, I would give anything to see what this world looked like back then and what strange, awesome creatures were roaming about the earth before the mighty hand of Homo sapiens got hold of it. It is definitely fun to think about.







While at the fossil site, I met a young Colombian couple, who I began talking to. It turned out that we were heading to the same place, and since they had a car, they offered to give me a ride. They were very nice and we got along very well. We visited a site called El Infiernito, which is a sacred, Stonehenge-like site for the Muisca people (think Incas, but of Colombia). In this site, the Muiscas erected these tall structures with which they used, along with the projection of their shadows at different times of the year, to determine the seasons of the year and the best times to plant their crops. There were also some tall structures shaped in the form of a male penis. Yes, I am not making this up! These structures symbolized male fertility, and since they were protruding from Mother Earth, also represented the partnership between mankind and nature. Hmm, interesting, and not exactly what I was expecting. In fact, when I first saw those large stones, I definitely thought to myself how much they resembled penises. I guess I have an eye for detail, because I was right!


Our next stop was at a vineyard to sample some of the Colombian wine produced in the region. While nothing special, it was a cool experience and something that I never thought I would do while in Colombia. Plus, it was a great way to sample several wines without paying too much. After a quick stop at an Ostrich Farm (kind of weird but definitely interesting- I got to pet an ostrich and let it peck at my hand (they wouldn´t let me try to ride him), we returned to Villa de Leyva, where I relaxed in a hammock for the rest of the day, before visiting the square again at night.




A short drive from Villa de Leyva takes you to the awesome little town of Chiquinquira, the most Catholic place in Colombia, where many Catholics from around the country and even the surrounding countries make a pilgrimage. There is a legend that a miracle occurred here a few centuries ago. There was a painting of Mary that had been painted by the famous Spanish artist Alonso de Narvaez. The painting was stored in a church that was basically falling apart, and the result was that the painting was damaged and the images started to fade. The image was finally taken to Chiquinquira and stored there in a chapel in 1577. Several years later, a lady from Seville rediscovered the painting, and although the images were very faint at this point, she loved to pray in front of it. One day, the lady came to pray at the painting when she discovered that the painting had been miraculously restored to its original condition overnight. Word spread of the miracle, and in 1829, Pope Pius VII declared the Virgin of Chiquinquira patroness of Colombia.



The church is elegantly simple and the painting is displayed behind a glass case, to prevent pilgrims from damaging it. The church itself is marvelous and one of the most impressive ones I have seen. Although it isn`t particularly old like many of the cathedrals in Europe, and definitely not as elaborately decorated as others, this impressive cathedral standing over this little town is quite a sight.





After Villa de Leyva, I traveled to the adventure town of San Gil. San Gil is one of the outdoor meccas of Colombia, offering plenty of activities for extreme sports athletes. By far the coolest thing I did in San Gil, and one thing that I will always remember, is a hike to the magnificent Cascadas de Juan Curi. This hike went up a small river for about 1 hour, through the dense cloud forest. Most of this time was spent hiking in the river, crossing the shallow areas where the river ran over hard bedrock. In the distance, I could see this amazing, enormous waterfall crashing down from the top of the mountain above. Passing numerous cascades and swimming pools (I jumped in most of them), the trek continued until I reached a huge waterfall towering over a cliff, into a deep, dark pool below. It was absolutely breathtaking, and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I jumped in the pool, but there was a pretty wicked current, and after discovering that there was an undercut bank, was a little weery of being swept under and trapped, so I had to cut my time in that freezing pool short. After continuing on a faint trail through the jungle even higher, I came across an even more massive waterfall, tumbling over the true top of the mountain. This waterfall was almost 500 feet high, and crashed into a pool just above a giant boulder field. Just a few hundred feet downriver was the top of the last waterfall I had just seen, so I was able to crawl to the edge and peer down, with my chest hovering just above the water that was about to take a serious fall. Peering down, I could really see how high this waterfall was (probably 400 feet or so). I really, really wanted to try to climb to the top of the largest waterfall, but a thunder clap and some rain turned me back. However, this series of waterfalls was undoubtedly the most impressive waterfall I have ever seen, and one of the most impressive things I have seen period. I felt a little like Indiana Jones!



I spent another day in the little colonial town of Barichara. The town was almost completely empty because it was in the middle of the week, but that definitely gave it more of its charm. The church was amazing, just like the ones in San Gil and Chiquinquira. The only person I saw was a man sweeping the streets. It was really nice to find myself in such a quiet place. I decided to go for a little walk, so took a cobblestone trail down the mountain for a few hours to another even smaller colonial village named Guane. The trail passed mountain pastures and incredible landscapes for the duration, and was very relaxing and nice, almost like I was doing some sort of pilgrimage. When I reached the little village of Guane, people were very surprised to see me. Nearly all of the little tiendas were closed, but there were a few small groups of people hanging out in the main square. After seeing another amazing church, I visited with a few of the locals, and one lady took me into her home and showed me around. It was really cool and I thought to myself that I could easily spend a week in this charming little village, away from all the worries of the world.
One interesting note-- I tried hormigas (ants) for the first time. Although a little too crunchy for myself, they definitely have a distinct taste. However, I wouldn`t exactly sign up to have them with every meal, and you DEFINITELY need a drink with them, as they leave a fairly bad aftertaste!



So now, I am getting ready to leave Boyaca and head to the Caribbean Coast for some fun in the sun and a change of scenery. I´ll be sure to wear my sunscreen, and I guess I should start preparing for the heat. Ciao everyone, and I hope you are enjoying the snow back home!





Photos of Zipaquira: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/ACB9873386B5?source=pw980



Photos of Tunja and Villa de Leyva: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/AA417C2386B3?source=pw980



Photos of Chiquinquira: www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A4B9AD2389F3?source=pw980




Photos of San Gil: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A3662E3389F1?source=pw980




Photos of Barichara: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/AA9FC53389F2?source=pw980

Coffee, Hills, and Nightlife

Hola Everyone! So after leaving the hustle and bustle of Quito, I finally returned to Colombia. It was great to get to settle down a little bit and practice my Spanish again. I traveled to the Coffee Region of Colombia, spending a few days in a university city called Manizales. Manizales has the most hills of any city I have ever seen. It was almost impossible to find a flat road within the city limits. It is a beautiful place, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with the impressive Nevado del Ruiz dominating the southern skyline. The first thing that I noticed in Manizales was how many students there are. I think 1 out of every 3 people walking down the street seemed to be a student, whether attending one of the several universities in the city, or one of the high schools. It really does bring a cool vibe to the place. The contrasts with Quito were obvious immediately-- very little traffic, a 45-minute walk from the outskirts to the city center (or a 5-10 minute bus ride), clean air all around, and very little noise. This is just the kind of place I needed after Quito.
I stayed with a family in Manizales, with two daughters. I hung out with the older daughter for most of my time there. She is attending La Universidad Catolica in the city, and even took me around the campus. She is really funny and cool, and despite not knowing English, we had a lot of fun together. My Spanish skills were really tested to the max during my few days there, but I can already tell that they improved just in that short period. One of the most impressive things in Manizales is La Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepcion. It isn´t a particularly old church (something like 300 years old), but it´s wooden interior provides it with a homey, rustic feel that I really appreciated.

On a funny note, you would not believe the number of mullets I have seen in Colombia! It seems like that is definitely the latest rage with young men from about 12 to 25 years old. If there is ever a Mullet Revolution to bring the mullet back to life across the globe, it should definitely start here!

The drive from Manizales to Medellin, through El Cafetera (the coffee growing region), was pretty spectacular. It is definitely not a ride for those that get car sick, as the road has twice as many switchbacks as any road I have ever seen. The road passes through mountains and hills lined with coffee fields, providing a rich scenery for the entire 5-hour ride. Unfortunately, the road is also just a two-lane road, and because of its curvy nature and the steep climbs and descents, the going is slow. When you add in the fact that every other vehicle is either a bus or a huge truck that stalls to a crawl anytime the road isn't flat (so pretty much the entire ride), my patience was definitely starting to wane near the end. When I saw a sign telling me that we only had 25 kilometers (~15 miles) left, I thought we were good. I didn't expect that last bit to take about 2 hours or so. Needless to say, I was very happy to actually set foot in Medellin.

Medellin is a city with a very dark history. In the 1980s, the infamous Pablo Escobar made the city the world's cocaine capital. The city was marred by murders and violent crime, making it one of the most dangerous cities in the world. There was a lot of money in the drug business, and because of this, Medellin seems more modern to me than anywhere else I have been on this trip. With Escobar's death in 1993, the city turned itself around, and now can be called one of the safest big cities in Latin America.

I can tell you without any doubt at all that Medellin is my favorite place that I have visited so far in either Ecuador or Colombia. The city is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the highrise buildings are all this cool red color, providing a cool contrast to the green mountains around. I am staying down in the El Poblado area, which is the part of the city with all the coolest clubs and bars. It is incredibly fun down there, and there is definitely no shortage of beautiful girls wherever I look. I met a bunch of people for a few nights' worth of fun, going out to the clubs and dancing until 4 or so in the morning. I also just happened to see that the bachata group, Aventura, was giving a concert in Medellin while I was going to be there, and that this tour is billed as the group's last. What a coincidence! I could not pass up this opportunity to see Aventura in Colombia! One of my friends and I bought some tickets and spent the night listening to the bachata sounds pulsating through the crowd at the stadium. Despite the over-exaggeration of the term "Latin time," (the concert was supposed to start at 8:00 but didn't start until 9:30), the fact that there were 4 opening acts, and that Aventura didn't actually start playing until about 1:30 in the morning (bringing our total time at the stadium to a whopping 8 hours!!), it was absolutely incredible! The energy in the crowd was amazing, and everyone was dancing and having a blast. I still can't really believe that I was lucky enough to see them in Colombia! How random is that?

I have also made some really good friends in Medellin, including a British guy I met, and a paisa (people from the Coffee Growing Region) girl and guy. We had a lot of fun hanging out and I will definitely miss them, but hope to see them again soon.

So my time in Medellin has been characterized by late nights at the dance clubs, an Aventura concert that I won't soon forget, and a sore neck from doing double takes at all the beautiful girls here. I have really enjoyed my time here and hope to return again at some point. Now it is back to the smaller cities in the Boyaca region of Colombia, where my Spanish will be tested once again, and I will get a little more taste of authentic Colombian life. Until next time, ciao everyone.

Photos of Manizales at: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A8C98523865B?source=pw980
Photos of Medellin at: www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A6A1D1338632?source=pw980

The Joys of Traveling

Well, I have been in Quito for longer than I had originally planned. Due to some passport problems, flight problems, debit card problems, and pretty much anything else you might want to throw in there, I have had to stick around here for a few more days. It is a long story, and becoming more complicated every minute, so I will spare you all the details until we can sit down together and have a glass of wine (I think I will need a bottle to myself to recount this story).
In any case, I have been around Quito since my last blog post. My friend Mark and I have gotten outside a little bit. Two weekends ago we decided to climb a volcano called El Corazon, located about 20 miles southwest of Quito. We had been looking to climb another volcano named Illiniza Norte, but after seeing some horrendous pictures on the internet of snow and ice-covered Paso de la Muerte (Pass of the Dead), and taking into consideration that neither of us had proper warm clothes, climbing boots, or, come to think of it, any equipment whatsoever, we decided on El Corazon. Well, El Corazon didn't turn out to be as easy as we had planned either. The ascent is a steady climb for several hours, before coming to the base of the mountain face. We felt good and made good progress, but then the clouds rolled in, obscuring our view of the route to the summit just as we arrived at the base. We were able to sneak a peek at the summit through the clouds, so we started scrambling and almost rock climbing up to the point that we saw. After probably an hour of tough scrambling, we arrived on the summit. However, almost to jeer us, the clouds parted again for a few moments, revealing two more summits above us that we hadn't even seen! We were both a little discouraged, but believed we could make it to the other two summits, but then the mountain gods threw some wind and snow at us (I thought this was supposed to be near the equator!) and turned us back. We then descended for about 2.5 hours in the pouring rain, getting soaked, but loving the feeling and exhilaration of getting high in the outdoors.
This last weekend, Mark, our friend Laura, one other girl, and myself went to Mindo, the cloud forest 2 hours from Quito. We took a cable car across the forested canyon (awesome views!) to the other side, where we hiked for several hours from waterfall to waterfall. Keeping with tradition, I jumped in every pool I came across, although I looked a little funny wearing only my boxers. We ran into a family from Ecuador who was really excited to meet us and almost race us from waterfall to waterfall. They were really nice and gave us some company along our hike.
After the hike, Laura and her friend Audrey went back to Quito, while Mark and I stayed the night in Mindo and had some of the best pizza I have had outside the U.S. The next day, we did a hike through another part of the forest. I was excited because we were heading into spectacled bear habitat. Spectacled bears are one of the most endangered bear species in the world, and are only found around the Andes Mountains. Despite not seeing one (although we did hear a fairly big animal roaming around the forest at one point), we had a great time walking through the narrow corridors of cloud forest surrounding us, while I tried to find the perfect vine to swing on and show off my Tarzan skills (unfortunately for Mark, he never did get to see this properly). We later got on a bus and headed back to Quito.
I am really starting to get tired of big cities now. I was in a bus yesterday for 1.5 hours going downtown, only to discover that I had to go back today at 8 in the morning. The bus ride back was about an hour, with traffic going every which way and everyone seeming to totally ignore the traffic lights. It definitely reminded me of Cairo. I would really hate to have to drive here. With the road rage that happens in the States, I'm sure this kind of traffic would solve our overpopulation problem.
So, after getting many logistics finally taken care of (some are still pending, and will probably remain that way until I get home), I am off to Colombia again on Sunday morning. I can't wait to get back traveling. Although it has been awesome hanging out with Mark and Laura for these few weeks, and a lot of fun hiking around here, I am starting to feel like I am standing still. For those of you who really know me, you also know that that is something I absolutely cannot stand. Therefore, traveling again is the perfect solution-- getting the chance to really practice my Spanish again, trying to figure out what bus to take, meeting random people along the way, and figuring out how to deal with the multitude of problems that will inevitably come my way in the next several weeks. I am super excited to see more of Colombia, practice more of my salsa and cumbia steps, and make more friends.
I hope all of you are doing well, and thank you to those who have emailed me. I really like reading about your lives back home. Un abrazo from Ecuador!
El Corazon Pics: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/AA6608138543?source=pw980
Mindo Pics: http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A80A0C238543?source=pw980

P.S.
One ridiculous thing I have seen here is the price of a dozen roses-- $1! If I had a girlfriend here, she would be receiving fresh roses every day! Well, I guess not every day. There would be some tulips thrown in too.

More Fun from Ecuador

So I have spent the last few weeks in Ecuador, hanging out with my friends Mark, Laura, and Aimee in Quito, and also traveling around a little. My impressions of Quito are mixed. The old town area is pretty cool and a nice place to walk around and see some history. The Basilica del Voto Nacional really impressed with me with both its size and beauty, not to mention the fact that besides Aimee and myself, there were maybe only a handful of other people in the church (something you never seem to experience in any European cathedral). However, Quito is a very large city, and having to take a nearly 1.5 hour taxi ride to get to the bus station one morning, really became frustrating. Those of you who really know me know that I do not like huge cities and hordes of traffic. Well, spending all that time in a cab and still not reaching the end of the city is a little much for me. I know I could never live in Quito, but it still has its charm, in its own way.

Aimee and I first traveled to visit the equator here in Ecuador, in a little tourist town called La Mitad del Mundo. This was my second time visiting the equator, with the first being in Uganda. After examining a map, and also having an intense discussion with Aimee, I found that the only other country I need to visit to straddle the equator in all the continents it passes through is Indonesia. I had never planned on visiting Indonesia, but maybe this gives me a good excuse :) We'll see......... We also visited the rim of a huge crater near La Mitad del Mundo, but were very unlucky, as the clouds rolled in and obscured our view of the impressive community living within the crater's slopes. We did get to hear our guide use his necklace jewelry piece as a flute to give thanks to the mountain by playing a sweet melody that drifted with the wind. I thought that was pretty cool, as I have given thanks to the mountain gods many times as I have been hiking in the mountains of the Wasatch in Salt Lake, or the mountains of southern Poland. We aren't always the ones in control.

Aimee and I also traveled to Banos for a short overnight trip. Banos is located approximately 2.5 hours southeast of Quito, although we managed to find the bus that took 4.5 hours to reach the little town of Banos. I think both Aimee and I were a little restless after spending nearly 6 hours in cabs and buses, so we did what any sane person would do right after reaching a town like Banos, sign up to go puenting! So puenting is a lot like bungee jumping, except that after you reach the length of the rope, you swing back and forth like a huge pendulum, rather than just continuing to bounce up and down. I don’t think either of us knew exactly what to expect, and then arriving at the bridge and standing up on the ledge of the bridge as they double-checked our safety harnasses, peering down at the cascading stream approximately 150 feet below us, we suddenly realized what we had gotten ourselves into. I can tell you that we both successfully accomplished full, head-first dives off the bridge, landing with the grace of Greg Louganis (when he didn’t hit his head on the board, of course). After finishing up, we were both very tempted to take the dive again, but also realized that the famous thermal pools of Banos were calling our names.

We spent a relaxing few hours in the thermal pools, guessing where each person in the pool was from (lots of fun, although a little spying was involved), and healing our aching bodies (Aimee because she had finished a marathon a week before, and me, because I was sick and need to soak my aching bones in my old age).

The next day, we went on a chiva tour through the hills of Banos and the surrounding areas, visiting 8 different waterfalls and taking loads of pictures. For those of you who don’t know what a chiva is, I’ll tell you—picture an open-sided camion/truck that is colored all over with bright colors and pictures. These vehicles are used for travel around rural areas, particularly in Colombia, where people hop on and off with all sorts of things (use your imagination). It was a perfect combination of fun, relaxation, and exhilaration (especially the part where we went over a bridge, I peered over the side, and saw that we had a good 2 inches of bridge to spare before our rear wheel decided to visit the bottom of the canyon). The scenery around Banos is incredibly beautiful, with waterfalls running down the sides of the mountains everywhere you look, and lush, green vegetation covering the mountainsides. The end of our tour took us to Machape Falls, a large waterfall plunging 225 feet to the pool below. We were able to hike down to the pool and attempt to take pictures of the falls as it sprayed us with its mighty torrent. I thought about jumping in the pool at the bottom (normally I would, and Tim J., I was thinking of you here), but then I realized that the pair of boxers I was wearing were the only dry ones I had with me, and then thought of how pleasant another 45 minutes on the chiva and a whole God-Knows-How-Long I would need to sit on that damn bus going back to Quito. Therefore, I opted against it (I still think that maybe I didn’t explore all my options as exhaustively as I could have). Anywho, we left Banos feeling sad that we had to leave such an amazing place, and also me feeling grateful for my dry boxers.

After spending a day with Aimee sightseeing around Quito, Mark, Laura, and I had to say goodbye to her. Aimee flew back to the U.S., while I am continuing my time here. Due to some unforeseen circumstances (some of you know about this), I will be spending an extra week in Ecuador before flying back to Colombia. However, I have changed my Colombia travel plans a little and am super excited about them. I will be spending more time in the smaller areas rather than the big cities. Of course I will visit the big cities, especially on the weekends, to sample what they have to offer, but I plan on really getting to know Colombia by spending the majority of my time in the smaller towns. You will obviously be hearing about all these adventures to come. As for now, more pictures are up at:

http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/AB66E0338450?source=pw980 for the Banos pics

http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A08679238453?source=pw980 for the pics of Mitad del Mundo

http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A93023238454?source=pw980 for the Quito pics

Thanks for tuning in and please let me know what’s happening in your neighborhood (hmm, that sounds a little too much like Mr. Rodgers, don’t you think?)

Otavalo and the Famous Artisan Market

I am now in
Ecuador, finishing up a week and a half in the little town of Otavalo, located approximately 1.5 hours north of Quito. I traveled to Otavalo to take a few Spanish classes, and also to get away from some of the bigger cities that I have been visiting, and dive into a place with a little more culture.
Otavalo is an indigenous community located in a valley between two large volcanoes, Imbabura and Cotacachi. The surrounding landscape is truly stunning, providing me with a tranquil retreat from the crazy city life. Life here is exactly what I wanted, slow-paced. The people here are very friendly, despite the hard lives that they lead. It is very common to see an old lady, walking to the Plaza de Ponchos at 6 in the morning, carrying a load 3-4 times as big as her on her back, excited to set up her artisan stand for the day. It does remind me of Africa, except that in Africa, the ladies would carry the load on their heads. I am always amazed by little things like this. These are always good reminders of what our lives could be like.
The best thing about Otavalo is the mix of the old and the new. As it would be cool if it were a little more old-time indigenous, it is nice to have places where you can buy clothes, get on the internet, and find what you need. It is very interesting to see the indigenous folks, walking down the street in their traditional clothing (colorful embroidered blouses, shoulder wraps, and huge beaded necklaces for women, and trousers, blue ponchos, and black hats for the men) ,strolling by a street shop with Tommy Hillfiger jeans in the window. I hope that this place doesn´t lose much more of its authentic vibe. There really aren´t many more places like this remaining. It seems like the broad hand of the West seems to infiltrate everywhere these days.
So the highlight of Otavalo, and what makes the city famous, is its Saturday market. Artisans from all over Ecuador, and even a few from southern Colombia, come to the market to sell their goods, whether they be sweaters, baskets, jewellery, rugs, hats, paintings, produce, or whatever else you can imagine. The entire town is transformed into a huge market. It is truly an unbelievable sight and something that I will never forget. Of course, this kind of spectacle draws tourists from Quito, and you can see the tour buses roll in in the morning with a bunch of gringos excited to score an Ecuadorian souvenir.
I have been staying with a family here who is incredible and so friendly. Viviana, and her 4-year old daughter Romina, invited me into their home. Of course, neither knows any English, which is one reason why I was really excited to stay with them. We eat three meals a day together and I have also had a lot of time to play with Romina and go with her and Viviana to the park. Life here is pretty awesome and I am a little nervous to leave, as I am not very excited to go back to the crazy cities. However, I guess everything is cool in its own way. One of my favorite things about Otavalo is that I can just set out in the morning and walk all over the town, not worrying about getting lost or being a victim of crime. I love just being able to do whatever I would like, not having any timetables or deadlines to worry about, and being able to just go with the flow.
The other day, I had a little bit of a breakthrough with Romina, the young girl in the family. I was lying on my bed, reading a book and studying some Spanish, when she poked her head in my room, and then immediately decided to run and throw herself onto my bed next to me. She then decided that she wanted me to read to her, in English of course, and then translate everything into Spanish for her. It was a lot of fun and I feel that we kind of bonded in that moment. Now, every time she sees me in my room, I know that a reading time is soon to follow. She really is adorable, and reading to her reminds me of working with my favorite little girls in the afterschool and summer school programs at Holy Cross. Wow, now I realize how much I miss those kids!
Last Sunday, I decided that I wanted to explore the surrounding areas around Otavalo.I opted out of the whole guided tour thing, since I hate spending my time with other gringos, taking private vehicles to the sights, and then being whisked away without any interaction with anyone else whatsoever. I ended up taking a bus to a little town called Quiroga, and then finding a guy to take me up to a lake in his worn-down pickup. It was a lot of fun getting there, and this señor and I talked the whole way up to the lake. He dropped me off at Laguna Cuicocha, a marvelous volcanic lake at the base of Volcan Cotacachi. I didn´t have enough time to walk around the entire lake, but I walked around quite a bit of it, snapping pictures left and right, and enjoying the amazing 360 degree views, truly appreciating the volcanic origin of this area. Volcanoes Imbabura and Cayembe towered over the landscape in the distance, as Volcano Cotacachi stodd guard over Laguna Cuicocha. The landscape reminded me a lot of the Crater Lakes region in Uganda, and I suddenly became nostalgic, missing my students and friends back at Lake Lyantonde.
Another cool little trek was the one to La Cascada de Peguche. The impressive waterfall is about a 30-minute walk from Otavalo, along a railroad track and through some smaller outlyings of houses. The waterfall is a sacred place for the indigenous community here, who believe that the water in the pools below the falls has special healing powers. During the celebration of the summer solstice, nearly the whole community of Otavalo makes the walk to the waterfall, where they immerse themselves in the water, symbolizing the washing away of all their negative energies, and the start of something new. Well, I thought about jumping in, but the fact that the waterfall was raging due to the last 4 afternoon thunderstorms, and the fact that I was wearing my only dry pair of clothes (it's hard to dry clothes when it rains all the time), I decided against it, although it was very tempting:)
The last little jaunt during my time in Otavalo was to Las Lagunas de Mojanda, some beautiful crater lakes above the town. Like Laguna Cuicocha, the scenery was breathtaking, and the fact that I was there very early in the morning gave me some good photography opportunities. I ended up not having much time at all because of travel connections, so, being me and a little crazy, I decided to climb a volcano above the laguna. However, it is a 4+ hour roundtrip, and I only had about 1.75 hours. Needless to say, I ended up running to the top of the volcano with my camera, snapping several pictures along the way, climbing the last bit of rocky terrain to the summit, and then running back down, making my taxi with a few minutes to spare. My legs really didn't appreciate my effort, but the photos I took made up for it. You can see these, along with other pics from Otavalo and the surrounding areas, here:
http://www.photoworks.com/photo-sharing/shareSignin.jsp?shareCode=A3E38A2C94A&cp=ems_shr_alb_pml&cb=PW

It is a little sad to leave Otavalo. I really love this place and the tranquil life I was able to have here, if only for a week and change. It was very hard saying goodbye to the family that I have been staying with, and when I approached little Romina, she gave me a hug and refused to let go. Her mom had to drag her away, crying her eyes out. It is pretty unbelievable the bond that children can develop with us, even in a short amount of time. I will miss them greatly. However, now it's time to meet up with my amigos in Quito for some fun in the Ecuadorian capital! Ciao from Otavalo!