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La Candelaria street in Bogota
One of the many Boteros in the - you guessed it - Botero museum

Dana's new favorite cat.

The hummingbird equivalent of the Resplendent Quetzal



Ranchero in the Valle de Corcora


Dana doing exercises in the V. de C. midst the wax palms.

Grouchy Gringos

After a whirlwind tour of Bogota, we took another long bus ride. This one involved a driver with a dixie cup of ice cream in one hand, spoon in the other, talking on his cell phone and somehow navigating a huge bus down a very steep windy road called The Devil's Nose.

Our supposed express bus, made stop after stop. At the lunch stop, we lost one of our passengers who got confused and got on the wrong bus. It took a half hour sorting that out and another half hour of her wailing about it on the bus. Then we got pulled over by the national police and had to get off, guys patted down and all id's had to be checked through their computer. Then there were the falling rocks on the road we had to wait to be cleared.

Finally we arrived in the dark at our destination after traveling all day, only to find our hostal had overbooked and we had to move to a different place they secured for us.

A new day and sunny sky and a new hike put us right and we are back on track. R has some good photos of this amazing spot with the world's tallest palm trees at 6000 to 9000 ft.

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D at 12000 ft - after hiking from 9ooo

Muisca sacred lake -see D post for accompanying slightly uncomfortable creation myth.

Frailejon plant -grows only above 9k ft
Vague resemblance to Joshua tree.

Friday night street scene in Bogota. One of a horde of street performers -some quite good.

Sumited Mt. Hood

Yesterday we hiked from the bus dropoff at 9000 ft. to reach Lago Iguaque at 12,000 ft. This is the supposed birthplace of mankind. A Muisca Indian woman and her baby emerged from the lake and after the baby grew up, she married him and they peopled the earth. Then they changed into snakes and went back into the lake. I like this version better than Adam and Eve. Also, the Muisca version of the afterlife is singing and dancing which sounds pretty sweet.

The path was a steep rocky, rooty climb through the forest until we got to about 11,000 ft. where it opened up into paramo or steep mountain plain. There was mist coming in an out and there were many unusual plants and flowers including frailejons which are a flowering perennial hrub that only grows at high altitudes and resembles a joshua tree. We couldn't linger long at the lake becaue we had to be back for the one and only 4 o'clock bus. We were totally beat by the time we reached our hostal. We had a shower and quick dinner and had the lights out by 7:30. I was thrilled that with some diamox (for altitude sickness) and my migraine meds I as able to do the hike without a major migraine. I was very light headed and moving at a turtle pace, however.

We moved on to Bogota today in a very strange and much longer than expected bus ride. We rode to the town on the main highway to catch a direct bus to Bogota. However, just out of town there had been a huge accident and chemical spill on the highway. We waited for a long time at the highway entrance and then our driver decided to be creative. Off we went on a back road winding through the mountains. The road deteriorated quickly to a dirt road with many washouts from recent flooding. Also we went through tiny towns in our large greyhound size bus and could barely squeeze through. In each town the driver would ask for advice and directions and everyone on the bus would chime in with their opinion. Quite an adventure.

We arrived in Bogota on Friday night and the area we are staying in is really hopping. The main road has been closed off to cars and filled with throngs of pedestrians out having a good time and act after act of street music, jugglers, hare krishna, comedians, etc. Quite a scene.

My new favorite artist after Modigliani is the Colombian Butero who revels in everything fat. Let´s hope this mode comes back soon. He´s got a fabulous museum here.

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The lettuce man in Villa Leyva


An Apollo butterfly in a little restoration place, shared with....

..Leg Alone Woman, unfaithful wife delegged and burned by husband - now haunts unfaithful spouses.

D getting some tailoring done.

Tried the tongue, does not taste like chicken.

Biking Blues

Yesterday we began the day in Villa de Leyva, yet another frozen in time colonial city. We headed off with our rental bikes and an ambitious agenda of various sites. As you may remember, on my bike trip in Nicaragua last year I ran into a bus and scraped myself up. This year, merrily wheeling along about 6 k into the countryside, off drops my left pedal, leaving me in quite a precarious position and, of course, Roger was miles ahead and nowhere in sight. I plodded on, walking the bike, until he finally realized I was way behind and waited for me. He tried but had no luck getting it to stay on. There was one modest little house, so we knocked on the door and explained our problem as best we could. Luckily, Meghan Finn had taught me the word for "tools" before I left. Out she came with a big bag of tools. R. fiddled and farted around and then she got in there, pulled off some cap and tightened it right up. Off we rolled to see the world-s largest kronosaurus skeletons found on site along with various other fossils and then on to the Dominican monastery. However, as we set off for the Colombian Stonehenge, the pedal came off again. R kept putting it on and tightening it with a coin but it would only last 5 min. So we hid the bikes in the bushes, locked them up and walked to the indigenous archeological site. Once there we had the caretaker call our hostel and send a truck to pick us up. We didn-t get to our 4th site, but all in all it was a good day and we were worn out. However, we-ll walk or use the bus from now on.

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Neat textile place in Barichara that uses old techniques and employs old folks. This guy is blind.

A revolution in progress when we arrived in Villa Leyva. Actually they were shooting a soap opera.

Wonderful monastery near VL.

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Camino real: pre-Columbian road of the Guane people. We hiked it to the town of Guane.

The trail was full of fossils and birds. We were constantly looking down and up.

Church in Guane. Guane also has a cool museum full of huge fossils - and a mummy.

We changed hotels to a very authentic cold colonial mansion with this great view and the best shower ever. Excuse the picture tilt - don´t know how to rectify that on this computer. The posts lean, but not that much.

My sketch of the scene.

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Couldn´t resist one more Barichara street shot before Dana´s ant pics below, including one of those I ate today.

Ant restaurant, unfortunately closed until Feb 15.

Barichara's Bootylicious Bugs

Barichara, small perfect colonial town where many Sp. lang. films have been made, is also a bit of a foodies' paradise. Trouble is, most of the delicacies involve ANTS! We're not just talking small ants, but HORMIGAS CULONAS, literally fat bottom ants. This is a tradition which dates over 500 years when indigenous Guane people cultivated them for aphrodesiac and healing properties. We were planning an anniv. dinner at the town´s best restaurant, Color de Hormiga, where the specialty is filet mignon drenched in ant sauce and topped with fried ants. Oh darn, it's closed for a month vacation! We did buy a sack of fried ants today and R. crunched down a few. The rest we are saving for all devoted followers of the blog. Let's have pictures and fried ant snacks as soon as possible after we get back!

We've also tried a delicious haunch of grilled goat, another specialty. Shortly after I ordered it, R. was reading the guide book which said it is usually served with pepitoria (ground up goat organs and blood). Sure enough, it appeared with a suspicious looking side dish which the waitress confirmed as pepitoria. It was surprisingly tasty if you didn´t think too much about it.

And as one who appreciates a sweet morsel or two to cleanse the palate, the town is loaded with little shops selling candy and desserts. The main one is arequipe, a kind of cross between a sauce and a fudge of dulce de leche which you eat with a spoon. MMMMMM!

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Barichara - our new favorite mountain colonial city.

On the road to Barichara - one of countless several thousand feet deep canyons, but the only shot I was able to get from the bus.

Mansion de la Virginia - our new favorite

budget hotel.

Now that´s the kind of sculpture a guy from Wisconsin can relate to - a walking hardware store.

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We climbed down a rock face (barefoot) to get here and R went into the large cascada behind us

D rappeling en route to the cascada

Kogi patriarch in front of his house with his poporo

















Part of a Kogi family - the mother is expected to have 15 kids in 15 years


The essentials in cocaine production, including gasoline and sulfuric acid.










Our crack cooking staff with ovens. So many ways to do rice beans and meat.










Another ¨life road¨.

Back to Civ. continued

Another highlight of the trek was a side trip to a huge waterfall. We rappelled down the rock cliffs to swim in pools under the waterfall and to feel it crashing down on us, then scaled our way back up.

One morning before starting out, we went to a small place where the process of making coca paste was shown to us. This is what all the campesinos in the area did before the government came and took out all the plants and helped the people to get going with cocoa, coffee and tourism. They would grow the coca plants and produce the paste and sell it to the cartels who would process and export it.

Our fun and simpatico group from 5 Eur. & 3 S. Amer. countries plus Aussies and Canadians was just a delight. The guides spoke no English so all information was done in translation with a team effort.

We will hopefully close out the coastal portion of our trip tomorrow with a flight inland, but we have heard there will be a general transport strike to protest the condition of the roads in this area from all the rain and landslides. Since the airport is 40 min. away, we could be in trouble. Stay tuned.

Back to Civilization

We´re a bit bedraggled, sore and dotted with bites and our backpack contents and boots smell like a strong cheese fermentation is taking place (due to humidity and many stream crossings by wading, sometimes as high as my armpits), but all in all the trek was FANTASTICO!

The adventure began with 12 of us crammed in a mini van jeep for a romping ride on a pot holed dirt road which seemed to be giving way in some places and in others 2 feet of solid mud. At one point we were so mired we all had to get out and walk while the driver took a running start.

At the end of the road, they loaded the burros with our supplies and off we skipped.. But not for long. It was an arduous track with steep ups and downs and never a switchback. The terrain was rough with rocks, vines and plenty of slippery mud.

The guides were very solicitous and helpful, especially of me being the oldest woman and they immediately took my backpack and carried it for me. The hilarious 63 year old Frenchman, Serge, went down on the first day and a mule had to be called in for him. By the second day R. was lying on the trail with severe muscle cramps. They massaged his legs, rubbed salt into them, ran back to a small finca for bananas and tied cords around his legs, all to no avail. A second mule was brought in while the others swam in the river and waited. He has had this problem a couople of other times on desert hikes where hydration was a problem.

Day 3 was the longest and hardest, so R elected to stay at camp 2 to sketch and bird watch. It was impossible to take a mule up this steep part, including some rocky cliffs and the 1200 stone steps to the site. He didn't want to hinder the group. There are 170 round stone terraces with stairways between them, and it is quite overgrown with jungle which gives it a very mysterious air. It was super and the mist coming in and out made it even more so!

More later. Computer time is up.

The Lost City

We will be off blog for the next 6 days as we trek through the jungle with our guide and small group. This is the area of the Tayrona indigenous people and we will stay overnight in their huts and sleep in hammocks. They don´t give us mileage but say there are between 4 to 6 hours of hiking each day and on some days we will have to cross the river several times. The last day we have to climb 1200 stone steps to the archeological site. This will be no Machu Picchu but I´m sure it will be an adventure. One of the highlights listed is ¨{evening chat with Mama Kogi}. Maybe she´s a witch doctor and can cure my migraines!

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D learns Spanish - the fun way.

Taganga - secluded sleepy fishing village?

D with wierdest Santa ever

God´s a soccer player here - striker I believe.

Almost Fluent

Completed day 4 of our class and now almost fluent! I was able to tell the story of Hansel & Gretel in Sp. to my teacher and R told some peace corps stories to his. I'm working up to the grand finale tomorrow: BLANCA NIEVA! You can never tell when I might need the vocabulary words ¨seven dwarfs ¨ and ¨poison apple¨ while traveling around S. Amer.

After we finish our 4 hr class, we usually collapse in the room for a bit and then hit the hotel cafe for the $5 lunch special of soup, meat, rice, vegetables, salad and sugar cane juice with lime. Today's beef, however, was so tough that I'm sure the cow walked all the way from Argentina. I think we´ll branch out tomorrow. Then we have to head to the town's one ATM machine and hover in the little air conditioned box guarded by the police and draw out 400,000 pesos. ($200 is the maximum per day) We finally have the gig down of which buttons to push, but the first time the people waiting were getting very frustrated. After 3 days, we have finally almost collected a wad big enough to pay for our airline tickets to next stop in the interior and the six day trek we will take to the Ciudad Perdida (Yes, mom, it's with a guide and a group, so don't freak out.) We could use a credit card but would have to pay an additional hefty charge.

Any Gabriel Garcia Marque fans out there? He is from this area and from the many strange things we have seen I can see where he gets his sensibility for magical realism. Love in the Time of Cholera is set in Cartagena.

Abrazos a todos
Dana

Spanish School

Completed day 2 of our course on the terrace of our hotel. It´s a solid 4 hrs one on one with two good professional teachers. Since I know most of the basics, it´s pretty laid back for me. We converse, I tell her when I don´t understand, she explains and she corrects me. We go over grammar and use it in context. Today we told fables. We also get off on some good general conversations. R, on the other hand, is a bit overwhelmed and is being thrown all kinds of new grammar and vocab. However, his teacher is sanguine and he´s working hard.

Class is 8 to 12 and in the aft. we do our traveler´s chores, walk around and go to the beach and study and read in the evenings. The sun is hot, but there is a cool breeze, plenty of exotic fruit juices (passion fruit is my current favorite) and all in all quite pleasant. There are, however, way more noise and people here than expected. It is still the summer vacation period and Colombianos are out in full force along with other South Americans. They definitely like their music loud and throbbing and since everything is al fresco here we are making good use of our earplugs.

We´ve noticed how well endowed all the Col. women are but turns out that about 80% have breast augmentation which is very cheap here. My teacher told me she had it at age 40 and her daughter will have it at age 21. Tell all your flat chested friends it´s not too late!

Mud Bath

The pic R posted shows us inside a baby volcano and that is all natural mud. It´s kind of like the mud pots I have seen at Yellowstone, but luckily not boiling and it´s in what looks like a giant termite mound. The locals help you up the steep ramp and then kind of push you in because it is hard to sink down into it. They then smear and massage you and pull you around a bit. Then into a lagoon to help you wash it all off.

Today we are off to Taganga about 4 hours north of here on the Caribbean coast, a dive center and where we will attend Academia Latina and become completely fluent in Spanish in one week!

.....anyway















Sat night fever - Cartegena.

Many women fit well into these. Others wear them anyway.





















Urban juvenile hawk - attacks anything smaller.











Local Saint who helped slaves... and now tourists.
















¨Mood¨ bath







Typical Cartegena street - maybe the best colonial old town we´ve seen.