I remember when my nephew Brandon was a tiny human that fit in my arms. Ten years later and he's almost taller than me! To be fair, I have the likeness of a hobbit.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Friday, April 3, 2015
Colombia 2015 - First Day in Cartagena
We arrived in Cartagena a mere one hour after leaving Medellin and in that little bit of time, the climate changed drastically. Michael was looking forward to the humid heat of the Caribbean Coast, but I was dreading it. Michael assumed that because the Philippines was a humid environment, that I would be right at home in our new destination. He fails to connect that I grew up in an arid one and prefer to feel as if I'm in an oven instead of in a portable swimming pool.
Just as in Medellin, we had to travel between the plane and airport without the comfort of a tunnel. As soon as we descended the plane stairs, Michael beamed with pleasure at 1) being in a new place, and 2) experiencing heat. I had prepared by wearing my one maxi dress. Despite its strappy shoulders, and loosely-flowing skirt, this dress was made of a synthetic material that clung to me and made me feel even more sticky.
I longed to retreat to our hotel room's air-conditioned space.
Since we had no luggage to retrieve from baggage claim, we were the first ones to reach the airport's curbside. We could not Uber because there were no available drivers nearby. Here was another taxi experience. We saw a line of taxis and popped into the first one. The driver asked us our destination and after we told him, "El Centro," he left the cab. A little confused we looked for him and found him talking to a window operator that we completely bypassed. He was given a slip of paper that he then gave to us. It turned out that we are supposed to visit the taxi managers who sit in what looks like a movie theater ticket window. When you tell them the general neighborhood that you want to go to, they print a slip on which is the said destination and the corresponding price that you need to pay the driver when you get there. When I looked at the price I was amazed and incredibly happy. A mere $3.20 gets us from the airport to the middle of all the touristy action!
With it being Holy Friday, Cartagena's hotels were booked to the maximum, and we would have to return at the designated check-in time of 2pm. It was only 8am at this point and we decided we would roam around for a few hours and return at noon to see if our room might have been put high on the priority list of cleaning.
The first place Michael wanted to take me was a cafe where he and John had dined on Michael's first journey to Colombia. It was a restaurant located atop the fortress walls of Cartagena's original city limits that had a view of the sea. It was not hard to find the fortress walls, but finding a way to get on top of them was more tricky.
We seemed to have walked for hours, but it was only about one hour that had lapsed. The heat was scorching even at such an early morning hour and this made the disappointment of finding the cafe closed even more terrible. On a positive note, we noticed that the wall was composed of the most interesting components!
When we got to the front desk, I was surprised to hear English coming form the attendant's lips!
Just as in Medellin, we had to travel between the plane and airport without the comfort of a tunnel. As soon as we descended the plane stairs, Michael beamed with pleasure at 1) being in a new place, and 2) experiencing heat. I had prepared by wearing my one maxi dress. Despite its strappy shoulders, and loosely-flowing skirt, this dress was made of a synthetic material that clung to me and made me feel even more sticky.
I longed to retreat to our hotel room's air-conditioned space.
Since we had no luggage to retrieve from baggage claim, we were the first ones to reach the airport's curbside. We could not Uber because there were no available drivers nearby. Here was another taxi experience. We saw a line of taxis and popped into the first one. The driver asked us our destination and after we told him, "El Centro," he left the cab. A little confused we looked for him and found him talking to a window operator that we completely bypassed. He was given a slip of paper that he then gave to us. It turned out that we are supposed to visit the taxi managers who sit in what looks like a movie theater ticket window. When you tell them the general neighborhood that you want to go to, they print a slip on which is the said destination and the corresponding price that you need to pay the driver when you get there. When I looked at the price I was amazed and incredibly happy. A mere $3.20 gets us from the airport to the middle of all the touristy action!
Airport Curb
The neighborhood outside the airport looked sketchy.
With it being Holy Friday, Cartagena's hotels were booked to the maximum, and we would have to return at the designated check-in time of 2pm. It was only 8am at this point and we decided we would roam around for a few hours and return at noon to see if our room might have been put high on the priority list of cleaning.
The first place Michael wanted to take me was a cafe where he and John had dined on Michael's first journey to Colombia. It was a restaurant located atop the fortress walls of Cartagena's original city limits that had a view of the sea. It was not hard to find the fortress walls, but finding a way to get on top of them was more tricky.
Empty plaza
We seemed to have walked for hours, but it was only about one hour that had lapsed. The heat was scorching even at such an early morning hour and this made the disappointment of finding the cafe closed even more terrible. On a positive note, we noticed that the wall was composed of the most interesting components!
Sponges?
Coral impressions. Beer bottle not included.
Great views.
Our interest quickly shifted to food and we backtracked to hotel that we had seen already had human movement and that was large enough to most likely have a restaurant inside.
Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa
When we got to the front desk, I was surprised to hear English coming form the attendant's lips!
Colombia 2015 - Coming to Cartagena
I don't remember if I slept during our flight to Cartagena. If I had, it would have been a power nap because the flight takes a quick hour from Medellín. Michael was excited to feel humid weather. Not I. As our plane landed, I squinted out the window and took note of the glaring sun blanketing the landscape. I had worn a long flowing strap dress in anticipation for the change in weather, but I had also chosen the wrong material for a dress. The polysynthetic knit fabric clung to me like saran wrap.
Our exit from the plane was similar to its entrance. We had to descend stairs and walk a bit to get indoors. Once inside we headed straight for the bathrooms. After we relieved ourselves, we checked our backpack and luggage and braced ourselves for the outside. Well, I braced myself to experience the muggy heat again. Michael welcomed it with open armpits.
We didn't bother to UBER this time and just headed towards the line of taxis. Since Cartagena is a city whose economics are so dependent on tourism, it was unlikely we were going to get swindlers at the airport. The method to getting a taxi was very organized! You stand in a line to get to an operator behind a glass window. You speak into the microphone your general destination, which the operator types into a computer. You grab the ticket he hands you and hand it to the next available taxi driver. I describe the process using the second person because we didn't not experience it first hand. We had been the first ones outside that we just headed straight for the taxi first in line. We didn't know! When we told him our hotel's address, he left the car and I wondered what was going on. He ended up going to the operator and grabbing a ticket for us. On the ticket were the words "Centro Historico" (I think. It's been so long, I don't quite remember.) and the numbers "8,000." It was going to cost us $3.20 to get to our destination! I bristled with excitement that Cartagena might end up being cheaper than Medellín.
The neighborhood just outside the airport was very residential and rundown, but the driver assured us that inside the walls of Cartagena were safe and much better looking. He was a lively fellow who did not stop talking. At 7am, he was quite the chipper chap pointing out new buildings, discouraging us from the beachfront, and trying to sell us on hiring him for future trips around the city. He fed us tidbits on a couple of landmarks in the distance and up some hills and assured us that he would give us the best information and the best ride to said locations if we go on his best trip evah.
When we had given our driver our hotel's nearest intersection, we gave him street names that were labeled on Google Maps. He had no idea what those names were and I started to worry. Then he explained that silly Cartagena keeps changing the street names. What we knew as Carerra 7 was known locally as Calle de San Agustin Chiquita. So after our repeated, "See-eh-teh! Cah-reh-rah ... see-eh-teh!" He gave up and asked us our hotel name. He uttered an "Aha" as if to say, "Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia! Why didn't you say so in the first place! Yes, yes ... it's right around the corner." And within 5 minutes, we were at our destination.
We tried to get an early check-in but to no success. The hotel was booked because of the impending Holy Week. Colombians treat this time off as an opportunity to take vacations to the coast or other touristy destinations. We were going to have to sweat it out (literally) until 2pm, when our room would be ready. We left our luggage in a secured room near the front desk and stepped out into the city.
Welcome to Cartagena!
Our exit from the plane was similar to its entrance. We had to descend stairs and walk a bit to get indoors. Once inside we headed straight for the bathrooms. After we relieved ourselves, we checked our backpack and luggage and braced ourselves for the outside. Well, I braced myself to experience the muggy heat again. Michael welcomed it with open armpits.
We didn't bother to UBER this time and just headed towards the line of taxis. Since Cartagena is a city whose economics are so dependent on tourism, it was unlikely we were going to get swindlers at the airport. The method to getting a taxi was very organized! You stand in a line to get to an operator behind a glass window. You speak into the microphone your general destination, which the operator types into a computer. You grab the ticket he hands you and hand it to the next available taxi driver. I describe the process using the second person because we didn't not experience it first hand. We had been the first ones outside that we just headed straight for the taxi first in line. We didn't know! When we told him our hotel's address, he left the car and I wondered what was going on. He ended up going to the operator and grabbing a ticket for us. On the ticket were the words "Centro Historico" (I think. It's been so long, I don't quite remember.) and the numbers "8,000." It was going to cost us $3.20 to get to our destination! I bristled with excitement that Cartagena might end up being cheaper than Medellín.
The neighborhood just outside the airport was very residential and rundown, but the driver assured us that inside the walls of Cartagena were safe and much better looking. He was a lively fellow who did not stop talking. At 7am, he was quite the chipper chap pointing out new buildings, discouraging us from the beachfront, and trying to sell us on hiring him for future trips around the city. He fed us tidbits on a couple of landmarks in the distance and up some hills and assured us that he would give us the best information and the best ride to said locations if we go on his best trip evah.
When we had given our driver our hotel's nearest intersection, we gave him street names that were labeled on Google Maps. He had no idea what those names were and I started to worry. Then he explained that silly Cartagena keeps changing the street names. What we knew as Carerra 7 was known locally as Calle de San Agustin Chiquita. So after our repeated, "See-eh-teh! Cah-reh-rah ... see-eh-teh!" He gave up and asked us our hotel name. He uttered an "Aha" as if to say, "Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia! Why didn't you say so in the first place! Yes, yes ... it's right around the corner." And within 5 minutes, we were at our destination.
We tried to get an early check-in but to no success. The hotel was booked because of the impending Holy Week. Colombians treat this time off as an opportunity to take vacations to the coast or other touristy destinations. We were going to have to sweat it out (literally) until 2pm, when our room would be ready. We left our luggage in a secured room near the front desk and stepped out into the city.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Colombia 2015 - Last Day in Medellin
Last Observations on Medellin
The last thing we wanted to do was ride these air gondola lifts that take one to Parque Arvi that overlooks all of Medellin. Again we took the walk to the metro in stride and noticed something interesting.
Freed up from obligations, we walked very leisurely back to our hostel. This relaxed state helped us noticed a peculiar procession right under our noses. The line of taxi drivers waiting for passengers was very quiet and the cars were moving veeerrrrryyy slooooowwwwly. Michael deduced that the drivers were trying to avoid constantly turning on and off their engines while queuing for passengers. The drivers put their cars in neutral and pushed it along as the line progressed. Clever!
Last Supper
After a great workout, we had dinner at Medellin Beer Company. It seemed fitting that we would have something so quintessential of the area. It was actually the first time we enjoyed a burrito! It was giant and stuffed with cheesy, meaty goodness. I had chicken wings, which were alright, but I wished I had had Michael's entree.
Packing Panic
Despite having given our laundry to the hostel hosts early in the day, our clothes were not finished when returned. Normally this doesn't matter, but we needed to pack and catch an early flight that left at 6am the following morning. According to Viva Colombia's website, we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before because of the long check-in process. This meant that we needed to be in the cab by 2:15am. The hostel owner himself made sure that the cab was reserved, so all we needed to do was pack.
While waiting for the laundry, Pilar, the girlfriend of our host Alejandro, gave us a little going away gift. It's a candied bar of guava. They had been so nice to us during our stay. Ale was the one who greeted us when we arrived. He was the one who switched us to a different room in anticipation for the loud weekend. He and Pilar also offered us some of the food they cooked in the kitchen. I was really going to miss them! Not because they offered us food, but they were adventurous souls that hung around the hostel and loved to chat. According to their plans, as I write this they've visited the island beaches of Colombia and are moving on to travel the rest of South America before they return to their home country of Argentina.
The last thing we wanted to do was ride these air gondola lifts that take one to Parque Arvi that overlooks all of Medellin. Again we took the walk to the metro in stride and noticed something interesting.
Excessive security
Some people go to extreme measures to prevent access into their property. It's not every single person in a neighborhood - it's just little bits of people here and there. So it's not as if a bunch of blocks experience crime. It's either people react very badly to past theft or people prepare very well for it.
When we got to the station, we tried to order tickets for the ride to the bottom of the gondola and to the gondola itself. To our dismay, we were too late to try Parque Arvi. There was some procession going on in celebration of Holy Week so it was too crowded to even try to go up there. Oh well. On another vacation we can get our jollies going up in the air.
Running on Neutral
The picture below is poor, but it is of 3 missionaries who huddled under an on-ramp to tell passersby about Jesus. It perplexed me because Colombia is overwhelmingly Christian. My guess is that the evangelists were something other than Catholic, what 80% of the population is. They must have been saying, "We praise Jesus better. Worship like we do!"
In the background of the photo was a young indigenous mother who was begging for money. This girl looked as if she were 15. This little corner was the only spot we were ever solicited for money or a bit of our time.
More Corsets
Since this was our last day in Medellin we had given all our laundry to the hostel hostess to wash. Unfortunately, we couldn't kill time by going to the gym without our gym clothes. But seeing as how cheap the clothes were, we decided buy new workout outfits at Exito! In the midst of our shopping, we noticed another method of improving our body image that wouldn't have involved as much sweat as going to the gym.
Man + Spanx = Manx!
This line of corsets for men was by a brand named Leo and their slogan was, "Sin excusas," or "No excuses!" Sweat or not, we had the opportunity to make all the Colombians swoon with contoured abs such as Leo could provide.
I'm not sure what exactly the one on the right wants to enhance.
Men too suffer from the Saggy Butt Syndrome!
After a great workout, we had dinner at Medellin Beer Company. It seemed fitting that we would have something so quintessential of the area. It was actually the first time we enjoyed a burrito! It was giant and stuffed with cheesy, meaty goodness. I had chicken wings, which were alright, but I wished I had had Michael's entree.
Drowning chicken wings and heavenly burrito
Packing Panic
Despite having given our laundry to the hostel hosts early in the day, our clothes were not finished when returned. Normally this doesn't matter, but we needed to pack and catch an early flight that left at 6am the following morning. According to Viva Colombia's website, we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before because of the long check-in process. This meant that we needed to be in the cab by 2:15am. The hostel owner himself made sure that the cab was reserved, so all we needed to do was pack.
While waiting for the laundry, Pilar, the girlfriend of our host Alejandro, gave us a little going away gift. It's a candied bar of guava. They had been so nice to us during our stay. Ale was the one who greeted us when we arrived. He was the one who switched us to a different room in anticipation for the loud weekend. He and Pilar also offered us some of the food they cooked in the kitchen. I was really going to miss them! Not because they offered us food, but they were adventurous souls that hung around the hostel and loved to chat. According to their plans, as I write this they've visited the island beaches of Colombia and are moving on to travel the rest of South America before they return to their home country of Argentina.
The other hosts were very nice too. Robin was this tall, quiet young man who always had a smile. When we needed to get our boarding tickets printed, he directed to a neighboring internet shop. Many mornings he would greet me good morning and ask if I wanted some fruit for breakfast. If I did, he would have some papaya or pineapple ready in no time. Dani was this funky, red-dye-haired girl who always smiled. If we ever go back to Medellin, we are definitely staying at Saman Hostel again.
We finally got our laundry at 10:30pm. We packed quickly, but only got 2 1/2 hours of sleep before we got dressed waiting for our cab.
Plane Panic
Wouldn't you know it, the cab was late. It takes one good hour through windy roads to get to the airport and it was now 2:30 am. Ale kept assuring us that the cab would arrive, but we had become accustom to how tardy Colombians are. We didn't bother waiting inside the hostel, but instead parked our luggage out on the front porch, sat down next to them and scrutinized every car that passed by. I finally asked Ale to call the dispatch. He did and it seemed that scheduled driver was not available. WTF?!?!? But Ale settled it and another driver (someone higher up on the ladder of drivers) was on his way.
I was not going to miss the lackadaisical attitude that Medellin people had about time. I don't care about sitting in the airport with my thumbs twiddling. It relieves me to be where I need to be well ahead of time. The uncertainty of arriving at my destination makes my stomach queasy and my whole constitution uncomfortable, I was hoping the other cities would be less tardy, but I was doubting it would come true.
We finally got to the airport at 4am, but the process to check in was lightning quick! It turns out, we never had to do any check-in process. Since we had already printed our passes and were not checking in any baggages, we were able to go right ahead to the security lines to get to the departure gate. Forums online warned that many locals would be checking-in baggages and that security would take forever. Not so! In fact, all our worry for having liquids in the form of after shave balm and hair sprays were all for naught! In the process of putting my bag of liquids in a separate bin, the security guard waved her hand and shook her head and told me that I could just put the ziploc bag back in my backpack. I could have had mousse all this time, but I was too fearful of the security measures! I guess Colombia's lackadaisical attitude comes in handy sometimes.
Getting to the correct gate was comical. The gate signs for the corresponding flights changed every 15 minutes! We first thought we were headed to Gate 1B, after a while, we moved to 2, and then finally to 1A. The disorganization was incredible. One thing that was great, however, was the large supply of outlets in which many passengers used to charge their electronic devices. The free wi-fi was a little weak, but it was strong enough that I was able to pass the time playing some games on my phone.
Boarding a plane in America is quite luxurious compared to the rest of the world. For one, your gate will not likely change ... multiple times. Maybe once, but never as frequently as it did in Medellin. Another reason is that boarding the plane is usually through a covered tunnel without stairs. With Viva Colombia at least, we had to carry our bags down a flight of stairs, exit the building, walk miles (ok, just 1/16th of a mile) to stand in a line in front of the plane for 20 minutes, and then climb more stairs to get inside the plane. I mean, we lived, but it made me realize how comfortable America is.
We settled down in our seats and looked forward to the next leg of our Colombian adventure!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Colombia 2015 - What Did We Do On Wednesday?
Carulla
Having visited all the neighborhoods we wanted to, we were suddenly freed up to do more pokin' around near our hostel. Near us was the supermarket Carulla. It is more upscale than Exito, but sells only groceries and some toiletries. I was eager to see if we could get what we are used to in the States. I was also hopeful that there would be organic options that I had not found at Exito nor at the Mom-n-Pops.
Chicken nuggets for the kids!
Salmon filets
Carne!
Pork butt?
Chicken drumsticks - where are the thighs!?!
More meat!
Creamer, American and Latin
Organic Tea! A better selection than our Commissary at home
Bread for PB & Js
Sadly, there is no organic jelly available
I don't remember what this is, but it's available!
Papaya, my new favorite fruit
Herb garden
Cucumbers for green smoothies and zucchini to complement all the meat
Short, stubby carrots
Anjou pears!! Colombia is livable.
Artisan bread
Limes. Where are the lemons?
There are healthy options!
Sauce for Spaghetti and such
Ingredients for hot dish casseroles
Brown sugar to go with our greek yogurt
Popcorn to go with the telenovelas
Chicharrones, sponsered by Homer Simpson!
Organic Ketchup!!! Hoorah!
Colombian Ketchup comes in bags!
At least I can dip the funky sushi in good ole Kikkoman soy sauce
Mac and Cheese for lazy cooking nights
Don't forget your processed meat in a can!
I've seen these pasta brands in America!
Rechargeable batteries
Whew! Mexican food just like home.
I can make Thai curry with the coconut milk options!
Comfort Drinks
Carulla shopping cart
Carulla kid cart
New Nightlife?
After a good nap, we worked out and then dressed up to check out the nightlife north of Parque Lleras. Even arriving at a club at 10pm was too early. And we were too old to wait around for the club to get livelier. So what do old people do when they need something to do? Eat!
Incredible thin crust pizza at Al Rojo
We shared a pizza at a nice restaurant and were pleasantly surprised at how delicious and scrumptious it was. It came as a thin crust, our favorite kind of pizza, and so many ingredients were piled on top of it. It felt decadent! Instead of drowning the bread in sauce, they piled on diced tomatoes along with the ham and cheese. It tasted so fresh! This is what Colombia does well: thin crust pizza! Who knew?
We decided to visit Envy a night early and got lucky with a good crowd and music. We should have never ventured away from Parque Lleras, where everyone else congregates! Our nightlife was where it had been all along!
LED Backlit menu. I am envious!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)