Last day from Bogota

Today is a rainy and foggy day like any other in Bogota´, Colombia. It´s true that the weather is a bit morbid here, but as usual fellow travelers that I´ve met make up for any bad climate. After being in Bogota´ for a week I have learned the town very well. The public transportation system is top notch and there are many different areas in this huge city, each offers their own little flair.
This morning I ate at my favorite french pastry shop for breakfast. It is an amazing place right out of France and in the heart of Bogota´. A couple fried eggs and the most deliscious almond craussant along with hot chocolate is my usual order. The staff has even gotten to know me and gave me a nice bag of cookies as a departing gift. The owner was an old French man that refuses to speak anything but French, and everyone that works for him has to learn some French as well. What can you say? He´s just so....French!
Oh! Yesterday I made my way to a very old bowling alley in the middle of the downtown area. Would you believe that they still have someone there setting the pins by hand! Truely the most dangerous job in bogota´! I talked other travelers into going and the 6 of us, each from different countries, went and had a blast. Also, spent some quality time with my friends last night. As we laughed and joked over sushi and sake I knew that it was a moment to cherish. I will remember my time here in Bogota and in Colombia with a feeling of contentment. I am also happy to point out that it is a very safe country, no different than any other where you have to use your own common sence and you will be fine traveling here. Sad that my travels are at an end for a little while, but south america has been one good experience after another. Thanks for following and I´ll post more pics to finish off the site this weekend from the states. Passa bien!!

Colombia´s coffee region

A few nights in Colombia´s coffee region proved to be informative and relaxing. The small pueblo that I stayed at in Salento reminded me of my last and best stop of Vilcabamba, Ecuador. However, this was at least twice the size and the tourist bug has already bit this place. Still, Salento and its´people have retained much of their small town feel. I hope that Vilcabamba will be able to do the same in the future.
In Salento I learned all about the coffee making process. And, every traveler I linked up with there was a pleasure to be around. One day I hiked to two coffee plantation, one large and one small, with 2 people from Holland, one from Australia, and another from Japan. We all hiked together several miles throughout the day enjoying one anothers company, the scenery, and the plantations. I still do not drink coffee, however, I love the smell and know the step by step process either by hand or machinery. The best part about this experience, and that of traveling, are sharing travelling experience with all the other travelers on their trek.
Some travellers are young and only beginning their travels and others are several months in to their journeys. Sometimes life friends are made, but often just enjoying the company of cool people for a few days is enough.
I was told by another traveller in Ecuador about someone who was staying in Vilcabamba. We never met up, but oddly enough, there she was in Salento. It´s ironic and really cool to meet people that I have met in the past while travelling in another country. I have also heard similar stories from others. Reencountering people is a unique and fun thing about travelling.
Now I have arrived back in bogota to spend my last few days with my good friends. Since they are the main reason for me coming to Colombia, I figure that it is best to see them while I am still here. This will be my first saturday night in bogota and it should be fun...

Traveling in Colombia

My three days in Bogota, Colombia proved to be a series of unique experiences. The day after Ändres Carne y res¨, we saw signs for an Afro-colombian dance being held at a small outdoor theatre. Well, I´ve seen some dancing in my 33 years, but these people must have double jointed in like, every joint of their body! It was kind of like watching people having epileptic fits with rythem. Unfortunately, no pictures were aloud there. Still, in between the dance sequences there was an MC with a troop of drummers, brass instruments behind him. Both the colors and the MC copletely controlled the crowd. Almost everyone there was either dancing or singing at one time or another. As I sat with my friend from Germany she whispered, ¨People singin in the crowd would never happen in Germany.¨ Some rain gently fell, the music blared, dancers danced, and singers belted out chords. While I watched the 70 year old man sitting in the front row next to me move to the rythem, I knew that it was a unique travel experience.
Now, I have made it to the coffee region of Colombia in a town called Salento. Tomorrow I plan to take a horse ride to the coffee plantations and enjoy the beautiful mountain top scenery.

Bienvenido a Colombia!..Andres..

After reluctantly leaving the quaint sanctuary of Vilcabamba, I have made it to Bogota, Colombia a few days ago. Found a pleasent hostel that was 15$ per night where I stayed with a girl that I met through the volunteer program in Ecuador. She has proven to be a cool travel partner who loves food and has a very pleasant dispostion. We actually have moved to another hostel recently where there are more packers for half of what we were paying! After arriving I immediately hooked up with my good friend Mauricio who has moved back to Bogota after living in Miami for almost five years. He took me to a place that he has been telling me about since I´ve known him called Ändres carne de res¨. This is the most unique restuarant that I have ever been!
It is a premier restuarant just outside of Bogota in a place called Chia. This region was known as the goddess of the moon by the indigenous people who lived here before the Spaniards came to kill on their insatiable quest for gold. Anyway, back to this amazing place that I have been hearing about for the past two years. We sat at ¨Carajo 50¨, for those of you who speak spanish that is funny in itself. We started with some local classics, that are better here than anywhere else. And, a huge coconut bowl filled with a mojito for me, eventually I took down three. Mauricio then added after my first sip, ¨The quest is finally over, now you can die.¨ The restuarant did not disappoint. As we ate, there was also a troop of people dressed up playing rag time music on the brass instruments that paraded themselves around the restuarant. OH! And since my friend is a big fish in a little pond here, we sat in the VIP area. And, wouldn´t you know, the presidents son walked in with his secret service and sat right next to us. So now I have peed in the president of Ecuador´s bathroom, and partied with the president of Colombia´s son. Those things would never happen in the US.
Anyway, it was a night to remember.

Vilcabamba

I have found a small sanctuary close to the Andes montains near the border of Peru. While ready to leave Ecuador, I was told of a place that has a rich history of people living to ripe old ages. Unfortunatly, like many other places of such unique beauty, it is beginning to be touched by the rest of the world. The days of people living to be 137, to be exact, may be over here but real beauty still exists.
While preparing to leave Dario´s company I met his father in law Julien. He really sold me on visiting this destination of such beauty and relaxation that it would have been a sin not to see. Julien offered me to stay in his future retirement home that has a beautiful view from his terazza Every morning I swing open the doors to his 150 year old cottage to view a landscape of mountains and greenery that must have been created by a higher power. Welcoming the day in such a place is encapturing, and I am already feeling his warning that I will not want to leave. Like everywhere else in Ecuador the people are welcoming, maybe even more so here in such a small place. In light of the feeling here, I will stay for the week. Tomorrow I am renting a horse to ride up to these beautiful waterfalls that I was told to view. The four hour ride will likely cost maybe 10$. I can not wait to post the pics that I have taken!

Life after Manta

Back on the road, and have left the good living of Manta. Most of the country seems to run on change. If travelling to Ecuador, good advice would be to bring one hundred dollars with you, in one dollar bills. The buses everywhere are 20cents, cab rides are 1dollar and many other street foods are cheap as well. Manta, however, was how the top 1% lives here in Ecuador. But, even that top `1% is much cheaper than the US, more like the upper middle class prices. Beach front homes for 200k, condos on the beach for 50k, the finest meals at a restuarant for 7dollars, etc. And, there is some of the best surfing in Ecuador right in Manta. Unfortunately, it is not surfing or wave season, so I am out of luck this trip.
Driving with Dario and family to Guayaquil has was cool. We passed many small towns and each is known for something. There is a town just known to make pillows, another rice, and another things from whicker, etc. Whatever the town is known for, every small store sells exactly the same thing! It´s something to see. It was fun trying to guess what I would see going form one town to antoher. Also ate something that was pretty darn good called humitas. It´s kind of a steamed corn bread, rapped in a banana leaf with cheese inside.
I´m here in Guayaquil only for one night, and tomorrow I´ll catch a bus to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. There I will be totally on my own for two days, then I´ll fly to Bogota, Colombia.
We did party pretty hard the last night in Manta though. People here in Ecuador really only drink two things; Pilsner beer or scotch whisky sometimes mixed with water. The beer is good, but the whisky will put you on your ass, or face! We started at his favorite restuarant, where the owners really began to like me as well and made something special, not on the menu, just for us taht was on the house with wine included! Then went to an outside bar where there was a live band and hooked up with some of their friends, who then joined us in a hopping dance club. They were playing the old school hip hop that I like to call pop hop that was popular when I went to HS, and is still played at city proms today in awesome cities in the US like Phila. After we finished up at Karaoke. Turns out that Ecuadorians are generally crazy about that stuff here. There are some sub stories there, but will have to tell some of you personally as I am trying to keep this blog somewhat clean. All I can say is 21!

life in manta

Manta has made an impression. However, I feel that a grand reason for this impression has been Dario. He is a great host and I enjoy his wife and child as well thus far. Dario is a work acquantance that I met in real estate and is doing some exciting things here in Manta, Ecuador. We are already mixing work with fun and are enjoying eachothers company thus far. After meeting me at the bus at 7am, he spent the day showing me around Manta. The day included a tour with a friend of the Ecuadorian naval base, Darrio's tennis match, and finally a fun restuarant that he likes to go with his wife and friends. It has been a much needed fun day, more to my speed. I will miss Tonsupa but know that it is not for me for any length of time. Tomorrow I know that we will see more of what is happening in Manta and I am looking forward to the tours.