Just like last week, we were invited to visit a town north of here in a little warmer climate. The friends that invited us have been inviting us to their country home for many years and we never seemed to get there. Well, I wish we had gone earlier, because it was a real treat.
Pacho is known for its orange groves. Their oranges come in two types. Navel oranges and juice oranges. It was such a pleasure to drink freshly processed oranges for breakfast. They also have many horse farms that breed "Paso Fino" horses. For those of you who do not know what a Paso Fino Horse looks like, just imagine an average to smaller sized horse that prances so smoothly that you could put a glass of wine on its back and the wine should not spill. They were beginning their two week long festival, so the town was really busy. Our first meal was at a local restaurant where you can look at the pot and pick what you want to eat. Very good and extremely large portions. I ate all of what I was served for lunch, but I was not hungry until the next day.
Our host is one of the kindness and most generous persons I have ever met. He is one of those hard working and dedicated people who has educated his three children and created a life for them that few people without a college education can expect to attain. When we got to their very beautiful house, we found out that they had no electricity. So, I went with him to walk around the neighborhood to find out what was happening and to buy some candles just in case. He knew almost everyone we met, greeted them like best friends. He asked about their family members and they responded just as enthusiasticly and warmly. Mind you, most of these people, have worked for either building his house or helping him to maintain it while he is not there. Very few of the houses was what we in the US would be considered "liveable". In other words, they are poor. However, these people were polite, fairly well educated, and obviously good honest people. Their demeanor really impressed and reminded how wonderful the Colombian people are regardless of how corrupt their government and the governing elite is. My friend treated all of them like his friend and they treated him as their equal. It was a real lesson in civics. He treats them as equals and they respect and like him. I doubt that even though he can not get to his country home more than once a month or so, it would never be robbed nor damaged. His neighbors take care of it for him.
My point here is that no matter what you read about Colombia in the news, or read in travel magazines, there is another side to the story. The real Colombia and the real colombians are never in the news and always suffer due to the lack of decency and civic responsibility that a few of their countrymen demonstrate.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Villa de Leyva
Weekends are for traveling and visiting friends and relatives. That is what we did. Two of our best friends invited Ada, myself, my daughter and her sons to their home in Villa de Leyva for the weekend.
So, our friends picked our daughter up in Bogota and drove to our house since it is on the way to Villa de Leyva. It is about a two hour drive through very beautiful scenic roads. It was a four lane highway, very good for Colombia standards, for the first hour of the route. Once we got off the main highway, the roads got dicey. The "winter" weather, heavy rains, washed away parts of the very winding and steep mountain road. Our friend knew her way so it was not a problem. I definitely would not want to drive this route in the dark.
A little background. I had not been to Villa for over 30 years so I truly notice a change driving into the town. It is completely dedicated to tourism and Friday evening is when it begins. The main square had not changed but there many more hotels, shops, and restaurants. And of course many more tourists. Our host's husband had to take a bus because we would not all fit in the car so we waited in the main square until he arrived. The uniqueness of this town is in part due to the stone paved roads throughout the main part of town. As do most visitors who know the town, we stopped at the store on the corner of the square for a snack. We bought the boys ice cream, my wife had a gelatina (a gelatinous candy made out of the heal of the cow), I had a rosquete, sort of like a pretzel, but sweet. When our host arrived, we went to a very nice mini-mall and had something to drink. I was very thirsty so I asked for a beer, and of course had to go to the bathroom. I went and the sign said $1,000 pesos. Well, I refused to pay. Everything was quite expensive. How things have changed!
Our hosts house is in the country so we had about a 15 minute drive on dirt county roads. Their house and the neighborhood was just breathtaking. Fresh air, beautiful scenary, good food, and great friends made for a memorable weekend.
So, our friends picked our daughter up in Bogota and drove to our house since it is on the way to Villa de Leyva. It is about a two hour drive through very beautiful scenic roads. It was a four lane highway, very good for Colombia standards, for the first hour of the route. Once we got off the main highway, the roads got dicey. The "winter" weather, heavy rains, washed away parts of the very winding and steep mountain road. Our friend knew her way so it was not a problem. I definitely would not want to drive this route in the dark.
A little background. I had not been to Villa for over 30 years so I truly notice a change driving into the town. It is completely dedicated to tourism and Friday evening is when it begins. The main square had not changed but there many more hotels, shops, and restaurants. And of course many more tourists. Our host's husband had to take a bus because we would not all fit in the car so we waited in the main square until he arrived. The uniqueness of this town is in part due to the stone paved roads throughout the main part of town. As do most visitors who know the town, we stopped at the store on the corner of the square for a snack. We bought the boys ice cream, my wife had a gelatina (a gelatinous candy made out of the heal of the cow), I had a rosquete, sort of like a pretzel, but sweet. When our host arrived, we went to a very nice mini-mall and had something to drink. I was very thirsty so I asked for a beer, and of course had to go to the bathroom. I went and the sign said $1,000 pesos. Well, I refused to pay. Everything was quite expensive. How things have changed!
Our hosts house is in the country so we had about a 15 minute drive on dirt county roads. Their house and the neighborhood was just breathtaking. Fresh air, beautiful scenary, good food, and great friends made for a memorable weekend.
Monday, July 4, 2011
El Puente
Today is the 4th of July in the US and it is also a holiday here in Colombia. According to the calendar in my kitchen, it is Santa Isabel de Portugal Day. I wrote El Puente (which means bridge) for a specific reason. When a holiday, like today, falls on a Monday or a Friday, they call the long weekend a bridge. We have had two puentes consecutively; last weekend and this. Many people, common laborers, factory workers, field hands have a 48 hour week. So, a puente is a real good occasion to go somewhere. My renters went to a small town nearby to bathe in the natural hot springs. It was so crowded that they would have had to stand up shoulder to shoulder in the pool. So, they hopped on the bus and went to another town that has a pool and went swimming. Most people will go somewhere and some of the shops in town were closed, and they are usually open on Sundays. We will have a little celebration at my house; just our renters and their parents. We will have a chicken stew, hot criole potato salad, some kind of salad, and a dessert. Hopefully it will be a nice day like yesterday so we can eat outside in our kiosk.
Another cultural note. Breakfast could be anything just like in the US. However, in the Sabana de Bogotá, due to the chilly mornings (50 degrees) you need a hot breakfast. It is very common for the people to drink hot chocolate, cheese (in the hot chocolate, of course), and an arepa (corn pancake) or an almojabana (corn/cheese bun). This morning I had something I had not had in a long time, changua. Changua is a consume made out of watered down milk, an egg, cilantro and chopped green onion. That with a wheat bran bun, warms you up and fills your soul. It really hit the spot this morning.
We went grocery shopping yesterday. As I had mentioned some shops were closed, but not the small grocery stores and butcher shops. Almost every house in town has some type of shop facing the street. So, shopping means either going to the major supermarket in town which is definitely expensive but you have fixed prices, or go to several of the shops in town. You have to go to several because some shops only carry certain items. Unfortunately, most of these shops do not have fixed prices (the shops with fixed prices are definitely more expensive). So, I have to wait at the corner while my wife buys what we need in the store. We do this to avoid the "gringo tax"; the fairly common practice of raising the price if you are a foreigner.
More to come in a week.
Another cultural note. Breakfast could be anything just like in the US. However, in the Sabana de Bogotá, due to the chilly mornings (50 degrees) you need a hot breakfast. It is very common for the people to drink hot chocolate, cheese (in the hot chocolate, of course), and an arepa (corn pancake) or an almojabana (corn/cheese bun). This morning I had something I had not had in a long time, changua. Changua is a consume made out of watered down milk, an egg, cilantro and chopped green onion. That with a wheat bran bun, warms you up and fills your soul. It really hit the spot this morning.
We went grocery shopping yesterday. As I had mentioned some shops were closed, but not the small grocery stores and butcher shops. Almost every house in town has some type of shop facing the street. So, shopping means either going to the major supermarket in town which is definitely expensive but you have fixed prices, or go to several of the shops in town. You have to go to several because some shops only carry certain items. Unfortunately, most of these shops do not have fixed prices (the shops with fixed prices are definitely more expensive). So, I have to wait at the corner while my wife buys what we need in the store. We do this to avoid the "gringo tax"; the fairly common practice of raising the price if you are a foreigner.
More to come in a week.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Entry #3 June 27, 2011
Well, it has been a week plus since I last posted. I have been working hard on cutting the grass on my property. I have about half of it done. Unfortunately, it is the easiest half, but it is the half that has all the flower gardens, drive way and is used by all. The rest is around the gardens, fruit trees and ornamental trees. It is a real jungle. The grass comes up to my chest. So, I bought a tool for the guy who is helping me weed the gardens and pick up the grass to cut it in half so I can see to cut the rest and avoid cutting something I don't want to cut.
My daughter, her mother-in-law, and my grandsons have been visiting my sister-in-law in Bogotá and came to spend the weekend. It is what they call "un puente" because Monday is national holiday. I am really not sure which holiday nor did my tenant know which holiday it was. Anyway, we are all happy for the holiday. On Saturday, I took everyone, including my tenant's two daughters for a hike up the road we used to call "El Camino Real a Guatavita". The view is quite spectacular. My daughter's mother-in-law took a lot of pictures. I took a hike similar to this one several years ago on one of our family visits while my mother-in-law was alive. There were very few house up on the mountain. Now there are many. The reason that there are so many now is that the road is partially paved and thanks to our push 30 years ago, is has electricity. Most of the people who live there are hard working folks who either walk, drive, or ride their bikes down the mountain every day to go to work or school. There is also an open pit sand mine which means a lot of dump truck traffic all day long. Fortunately, the government is building the equivalent of an interstate highway that intersects the road, so soon, the on- going noise and traffic will be replaced with the drone of highway traffic (actually from two highways, one up the mountain from our house and down the mountain in front of the town). But at least the walking down the road to town will be safer.
The road that passes in front of my house was called (they have a number for it now) "El Camino Real a Guatavita" because it was the path the Spaniards took to the "Laguna de Guatavita" to find the gold and jewels that the indigenous people told them about in the Legend of El Dorado. Of course, they never found it. An additional legend goes something like this. When the Spaniards traveled from Bogotá to Guatavita to find the gold of the El Dorado in the Laguna de Guatavita, the people buried their gold and jewels in the family burial plots on their land. They heard that those thieving white men with long sticks that make a loud noise kill people for their gold and jewels. So, as the story goes, on a moon lit night if you see a glow coming from the ground somewhere, grab your shovel because you might find a "guaca", a pot of gold and jewels. The locals truly believe it because some of their neighbors got rich from one day to the next!
Well, this is my blog. Until next time.
My daughter, her mother-in-law, and my grandsons have been visiting my sister-in-law in Bogotá and came to spend the weekend. It is what they call "un puente" because Monday is national holiday. I am really not sure which holiday nor did my tenant know which holiday it was. Anyway, we are all happy for the holiday. On Saturday, I took everyone, including my tenant's two daughters for a hike up the road we used to call "El Camino Real a Guatavita". The view is quite spectacular. My daughter's mother-in-law took a lot of pictures. I took a hike similar to this one several years ago on one of our family visits while my mother-in-law was alive. There were very few house up on the mountain. Now there are many. The reason that there are so many now is that the road is partially paved and thanks to our push 30 years ago, is has electricity. Most of the people who live there are hard working folks who either walk, drive, or ride their bikes down the mountain every day to go to work or school. There is also an open pit sand mine which means a lot of dump truck traffic all day long. Fortunately, the government is building the equivalent of an interstate highway that intersects the road, so soon, the on- going noise and traffic will be replaced with the drone of highway traffic (actually from two highways, one up the mountain from our house and down the mountain in front of the town). But at least the walking down the road to town will be safer.
The road that passes in front of my house was called (they have a number for it now) "El Camino Real a Guatavita" because it was the path the Spaniards took to the "Laguna de Guatavita" to find the gold and jewels that the indigenous people told them about in the Legend of El Dorado. Of course, they never found it. An additional legend goes something like this. When the Spaniards traveled from Bogotá to Guatavita to find the gold of the El Dorado in the Laguna de Guatavita, the people buried their gold and jewels in the family burial plots on their land. They heard that those thieving white men with long sticks that make a loud noise kill people for their gold and jewels. So, as the story goes, on a moon lit night if you see a glow coming from the ground somewhere, grab your shovel because you might find a "guaca", a pot of gold and jewels. The locals truly believe it because some of their neighbors got rich from one day to the next!
Well, this is my blog. Until next time.
Monday, June 20, 2011
First week in my house in Tocancipa, Colombia
Well, I have been here almost a week. The flight down was fine. I got to my sister-in-law's house and my daughter, her husband, mother in law, and two boys were there (as well sister-in-law, husband and two of their 4 grown kids. It is a small apartment so decided I better get to my house pronto. So the next day I took a taxi ride to Tocancipa. If you look up Tocancipa on google you will find that it is the most industrial town in Colombia. They several industries. Flowers, natural medicines, beer, scrap metal processors. When I first moved to this town it was not as big as it is now. Almost every house on the street has some kind of store or business. They have made many good improvements like the town hall, civic center, nice main square.
When I got to my house, the results of the 6 months of rain was very evident. It is a jungle. The grass in some places comes to my waist. So guess what I have been doing. Cutting grass. Well, lawn mowers are extremely expensive. Hiring someone to cut the grass is also expensive so, guess who is cutting the grass on an acre lot with a weedeater! I went to buy the weedeater with a friend of mine who lives in a nearby city, Zipaquira. After buying the machine, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant in his city. He is a well known guy so people were saying hello to him while we ate a very nice lunch with large servings and beer all for $28 including the tip (for both of us). Not really cheap but for a classy restaurant, it is pretty good. I got a menu for my classes.
Well tomorrow is another day on the farm. I don't have cows to milk but I would be nice to have a couple to munch on this grass!
When I got to my house, the results of the 6 months of rain was very evident. It is a jungle. The grass in some places comes to my waist. So guess what I have been doing. Cutting grass. Well, lawn mowers are extremely expensive. Hiring someone to cut the grass is also expensive so, guess who is cutting the grass on an acre lot with a weedeater! I went to buy the weedeater with a friend of mine who lives in a nearby city, Zipaquira. After buying the machine, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant in his city. He is a well known guy so people were saying hello to him while we ate a very nice lunch with large servings and beer all for $28 including the tip (for both of us). Not really cheap but for a classy restaurant, it is pretty good. I got a menu for my classes.
Well tomorrow is another day on the farm. I don't have cows to milk but I would be nice to have a couple to munch on this grass!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Post #1-One week before my summer trip
One week from tonight I will be back in Colombia. It will be the start of my two month stay in Colombia, hopefully things will go smoothly. I will begin by visiting with the Escobar family in Bogota.
This is the beginning of an opportunity to see if I would like to retire in Colombia. Perhaps two months will be enough time to start the decision making process.
This is the beginning of an opportunity to see if I would like to retire in Colombia. Perhaps two months will be enough time to start the decision making process.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)