Falling in Love with Colombia

The top of Pico de Loro in Farallones National Park just outside of Cali.

I keep thinking fall is on its way.  Every time I walk down the sidewalk and hear a leaf crunch under my foot, I see it as a warning of what is to come: chilly nights, apple donuts, cozy scarves and puffy vests.  But then I look up and realize that leaf was actually from a palm tree, and the sun is smirking down at me.  Alas, fall will not come to Cali.  However, I have a feeling when I hear about continuous negative temperatures in Minnesota, and I'm in a skirt and sandals, I will be that sun smirking at everyone back home.

We have definitely been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather here.  We spent last weekend up in the mountains about 40 minutes from Cali.  We stayed at a Mirador Topacio Finca (farm) in Pance for the night and began hiking up to Pico de Loro in Farrallones National Park in the morning.  At almost 10,000 feet, it's a peak we can see from all over Cali.  It was a fantastic 9 hour hike with 3 hours of the 4 hours being class 3 climbing. We had to use roots, rocks, and vines to get up!  However, the view made it all worth it, and we enjoyed being above the clouds.  We were guided by an American woman who has been living in Colombia for the past 6 years who after spending the weekend with us said, "I didn't think teachers could be this cool."

The finca where we stayed for the night.

The pasture at the finca where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Reaching the summit!

Our fantastic group of teacher friends!

In other news, school is going fantastic.  Aaron is finishing up his first unit in chemistry, and I'm finishing up my unit in reflective writing.  If you have Sound Cloud, feel free to check out my students' This I Believe personal essays.  They recorded them into podcasts, and you can check them out here: Colegio Bolivar English 10 Podcasts 

It's Sunday morning so I am off for my morning run and rumba class in the park!  This is something I've really grown to love about this place.  Every Sunday they have Cicliovida in Cali.  They block off major roads from 7-1pm and people can run, bike, walk or dance on the streets.  One of my favorite things to do is go for a run and then stop in the park to do a rumba class.  It's young, old, men, and women all dancing in the middle of the park.  Honestly, you go to one of these classes and you know why Colombians are said to be the happiest people in the world.  Dancing just makes you happy!  Check out what I mean...