Hefstad Roadtrip 2016 Part One: Cali to Termales del Ruiz

Our plan for winter break included an EPIC road trip around Colombia.  We were headed up through the coffee country to go rock climbing in Chicamocha canyon, rafting in San Gil, camping in the Tatacoa desert etc etc.  However, as Burns said, "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." And, in true 2016 fashion, they did.  However, our first leg of the trip went off without a hitch.

Views driving in Pereira--the heart of Colombia's coffee country. 

We drove the 5 hour drive through the Quindio or coffee region to Parque de Los Nevados where we splurged for our first night in a nice hotel with hot springs.  Hotel Termales del Ruiz was recommended by a friend, and it exceeded our expectations! It would be difficult to get to without a car--in fact, I'm not sure if it's possible unless you book a driver from Manizales. The drive from Manizales took us up and up and up through the paramo (an alpine ecosystem unique to this area of the world) and then down into a valley where the hotel was nestled.

Paramo lake in Parque de Los Nevados. 

Frailejones--a paramo plant in the sunflower family.

The bubbling stream in the parking lot of the hotel.

When we arrived, a thick layer of fog masked our surroundings. But later in the day, the valley cleared and we realized we were surrounded by stunning cliffs.

View from the termales.

Perhaps the best part of the hotel was the area surrounding it.  The termales were clean, naturally fed, and boasted a terrific view.  There were also many quaint areas for sitting and relaxing, and even a waterfall to gaze at while sipping wine.  The intuitive design of the landscaping reminded me more of what you would see in Asia--not Colombia.  However, the best part of all were the hummingbirds! There is an area where dozens of different hummingbirds congregate to drink from the feeders.  We must have sat and played with the hummingbirds for an hour.  

Glowing Puffleg 

When they got so close, you could feel the wind from their wings on your face!

Aaron holding a Rainbow Bearded Thornbill 

Sword Billed 

Sunset view from the hummingbird garden.

As we were leaving the next morning, it was clear enough to see Nevado del Ruiz on our drive out of the park!  We would love to come back and hike to the top! Next time.

Nevado del Ruiz volcano

  

New Year's Eve Colombia Style

Colombia has a tradition of burning effigies at midnight to free yourself from the bad of the previous year.  The week before New Year's Eve, you see people selling effigies on the side of the road all throughout Colombia.  Some are generic people while some are political figures, celebrities, etc.  On our way to the store on Saturday, we just happened to find a life-size Donald Trump effigy at a stoplight, and we HAD TO HAVE IT!  Our effigy consisted mostly of clothes stuffed with leaves (a Donald Trump scarecrow if you will) and a paper mache head with classic and ridiculous Donald Trump hair.  We were giddy as we sat him up in the back seat of our van--tiny hands and all. 

Now, we were planning on having a nice dinner out and then come home to burn Mr. Trump at midnight.  We got dressed up and headed to one of the main going out areas in Cali...however, much to our dismay and surprise, EVERYTHING was closed.  All of the restaurants, all of the bars, all of the stores...even Subway and Dominoes were closed!!  I knew that New Year's Eve was a family holiday in Colombia, but I expected most restaurants to be open.  Note to self: Host a house party if we are ever in Colombia again for New Year's Eve.  Therefore, we roamed the streets to find a cab home, but first, in true Colombian fashion, stopped by the pharmacy and got some roadie beers.  When we got home, Aaron whipped up a hodge-podge of green curry with whatever we had in our cupboard, and we ate and watched Netflix until the big event.

Before. 

After.

Luckily, nothing got in our way when it came to our Trump toast.  We drove our van 1/2 block to a side road, propped up Mr. Trump on a concrete light post, verbally unloaded all of 2016's frustrations, transgressions, and disappointments, toasted to 2017, and fired up the camp stove.  I have to say...it felt kinda good. There's something primal about fire and its destruction, and I think both Aaron and I felt a sense of relief while watching it (ehem...him) burn.  I think we will turn the effigy thing into a yearly tradition. 

It was a fitting end to a year of immense professional and personal growth for both of us.  Thank you 2016 for all that you taught us about perseverance, love, patience, and the power of community. 2017...we're ready for you. 

  

Feliz Navidad

It's Christmas time and we've been celebrating! Christmas is the time for PARTYING in Colombia. Between our neighbor's garish Christmas lights that turn our living room into a discoteca, or the fireworks until the wee hours of the morning, if you don't embrace it, it would be easy to turn into a grinch during this time of year in Colombia.  

Velitas is one of my favorite Colombian holidays. It translates to "Day of the little candles" and takes place on the eve of the Immaculate Conception which is a public holiday in Colombia (not sure why we should celebrate...poor Mary missed out on all the fun of baby making...but I digress...).  It is a night when everyone is on the street lighting candles and luminaries in the Virgin Mary's honor.  There is a clear spirit of joy and excitement in the air.  Of course, it is also the favorite holiday of all pyromaniacs in the world (Aaron being one of them).  As we sat on a street corner sipping wine from paper cups, we set fire to candles, lanterns, and styrofoam nativity scenes in true pyro, celebratory fashion.

That same night, our friend hosted a white elephant party.  However, there was a twist: every present had to be purchased off the street from inside of a vehicle.  In Colombia, there are people darting in between cars and motorbikes at every intersection selling anything you could imagine from brooms to avocados to fly zappers to hats.  It was a blast!  We all ended up with some very unexpected gifts.

Diego with his America Devils (local soccer team) hat. 

Bernie chose my gift: a Vietnamese hat!

Aaron got a nativity lantern and Katie chose a headlamp!

Last weekend the festivities continued when I hosted my annual cookie exchange!  We had over 10 different kinds of cookies to try!  There were awards for most creative, most delicious, most festive, and best overall.  It was a fantastic time!

Melting snowmen sugar cookies won the most festive award!

The peanut butter blossoms won best overall! 

My Minnesota gingerbread cookies...it was the only cookie cutter I brought from home!

The lamp from A Christmas Story cookies won most creative!

I shared some of the cookies I got from the exchange with our maid.  She gave us some delicious traditional Colombian Christmas sweets. Arroz con leche is in the mug and I have to say, the coconut in it rivals the scandinavian rice pudding of my youth.

Winter break is now upon us, and we are thrilled!  We are calling Vanna Blanca our home for the next 3 weeks and heading out on an epic Colombian road trip including relaxing in hot springs in Parque de Los Nevados, climbing in the Chicamocha canyon, star gazing in the Tatacoa desert, and exploring ancient ruins in San Augustin.

Warm holiday wishes from South America! 

Gracias Colombia

Holidays are tough when you're abroad.   I miss being with family and friends the most during this time of year, so it's important to remind myself of how special our life is here. In light of the Thanksgiving season, I decided to make a list of the things I'm thankful for while living in Colombia.  There's a lot to be thankful for. Here's the list in no particular order:

1. Mountain views while biking to work.

View of the Farallones on my Friday bike ride to work. 

2. Having a classroom that essentially allows me to work outside all day!  I've had cats, birds, spiders, and squirrels wandering my room. One day I even found an owl perched on my desk!  I'm not sure I could ever go back to having a classroom with walls.

 3. Views like this to hike to on the weekends.

4. This adorable and terribly spoiled cat.

5. Shopping beers.  Most grocery stores have coolers full of individual beers scattered around the store so people can enjoy a beer while shopping.  It sure makes shopping more fun. 

6. Fresh FRUITS and VEGETABLES for CHEAP!

We got all of this for less than $5. Look at all those limes!

 7. COOL BUGS!

Found this guy on a tree in our apartment! 

Transparent butterflies! 

8. Learning salsa! Although we've got a lot of room for improvement, we are to the point that if ANY music comes on, our hips immediately scream "salsa!"

9. Fritanga everywhere!!!  AKA Fried food!  Empanadas, papa rellena, patacones, yuca frita...our health doesn't thank us but our stomachs do!

Aaron getting some empanadas for a pre-climbing breakfast! 

10. Ciclovida!  Every Sunday they block off streets from 8am-1pm for walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists.  There are vendors along the way selling fresh juices and large vats of sancocho de gallina (a chicken soup unique to this region of Colombia) cooking over street fires. Perhaps the best part are the rumba (dancing) stations along the way where people young, old, male, and female literally bring David Bowie and Mick Jagger's lyrics alive:

It doesn't matter what you wear,

Just as long as you are there

So come on, every guy, grab a girl,

Everywhere, around the world

They'll be dancing, dancing in the street 

Stopped for a fresh zanahoria-mandarina (carrot and mandarine orange) juice along our bike ride! 

The Magic that is Cartagena...

Entrance into the walled city.

Cartagena.  A place where Gabo's magical realism is alive and well.  A place where appetites of all kinds run wild.  A place where the pulse of Colombia is felt on a spectacular level.

Aaron and I headed to this popular tourist destination over Semana de Receso in October to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary.  Cartagena proved to be the perfect place to wander and simply bask in each other's company.  This isn't our usual kind of adventure trip, but it sure was a nice change of pace.

We stayed at Casa Baluarte, a simple yet stylish accommodation in Getsemaní--about a 10 minute walk from the Old City.  It included breakfast and air conditioning (the latter being an absolute must in Cartagena). We certainly weren't used to the heat and humidity--poor Aaron came back each day with sweat marks in places we didn't even know people could get sweat marks!

Ready to explore!

We spent the first day strolling the perimeter of the walled city.  When I say strolling the perimeter, I mean literally walking on top of the 4km fossil studded wall for most of the way around.  The majority of the wall provides a stunning view of the Caribbean. The sea breeze offers a much needed respite from the horrendous heat. Of course, it also helps to grab cold beers and a hat from the countless vendors along the way to cool off, too.

Enjoying the sea breeze!

Ya, apparently that little lookout was now a makeshift bathroom. Needless to say, Aaron didn't stand there very long.

Local soccer game next to the wall with the modern Cartagena in the background. 

Aaron was really excited about all the coral and fossils found in the wall.

People nestled themselves into every nook and cranny in the wall. 

Watching the rainy sunset in one of the nooks.

From there, we wound our way up and down the colorful colonial streets and "oooohhhed" and "ahhhhed" over the vibrant colors and gnarly flowering trees which seemed to grow perfectly out of the cement up to the balconies which twinkled pink, purple, and blue.

Typical view of the Old City streets.

Someone put some clothes on her!!

Lots of cool street art.

The teenager in Aaron always seems to come out when we see a Botero statue.

Now, let's talk about the most important part of Cartagena--the ridiculously good food!  Because we live in Cali, we eat a lot of Colombian food. Therefore, we were on a mission to find anything that we can't find in Cali.  Ceviche, Patagonian lamb, Peruvian lomo saltado, Thai curry, kabobs, and real beer! We literally walked around for the sole purpose of finding the next delicious thing to eat and drink.  It was fantastic.  I think one night we literally had 4 dinners.  Here are a few of our favorite places to check out!

La Cevicheria: Probably the most famous ceviche place in Cartagena. It certainly lived up to the hype--we came back twice! 

Ceviche Peru: A more budget option to La Cevicheria in Getsemaní and, dare I say, pretty darn close in taste. Aaron had the ceviche and I had the lomo saltado--both fabulous.  

Marzola Pariilla Argentina: We stumbled upon this place and the outside caught our eye. It's eclectic, delicious (I mean seriously, they serve grilled bread with chimichurri when you sit down), and efficient.  We will be back! 

The Beer Lovers: If you've been living in Colombia and only drinking Poker or Club, you really deserve to go sit in this air conditioned pub, eat some peanuts, and drink a Duvel.

After galavanting around the city for a day, we decided to head to the beach.  We had heard mixed reviews about the beach in Cartagena, but everyone we spoke with said the islands surrounding Cartagena have stunning beaches.  We took an hour bus ride to an island called Baru which is connected by a bridge to the mainland.  You can take a boat or a bus, but we had heard the bus is more reliable and it was a preventative measure as Aaron tends to get sea sick.  We spent the day on Playa Blanca.  It was a beautiful white sandy beach dotted with restaurants and hostels offering umbrellas, coco locos (coconuts full of a questionable mix of alcohol and delicious coconut milk) and fresh fish lunches (mas o menos 35,000 pesos per person).  We followed the advice given and walked far down the right side of the beach to avoid the large crowds, found ourselves an umbrella (30,000 pesos for the day), and exhaled.  A lot of blogs you read say that you should only go if you are going to spend the night because the beach is less busy, but I would argue that unless you are a real beach person, a day trip is the way to go. It's a nice way to get out of the city and break up a city studded visit to Cartagena.

Relaxing on Playa Blanca.

Before: "Which one would you like for lunch?"

After: SO delicious!

 There could definitely be worse places to read for grad school. 

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cartagena.  For tourists, it's much more English friendly than other places in Colombia.  For expats, it offers luxuries we can't get in Cali.  We will be back!

Peace in Colombia

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now.  The peace process in Colombia has been in the international headlines for weeks yet even though I live in Colombia, I felt like I did not have enough information to really comment on the process itself mostly because I was getting my information from the headlines and articles in the media just like everyone else in the world. 

"Do not talk about the peace process with your students."  This was announced to all of the middle school teachers at school.  Though there was no explicit reason given, it is clear that the peace deal is controversial and a point of contention between students, teachers, parents, and administrators.  However, despite the warnings (I'm in high school and my principal didn't directly say "don't talk about it"), I decided to ask questions to some of my students and co-workers to find out more about the peace treaty and plebiscite. Here's the short version:  

Who voted YES: Those who voted yes fall into a few categories: low/middle class, live in rural areas that were directly affected by the FARC, or were displaced as a result of the war.  Every Colombian teacher I spoke with at my school was voting yes explaining that although parts of the treaty may not be perfect, peace is better than war.  Others explained that compromise is necessary and some even mentioned the importance of forgiveness when seeking peace.

Who voted NO: These are mostly urban, upper class citizens with power (the majority of my students' families). When I asked some of my students their thoughts, most of them said that they would vote NO if they could. They argued that they want peace, but the FARC deserve stronger punishments than would be given under the terms of the treaty.  They also mentioned that no FARC members should be allowed to be part of the government. Furthermore, they are extremely loyal to Alvaro Uribe, the former president who has been extremely vocal against the treaty.  I specifically remember last year while reading Orwell's 1984, my honors students had to create their own Two Minutes Hate video and a few of them chose Santos as "Goldstein" and Uribe as "Big Brother."  This "hate" for everything Santos does is not new. 

Why Colombia voted NO: 

• Less than 40% of the Colombian population voted.  
• Many people didn't vote because they assumed the YES vote would win.
• There was harsh weather on the northern Caribbean coast which prevented people from voting.
• Colombia's history of election fraud and corruption??

Green areas equal YES, orange areas equal NO. We live in Valle de Cauca province which voted YES.
http://www.telesurtv.net/

Amidst all the dissension, school on Friday was different.  I arrived early and as I turned into my classroom, I could hear one of the school secretaries squealing like a school girl behind me. "Did you hear about the peace prize?" she asked a co-worker.  I turned around to see them hugging and jumping up and down.  I swear their smiles reached from here to Medellin.  There was a distinct buzz of joy and national pride that penetrated even some of the strongest naysayers.  Although I don't know what the future will bring, I can only hope that Colombia will continue to become the safe, beautiful, and vibrant country I have grown to know and love.

Here are some articles that I found helpful when researching the peace process:

Colombia's Undecided: Can all be forgiven after so much pain and loss?

The End of Colombian Exceptionalism 

Who is the FARC?