For Peter's 70th birthday, he asked his three adult kids to accompany us to Colombia. Also included was Jae's partner, Zac. It was a very congenial group, absorbing the culture and adventures in four areas of the country.
Medellin in the mountainous interior of the country
Medellin is a city of 2.5 million people that was a seat of drug lords and drug violence in the 90s but now emerging as the tech center of the country. The government is focusing specifically on education, transportation and "urban acupuncture".
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| Venezuelans are crossing into Colombia looking for any way to make some money. Here are street acrobats. |
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| Saw several peaceful protests for social issues |
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| Famous sculptor Botero has many of his signature pieces in city of his birth. Boterismo depicts people and figures in large exaggerated volume. |
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| Arepas are the common national dish served with every meal |
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| Popsicle made with passion or mango chunks and juice |
We did a class 3-4 white water rafting trip with super guides. Never turned over but close on two occasions!
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| Lunch of rice, arepas and beef wrapped in a banana leaf |
Wonderful graphics on the walls of various neighborhoods in Medellin
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| Three balding men posing with this fella |
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| Crazy restaurant exterior |
Densely populated neighborhoods with the poorest folks living toward the top of the mountains
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| New construction |
Local singers and friends in the central square of Medellin
Next stop is the quaint town of Guatape, about 2 hours outside Medellin
The decoration on the houses (zacalos) is the unique feature of these homes.
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Above are enlargements of some of the house decorations. The one above depicts the Spaniards domination over the indigenous Colombians
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Into the countryside, basket of agriculture for Medellin
Country chorizo and more arepas washed down with Agula beer and the best fresh limeade.
Major dam constructed near Guatape that turned a lot of farmland into a water playground
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| This is the 659 step rock (El Penol), privately owned, that juts out of no where. Yes, we huffed our way up there! |
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| The infamous Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, had this country home (where he maybe visited once). Set on fire after his death. Below was the casino next to his house |
Our fabulous guide, Marcos, (Expedition Colombia) took us to his family's country home on the water. Below is the 90 year old caretaker with Marcos. Multiple fruit trees and flowering bushes.
Good-bye Medellin and hello Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast about 4 hours north of Cartagena
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| Hiking in the Tayrona National Park |
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| Indigenous family selling coconuts to hikers like us. While Peru has a rich history of the Incas, Columbia's indigenous population is basically extinct. Little is known about these early inhabitants. |
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| After our 9 mile hike in the park, time to refresh in our 6 bedroom hotel. |
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Driving from Santa Marta south, we got on long boats and took a 2 hour slow ride to two floating fishing villages, Buena Vista and LittleVenice
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| To amuse himself, a young boy sits on a garbage can top and uses two plates to propel himself around the neighborhood |
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| This is the lawn created around the floating house |
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| Soccer with a plastic bottle. This is the floating school playground. |
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| This is the school bus transporting the students home |
Cartagena - The tourist mecca of Colombia
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| School students practicing for a dance competition |
More vibrant graffiti
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| This was in the artsy outskirts of Cartagena's walled in city. Designed to build community, households would build a schematic on the outside stucco wall |
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| Will getting a Colombian haircut |
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| Needs no explanation! |
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| Fried ants with your IPA! |
Peter's birthday celebration at one restaurant above
The kids surprised him with a great rum tasting experience
Top it off with a gourmet 7 course meal with an offering like this above.
As if that wasn't enough celebration, Zac decided to propose to Jae on our roof top condo with the rest of the family hiding in the potted plants to capture photos.
Adios Colombia - a vacation we will never forget!
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