South America 2018

Las Vegas, United States

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 15:45:12 -0700

Danny’s Vegas Birthday Bash has begun!

That’s a good looking crew

Winning?

Birthday Celebrations Continue!

Toronto, Canada

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:30:00 -0500

Grand Finale The alarm went off at 4am, but I had been awake since 3am. We packed up one last time and were off to the airport by 4:50am. There was zero traffic and we were dropped at the airport shortly after 5am. There was no lineup and we were warned by the ticketing agents that we could not leave the restricted area at the airport in Columbia, otherwise we would need to show our proof of our Yellow Fever shots, which we did not have. Restaurants were not opened yet, but there was a small cafe near our gate where I had a paste de nata (Portuguese egg pastry). Our 6 hour flight to Bogota was uneventful and after some shopping at Duty Free, we headed to the El Dorado lounge where we had free refreshments, wifi, a comfy place to hang out, two free drinks each and we spent a few extra dollars to have a hot buffet dinner. Bill and I spent time catching up on work emails, the blog, photos and some reading. The time passed fairly quickly and unfortunately our flight to Toronto was delayed and very disorganized at the gate (we had to show our passports 3 times at the gate), so it took a long time to board our full flight. After we boarded it was more or less smooth sailing and we landed in Toronto at 6am the next morning to a soggy, but mild city. It’s good to be home!

Rio, Brazil

Sun, 18 Feb 2018 20:30:00 -0300

Beaches, Burns and Hangovers We had a leisurely morning, then headed down to the beach. We walked for a while and then rented chairs and an umbrella in front of Copacabana Palace Hotel at Rio Soul. The forecst was calling for rain, but it is clear and sunny this morning. I should have taken advantage and camped out in the sun, because this turned out to be the best weather for the entire day. Around the time Bill finished his second beer, the clouds had rolled in from downtown and the skies opened up. It was pouring, but still warm and most people did not leave the beach, so we stayed and hung out. Bill’s patronage earned us a second umbrella, so we stayed fairly dry. All morning and for the first part of the afternoon we enjoyed our time on the beach. It was great watching the families and friends hang out and enjoy the beach. Some were listening to music, others were kicking a ball around to keep it from hitting the sand without using hands, kids were playing in the sand at the edge of the surf, young guys doing somersaults, and everyone has a bikini on and shorty trunks whether they should or not! Just before it started raining, I ordered a drink with the local liquor which is like rum. She asked if I wanteu7d a small or big drink. Not knowing better, I ordered the big drink with pineapple juicO. Word to the wise, do not order the big drink! I think there must have been entire Mickey. We hung out until the rain cleared, then started walking to Ipanema Beach. Along the way we stopped for another drink, but I was not interested in having another drink yet. We reach Bar Astor, as was our plan for lunch, Bill grabbed a beer to go and two waters. We found a spot near the restaurant on the beach where I tried to calm my spins. We both spend the rest of the afternoon passed out under an umbrella and woke up later with burns! But really, we can’t be responsible adults all of the time can we?! So, we headed into Bar Astor for a mid-day meal. The mixed fried platters and mixed seafood was good, but we did not enjoy the spicy meatballs. Eater.com must have recommended this place for the drinks, not the food. We stopped at a grocery store on the walk back and picked up a bottle of wine, but by the time we arrived back in our room around 9pm we were too tired, so we just called it a night.

Rio, Brazil

Sat, 17 Feb 2018 21:30:00 -0200

Whirl Wind Tour I woke up tired due to a very short and poor quality sleep. Our stay at this dive began with washing my face with a dirty towel last night whe. We checked in at 1am, our noisy neighbours, the fluctuation between hot and frigid air due to the a/c blowing directly on us half the night, and when it wasn’t blowing air it was making a hammering sound, the multi-panel blind system that was very ineffective, and climaxed with the second dirty towel after my shower this morning. So at this point in the day, I am pretty set on checking out ASAP. We were up and out the door after breakfast at 9am with Monica and our driver Leonard. We arrived at the base of the Holy Redeemer and bought tickets for the 10am departure. The funicular took 20 min to get to the topof the 7, 010 m summit. I was surprised to find out that the statue was purchase from France and is a mosaic. The base is 8 m and the statue is 30 m in height with an arm span of over 20 m. It was super crowded and the clouds impeded our southern view of the city, the area we are staying in and the ocean. We managed to get one or two good pics, peeked into the chapel and headed back down. We saw a couple of monkeys on the return trip, but did not get a good look. Next stop was Maracana, the football stadium that also hosts major concerts and other events. We toured the Metropolitan Cathedral which looks like a cooling tower from the outside. It opened in 1976and can hold 20,000 worshippers. Inside it is very bare, but has 4, 60m high stained glass windows, one in each direction that light up the otherwise dark interior. The cross above the alter was unique in that Mary and Joseph surround Jesus on the cross. We were going in circles for a while. Anita is performing and they are shutting down all the streets to auto traffic. We saw the show of military force that we had heard about on BBC. The gangs are out of control and the senate has requested military assistance to get things under control. We had lunch near our hotel at at Brazilian BBQ, Churrascari Palace. The salad spread was great and included sushi, sausages, lots of veggies, mushrooms, beans and real cheese - Parmesan, Brie and Blue. The meat was really good, the filet minion, lamb, and brisket were my favourites. We had a good bottle of wine that was very reasonably priced. After lunch we had a heat and meat induced nap on the way to Sugar Loaf. It was the highlight of the city tour for me. We had great views, there was a nice breeze and even though it was busy, it was not super crowded. Selfie taking has risen to a whole new level here. We saw one woman take at least 50 photos of herself in a 10-15 min span. Also, bikinis are considered regular wardrobe items even while touring, so that has been interesting, but not as exciting as you would expect. We concluded our day tour at 5pm and I had a much needed nap while a maintenance guy changed the direction of our A/C vents which made a huge difference. We also have new clean towels, so things are looking up. We went to the rooftop for a couple of drinks and watched the concert at the end of the beach. We were picked up 25 min late, at 8:40 pm. and then were stuck in traffic for the next 45 min. But, we arrived at Sambodromo on time to see the first parade. They were super cool and the crowds were up singing and dancing the whole time. The sights and sounds were amazing. The amount of effort and dedication that each team puts into their floats and costumes is unbelievable. Everything was so beautiful and it was clear how much time and energy was put into the concept, the construction, and the costumes. We were there for 5 hours and saw three schools do either performances with each parade lasting over an hour, then a wait between each for them to get set up. We were ready to stay for one more performance, but our guide texted us to let us know that our transfer was going to expire, so we headed back to the hotel. We were going to have a nightcap, but the celebrations had ended in our area, so we just headed to bed.

Rio, Brazil

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 21:30:00 -0200

Brazil at Long Last Packed up and checked out from our lovely hotel. It has been our longest home to date since we have stayed at 7 other hotels prior to this. It was a great spot and I would definitely recommend this spot or any of their other locations. The staff was very friendly and helpful and our room was great. After breakfast we checked out Santa Domingo Iglesias near Plaza Mayor. It was a very simple church without a lot of adornment or paintings, but it was very unique because at the main alter, the focus was the Virgin Mary and not Jesus. The artwork on the walls was a bit different too, it was 17th or 18th century scenes instead of the usual religious decor. We had forgotten to check out the inside of the post office, so we headed over to the Metropolitan Cathedral square again. It was decorated in the French style and was very pretty inside with a glass ceiling. I was surprised at how busy it was inside, there were lineups everywhere. We crossed over the rapid brown river and walked through a market area where families were selling second hand clothing, goods and toys. Santuario Recoleta Franciscana church was tagged outside with graffiti, but was very peaceful inside, except when the priest who was sitting along the side of the church moved and startled me. I was expecting a statue, not a living person to be along the side of the church! The ceiling was painted red and the wooden floors were a herringbone pattern. It had a couple of different saints that I was not very familiar with, Santa Filomena and Santa Terrsita de los Andes. From there we walked over to Bellavista area where we had dinner on our first evening. Along the way we passed through various shops - lingerie, accessories, party supplies, hats, and bakeries. Then, we entered the club district. It was a massive area and the spots were huge. All of the supply trucks were parked around to resupply them with more Cerveza. We turned the corned to the more sedate restaurant area and had a Chilean beer, Cusquena, at La Gloria, before continuing our walk. We crossed back over the water and stopped in a Republica Independiente del Pisco for one last meal and drink. We ordered a couple of our favourite Chilean Piscos, Horcon Quemado, Reservado 40 to get us started.

Santiago, Chile

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

Santiago, Chile

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

Santiago, Chile

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

Not Chilly in Chile We were up and going on good time and arrived at the airport ahead of schedule. I was glad we made it because the van we hired was not in peak condition. I think it should have been retired after 570,000 km. We sputtered, gasped and surged and never made it over 72 km/hour, but we made it in one piece nevertheless. We went through security and customs without any issues, so spent some time getting a iced chai latte at Starbucks and sitting on the comfy sofas with a glass of wine in one of the bars to work on the blog and photos. My stomach is acting up again, so more Imodium was required. I have it narrowed down to the following that I could be reacting to: some ingredient(s) that I have reintroduced to my diet, the new supplement(s), something I ate or drank during the trip, my cold that I may still be getting over or just being at the airport! Should be easy enough to figure out! I had a nap on the flight until snack service. The bun with butter and cheese and some water made my stomach feel better, so I hoped that was a good sign of things to come for the rest of the day. And it was.... Matisse was our driver to the hotel and Claudio our guide who was super helpful in resetting our itinerary for tomorrow to do the city tour in the morning instead of the afternoon and fixing our airport pickup time from 9am to 3pm for our evening flight. It was a short drive to our boutique hotel Altiplanico Bellas Artes located across from the fine arts museum. We checked in and dropped our bags off, then headed out for some lunch to another recommendation from Eater.com. We arrived at Chipe Libre - Republica Independiente del Pisco just in time. Carlos advised that they were closing in 15 min and that we should find another spot, he started directing us to another location, but noted that they were closing for siesta too. We asked if we could just come in for one drink and we would leave within 15 min, but he advised that we could not order just drinks due to the legal requirements of ordering food too. Bill had done his homework and advised that we would gladly oblicgate and order some octopus ceviche. At that point, he could not resist and allowed us to enter. Shortly thereafter, they closed the metal security gate and we were locked inside. What a delightful turn of events! Bill and I were treated to the two best Pisco Sours ever (these were Chilean style) and the best octopus civeche ever (maybe the first, but it was amazing nonetheless). In true Canadian fashion, we gulped everything down before we were inevitably tossed from the obviously closed restaurant when Carlos stopped by to chat with us. He then assured us that we were more than welcome to stay as long as we liked and promptly encouraged us to order two more Piscos, this time from Peru, so we could compare and contrast the two different styles of Pisco. Carlos then spent a great deal of time educating us on the process of processing Pisco, the nuances of Chilean vs Peruvian Pisco, his travels (and ours) to different nations, and the many benefits of Chile in general. Needless to say, we are falling head over heels for Santiago already! So, after a respectable amount of time of imposing ourselves, we left the restaurant and wandered the area. We checked out a small area where independent artists have set up shop beside the restaurant and did some window shopping nearby. Bill finally located a bank to get some local currency and then we stopped into a local wine shop for a couple of bottles of wine to take back to our room while we relax, catch up on posting photos, the blog and Facebook (aka give the people what they want!). At 7:30 Joachim picked us up at our hotel with Mattisse and delivered us to the area of the city just West of downtown to a restaurant called Como Agua para Chocolate. Joachim delivered us into the very capable hands of Augusto, our waiter. We enjoyed our starters of Pisco Sours, fried shrimp and ceviche. The fish and steak were good, but does not compare to the amazing food we just experienced in Buenos Aires recently. The Carmenere wine was very good. Apparently it was a grape that originated in France for Bordeaux wines and is part of the Cabernet family, but was killed there by a crop disease. They thought the grape had died out, but years later it was realized that some families had brought the grape to Chile and it was thriving. We finished off the evening with some dessert and were taken by to the hotel by Matisse and Joachim.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mon, 12 Feb 2018 00:40:00 +0000

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

Regroup So, we are planning on staying at Puerto Iguazu for one more day as a last effort to keep the balance of our travel plans in Brazil if our visas happen to show up. Taty heard from another tour guide that everything is automated, so it could possibly show up over the weekend despite the upcoming holidays. We decided to wake up early to see if we could spot some birds around the hotel. We did have the opportunity to see a few up close, but for the most part, the birds were flitting around in trees that were just beyond the path or road. We did succeed in getting our shoes very muddy with the heavy red soil here. We ended up napping for a couple of hours before heading down to breakfast. The Argentinian breakfast is much more scaled back than the Columbian breakfast buffets we have had on this trip so far. I was disappointed with the tea since they used the hot water urn to hold coffee previously. Unlike KC, I am not a fan of part coffee and part tea beverages. After breakfast, Bill planned a hike in to Puerto Iguazu for us. We walked all the way through town to the river bank where you can see two other countries, Brazil and Paraguay, which is pretty cool. I don’t think we have ever been able to do that before. Back in the centre of town, we stopped at a pizza spot for some lunch. Bill did not get the pizza that he thought he had ordered, it had some tomato sauce, cheese, their version of pepperoni, green olives and oregano instead of a margarita pizza. We had a couple of slices each as Bill enjoyed the ice cold Quilmo beer. In the area that we explored today of Puerto Iguazu, I think it could be best described as dingy and desolate. It is not a pretty town and there was not much going on for a Saturday. Maybe it picks up in the afternoon when the tours are wrapped up at the falls? We had a little boy come to our table, we were sitting outside at a main intersection, to sell us some animal figurines. Bill offered him one of our leftover slices of pizza instead. That seemed to be a big hit because he was followed by his little sister and big brother for the same offer. They seemed really pleased with their haul for the afternoon! We finished our 13 km walk back at the hotel and just when I was ready to head to the pool, the rain started. I headed out anyway, hoping it would blow over, but when it was apparent that it would not, I rejoined Bill in the room for our second nap of the day. Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and we headed out to the pool to catch some rays for a short time. It was very pleasant to sit outside when children were behaving and parents were not constantly scolding! At one point we spotted two chestnut-eared toucanets in the tall tree by the pool. Bill tried to retrieve the camera, but our room key was not working! I found some good reviews for some restaurants in town, so we decided to try Aqva for the evening. It was very crowded when we arrived, but we were taken to a table upstairs after a short wait. I had the grilled Surubi local fish again and Bill had chorizo cut steak, sirloin. The Luigi Bosca Malbec was very good! We really enjoyed the meal and everything was prepared really well. It was raining again when we left the restaurant. It really comes down hard!

Parque Nacional del Iguazú, Argentina

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:40:00 -0300

The Falls We were up and out of the room by 5:30. The short sleep and early rise is not sitting well with me. I kept my eyes on the road instead of napping so that I did not feel more nauseous. Neila showed us where to check in t the airport and sent us on our way. The ladies have taken very good care of us in Buenos Aires. Once we checked in and went through security, Bill was kind enough to stand in the line that did not move for the one and only shop in the domestic area to buy me some water and a croissant to settle my stomach. Thankfully that did the trick, plus sleeping the entire 90 min flight to Iguazu Falls helped too. Tatyana aka Taty greeted us after we collected our baggage and a short drive later we were in the park. We pulled out our necessities for the day - sun screen, camera, lenses, and eye liner... Then we left the van behind and Taty bought our tickets for the park. The name Iguaçú or Iguazu Falls comes from the Guarani (native) words "y" meaning "water" and "ûasú” meaning "big". The falls are located on Iguazu River on the border of Argentina and Brazil (which we are desparately hoping will grant us visas today). There are numerous islands along the 2.7 km long edge divide the falls into many separate waterfalls, varying between 60 and 82 m high. The water depth varies greatly due to rainfall (despite not having a rainy or dry season) which greatly impacts the number of smaller waterfalls which can fluctuate between 150 to 300, due to the water level. Approx. 1/2 of the river's flow falls over Devil’s Throat, which is where we headed to first. 85% of the falls are in Argentina and the rest are in Brazil. The most intimate and lush views are from the Argentinian side of the border. We walked along a short trail and boarded the “train” that took us 2.5 km to a network of bridges/walkways to get an amazing view of Devil’s Throat, Brazil and Argentina. We took the train back, the walked along the upper trails where we were able to see other parts of the falls, such as Eve and Adam and the large island. We were also able to do a quick tour on the lower walk to see a different view of the falls and to get very close to one falls which was very refreshing in the 32+ degree weather in the sub-tropic forest. Overall the falls are awesome. Being in a jungle setting makes the views spectacular. For Bill it definitely tops Vic and Niagara. Along the way we saw lots of butterflies, flowers, trees, birds, and mammals: Mockingbird Cicadas that serenaded us the entire day with a sprinkler type sound 88 butterfly Cat fish called moncholo Plushed-crested jay Heliconius with the red and yellow is poisonous Swallowtail Androcles - group on ground Great white egret Last two white orchids blooming for the season Southern Lapwing Common Potoo (this is the first time in the four years that Taty has worked here that she has been able to see this bird) White ginger lily is not native Black headed vulture Turkey vulture We had a great day capped off with a 20 min hour truck ride and an hour boat ride to the base of the falls where we were able to get up close to a couple of the falls. So close in fact, that we were totally drenched! The entire day was beautiful. The weather was hot, but bareable, the rain stopped when we arrived at the fall and we had a beautiful blue sky all day. Even though we were trying to connect with anyone who could possibly help us with our visas for part of the day, we were still able to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings and were awed by what nature can do! Taty booked a room for us for the evening at Mercure Eco Hotel and gave us an option for an ecotour for the next few days. She was super helpful letting us tether our phones, making calls and emails to help get our visas, and then offering us with some options for backup plans. She definitely went over and above her guiding duties for the day, and we really appreciated everything she and her company did for us. After relaxing and researching by the pool, we had dinner at the hotel. I had the grilled local fish, Surubi, and Bill had a Caesar salad. If you ever decide to go to Salta, here are some suggestions: Humahuaca valley, Kitchwa people that dance and do folklore singing in traditional outfits, Llama meat, wineries white wine called Torrontes, and Mendoza.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:40:00 +0000

We were able to sleep in a bit today as we didn’t need to be ready until 9 when we were getting our guided tour of BA. Eileen was our guide & Mario was our driver. Madero, the area we are staying in, was the second port in the city, but only lasted a short time aka #PortFail, since the channel was too narrow. The river that goes through the city is not very deep, but at its largest is 220 km wide. Madero is now one of the newest areas of the city. It is expensive, but not yet densely populated. We crossed the channel and were able to get a good look at Woman’s Bridge which was designed by a famous architect and was inspired by tango dancers. On the other side of the water we saw the former Post Office, now cultural museum with a great statue of a warrior woman in front. That is when Eileen told me not to take photos out of the window so that someone would not drive by and snatch my phone. We saw the Monumental Tower, which the clock is a replica of Big Ben. This used to be called the English Tower, but after the war with Britian in 1982, they renamed landmarks like this to erase the English names. We headed to the Northern part of town, Recoleta. We saw a a famous statue of a guy’s torso by the Columbian artist that does all the chubby people. Eileen interprets it as the Argentinian men and their macho arrogance! We stopped and walked up to the Flower statue was made out of airplane aluminium. The flower is a generic one to represent all flowers of Argentina. It is very expensive to open and close, so it does not happen very often. We entered the largest district Palermo, it is now known as the embassy district. It used to be large family homes in the French style, Belle epoch. French architects were hired by wealthy families who left the centre of the city after yellow fever outbreak and built massive homes outside the core. We stopped to see a statue of Sanmartiniano, the founder BA, with his grandchildren. We drove by MALBA - Latin American art museum, Eileen highly recommend this because of its unique works. The forest of Palermo area has lots of parks and man made lakes, including the 2nd largest Japanese garden outside of Japan. In this area was a large white monument from the Spaniards, along the bottom was a represention of the great regions in Argentina and the upper portion represented the friendship between Argentina and Spain. We walked up to the monument of Eva Peron. It is located at the site of their home that was removed and replaced with Brutalism (ugly) style building. We toured the famous old cemetery that was refurbished in 1881 to make it look like a city (in a grid). We walked around and visited some of the lavish crypts. It was pretty impressive. Eva Peron and other dignitaries were buried here. Then we also toured the Roman Catholic church located beside the cemetery, the style was very similar to some we saw in Cuba last year with very ornate gold decor and brightly painted ceramic tiles on the walls. In the park across the street we saw a great example of how they hold up the Gomero tree branches with pillars. Some of the pillars are unique, like the one in the shape of a man holding up a the tree. The famous 9th avenue is home to the Hyatt hotel and the Vatican, Brazil and French embassies;

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Wed, 07 Feb 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Traveling We were up on good time and packed our bags up. We used Uber Black in order to ensure that we were not waiting too long for our ride to the airport. We did not need to worry about time too much because the ticket counter did not open for another 30 min after we arrived. We were able to get our tickets, go through customs and security without any delays. We finally decided to order food from Wolfgang Pucks and started placing my breakfast order when the woman behind the counter decided that at 10:32 we could no longer order breakfast. We headed back to a spot that was serving breakfast and lunch. I decided to try the Columbian traditional breakfast of beef rib and potato soup with an egg. Bill had a roasted beef sandwich. My tummy began rumbling, so i spent some time in the ladies room before taking a dose of Imodium before our 6 hour flight. I was asleep before we took off, which ended up happening 45 min after the scheduled time. Not really sure why since we had all boarded on time... During the flight I napped while Bill worked on photos. After our meal I spend my time catching up on the blog and reading while Bill watched a couple of movies. I am not going to write ahead and assume we have no issues upon landing like I did a few days ago! Well, all was smooth with our landing at the international airport in Buenos Aires. It was strange that people were milling about the aisle and opening the overhead bins before we stopped, but otherwise it was all good. Customs and baggage were a breeze, and we had no trouble connecting with our guide Nilas. The trip to Madero Hotel took around 45 min without too much traffic. We are in one of the newer areas of the city and are very near the water/port. Although it is after 10 pm here, it feels like 8 pm for us. So, we walked along the water and had an antipasto platter and bocconci, basil and tomoatoes for dinner along with a good bottle of vino. It was great just to hang out by the water in the heat and unwind after a hard day of travel!

Bogotá, Colombia

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 02:00:00 -0500

Sat-T I was up early so I took care of a few things that have been on my “to do” list for a while. After another massive spread for breakfast, we met Veronica in the lobby for our tour of the Salt Cathedral located 50 km outside of Bogota. I was getting a headache, so I closed my eyes and tried to nap along the way. We arrived at the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá or Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá shortly after 10am. The underground (200 m) Roman Catholic Church was built within the tunnels of a salt mine. It is a popular tourist attraction and is a functioning church that receives as many as 3,000 visitors on Sundays. The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures are included. Years before the underground church was built (around 1932), the miners had carved a sanctuary, as a place for their daily prayers asking for protection to the saints before starting to work. In 1950, the construction of a bigger project had begun: the Salt Cathedral which was inaugurated on August 15, 1954 and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, the Patron saint of miners. However, as the church was carved inside an active mine, structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut it in September 1992. The new cathedral was designed by Roswell Garavito Pearl and construction lasted from 1991 to 1995. The main sections of the building are the 14 chapels with the Stations of the Cross. Each station has a unique cross and kneeling platforms. The Dome which represents the heaven, earth and the underworld. And the three naves connected by a small channel that symbolizes the birth and death of Christ. The four large cylindric columns in the middle nave represent the four evengalists. We walked down the corridor where they were selling souvenirs and we bought a small mask to remember our trip to Columbia. We also checked out the salt waters that is made to look like a mirror to reflect the ceiling and the trees carved into the salt at the end of the mine shaft. The tour was very good and we were glad that we were able to include it in our trip to Bogota. I was starting to have a sore throat and coughing fit at the end, so I was glad to be above ground after a couple of hours. For lunch Veronica took us to Restaurante Sanalejo in Cajica. We had some traditional BBQ columbian food, churrasco - beef, pechuga - chicken (served on the grill it was cooked on), and we tried cuajada with arequipe - cheese with caramel for dessert. It was a very neat spot and had an eclectic decor. It was quite during the day, but is a very popular restaurant for locals and tourists on the weekend. Veronica and our driver were kind enough to drop us at our new hotel. It is on a very busy street and the room was small, but it was clean and will be good for one night. We decided to find a good restaurant for dinner and Bill found 2 great options on Eatery that were only a few Km away. After buying some more cough medicine for me, we walked to the restaurants. Along the way we spotted BBC - Botoga Brewing Company and stopped for a refreshment. When we arrived at the two restaurants Bill refused to help me decide which one we should eat dinner at. After much deliberation, we decided to have a couple of cocktails and a starter at Black Bear and the rest of our meal at The Local Rauches. Both spots were great. The vibe at Black Bear was very modern and upscale. I liked that most of the seating was along the outside of the building that had a glass wall and ceiling and was surrounded by shrubs, flowers and trees outside. Such a great way to bring the outdoors into a space. The bartender at Black Bear took great care of us. He made me a tea with a side of whiskey and honey so that I could nurse my sore throat and croaking voice. He was even kind enough to offer to plug in my phone, without me even asking! Bill really enjoyed a couple of their house cocktails. We ordered grilled octopus to start and like any black bear would have been, we were thoroughly satisfied. We crossed the pretty tree filled courtyard to The Local for some modern Columbian cuisine. It was decorated with beautiful bright murals of dancers. We ordered local meatballs and crab salad on plantain chips. Both dishes were very good! I would come back to Bogota to eat at either of these restaurants again! It was another early evening for the Humphreys. It sucks to be getting so old! Poem on the trees in the courtyard: Poetry can never die; the world will end, the last man will die and poems will continue to exist

Bogotá, Colombia

Mon, 05 Feb 2018 02:00:00 -0500

Bogotá, Colombia

Sun, 04 Feb 2018 02:00:00 -0500

Columbian Culture Breakfast buffet was over the top. Too bad that Bill could only have a crossaint and watermelon before sprinting back to the room. I throughly enjoyed my eggs, cheese, meat, grilled veggies, rice, tea and juice very much. Bill had a 90 min recovery nap while I did research on the days activities. We hopped into an Uber at 11am and headed to our first stop, the Gold Museum. This is definitely a must do for anyone that goes to Bogota. It does a great job of explaining the history, culture and religion of Columbia through the unifying theme of gold. We did not have audio guides, but managed quite well. The signage was really well done. From there we tried to go to Iglesia San Francisco, but it was closed for the rest of the afternoon. We walked through the crowded streets, which is closed to auto traffic today. We were able to enjoy music, street performances and vendors as we did our tour. I enjoyed an order of plantain chips for $.80 enroute. At Boliva Square we took a seat by the statue as I read the notes I had collected on the four buildings that flanked the square. At one point we were interrupted by a young girl and her father. They wanted a picture of her with Bill. Too funny! The square was named for Simon Bolivar, Bogota's military leader who helped liberate multiple nations from Spanish rule. The statue was Built in 1846 and was Bogota's first public monument. The historic buildings surrounded the plaza on all sides: the National Capitol, the House of the Supreme Court, the Mayor's office, and the Cathedral of Bogota. To the North, The Palace of Justice siege or Palacio de Justicia was the site of the 1985 attack against the Supreme Court of Columbia. Instigated by Pablo Escobar, members of the M-19 Marxist guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Bentancur. Hours later, after a military raid, the incident left almost half of the 25 Supreme Court Justices dead and more than 100 people total. The military's role in the siege has been described as a holocaust and massacre by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. To learn more, watch Narcos on Netflix. To the East, The Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá or Catedral Primada de Bogotá, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Bogotá. The Cathedral was built between 1807 and 1823. The cathedral holds the remains of Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the founder of Bogotá. The cathedral, its area 5,300 square meters, is the biggest in South America. To the South, the National Capitol or Capitolio Nacional was built from 1876 to1926, by order of president Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera. It houses both houses of the Congress of Columbia and was designed by Thomas Reed. To the West, the Palacio Liévano or Lievano Palace. The palace was built in 1907 and was converted into Bogotá's city hall in 1974. It was designed in a Neoclassical style and is rectangular, three storeys high and flanked by large sections with Mansard roofs at each end. The façade consists of 32 windowed bays on each of its floors, decorated with balconies, columns, pilasters and capitals with iron ornamental details. Bill and I enjoyed the history lesson while soaking in the sun, site and sounds of the crowds in the square. A few blocks from the square was the Santa Clara Museum. It was really unique and beautiful and we really enjoyed it. This church was built in 1647 and is considered to be one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the city. Originally it belonged to a female religious community, the church became a museum in 1983 and now features a collection of artwork. Inside there was fabulous ornate ceiling 103 paintings and 24 wood carvings with figures from the 17th and 18th centuries. The rest of the afternoon we slowly wandered through La Candelaria. It is an area of Bogota that has a mix of old and new, historic and modern. We checked out some of the graffiti that was near the hostel area with cafes and craft booths. We headed back to the hotel for a short break before getting dinner. We were not feeling very hungry. Bill’s stomach is still not feeling well and mine started feeling poorly after breakfast. My scracthy throat has also turned into a mild cough. Looks like I did not dodge the cold season this winter either. We had a short drive to Gordo’s for dinner and drinks. I was not able to communicate vodka and soda so, I had a really nice Pinot Noir instead. Bill enjoyed his first local beer, Club Columbia. We really enjoyed the prawns, beef belly and pork belly tater tots while watching the Super Bowl. We left at the end of the first half and really enjoyed JT’s half time show in our room. I drugged myself up and headed to bed early. So far I really like Bogota. It is very vibrant - street vendors, music and performers. It has a great cultural, religious and artistic undercurrent. It is friendly, honest and gritty. It has some modern, beautiful areas and yet some dirty and crumbling areas too. And it is all good! The extra security/police/military is very noticeable in Bogota. We have also seen a lot of service dogs too. When we enter our hotel, we need to drop our bags for the dog to sniff.

One is the loneliest number

Celebrating the fact that I don’t have full blown vacation hair yet. That will change tomorrow in Buenos Aires though!

La Calera, Colombia

Sat, 03 Feb 2018 02:00:00 -0500

Take Two We dragged ourselves out of our very comfortable bed. Our room is spacious, beautiful and clean. We are going to enjoy staying here. We arrived in the lobby promptly at 4:30 and I was immediately suspicious because there was no guide or van waiting for us outside. Bill checked his email and our itinerary and since our tour was changed due to a bridge outtage, that our start time had shifted to 5:30... back to the room for another 40 min of sleep. I will take all I can get! We were greeted by Christian our guide and Angel our driver when we arrived in the lobby the second time that morning. We both took advantage of the drive to Calera for breakfast to catch some more sleep. We were told that Calera was a typical Columbian town. We were seated in the restaurant at a folding table with plastic chairs beside the road. The ladies were cooking on small gas stove tops and wood burning ovens. Their speciality was arepitas with cheese. Bill immediately made a new friend, a black lab mix dog that nudged him with his paw. Bill obliged and shared some of his breakfast since he does not have an appetite. I am still trying to avoid grain, corn and legumes, so I only had a sample of the arepitas, but really enjoyed my omelette with ham and tomatoes. Our birding tour began at 7:30, a short distance away in the Chingaza National Natural Park which caps out at 3,500 metres above sea level. For the next 5 hours we drive and walked along the road or paths in search of birds. It was a bit of a slow bird day, but we did see the following (ones with * I hope to have a good photo of): Masked flowerpiercer Black flowerpiercer* Glossy flowerpiercer* Glowing puffleg Humming bird Band tailed pigeon* Great thrush* Pale-naped brush-finch* with a yellow belly Black crested Warbler Scarlet-Bellied mountain Tanager* black with red belly Tyrian metal tailed hummingbird Smoky-Brown Woodpecker male and female* Riuffus collared sparrow* Slivery-Throated spinetail Brown-bellied swallow Ear Dove* Golden-fronted Whitestart Adult Glowing puffleg Hummingbird White-Throated tryannulet Flowerpiercer eat camemdesha which locals use to make sweets and juice Palm like frailejon tree endemic to this cloud forest Booted racket-tailed hummingbird Riuffus collared sparrow* has a crested head. This one was a juvenile We wemt Trogan hunting in the forest among the rocks, steam and moss, but were not successful. We tried hard, but only caught a glimpse of the rare blue-Throated starfrontlet. It is only found in Columbia and Venuzalia. Masked Trogan Flying in the valley black-chested buzzard-eagle Brown-backed chat tyrant On the way out of the park, we stopped and took some photos of the abandoned cement factory and town. It was super creepy and think it would be a cool spot for a photo or film shoot. It definitely has a post apocalyptic vibe. We had a fantastic meal (our eyes are bigger than our stomachs) at a traditional Columbian restaurant, Don Parrillon. I think Christian and Angel were pretty happy with our choice of cuisine. Our traditional Columbian lunch included BBQ beef/carne, fresh tropical lulu juice, potatoes, plantains and yuca, ajiaco soup, and chicken with rice and avocado. I was able to have another 30-45 min nap enroute to our next destination. The Hummingbird Observatory or De Observatorio Colibries was an incredible end to our tour. I could have spend the whole day there. It was a private property and the owner began feeding hummingbirds 8 years ago. 2 years ago she was discovered by birders who requested that she open her home and yard for tourists. https://www.observatoriodecolibries.com/ We were able to see the following beautiful birds while there: Lesser violetear Green violtear* Sparking violetear Black-tailed trainbearer Green-tailed trainbearer Tyrian metaltail Glowing puffleg* Coppery-bellied puffleg Blue-Throated starfrontlet* Sword-billed hummingbird* White-bellied woodstar* In her gift shop I bought a pretty silver Hummingbird necklace as a keepsake for our birding tour in Columbia. In the driveway we saw a Red crested cotinga and along the road we saw an Eastern meadowlark on the fence post. We also stopped to take photos of the hydroelectric dam that forced the relocation of a town 20 years ago. It was a full day and we arrived back at the hotel around 5:30pm. We ate early dinner in our hotel so we could get to bed early and hit the ground running tomorrow. We had sashimi and a delicious lobster roll. The wine was very good. It’s nice to be in a country that has access to great wines despite not producing any themselves.

Bogotá

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 22:40:00 -0500

Departures I had to drag Bill out of his office, but we still had plenty of time at Pearson before our flights departed. Neither one of us were very hungry, but each grabbed a light meal and a bottle of wine. It was my first glass of wine in a month! My cleanse has been challenging, but the results are worth it (and the weight loss was a nice added bonus). Our flight was late departing and were both so tired that we were able to fall asleep before wheels up. Bill was able to sleep for a couple of hours. My sleep was pretty sound (around 4 hours out of the 5+ hours) on the flight. The seat had “wings” on the headrest, so I was able to lean my pillow on it and was not waking up due to whiplash. That just reminded me of Dad, how used to frequently fall asleep at the dining room table between dinner and dessert with his head bobbing! During the flight Bill was feeling feverish and his stomach was not feeling very well. He is not going to like our 4am wake up call tomorrow. We left an hour late, but have made up 1/2 that time in the air! I love when that happens. Bogota a is a very confusing name for me. I have a hard time spelling it when it sounds like Bo-Geh-Tah. Usually I end up saying Bo-Teg-ah. I am sure I will get it sorted soon! The trip to JW Marriott was uneventful and it was nice to crawl into a comfortable bed for a few hours. (This is what I optimistically wrote on the plane and what follows is what really happened) We landed and then had to wait a while for the jetway to show up. Then while we took a toilet break, two full plane loads of passengers walked by and trust me, that was not a good thing. When we arrived in the customs area, we queued up in the Canadian line (not sure why we had a separate line) and although it was a relatively short line, as there were a few thousand people all waiting to clear customs, it took a very long time. Each individual or group spend at least 10 min with one of the 2 customs officers to pay our entrance fees. The only upside was that our bag was waiting by the time we were ready to leave. All together we were at the airport for 2 painful hours It took us a while to connect with our Uber driver. We discovered the reason for his cloak and dagger behaviour, was that Uber is not legal in Bogota. Which is why he was understandably nervous when the police pulled us over at a check stop. Bill and the driver had to get out of the vehicle. Bill was patted down and they checked his bag and our bags in the trunk. They peered in at me and then we were free to go! We finally arrived at the JW Marriott at 1am, checked in, ordered a 4am wake up call and were asleep by 1:30.

Ready for our flight!