Got a lot of catching up to do as it has been a bit since our last post. For Halloween, we headed to the US Embassy for a little trick or treating. Embassy was very kind in keeping with this tradition so that American's posted abroad can participate, although, Bogota also celebrates Halloween, or Dia de los Niños as it is called here. Annika was dressed as a mariposa.
With Suzan in town, Julia and I took a solo trip to Cartagena for a little relaxation. Although we missed Annika, it was a nice getaway. Thank you, Suzan, for taking care of our little one and giving Julia and I some alone time.
Some pics below from Cartagena. To view the entire album, click here.
Just outside of Bogota is a town called Zipaquirá known for an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine. Before the church was built, the miners had carved a sanctuary as a place for their daily prayers before going to work. Construction of the church began in 1950 and was completed in 1954, and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, Patron saint of miners. With Suzan in town, we decided to do something touristy and took her out for a short adventure.
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Back on August 6th, 2017, we took a trip to Neusa with some good friends for a little getaway. We did a little hiking, marshmellows in the fire place, and--to take advantage of the windy season here--an afternoon of flying kites along Lake Neusa.
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For the July 4th (long) weekend, we travelled to Providencia, a small Caribbean island that's close to Nicaragua but officially part of Colombia. Annika took to the calm beaches and warm water...and enjoyed seafood at every meal--fish, Caribbean lobster, shrimp, octopus, and calamari. We stayed at the Hotel Deep Blue, which is not a beachfront property but which has an incredible view of the very picturesque Crab Cay. With almost no internet service and little cell phone reception, it was a true getaway, and well worth it.
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Below is the video of our trip or you can click here.
After 3 tours or roughly 6 years of living at high altitude and in eternal spring, we decided to spend 2 weeks in South Texas during the month of June to remember what heat and humidity feels like. Every day during our visit the high temperatures were at or above 100F and on one special day McAllen, Texas hit a record all time high of 111F. We found shelter from the heat by spending some days at the beach in South Padre Island, driving to Blue Hole in Wimberly, Texas, and visiting a friend's swimming pool. Cigars, scotch, and dominos were still played outside but we just had to wait till the cooler late afternoon. Annika of course loved Abu's cooking, Vince's special pancakes, and took kindly to a medium-rare tenderloin steak.
It was great to visit the family but thinking our next trip will not be during summer months -- basically April through September.
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Video with the Cubans below or click here to view.
Drone footage of South Padre Island below or click here to view.
Video of Blue Hole in Wimberly, Texas below or click here to view
Slowly, slowly, we're getting out to see various parts of Colombia. We took a one-night spur-of-the-moment trip to Villa de Leyva in May. Its whitewashed colonial buildings made for a refreshing backdrop, and we spent the two days more or less just meandering through the small town. We also took a field trip to El Infiernito pre-Columbian archaeological site with its...em, "monuments". We stayed at the Casa Terra and would highly recommend it.
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Video link here
For Annika's birthday we had a small celebration at her school, then home to open some gifts, and finally to Annika's favorite gnocchi spot for dinner.
A couple of pics and video below!
Video link here
This year we decided to try somewhere new for our annual snow boarding trip. We settled on Vail Colorado, smaller than our usual spot of Park City, but equally beautiful and enjoyable. Below is a video of our trip!
Video link here.
We spent the holidays in South Texas, Christmas in McAllen and New Years in Austin. While "winter" in South Texas can range in temperatures from 30F - 90 F, the change was welcomed. Once again Annika loved Abu's cooking and once again she loved "mi boat". Oh and my lovely wife got me a new toy for Christmas!!
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Videos Below
Twice a year Bogota has Sunday Ciclovia at night. On December 15th, Julia and I took advantage to view the Christmas lights from the bike route. As weather in Bogota is always temperate, everyone was in the streets and it was pretty packed.
Dia De Las Velitas (Little Candles Day) is celebrated on the evening of December 7th. People place candles and/or paper lanterns on sidewalks, balconies, streets, parks, etc.. in honor of the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
Below are some pictures of people celebrating this event around our neighborhood.
Annika and I left the family in McAllen and drove up to Austin to meet up with Michelle, Vince, and Julia, who was in town to celebrate her birthday. Along with eating a ton of great food in Austin, we enjoyed taking Annika trick-or-treating for Halloween, visiting Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and watching Tio Vince and Annika paint. Annika was also estatic to ride mi boat (my boat) down the Colorado River.
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Videos below
Annika and I spent a week in McAllen to visit the family. Annika of course devoured every meal made by her Abu, and enjoyed running on the tall Texas grass, naps with Abuelo, playing with her cousins, and more of Abu's food. Even though I had to work during the week, I was still able to enjoy quality time with my parents (playing dominos and smoking cigars) and family.
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For Columbus Day weekend, we took a trip to Pereira, Colombia located in the foothills of the Andes in a coffee producing area called the Coffee Axis (eje cafetero). To get away from the city life here in Bogota, we stayed at Sazagua hotel located just outside of the city with beautiful gardens, tropical flowers, and a nice pool which Annika loved. Although it rained just about every day, we did take a couple of excursions: Cocora Valley, Aguas Claras Nature Reserve with its wax palm trees (the national tree and symbol of Colombia), lunch on the bank of the Aguas Claras creek that included delicious tamales, drinking the best coffee at Jesus Martin in Salento, and finally to Don Manolo Coffee Farm where we saw the coffee fields, harvesting, and processing of Colombian coffee.
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Tired of Annika's hair constantly getting in her face, and her giving us a hard time combing it, we decided it was time for Annika's first haircut. Julia found a place especially tailored for toddlers and their tantrums, where kids sit in little cars and watch TV while the hairdresser cuts their hair. SUCCESS!!
The Grand MiMi (Suzan) gifted Annika a rocking chair that she had personalized with Annika's name. Annika, however, wanted to take part in the creative process and was not content until she, too, had personalized her rocking chair. So the Grand MiMi helped Annika paint the back of the chair, and Annika proudly points to her artwork nearly every day.
A couple of videos...
With Annika finally getting over a cold/ear infection, and the rest of us slowly getting over a nagging cough, we headed out to Parque El Virrey for a food festival. Annika's appetite has definitely returned as she sampled everything we threw at her.
Mmmm..potato
Pork Ribs
Wonder what she is doing...
When we decided that it was time for a vacation sans la puchy, we figured California would be the perfect destination. The Grand-MiMi watched Annika in Bogota while we enjoyed some of our favorite things in San Francisco: oysters, sushi, a walk across Golden Gate. A good portion of our paychecks was left behind in the one corner of Union Square that has both an Apple Store and Cole Haan. We warmed up with 2 days in Yountville and visits to Pine Ridge, Regusci, and Clos du Val, where we made a wise investment in a piece of luggage that carries one full case of wine. We finished up with a weekend in Gilroy, visiting family and hanging out. The Grand-MiMi was a trooper through all of it, caring for a a sick (yet again) and cranky Puchy. It's nice to be home, but we'll be back...it's the vacation we can take over, and over, and over...
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Sampling Chowder
Facetiming with Annika
San Andreas Fault is in those shrubs!
Mission San Juan Bautista
