As part of our saying goodbye to Colombia, we took one last weekend trip to Cartagena where we stayed at the Santa Clara hotel, a former nunnery dating back to 1621, saw a plethora of birds at the Aviario Nacional de Colombia, enjoyed the beach of Playa Blanca, and sweat like crazy as we walked through the streets of the old city — in preparation for the humidity to come in Texas.
Below are some pics from our trip. To view the entire album click here.
Annika is already able to ride a bike on her own (for the most part), thanks to her Strider bike, but it also helps to have someone show her the way like her friend Lexi. Unfortunately, Lexi and her family's time here in Bogotá has come to an end and we had a little play date picnic to say goodbye.
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Such is life as a diplomat...
We were happy to host my parents who flew down to pay us a little visit. We took them to Andres Carne de Res, Monserrat, Plaza Bolívar, Casa de Nariño, and Usaquen. We made an attempt to visit the town of Guatavita which failed due to road constructions and delays. We did manage to find a scenic off-road route through the mountains that took us back down to Bogotá.
In addition, my parents got to experience a little bit of our life here as diplomats. We introduced them to our friends and took them to the U.S. Embassy, Annika's school and swim school, showed them areas near our home, and, more importantly, spent quality time at home. Annika misses not letting her Abuelo nap in the chair and Abuela's hugs and kisses.
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Just a 45 minute drive from our place -- up a windy road along the Eastern Hills -- is the Matarredonda Ecological Park. At ~11,200 feet above sea level, the park contains two unique eco systems: Andean cloud forest and Páramo (part of the Cruz Verde Páramo). We hiked along one of the main trails in the park, a relatively flat trail called camino real allegedly set by the Muiscas and later by the Spanish Conquistadors that connected the Eastern Hills and Bogota. We hiked along this trail and stopped briefly for lunch while enjoying the beautiful views of the páramo with the clouds rolling up the mountains. Living in the city has unfortunately made Annika slightly uncomfortable with the experiences of hiking. The trail was filled with rocks, flowing water, mud, and sponge like grass but she managed to enjoy it for the most part till about 45 minutes into the hike her foot sank so deep in the mud that it got inside her boots and her pants. With Annika partly wet and the temperature dropping to the upper 40s, we decided to head back. We still managed to hike for a couple of hours or roughly 2 miles though. We hope to get Annika back out there soon.
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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.
To view the entire album click here.
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.
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.
To view the entire album, click here.
Video link here
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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June 17th weekend we took a little relaxation trip with our good friends to Anapoima. While technically it's less then 100 km away, its about 5000 ft lower then Bogota. At ~3000 feet we got to enjoy a bit more of oxygen, humidity, and warmer temperatures.
The place was fantastic with plenty of open door space, perfect for smoking cigars, and it did not require any air conditioning. The pool was perfect with a shallow end for Annika to play in.
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I've been happily taking a lot of pictures of Annika lately and thought I'd share some of these random photos.
Just days after the Velazquez family suffered from the flu, the owners of the jardin Annika attends invited us to their house for some Ajiaco, a traditional Colombian soup that consists of several types of potatoes and chicken. They cooked it for hours over a leña (fire) which gave the soup a fantastic smokey flavor.
Annika just loved it and had 3 bowls. I wished I had more but my stomach was still sensitive after not eating for 2 days because of the flu. In any event, a great time was had by all especially Annika with the gallinas.
Our first road trip in Colombia was to the Chingaza National Park roughly one hour east of Bogota. Even though reservations to enter the park are required, we managed to get access to Laguna Seca.
This was Annika's first time hiking and probably hiked about 1/2 a mile of a 1 mile hike on her own.
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Most likely the first of a series, here are some random photographs of the streets of Bogotá. The city, to me, seems to be transforming from older colonial type architecture to more post modern or International style architecture. One thing is for sure, there are a lot of electrical wiring on street lamps and poles.
Every Sunday and national holiday, certain streets are closed for bikers, skateboarders, runners, and walkers. This past Sunday we wandered our way to the Simón Bolívar Park by way of the ciclovia. Total trip was 15 miles but Annika got to enjoy the park at the half way point.
Wishing everyone a happy 2016 full of good health, laughter and love.
Our HHE arrived Monday and Julia worked very hard unpacking and getting the house in order in time for Christmas Eve. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at the Osland's and Annika enjoyed spending time with Isa. For Christmas we chilled at our house drinking Old Fashioneds and opening gifts followed by Julia cooking a fantastic RibEye (meat from Argentina!). We did manage to leave the house the day after Christmas and Annika was thankful. She also got a chance to wear her new puff vest and holiday hat.
To view the entire album click here.
