Things We Learned

General

An opportunity of this type, by its nature, results in activities primarily oriented to travel. It should be used to scout out destinations where you may want to spend more time on the ground and activities in which you wish to participate at those destinations. You may also find some destinations to which you have no need to return. For those which you do want to revisit, when you go back spend more time seeing the sights and meeting the people, not planning where you’ll fly to next.

Colombia

• Distances may be longer, the terrain more rugged and the roads more primitive than you had anticipated. This will result in a lot more travel time than you would ordinarily estimate. It may take 18-24 hours by bus from one major area to another. Flying is relatively cheap and fast and can save a lot of bus time.

• If you are a bike rider, try to be in Bogota on a Sunday. During the “Ciclovia,” which runs from 7am until 2pm, several of the major thoroughfares are closed to auto traffic and open to bicycles, roller blades and pedestrians, and the locals really turn out. It’s quite an experience! Bogota Bike Tours will rent you bikes.



New York

• The subway may take longer than you expect. Especially on weekends.

• The hop on/hop off bus tours are a great way to see the city. The subways are a great way to get around and they appear to be clean and safe.



Puerto Rico

• Public transportation is difficult. Busses are reasonably priced and run throughout San Juan but bus route maps are unavailable. Taxis are exorbitant. Consider renting a car or other vehicle (e.g. moped) or you will waste a lot of time asking people about bus routes.

• San Juan’s Old Town is quite spread out and would be difficult to cover on a walking tour (plus it is hot and humid). However, there is a free hop on/hop off trolley that goes to all the major sights. Good deal!

Jamaica

• You must have a room booked before you will be allowed to enter the country. There is a travel bureau to the left, before you enter immigration, which can help you find lodging.

• There are taxis, “route taxis,” and “coasters” that take you almost any place you want to go for a reasonable price but it is very difficult to find out exactly which transportation goes where. Without luggage, it is fairly easy to walk around the bus yards and find out which coaster goes where but with luggage, it is difficult. The easiest way is to talk to your hotel or hostel manager and have them tell you exactly which connections to make.



Barbados

• Another place where you need to declare on entry where you’ll be staying. The Barbados Travel Agency is at a counter to the left of where you enter customs. If you don’t have a reservation they can help you with that as well as arranging for car rentals.

• Car rentals at the airport are much more expensive than in town.

• Taxis are fairly expensive. Buses are B$1.50 per person anywhere you go for each bus (i.e. no transfers, etc.). Exact change is required. “route buses” or “zone taxis” are the same price but will give change.

• To get a bus at the airport, go to the Coca Cola sign outside the airport. Remember that you are southeast of Bridgeport and traffic flows on the left.

• Although we experienced a certain amount of terror polishing our skills at driving on the left, Barbados is a country where renting a car is a viable option. It is not terribly expensive and drivers appear to drive fairly carefully and are very polite and tolerant. The roads are narrow and winding but, outside of the cities, the pace appears relaxed.



Everywhere

• Do not expect that cab drivers and bus drivers will know the locations of your residence/hotel/ restaurant/attraction or address
  
• In most countries, if you are not fluent in the language, write the name and address of your destination on a piece of paper and hand it to the taxi driver or bus “auydante.” When we booked hotels we printed several little sheets of paper with their name and address and any important cross streets (thanks to Mamallena in PC for that tip).
• Try not to arrive at a destination on a weekend (Friday afternoons through Sundays). Rooms that may be available the rest of the week may be booked. Also, on Sundays many things, including restaurants, transportation etc., may be closed.
• Take all directions solicited from locals with a grain of salt: they may get you to the right area but not necessarily exactly where you want to go.
•  The “best” hostel, restaurant, rental agency etc. recommended by a local is often one operated by a family member and may have no relationship to how good it really is.
•  In many places, if you ask a specific question you may get a very short and inadequate answer, but if you pursue the question and engage the speaker, they will be more than willing to help you.
•  Be skeptical of advertised “wireless internet” availability. Frequently it is unavailable for long periods of time and may only be available in the lobby of the hotel or hostel. Also, the hotel managers may not have the knowledge or access to the router to reset it, which seems to be necessary on a regular basis.
• Do take public transportation when you can- it gives you the opportunity to meet people in their environment; share your experiences and learn about theirs. 
•  We took a Steripen with us to sterilize water. It uses ultra-violet light and provides better sterilization than filters. It is wonderful to be able to stop by a cool mountain stream and in less than a minute render it safe to drink. We found that the Steripen is unobtrusive enough to use everywhere and allows us to get away from the plague of plastic bottles. 

 What happens will happen, will happen, if it happens. This applies to everything from transportation to events.

Well,we are home and unpacked, so here are the last two days of our journey!!

October 7-Wednesday


Hard to believe that a month is gone. We leave Barbados this afternoon, spend the night in NYC and leave NY tomorrow evening. We will post our photos as soon as possible and we hope to be able to post this blog tonight (but didn’t make it).

The day began with a drive back into Bridgetown to return Dick’s swim fins and we stopped for coffee at a little marketplace. Then we returned the car to Fred who agreed to taxi us to the airport at noon (for the standard fare).

I(Nancy) took my snorkel and mask to the beach and snorkeled around the beach for a while –no coral but lots of small fish, mainly loaches, a few wrasses and other assorted silver fish. The reef is not far out, but it’s still a good swim and we never made it out there. Guess we will have to wait for the next trip.

The Maraval Guesthouse proved to be a good choice for us, inexpensive for the area ($45 USD per night with private bath and comfortable beds), communal kitchen, right on a fabulous beach and conveniently located. We were a bit surprised by the prices of restaurant dinners in the areas- $30-60B ($15-30 US) -considering that it was off-season but, as noted, we were able to find roadside stands with great food for $15B and less and out of the city prices were more reasonable.

Got to the airport in plenty of time- practically no one at customs or security. When we got to the gates, we found that the plane had been delayed coming out of New York due to weather, so they said. We noted that was the first real delay we had experienced. Not many people on the flight- probably the majority were people on the last leg of their Jet Blue pass. We compared notes and everyone had nothing but good things to say about Jet Blue, other than the necessity of returning to the states after each leg of the trip.

Arrived in NYC at 9:30pm, cleared customs and immigration quickly and took the Super 8 shuttle to the AAE hostel, the same place we stayed our first night in NY. This time we were in small room with one set of bunk-beds. It also served as a hallway to another similar room. A young German woman who had been touring Nova Scotia and a young German man who was touring NYC were also staying at there. They were from different parts of Germany and met at the hostel. I’m sure it was a relief to them to be able to chatter a bit in German although their English was very good.


October 8th- Thursday

Our plane leaves at 7pm so we have a little time to explore before we head for the airport at 5pm. Decided to go for the shuttle again since roundtrip added only $3 to the $7 each we had already paid –a true bargain in NY. The subway, two blocks away from the hostel to the air-train to the terminal was $7.25.

This morning we hiked to the subway stop and set off to see some of the things we had missed, starting with Rockefeller Center. The ice rink was not yet open but will be opening in a couple of weeks so they were working on the framework for that. We were able to get some pictures and walked up to the entrance to the Top of the Rock observation deck but they were booked and we didn’t go up. However, we did see the beautiful Swarovski Crystal waterfall chandelier.

We had heard about an exhibition at Grand Central Station Transit Museum that was supposed to show pictures and provide a tour of the infrastructure of the NYC subway system. Since we both are fascinated by the underground world of cities we set off to view it. However, once we got there, we found that it was really just propaganda for a new extension of the subway that they are building to connect two parts of the existing line, and was not nearly as interesting as if it had all been historical. We also found that the subway tour is held only on Wednesday afternoons, so we missed that, too.

A hike to the 2nd Street Deli yielded a good lunch and enough left over to provide sandwiches for our flight back to California. Thanks to the subway system we easily made it back to our hostel, then caught the shuttle to the airport. The flight home was uneventful except where a line of thunderstorms made it a little rough. When we reached the Sacramento airport, First Class Shuttle was there and waiting for us. After all of our nation-hopping it seemed strange to get off of a plane and not have to clear customs and immigration.

It’s always mixed feelings at the end of an adventure like this. We’re glad to be home at last, though dead-tired, but sorry that it’s over. All-and-all the trip has been great: flawless flight connections, good lodging, eerily marvelous weather, spectacular sights and wonderful food. Most of all, meeting and interacting with wonderful people in places very different from ours, whom we would never have met were it not for this unique opportunity. Thank you, Jet Blue, for making this Great Adventure possible!!

We will be posting both a “Things we learned” and “Raves”, special things we want to mention as well as a representative set of photos of the various areas we visited. Hope you all have enjoyed our trip.

October 7-Wednesday

Hard to believe that a month is gone- we leave Barbados this afternoon-spend the night in NYC and leave NY tomorrow evening. We will post our photos as soon as possible- hopefully we will be able to post this blog tonight.

Before we left we drove back into Bridgetown to return the fins and stopped for coffee at a little marketplace. We returned the car to Fred who agreed to taxi us to the airport at noon.

I took my snorkel and mask to the beach and snorkeled around the beach for a while –no coral but lots of small fish, mainly loaches, a few wrasses and other assorted silver fish. The reef is not far out, but we never made it out there- guess we will have to wait for the next trip.

The Maraval Guesthouse proved to be a good choice for us, inexpensive for the area ($45 USD per night with private bath and comfortable beds), communal kitchen, right on the beach and conveniently located to restaurants, stores and the bus line. I was a bit surprise by the prices of dinners in the areas- $30-60B considering that it was off-season but as noted we were able to find roadside stands with good food for $20B and less, and, when we got out of the city areas prices were more reasonable.

Got to the airport in plenty of time- practically no one at customs or security. When we got to the gates, we found that the plane had been delayed coming out of New York due to weather. We noted that was the first real delay we had experienced. Not many people on the flight- probably the majority were people on the last leg of their Jet Blue pass. We compared notes and everyone had nothing but good things to say about Jet Blue, other than the necessity of returning to the states after each leg of the trip.

Arrived in NYC at 9:30pm and cleared customs and immigration quickly. Took a shuttle to the hostel. Two people from Germany were there, a young woman who had been touring Nova Scotia and a young man who is touring NYC.

October 6 Tuesday

Woke up to stormy skies but no rain. After breakfast, we headed north up the middle of the country. Very soon after we got away from the city, we began seeing farmland, mainly sugar cane but some other crops. We also came across some large and grand plantation houses. Summer homes for the R&F I guess.

Another thing it is easy to forget is that this is a very small country, 21 x 13 miles, so you feel like you are going to be wandering for hours and boom you are there. We started at Grenade Hall Signal station in the center of the country. This was one of six towers erected on the island in the 1800s that provided line of sight view to the other towers allowing for communication using flags or semaphores. Now it provides line of sight for cell towers-not sure if there is any significance in that.

On the same grounds is the Grenade Hall Forest which is a mahogany educational forest which provides information on the importance of conservation as well as information on various flora used for medicinal purposes both historically and currently. Beautiful walk on stone paved paths. Unfortunately many of the markers showing which plants the signs referred to were missing but it still was very interesting.. As we were leaving the forest, a group of two adult and two baby green monkeys came running down the path.

Across the parking lot is the Barbados Wildlife Reserve. Although most of the animals that we currently see on Barbados were introduced at some point of time (it appears that the Caribe Indians, the indigenous tribe, ate most the native animals) there are many animals that roam the island. The zoo is set up so that the only animals that are caged are the Cuban endangered iguanas, a reticulated python, some macaws and other parrots, and a few other exotic birds. One wanders through brick paths shared with huge tortoises, agoutis, deer, peacocks and green monkey tribes. Although basically wild, the animals are accustomed to people and it is easy to photograph them. Who would have thought that tortoises like to have their noses scratched? At one point we were walking up a path under a small overhang. A monkey’s tail was hanging down from the overhang and Nancy touched it. Suddenly this monkey turned on Dick and bared his teeth. We backed away quickly. It was a fun place to visit and we probably stayed a couple of hours. On our way to our next destination, we observed several mongooses which inhabit the island. No pictures, they are too fast. What you see are very long brown furry critters scurrying across the road, usually in groupls of two or three.

We headed north to the Animal Flower Cave in St. Lucy, which was another beautiful drive through the hills and fields. We had sandwiches at the little café at the entrance to the cave-good sandwiches for a very reasonable price on outdoor tables on the point. The views around the caves are spectacular with multiple caves dug into the limestone cliffs by the waves. We walked down into the cave ($15B per person-guided tour) via a long steep staircases. The caves have some great views through holes in the rocks but there were only a few very small anemones (which give the cave its name). This area is the point furthest north on the island, and is on the Atlantic Ocean.

We continued down the back roads to an area called Little Bay, one of the most spectacular areas we have seen. The huge waves of the Atlantic are smashing into the shore and yet there is a very protected swimming hole in the rocks where you can leisurely float to the sounds and sights of the big waves. We climbed up to the cliffs and as far as you can see north and south are limestone cliffs, some ending in pounding surf and others in protected coves. There is a warning for the entire east coast that dangerous undertows do exist in many areas. What a incredible end to our Barbados vacation time- this is definitely an area I want to come back to and maybe spend a week exploring all the little coves. While we were there a bus did come by so it is possible to see even the remote coves by bus.

We returned to the guest house, had dinner at the little beach bar and retired.

October 5-Monday

Early morning walk was interrupted by an early morning rainstorm, so I started off wet. Dick began calling around to the various car dealers when Fred, our landlord came in and offered to rent us a car(Red Cabrolet convertible) for a few dollars less than the quotes we were getting. We noticed that bait and switch appeared to be the rule- they advertised for as low as $45 a day all inclusive but that car was never available, however for only $80-$120 we could rent a different car(same make, model and size).

We decided Fred’s deal was the best we were going to find and loaded up and set off for our next adventure. We found that two of the things we wanted to do, the Harrison’s Cave and the nature center across the street from us were both closed for renovations. But, we had heard how beautiful the eastern coast was and, with a vehicle, we were off and running. There are buses that run everywhere in Barbados and you could get around without a vehicle but, there are no printed schedules and although it is $1.50B per route, unless you are traveling from one major population center to another, it is likely that you will have to take more than one bus and may a.) have trouble finding the connection and/or b.) have to wait for the connection. Although worlds better than Puerto Rico and Jamaica, it is a factor when you are trying to get somewhere. (“ take the Brighton bus to the 2nd gas station; walk up the road to the big tree and wait about 5 minutes to a half hour and take the XX bus to XX; behind the blue building you catch the xx bus which…. you get the idea). So though not essential, a car is nice.

Since neither of us had much experience driving a left hand vehicle, we decided that we needed to stay out of Bridgetown for now and take the back roads. We shared driving and the other person was responsible for navigation, reminding the driver to drive left, alerting the driver if too close to the moat at the side of the road and negotiating round-abouts. Round-abouts are an interesting experience especially while learning to drive on the left and follow which of three or four roads out of the roundabouts that one wants to take. However, once we got the hang of them we thought they were wonderful since traffic does not stop, just slows for the connections.

We managed to get on the right road through the center of the island which is lush and green with hills and rock outcroppings surrounding pretty little villages. As we approached the Atlantic Ocean side, the geology became more rugged and just before we reached the coast, we came across and old church set on top of a hill with a spectacular view of the surrounding area and the coast. We dropped down into the town of Bathsheba, reportedly so named because the surf reminded the settlers of milk and Bathsheba was known for taking milk baths??

The east coast is a surfer’s paradise with huge breaking waves but unsuitable for swimming since the pounding surf has undertows and rip tides. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful coasts I have ever seen. All along the beach are huge coral boulders and the town of Bathsheba is set in cliffs and gullys along the shoreline. We had lunch at the New Edgewater Hotel since the traditional Atlantis Hotel was closed for renovations. The hotel’s dining room sits on a cliff above the “Soup Bowl” area of the coast, a prime surfing spot due to its huge regular breaks. We had flying fish sandwiches and fish cakes both of which were yummy.

From Bathsheba, after driving north along the coast for a while, we decided to cut across the island on some secondary roads to do some snorkeling on the westside. We passed through the central valley part of the island past fields of sugar canes and other crops. We did have to stop and ask, “Where are we?” on several occasions and people were more than willing to help. Sometimes the roads were so narrow, there was barely room for our little car and the potholes where deep enough to absorb it but the pace is leisurely and other drivers very tolerant. We were very impressed by the politeness of the Bijan(localized name for Barbadians) people. They do not drive like maniacs, stop to let cars cross the road and if you stop by the side of the road to look at a map, invariably someone will come up to help you find your way.

We ended up getting too far south (it is easy to get off on the wrong leg of the round-abouts) and had to take the coast road back up to Holetown to the Folkestone Marine Reserve on the Caribbean side of the island. The area is divided into several zones including an area right on the beach that has several shallow reefs to explore. We were not charged an admission price and snorkeled for an hour or two. The reef is not in very good shape, though there are some areas that are recovering and we saw some fans and stag horn as well as brain and other surface corals. However, the number and variety of fish were impressive. In addition to the normal parrotfish, sergeant majors, tangs etc; I saw several fish I had never seen before as well as an eel, a small water snake and several cucumbers and anemones. We snorkeled until just before sunset and began our journey home.

We headed south on the coast road, managed to navigate Bridgetown without incident and headed for Oistins east of our domicile. There is a huge fish market and on Friday nights there is a community-wide fish fry which unfortunately we missed. We stopped at the grocery store for breakfast items and asked some people where to eat, they directed us to the little cafes (“across from the KFC”-primary direction in all small towns). When we had entered the grocery, it was not raining and the roads were dry. When we came out 10 minutes later, everything was flooded though it was no longer raining.

We had a wonderful dinner of lamb stew, rice and beans, and a salad for about $8.50 USD each and headed off down the road. At some point, we got off on the wrong leg of the roundabout and ended up in Bridgetown. We went through a couple of heavy rainstorms as we made our way home but when we got there it opened up and dumped. We sat on the outside verandah and watched the carwash effect –with cascades of water coming down to the serenade by the whistling frogs. The guest house has a tin roof and when the rain storms passed on and off all night, it was like a freight train running through the house.

October 4-Sunday

Woke up fairly late this morning (for me) and went down to the beach. The reef is maybe 100 yards from the beach which gets my snorkeling juices flowing. It was a beautiful morning. We decided to walk to Lawrence Gap just east of here for breakfast. You cannot walk long distances on the beach because of breakwaters and rock outcroppings so we took to the road. There are few sidewalks and areas on the main streets where the roads are narrow and shoulders non-existent so you find yourself either waiting for traffic to pass or crossing to the other side of the road. All part of the experience.

The restaurant we were looking for had changed its name and there was not a lot open on Sunday morning but we finally landed at the "Flying Fish" restaurant overlooking a pretty little harbor. After breakfast we walked back by way of the market which was, of course, much further away than we expected. We looked for a place to rent a scooter or a “mokie”(like a golf cart) but again, nothing was open. Returned to the guesthouse.

After a swim, we decided to go to an ice cream parlor I thought I had seen on the way in. The bus driver had no idea where it was and he dropped us off at the boardwalk, a very nice, newly installed wooden walkway east of Worthing. We walked along it for some time and finally found a lady who knew where the ice cream parlor was, on the other side of the road in the Quayside center. “Cool Moos”. Great ice cream with various add-ons like nuts and fruit. Like the Coldstone Creamery in the US.

Took the bus to the “Boatyard” in Bridgetown. This is a beachside recreation area which rents various sport related items and we were able to rent fins for Dick. There is a snorkeling area where you can see wrecks not far from there but there was no place to leave our packs.

We decided to see if we could do a circle bus tour of Bridgeport, we got directions to the terminal-“up that road-nah fa mon” and, of course, got lost and took almost an hour to get to the terminal. By the time the bus came we had made two decisions: one to try to rent a vehicle for the next two days and two, we did not have time for the city tour and would return to our guest house and tour Bridgeport the next morning.

It started raining as we left Bridgeport but by the time we got to the guest house and dressed for dinner, it had let up so we walked to Lawrence Gap for dinner. We were shocked at the dinner prices- $12USD for a hamburger and $22-30 USD for full dinners- even at the places that the guidebook had advertised for $7-12 USD. As we were walking along, we came across a small street side stand and purchased dinners of charcoal grilled Marlin and rice and peas (we would call it rice and red beans) and macaroni and cheese casserole for $10 USD. As we started back to the guesthouse, a rainstorm blew through and we were soaked before we got home. The rainstorms do not last long but they come in with a vengeance and you are soaked in minutes. Fortunately it is warm enough that it is no big deal.

Good morning New York- We are on the last leg of our trip- Since I have internet at the hostel I will catch up this am.

October 3-Saturday

Today is a travel day starting with a 5 am+/- subway ride to the airport. It worked out all right but we did not get to the airport until 7:45am which cut their three hour time level to 2 hours. We had decided to mail some more things back from NY, and had gone to the post office to pick up a priority mailer and postage. When we got back to the hostel last night, we packaged up the Columbia book and some t-shirts and had them ready to mail since JFK airport indicated they had postal services at the airport. Even though we were running late, we decided to sprint to Terminal 4(we were leaving from Jet Blue’s International terminal 5) to mail the package. When we got there (return to the air train and a long concourse), we discovered that although they do have a post office, they do not accept packages. We ran back to Terminal 5 and got there a few minutes before they began boarding. Dick talked to a young lady at the gate who agreed to mail the package for us (it had gone through security).

We arrived in Barbados at 2:15 pm, managed to get through immigration and customs and found a nice lady at the Barbados Tourist agency who helped us book a room at the Maraval Guest House in Christ Church. Initially the bus driver took us almost into Bridgeport and dropped us off at a hotel with a similar name. We caught another bus back, however, that driver did not know the guest house either. We were dropped at Merryvale Guest house. Luckily, one of the guests there knew where the Maravale was and took us there. It is an older house very close to the beach with huge verandas all around the outside. The room was fine. Met a couple of girls from Australia who were staying there.

After a dip in the ocean on a beautiful white sand beach, a rum at the local beach bar and flying fish and cou-cou (made with corn and okra) for dinner, we retired, absolutely exhausted.

October 1 Thursday


Well, back to New York- one of the problems with this trip has been the necessity of returning to the states after each flight. It eats up time and energy and seldom are we able to fly in and fly out the same day so we had to book nights in New York.

We arrived at 4pm and decided to master the subway instead of taking the shuttle. We studied the map and talked to the people at the gate who were very helpful in planning how to get to our destination. We were in NYC for two nights this time since we could not get a flight out of Jamaica or into Barbados on Saturday. We booked a private room at the Candy Hostel in uptown New York on the west side of Central Park. We had no problems taking the Air Train to the subway and the subway to within two blocks of our hostel. The hostel looks like an old restored hotel-small rooms but adequate. It is in a very quiet neighborhood but just a couple of blocks from Broadway. But, fall had come to New York and we were cold, especially since we had sent most of our cold weather clothes home after Colombia. We walked up to a small diner on Broadway and turned in for the night.

October 2-Friday

I, Nancy, returned to the diner for a cup of coffee very early. One of the things I have always loved about NYC is the fact that any time of day or night there are places open and people scurrying around on the streets. The wind had let up and it didn’t seem as cold. Although the hostel advertises wireless, the only wireless is in a room off the lobby and they charge for the use of the computer so unless you have your own wireless, it could be a more expensive proposition. Luckily I had my net book so I was able to post some blogs.

We had booked tickets on one of the hop-on/hop-off tour buses but had not realized until after booking that you had to pick up the tickets at the office on 42nd street-so back on the subway. One of the things that both of realized is that New York has literally cleaned up its act in the last 25-35 years since we have been there. Not nearly as much trash in the streets, the subways were clean, much less air pollution and there were cops everywhere which made it feel much safer than in years past.

We hopped on the bus and started on the downtown tour which lasted for a couple of hours. We had some errands we needed to run and noted locations of the Post Office, stores etc. We got off the bus at the World Trade Center Ground zero and went to various locations around the area observing the impact of the disaster. Perhaps one of the best information centers was at the St. Paul Church just east of the area. They were instrumental in assisting the community in healing as well as reuniting loved ones, feeding people etc. and the location was probably the closest safe area after the bombing. They had a series of photographs and descriptions displayed around the interior and exterior of the church. We also went around the outside of the construction area and climbed to the mezzanine of the Winter Park building which looks down on Ground Zero. It is hard not to be emotional when viewing the area.

We stopped at the Stage Door Deli on Vestry Street and had a wonderful Sausage, peppers, and onion hero sandwich. I had forgotten how much I miss NY delis.

We re-boarded the bus and continued the tour past many of the notable buildings of the area. A Hudson River ferry trip past the Statue of Liberty was included but we were running late for the last sailing so we hopped off early and walked the eight, long blocks down to the pier. This was only a little over an hour cruise but we wished we had taken it earlier since, in addition to sailing very close to the Statue, they round the tip of Manhattan and the guide points out the various skyscrapers which really helps in becoming oriented to downtown NY.

One of the errands we really needed to run was stopping at a bookstore to find a guide book to Barbados. We walked up to Penn Station (8 blocks) since we had seen a Borders bookstore near there. However, we found that in spite of its size, they did not have a single guide book on Barbados. Their clerk went on-line and found one at another store on 2nd Ave- again we walked, founded the book, and stopped at the Second Ave Deli (which is located at the corner of 33rd and 3rd). What a treat- a bit more pricey than most delis but tremendous sandwiches, tasty fries and they bring out pickles and cold slaw, and other tasty morsels.

We then walked over to Grand Central Station and admired and photographed its architecture. It is a grand structure. Several years ago, they gutted and rebuilt Penn Station. There was such a huge outcry from the public that now in order to renovate the public buildings there must be public hearings. Although the actual subways maybe utilitarian; the stations tend to be very beautiful. From there we took the subway back to 96th St. with no problems.

Tuesday, September 29th

We decided to take the route taxis and visit YS falls not far from Black River. We stopped in Negril for ackee and salt fish and caliloo which is a green vegetable that looks like spinach but has almost a sweet taste.

Getting to the falls was half the experience. We were offered a taxi ride for $60 but decided it was time to try coasters and route taxies. Joseph told us how to get around and we set off at about 9:30. First phase was easy- a route taxi to Savannah de Mars which everyone calls just Sav. Then we were handed off to the driver of a coaster, though there they called them buses-16 seat minibuses. Then you wait until there are enough passengers for the trip. Four to six coasters are lined up and the drivers try to entice people to ride in their vehicle. Two hours later, we were on our way at 60mph along winding narrow roads. We finally arrived at the turn off for YS falls where we transferred to a taxi for the drive to the entrance. After buying tickets ($14 each) you load onto a tram and a tractor pulls the tram up the road to the falls.

The falls are spectacular. We would call them cascades though many are fairly tall. These are very wide falls that come down the mountain at different angles. Due to the limestone the water is milky and the visual images are breathtaking. You can swim in several areas of the falls, including a natural swimming pool and there is a boardwalk along the river for access. Near the top is a rope swing that guests are allowed to use. (No we passed that up.) When we got back down the hill a ways, Dick went for a swim and I sat on the edge of the stairs with my feet in the cold water.(I admit to being a wimp when it comes to cold water).

The trip home started with a gratuitous ride to the little town on the A2 highway, then we were able to get a cab ride all the way to Negril. A little way down the road, the passenger in the left front seat asked if we minded if he smoked- we told him to go ahead but imagine our surprise when we realized he and the driver were sharing and it was not tobacco they were smoking. It did slow the driver down a bit which made the trip a bit less hair-raising, though he did have some problems avoiding the huge potholes even with the passenger pointing them out.

Monday September 28

Another gorgeous morning in paradise. We decided today was a snorkeling day but first went to a restaurant across the street for Ackee and salt fish for breakfast. Ackee is a fruit of one of the native trees and after being boiled is stir-fried with peppers and onions. It looks and tastes like eggs.

The east end of the town of Negril is marked by the South Negril River. To the east of that is the 7 mile beach,half-moon shaped white sand beach I described before. The west end of Negril, on the sea side, is formed by limestone cliffs and caves to which walkways, stairs and ladders down to the ocean have been attached. It has, unfortunately, been fairly heavily developed with world-class resorts.

However, a resort called XTABI allows access to the caves and cliffs for the public. We decided that would be the ideal place to snorkel (okay, we are cheap and did not want to pay $30 each for a snorkel trip to Booby Island). So we taxied over and set up camp on one of their stone ledges. However, after we got in, my mask separated from my snorkel and I tried to get up on one of the rocks to sit down and fix it. Unfortunately, I picked a rock covered in sea urchins. I am still trying to get sea urchin spines out of my butt and hand. Minor annoyances. The cliffs end in reefs which radiate into the ocean and are filled with sea creatures. There are some canyons through the reefs and the water clarity is such that, even in those areas that are 5 to 10 meters deep, it is possible to see the bottom. There is some reef damage, especially near the larger resorts but there are a number of healthier reefs and lots of fish.

There are few areas to rest without climbing up out of the ocean and we decided to walk further down the western road and look for a beach area, but that, if there are any, they are behind the closed gates of the resorts.(Jamaica laws states that beaches are public but getting to them may be difficult.) We walked past Rick’s and decided to explore the lighthouse. Mr. Johnson, the caretaker, guided us up the 103 stairs to the top where we were able to go out on the top deck for a bird’s eye view of the area. The sunset was spectacular from that area and much quieter than Rick’s.
We had dinner that night at the 3 Dives Jerk Center and ordered lobster and jerk chicken. Absolutely wonderful. The lobster needs no explanation; jerk chicken (also available as jerk beef and pork) is a barbecued chicken in a unique smoky and “tongue-searing” sauce that is heavenly.

Sunday, September 27

The power came back on early in the morning so we were able to get some sleep with the fan on. I(Nancy) got up early, walked down to the communal kitchen and made coffee. The sky is cloudless and a wonderful blue.

The other guests at Westport were a gentleman from Toronto,Canada, Daniel, who has been here for a week and three medical students from Germany, whose primary activities appear to be exploring the beach.. It has been fun talking to them.

Joseph, the owner of Westport Cottages, is quite a character and seems to be very knowledgeable of how to do the things we want to do. We told him we wanted to go to the Great Morass (swamp) about fifteen miles from here- he agreed to take us, along with Daniel, and off we went at about 25 miles per hour. We drove down to the Royal Palm Reserve and spent a couple of hours wandering along their wooden boardwalks through the vast swamp. We did not see the crocodile but did see a lot of butterflies and birds.

After we returned, Joseph gave us a ride to Rick’s, the bar that is rumored to be one of the best places to watch the sunset. In addition they have cliffs that one can jump off into the ocean below. It was fun though a little younger crowd, we had dinner there which was quite good but pricey. As sunset approached, unfortunately a thunderstorm followed suit and the actual dipping of the sun into the ocean was lost behind a cloud bank.

September 26th Saturday

Four am sure feels early- caught the shuttle to the airport and arrived in plenty of time- probably could have arrived a half hour later with no problems but we noted an hour later the lines at security were very long.

Breakfast (brunch) at the airport- there as is a “baked potato deli” where you can get a baked potato with lots of different topping there at terminal 5. I remember these from the early seventies but haven’t seen them around since.

When we got to Montego Bay, since we were arriving in the morning, our plan was to look around and find a place to stay. However Jamaican regulations require you to have a room reservation for your first night before you can enter the country. So we ended up pulling out the book and making a reservation at Westport Cottages in Long Bay. Stopped in Montego Bay at the “Native Restaurant and Bar” for curried goat-very good. Goats appear to run wild on the island.

The transportation is interesting. Our waiter called us a cab which took us to the “bus” depot. It is actually an intersection where all various modes meet. There are municipal buses; taxis( only take you-they don’t stop for others-fairly fast and expensive-door to door service); coasters- (private minibuses-leave when full- more or less set route); and route taxis (which are usually Toyota station wagons- operate much like coasters but run to even more isolated areas). If you tell your first driver where you are going, he will hand you off to the next transport where you are jealously guarded by the driver since there is actual tug of wars going on with passengers in the middle. If you leave your luggage unguarded for a second, it will get loaded into a vehicle and you may have to fight to get it back. Then there is a 60mph journey through twisty winding roads, with many near misses. However, we did not see any actual accidents and most of the cars and minibuses only have slight scrapes. This is a country where they drive on the left which is disconcerting enough for American.

We arrived in Negril, on the western coast of Jamaica and the driver deposited us at the guest house, which proved to be a collection of mahogany and stucco cottages, set in the owner’s back yard across the road from a wonderful bay, with sugary white soft sand. We walked along the beach, and were approached on several occasions by people wanting us to visit their shops, ride in their boats etc. However, they did back off when we told them we were not interested.

We walked to the South Negril River, where you must return back to the road to cross the bridge, and entered the little town of Negril. Since it is off season, there were few tourists-after exploring a little we headed up to the road to “Sweet Spice”, accompanied by a young woman on a bike who wanted to trade us mangoes for dinner. We declined and she left. We had escoveitched fish (pickled in vinegar and fried with onions and peppers). Very different and very good. The power went off while we were eating and although it came back on at the restaurant, it was still off at the guest house which made for a hot and muggy night.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Well, in typical Caribbean fashion, Vernito did not show up to drive us to the airport. Dick was able to contact Judy who, as a good hostess, drove us herself. Our little eight-passenger plane to San Juan was on time and we hung out at the airport until time for our 1155 flight to NY.

Got into JFK just before 4pm and were able to get a shuttle bus for the hostel. The hostel is AAE Hostel on Jamaica Avenue but appears to be run by the Super eight. It was $59 with shuttles for the two of us. Two beds in a four bed mixed dorm-very small but the location and price were right.

The neighborhood is obviously Latin American and we ended up at a Salvadoran restaurant that was pretty good. Early night since we need to catch the 4:30am shuttle to the airport..

Thursday, September 24 Vieques Island

The kayak trip to Mosquito Bay was fun and very different, though I don’t know if it was worth $60 for the two of us. There was a long, very rutted road to the bay which would be a very soft mud if wet. I doubt that we could have found our way without a guide. When we got there, Verito unloaded the sit on top kayaks and we set off. He had warned us earlier not to use repellents containing DEET since it would kill the little organisms, so we sprayed down with cactus juice. As we set off across the bay, everywhere the water was disturbed glowed bright and the underneath sides of the kayaks looked like they had running lights. There was no one else there, and we kayaked to the darkest part of the bay where Veriito gave us a little presentation on bio-luminescence. Dick and I then jumped off our kayaks into the water- what a trip- everywhere you looked was this greenish blue glow. When you pulled your arm out of the water, you could see the individual drops of water glowing in the dark. We swam for a little while in the warm water then mastered getting back our kayaks and paddled back across the bay. Neat experience. As Verito reloaded the kayaks(he just picks them up and dumps them on top), we were treated to a different type of light show in the sky but no major rain.

I (Nancy)am back on the deck at “Finca de Caribe” watching the last of the morning showers wash the sky. This could become addictive. A good cup of coffee, a hammock on the deck; I am sure we were going to do something today but I don’t remember what it was….

Vernito gave us a ride into Isbella II to use the ATM and then on to Esperanza for some kayaking and snorkeling. We stopped at “Duffy’s” for a cold drink and left our things there while we went for a swim and snorkeling. The water was great but we did not stay in long since all there was to see was sea grass. We returned to “Duffy’s” and had crab cakes, Caribbean style, very good and fried calamari- also very good and not rubbery. We then went to “Blue Caribe Kayaks” and rented a kayak for a couple of hours at $20. We kayaked out to a small island across the bay where we found some good snorkeling. Although there was some damage to the reefs and reef bleaching, there were some beautiful purple fans, branching coral and organ pipes. There were also lots of small to medium fish: the usual tangs, striped snappers, file fish etc. We snorkeled for about an hour and Dick was looking for sea urchins and star fish. I had not seen any star fish but led him back to some beautiful urchins I had seen earlier. When we began looking more closely, we saw many smaller orange and purple urchins in between the rocks. Somehow, in the process of getting out of the rocks both of us ended up getting sea urchin quills in our hands. Mine bled like crazy until I was finally able to get all of the pieces out of my hand.

We returned to shore and began looking for a publico to take us to the market and back to the finca. There was nothing in sight. We finally ran into Judy, our hostess from Finca Caribe, working at the bar. She tried to call a publico for us, unsuccessfully since they were all on the other side of the island waiting for the ferry (or had decided they really didn’t want to work that day). Transportation is definitely a problem on the island, if we had been staying longer we would probably have rented a car, although the roads are very narrow and winding and the driver’s typical crazy drivers. There have been plans to start regular routes but to date it has not been placed into effect and of course, in low season, it is even worse. We walked to the market, bought supplies for dinner, and returned to the bar. One of the men got on his bike and took off for the area where the publicos congregate and we were able to get a ride back, after a fairly potent rum punch.

Verito had agreed to drive us to the airport in the morning so we packed, had dinner on the deck and enjoyed a last drink of rum (we are convinced that the best way to drink good rum is straight out of the bottle), and retired.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Isle de Vieques

I am sitting in a hammock on the deck of Finca de Caribe, with the sun in my face and a breeze in my hair wondering how the rest of you poor peasants are doing.
This is truly one of the wonderful places set in such a tranquil setting it is hard to worry about anything. It is certainly not a luxury hotel but, in my opinion, much better than that. I look out over the jungle and watch small lizards chasing up and down the wall. There is a coconut tree overhanging the verandah and a bright orange bird watching me from a tree just beside me. If I wanted to use the energy to stretch my neck a bit, I could see the small village of Esperanza and beyond it, the Caribbean Sea. But why would I want to waste that energy, it will still be there later and a nap appears to be in order for now. More later.

The trip from San Juan was very frustrating. We were told that in order to get here we had to take the bus from Isla Verde(where we were staying) to the main San Juan Terminal and then take a bus to Rio Pedras which is actually pretty close to Isla Verde, where we were staying) and catch another bus from Rio Peidras to Fajardo then the ferry to Vieques. Not knowing any difference, we started out at 6am with the bus to San Juan arriving around 6:40- the bus to Rio Piedras did not leave until 7:15 and wandered around the city, picking up fares and arriving in Rio Piedras around 8:15. We caught the Publico to Fajardo ($25 for both of us, contrasted with the $75 or $80 taxi fare) and made it to the ferry just barely in time for the 9:30 departure. We later figured out that if we had taken a $10 taxi from our hotel to Rio Piedras, it would have taken us about 10 minutes!! One bonus: because Dick is over 75 years of age he rode the ferry free (instead of the $6 it cost Nancy).

We arrived in Isabell II at about 10:30 am. First stop was the post office where we mailed our cold weather clothes home. Then we found the restaurant, “El Patio” for a good wrap sandwich. We bought the basics of yogurt and soup, etc, and headed out for Finca de Caribe via Publico.

The finca is set in the hills above Esperanza, a small village on the southern coast. Everything here is surrounded by jungle. The guest house is a huge open structure with multiple rooms, with queen beds, and lofts . There is a salt water swimming pool and outdoor showers with solar heated water. It is a little pricey, $75 a night, but that is cheap for Puerto Rico.

After our experience with the bus/taxi etc, rather than risk problems with getting back in time for our flight on Friday, we booked airline tickets from Vieques to SJ International- little less than $100 each and we both got senior discounts this time.

The evening was filled with a kayak tour of the bioluminescent bay led by Verito (sp?) who works here at the finca. Mosquito Bay is filled with dinoflagellates( one-celled organisms) which light-up when disturbed. Seems like a natural for a kayak trip.

Monday, September 21

Another early morning, coffee at the hostel and the 6:30am taxi to the airport, where we found a long check-in line. It took us almost two hours to get through check-in, immigration, customs and three different security check points. We barely had time two grab a couple of empanadas before the plane boarded. The flight was about three hours but they served drinks and snacks. There were three different movies playing and choices for music. Of course, for us one of the things we really like about Jet Blue is the extra leg room in all seats (and you can buy even more for $10).

Arrived in Orlando and again had to go through immigration and customs. Dick was a little unhappy: during the security check on the Colombia side, they confiscated his scissors and cork screw which he had bought specifically to meet the TSA requirements. However, Colombian security had its own rules.

Another 2 ½ or 3 hour flight to San Juan and we arrived in a rainstorm. The taxi took us right to the Hotel Coqui in Isla Verde, a suburb of San Juan fairly close to the airport. We had dinner at their restaurant - very good – and, after hot showers, retired for the night.

Wednesday September 22-San Juan, Puerto Rico

Got up this morning planning to bring the blog up to date but found no connectivity with internet. I am beginning to see that this is a pattern. They advertise that they have wireless but the server fails on a regular basis or the router needs to be reset and there is no one there who can do it. (“What happens will happen, when it happens and if it happens”)

We took off on the A5 bus to Old San Juan for a day of exploration. In spite of Puerto Rico being an American Territory, the Puerto Ricans are not quite as easy to communicate with as are other Latinos. Sort of like Vermonters, they tend to answer complicated questions with one word answers or they answer a simple question with a long and very fast answer. I do not feel they are as tolerant of my attempts to use Spanish. We had a hard time trying to understand exactly where to catch the bus and how to get to downtown. In reality, from where we were staying it turned out to be very simple. One warning: the required 75¢fare must be in coins-no dollar bills.

We arrived at the main Old San Juan terminal and discovered, to our delight, that they have a free, hop-on, hop-off trolley that runs by all the major attractions. Old San Juan is another of those old colonial cities with beautiful old buildings set in an idyllic setting along the Caribbean Sea. At least part of it is a walled city and there are two primary and several secondary forts and/or “castles.” There are several Plazas, the main plaza with a beautiful Cathedral, a convent and various museums. We also walked through several smaller but no less beautiful plazas around the city. Most have statues of various heroes of the country and many have fountains. We spent a great deal of time in the two major fortresses, Morrow on the west and San Cristobal on the east. They are fascinating places with tunnels and small rooms and large cavernous rooms, all protected by stone walls 150 feet thick. The view from the top of the walls is breathtaking. On the south side of San Juan is the protected harbor, which is currently used for cruise ships, and a ferry across the bay to the Bacardi Rum factory.

Although we used the trolley to get around the old city, it required a fair amount of walking to see the forts. San Juan is like many of the cities, cool and breezy in the morning and late afternoon but very hot and humid from about noon to 3:30 or 4pm. We tried to schedule our visits to indoor museums as well as lunch during that time. We ate a pork, onion and mashed green plaintain dish, served in a tall, round wooden goblet- shaped bowl with lots of butter that was delicious, at a cute little place where the waitresses were dressed in sparkling white linen dresses and turbans. What ethnicity does that represent? We’ve seen variations of this dish several other times in other places.

When we finally headed back to the hotel-the trip was fairly simple but with twice as many stops as coming in. Ate supper of lamb shanks with rice/or beans at a surprisingly wonderful deli type of restaurant, ”La Espana.” Very good!

When we got back to the hotel, we found the internet was still down. Since we needed to plan the rest of our Puerto Rico trip, this was a major issue. However, with the assistance of the manager, other guests and our Lonely Planet guide we came up with a plan for a visit to Vieques, an island off the east end of Puerto Rico. You may of heard of it: the Puerto Ricans protested so much that that the US Navy had to stop using it’s eastern end for a gunnery range.

Although there is an active metropolitan bus system for San Juan, there is no countrywide bus system for the rest of the territory. Taxis have taken advantage of this and are very expensive ($80 for two people for a 45 min drive to the Vieques ferry). There are also Publicos, which are 15 person vans operated privately as busses, but it is difficult to get information on how to find them. This makes travel in Puerto Rico, very difficult for tourists. In addition, my opinion is that although Puerto Ricans are not rude or unpleasant to tourists, they are not as welcoming or willing to spend time figuring out what we are trying to ask for.

Monday, September 21

Another early morning, coffee at the hostel and the 6:30am taxi to the airport, where we found a long check-in line. It took us almost two hours to get through check-in, immigration, customs and three different security check points. We barely had time two grab a couple of empanadas before the plane boarded. The flight was about three hours but they served drinks and snacks. There were three different movies playing and choices for music. Of course, for us one of the things we really like about Jet Blue is the extra leg room in all seats (and you can buy even more for $10).

Arrived in Orlando and again had to go through immigration and customs. Dick was a little unhappy: during the security check on the Colombia side, they confiscated his scissors and cork screw which he had bought specifically to meet the TSA requirements. However, Colombian security had its own rules.

Another 2 ½ or 3 hour flight to San Juan and we arrived in a rainstorm. The taxi took us right to the Hotel Coqui in Isla Verde, a suburb of San Juan fairly close to the airport. We had dinner at their restaurant - very good – and, after hot showers, retired for the night.

Sunday September 20th-Bogota

What a wonderful day. Even though we got in late last night, we woke up early since we had lots planned for the day. But first, the hostel. It is a beautiful place with two courtyards and an enclosed kitchen with a wood stove so it stays warm. The style is Spanish Colonial with stucco walls and exposed log beams. The staff are very friendly and perhaps the best thing-they have hot water!! A treat in South America. The price is a little higher than we like to pay-approx $35 for a double room but it is well worth it.
The first project of the day was riding the “funicular” (cable car built for steep slopes) up Cerro Monserrate. Great experience and the view from the top is incredible.

We then went to BiciCafe to rent bikes for the Ciclovia (COP$15,000 each for four hours). The Ciclovia is an every Sunday event. Some of the major streets in Bogota are closed to vehicular traffic from 7am-2pm and hundreds of people take to the streets on bicycles, in-line skates, skateboards, walking, wheelchairs-you name it. It is quite an experience. Along the streets various performance groups and individuals entertain crowds of various sizes. Today one of the parks featured music and dance presentations by various schools (appeared to be mainly high school age). They included dancers, orchestras and bands, and costumed stilt-walkers. All the usual food booths and street vendors plus restaurants are open along the way. It was great fun!! Unfortunately towards the end of the day at the far south end of the main street, I hit something and my tire went flat, so we got the experience of “hike-a-bike” the 10 or 11 blocks back to the bike shop.

Mike showed us where a neat little ice cream shop was so we indulged in more food (this was on top of a bunch of things from the street vendors which tasted wonderful but I am not sure what they were). It started raining but we decided to walk back to the hostel and found we have gotten used to a lot of walking-much of it uphill!!.

After a nap-we headed out for dinner and discovered that practically nothing is open for dinner on Sunday night. We ended up in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where the food was actually pretty good. Tomorrow we fly out to Orlando and back to San Juan, Puerto Rico, so more later.

Finally- we are in NYC and have wireless network so I will try to bring you up to date:

Saturday September 19, 2009

Since we have internet here we spent some time this morning taking care of business: booking a room in Bogota; paying bills and catching up on the blogs. We set out at about 10am to see the old city in daylight. It is truly awe inspiring. We started by going to “Las Bovedas” or the dungeon. These are set along the outer wall of the city and were originally used for storing supplies and munitions, later were converted into jail cells and are currently used gift shops. We walked up onto a large plaza on the wall. From there you can see the Caribbean sea and get a little oriented towards the city. There was a kite competition going on with close to a hundred kites flying outside the wall.

We started down one of the streets and soon found ourselves totally lost. We stopped at the “Juan Valdez” coffee shop to check our maps and Dick was soon able to figure it out. We walked to the Bolivar Plaza which is cool and green. We did check out some emeralds at one of the shops (they told us it was an emerald museum) and although undoubtedly, if you are buying emeralds, Colombia is one of the best places to buy, that was not on our agenda. We went to the “Palacio de la Inquisicion” where they displayed various implement of torture which were used to unearth witches and heretics. We then traveled upstairs to the historical museum which has some history and artifacts from early Cartagenia. We spent much of morning and early afternoon wandering through the city before heading back to the hotel to check out, stopping for lunch at a neat little café on 10th street for their comida corriente (set lunch)of soup and Cuban pork, rice and salad.

We went back to the hotel room to check out and used their wireless for a couple of hours til it cooled off for a bit. It does get quite hot and muggy in Cartagena but not nearly as bad as we had expected and it does cool off in the late afternoon and evenings, especially if there is a breeze from the ocean. We stored our bags at the hotel and walked back up to the old city looking for an ice cream place for dinner. We really enjoyed sitting and watching people for an hour or two.
We finally made our way to the airport and were checked in, through security and ready to leave about an hour and a half before our plane was due to depart. No restaurant after security at the airport(at least at the domestic terminal). The plane was on time and we had an uneventful hour + flight to Bogota. When weighing the $100 flight against the $60 – 23 hour bus trip it was a no brainer choice.

We checked into the Anandamayi Hostel just a block up Calle 9 from the Posada del Sol. This is an absolutely beautiful hostel, set in an old home that has been tastefully remodeled, more about the hostel tomorrow. She did give us hot water bottles to sleep with since it was so cold.

Friday, September 18

We woke late and had a wonderful breakfast at the hostel. Food seems to be the one thing that we have usually gotten right. The owner of Divanga makes good coffee, which is not the norm in Colombia. Apparently, most the high quality beans go to the US , much as we found in Honduras where the prime fruits are packaged and sent to US and UK. I don’t think I could develop a taste for tinto, the black coffee, heavily sugared, served in small plastic cups.

We poked around town for a while and ended up at the bus stop with just enough time to get some empanadas to go before our bus left. Our bus was a fifteen seat van and we left Taganga at close to 11:45, however, when we got to Santa Marta, the driver had to run all over town picking up other passengers and it was close to 1pm before we got on the road. Traffic was heavy and there was a lot of construction which put us at the drop of point for the Volcan at almost 3:30pm. We figured there was no way we get up there (1km walk) take a mud bath, rinse off and get back to the bus stop to be sure of catching the 5pm bus. Also, our driver was very rude and was unwilling to give us any information about when the last bus would be through. So another one of those plans not to be.

We arrived in Cartagena at 6:15pm and were glad that we had not stayed later to do the Volcan since most of the hostels were full and we had to search for lodging. We ended up at a wonderful small hotel, “Casa Villa Colonial” in Getsemani within the walled city but outside the old town (three blocks away). We settled in and decided to go for a walk through the old town and find dinner.

Cartagena is not a city that is easy to describe, it is incredibly beautiful and has a mix of the beautiful old colonial buildings and houses and a sprinkling of the Cariibe culture with outdoor booths selling handicrafts, clothing , food etc. Almost all of the houses have balconies which hold cascading bougainvillea plants. It is grand, majestic and romantic and once you are away from the street performances of salsa dancing and the many booths lining some of the plazas, it is a very tranquil place. There are 2000 policia de turista patrolling the streets so there is a great sense of security.

We ended up at El Bistro for dinner. We3 had a seafood soup in coconut milk with a hint of curry and Mediterranean rice with seafood. It was wonderful. We finally made it back to the hotel around 10pm.

Wednesday, September 16

Today was a travel day though we spent a little more time exploring San Gil and the plaza before we left. We had hoped to go up to the waterfall before we left but either the man at the bus station gave us inaccurate info or we misunderstood him but we though we needed to leave by 10am or so if we were to make the connections we wanted. We caught the bus to Parque Nacional Chicamocha and arrived about an hour and a half later. The road into the park is breathtaking: narrow, winding and following the edge of one of the most spectacular canyons I have ever seen.

The entrance to the park is a little Disneyland-like but the end result is worth it. We had all our luggage with us and were very grateful for the Colombian effort to provide ramps for the handicapped. There is a spectacular monument dedicated to the Santanders, Columbian revolutionaries and the Guane Indians, who sparked the grass roots movement which ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Conquistadors. We will include some pictures in the blog.

We had lunch and wandered around the complex and heard an excellent speech on the Santanders and their role in the fighting the Spanish Conquistadors, in English. We then took the tram down the mountain, across the canyon floor and up the even steeper mountains on the other side. We continued our bus rides, arriving in Bucaramunga early enough to have dinner before our 8:30pm bus ride to Santa Marta. We decided to eat there at the terminal and were amazed by a very good dinner of chicken with mushrooms and cheese.

Te bus left pretty much right on time and we snuggled in for our 9 hour ride to Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast. The drivers keep the bus so cold that heavy jackets and blankets are required.

Thursday September 17

A very cold overnight ride put us in Santa Marta at 5am. We had originally planned to take a later bus at 10:30pm which would have arrived in Santa Marta at 8:30 but it was apparently cancelled. Santa Marta is a huge city and not very attractive and we wanted to leave as soon as possible. We got a taxi to take us over the hill to Taganga, a beautiful little seaside village set in the next bay. However, when we arrived at 6am, absolutely nothing was open so we went back to Santa Marta for breakfast at a restaurant known by the driver (and probably run by his cousin).

After breakfast, we returned to Taganga and, after checking out several places, found the Hostel Divanga which was very nice but a ways up the hill from the rest of town and the beach (translate into involuntary exercise). We had a very nice room with a private bath for COP$80 breakfast included. Just outside our room was a swimming pool which we initially questioned but found it was a good way of rinsing off the salt water at the end of the day.

First order of business, after a good cup of coffee and a chance to catch up on lost sleep, was to walk down to the travel agency to book our flight from Cartagena to Bogota on Sunday. We got a good rate, only $100USD each but the flights on Sunday were all booked and we had to book for Saturday, late night. Unfortunately that cut down our stay on the coast so we booked at 12:30pm bus out for the next day which we thought would allow us to stop a couple of hours at Volcan De Lodo which has warm mud you can relax in.

We hiked across the hill to the next beach and snorkeled that afternoon. There were no reefs but lots of fish hiding in and among the rocks by the shore. We hiked back as evening fell and walked up the hill to our hostel where we had a wonderful dinner.

Tuesday, September 15

I (Nancy) set out at 6am in search of coffee. None of the restaurants were open yet but in the park a man was selling “tinto”, a very strong black coffee served in a small plastic cup. The park was already alive, teaming with school kids, old men sharing stories and a few young lovers holding hands.

There had been a large thunderstorm the night before which knocked out the internet server, not an uncommon experience. We finally gave up and wandered up to the local hostal to find out what tours were planned but the ones we were interested in had already left and we decided we were not ready to try paragliding. We located the Parque El Gallneral which is located on an island between the Quebrada Curiti and Rio Fonce. The large trees are covered in moss that is 6-8 feet long and it does remind one of walking though the forest of middle earth in The Hobbit. Both rivers are very large and contain a lot of silt so they are churning and gray, almost sinister. The park is very beautiful with winding paths and lots of flowers as well as some tame Amazons and Macaws. A thunderstorm came up while we were in the park and we spent some pleasant time sitting under a tree limb, drinking Chicha( a strong fermented maize and corn syrup drink native to Colombia) and watching a couple of Macaws and their antics.

Monday, September 14th

We regretfully left Villa Leyva on the bus to Tunja, another scary experience. I think it is probably better not to look. Along the way, we noted that where, in the US, we would have small crosses marking the spot where people were killed in accidents, in Colombia they build small (2’x3’) mausoleums and sometimes they are quite elaborate with statues and intricate carvings.

The bus trip from Tunja to San Gil was long, hot and crowded. We passed few a few pretty little villages and arrived in San Gil at about 3. We checked into the Pasado de Conde hotel which occupies a huge old colonial home, with beautiful wood work but cold showers. We went out to explore the Plaza which has several large Ceiba trees and a very pretty fountain.

The plaza was filled with people and with children playing. There is a neat stone church on one corner. There are places where the streets are very steep and a couple that use switchbacks to allow people to get up them.

We decided to find a place that served Aguardiente, an anise flavored sweet white liquor highly favored in Colombia. We could not find a bar open that early (apparently bars are more like nightclubs with dancing). We did find a little bar on the corner which advertised Aguardiente. They brought us a bottle of the liquor and shot glass-sized platic cups with a water chaser. It was good but too sweet for my taste. We had dinner at El Mana, which serves a set menu for COP$8000, a little less than $5.We ordered pork in plum sauce and chicken in pineapple. Our meal began with a large bowl of soup; the entrée came with rice, potatoes and a salad. For a drink we had lulo juice. Lulos grow only in Colombia and the borders of Ecuador and Brazil. For dessert was a lemon flan.

BUS RIDING
TRAVEL NOTE: Re: bus travel in the mountains: First of all, you must realize that the mountains here are very steep and rise high above the valleys. Therefore, the roads are a constant series of switchbacks and acute turns which make the Buckhorn look like an interstate. Also, the rules here are slightly different. Busses are permitted to travel at less than 80 kph (50 mph) only when coming to a complete stop at a bus station. This means that they hurle themselves into the blind, sharp turns as though they were dive bombing them. They have a digital speedometer mounted in the passenger compartment but, mercifully, they don’t work. Also, apparently vehicles are permitted to pass other vehicles only on the tightest and blindest of turns and hills and when there is a double yellow line on the road. Double yellow lines mean the same here as in the US: Do not cross! Here, however, they mean: Do not cross back into the right-hand lane until you see the massive truck coming at you, also traveling at more then 80 kph. The driver is a virtual artist at following these rules and will inspire your confidence by crossing himself when approaching sharp, blind corners with precarious dropoffs on the side. We were a little disturbed on the road from Villa de Leyva to San Gil because the driver failed to do this but were greatly relieved when we discovered it was because he was using his cell phone most of the time. DY

Mr. Coqui's Blue Cow

Finally, I have some access to the internet- I will try to catch up. We are currently in Taganga, on the Caribbean Coast. We are heading for the mud baths and Cartagena this afternoon and for Bogota on Saturday night. (We were unable to book a flight out on Sunday so had to cut the Coastal part short.

Sunday, September 13 Villa de Leyva

After a large breakfast at the Hospederia we decided that this would be a day to relax after our somewhat strenuous schedule since arriving in Colombia. So we mainly ate and wandered, which all agree is the best way to experience the town. The village was declared a national monument in 1954 and has been preserved as it was in the 16th century.
Since it was Sunday morning the bells at the Iglesia Parroquial on the Plaza began ringing around 7am and continued throughout the morning as various masses were called. Many of the museums were closed because it was Sunday and since it is off-season, the town is not the bustling tourist attraction of spring and summer-a good thing.Being unwilling to stick to the normal byways, we found a little path that took us down and over a stream and uproad behind the Plaza. We found another Plaza dedicated to Antonio Recaurte who blew himself and a large Spanish battalion up in a local fort, leading the the defeat of the Spanish Army’s takeover of that area. (one of the first suicide bombers?) Another plazoletto adjacent to the larger plaza is beautiful garden with several different types of flowers and shrubs.We stopped for a mid morning café and chocolate and a bit later for lunch. We continued winding through the streets and poking into little shops along the way. Finally we ended up back at the Hospederia for some rest and relaxation. That night we found a little restaurant one of the side streets and had a tasty repast of whole fried fish and beef brisket with potatoes and tomato and avocado salad. We noted that in the states that salad is mostly tomato while in Columbia where tomatoes are scarce, it is mainly avocado.

It has been difficult to get this posted and get the pictures in. I can't seem to edit the previous posts at this time so I will try to just bring everything up to date with a few pictures.

Saturday, September 12
After sleeping through our alarm and not getting our pre-arranged wake-up call, we woke at 7:11 and needed to be at the train station at 8am. We managed to make it (and even had a cab driver who knew how to find it, picked up a morning snack and coffee and, at 8:30 boarded the train for Zipaquira. Finding a coach which was almost empty, we claimed seats on either side for good photo opportunities, not realizing that we were supposed to be in assigned seats in another car.

We set off from Bogota through one of the more depressed areas- large crammed-in apartment complexes and houses little more than shacks. Sadly, in the grass alongside the tracks were a series of homeless structures (most look like cardboard or tires covered with tarps) and a step down people wrapped in blankets lying out in the open. This, in an area that regularly gets down into the low 40s at night during the summer.

At the next station, a group of people boarded the train and we were sitting in their seats, so we needed to move into the car ahead. When we got there two elderly senoras were sitting in our seats and we did not see any other available seats. Dick tried to put my backpack into the rack overhead but it rolled out and right onto the elder of the two ladies. We apologized profusely and the train police seated us in the front of the car. Dick cut his finger on my bag which bled all over everything including, we found out at the Zipaquira station, the elderly lady he had bonked with the case.

Zipaquira is a pretty little town with the requisite cathedral. We boarded the tour bus to the Salt Cathedral, up the hill from the town. The cathedral was built in the old salt mine, primarily to give the miners, who spent days underground in a deadly occupation, a cathedral . It was open to the public in 1995 and is a powerful sight. In the side-passages which lead off of the main line, 190m below ground, , they have built thirteen stations of the cross and three naves which are huge domed structures with pews, altars and crosses. They are proud to claim the second-largest cross in the world. Then they quietly insert, “Under ground.” Salt mining continues and it is estimated that the reserves will last another 500 years.

When we finished the tour, we found that there is no bus from Zipaquira to Tunja, our next bus exchange to go to Villa Leyva. The tour bus driver detoured off his route in Cajica to take us to the station from which our bus departed and we were on our way, arriving in Villa Leyva at around 3pm. The Colombian bus drivers are no different than those we have seen in Central America, in a word “crazy”. It is a bit unnerving to see them cross themselves as they pass a slow- (or worse, fast)-moving truck on a blind curve. However, a difference between Colombia and other countries is the relatively cleanliness of the roads and cities. Gone are the miles and miles of plastic bags and bottles.

Villa Leyva is a strikingly beautiful town built around a huge central plaza. For an area of about three blocks around the plaza all roads are cobblestones including the plaza itself. We had a double room, which included a full breakfast, at a charming little hotel, Hospederia La Roca, for COP$80 (about $40 USD). We walked around the plaza and found various street performances occurring by the cathedral. For dinner, at Mr. Coqui’s, we had a traditional Colombian stew, Ajiaca, made with a variety of veggies and chicken. It was outstanding.

September 13 Villa Leyva

September 12-Tourist Train to Zipaquira and tour of Salt Cathedral

Thursday, September 11, 2009


I can’t write that date without reflecting back on the deadly date. I think all Americans at least think about it on 9-11 of each year.

Today was a day of independent exploration. Unfortunately, we started late and, after a breakfast of some of the fruits we purchased at the market, we found that the Posada del Sol was not going to be able to accommodate us for that night. ( I had reserved for two nights and when we got here decided to stay an extra night). So, we headed out to look for a new hostel/hotel. We found the Hotel Aragon on 3rd Carrera and 16th Calle , a fairly basic hotel for 38,000 COP per night. From there we decided to do some sightseeing and run some errands on our way back to the hostel.

Right around the corner from the hotel we found Los Dos restaurant and had crepes, one chicken and one beef, with bubbling cheese. Absolutely delicious! We waddled out of there and down the hill for our train tickets for the next morning tourist train to Zipaquira. When we got to the area where we needed to walk through to the station, the police told us it was not safe to walk through there and to take a taxi, which we did. We bought our tickets and walked a very short way to Sabana station where we boarded the TransMileno bus through the dangerous area. The TransMileno is Bogota’s answer to rapid transit. The large articulated buses have their own divided lane and are able to move fairly fast through the town. From the next station we walked to and across Bolivar Plaza to the Presidential Palace where an outdoor security checkpoint stops some walkers (e.g. Nancy) to check their backpacks. It is a very imposing building but I thought the Observatory next to it was more beautiful. We then walked up the hill to the Iglesia Museo Santa Clara which is a very ornate church attached to a large building and now run by the government as a museum.

By this time, we were ready to eat again and decided we needed to try chocolate santofereno, which is chocolate which is served with a white cheese and bread. You dip the cheese into the chocolate and eat it with the bread. We decided it was an acquired taste.

From there we took a taxi back to the hotel, exhausted again, having essentially walked all over the Candelaria area again. Bogota is laid out as a grid with Calles going one way and Carreteras going the other. The address gives you the street or avenue and number address which intersection it is near. For instance Calle 3 12-47 would be on Calle 3 between Carretera 12th and 13th. Easy, right?? Apparently not for taxi drivers, however. They not only can’t find desired destinations, but they also are unwilling to believe that a passenger could possibly know where he/she is going. To compensate, they have developed the ability to back up or down steep hills on narrow, one way streets at great speeds.

Sorry guys, I have not had internet access for a whiile but tomorrow should be able to use my computer so no pictures with the blogs today.  check back tomorrow!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009 continued

Bike Tours Bogota

Cerrera 3 #13-86

What a wonderful way of seeing the city. The owner, Mike, met us at our hostel at 10am and walked with us down to their shop at BiciCycle on 3rd Cerrera. We met Tatania, our guide. We had explained that we normally ride at 600 ft and had only been in Bogota, at 8600 ft since the night before. Tati, assured us that would not be a problem. After some problems fitting bikes to riders, we were on our way, primarily in an area of Bogotá called La Candelaria , which includes much of the historic part of town. We rode from about 10:30 am until 5pm. What an amazing city! We have included a few pictures here but since we don’t want to spend all of our time at a computer while here, we will post more later.

Tati was a great guide, very knowledgeable and took us through some back roads to avoid the heavy traffic. We stopped at Casa la Cicuta, which is a beautiful garden setting restaurant owned by an artist as evidenced by a gallery of paintings and other art work. We had what would be the Columbian equivalent of a smoothie with a variety of fruits and mint. It was tempting to stay in the garden, so tranquil, but no, off to battle the traffic of Bogota and discover her sights. We rode to the Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo, which is credited as the birthplace of Bogota. It is a very small Plaza ringed by a church (of course) and several small shops. Then up to a wonderful little farmers market where we sampled several fruits strange to us. The bananas and the hand grenade were yumm. The large green blob not.

We rode down to the huge Plaza de Bolivar and marveled at all the government buildings as well as the Catedral Primada which line the Plaza. The Plaza is filled with people walking, photographing, selling various items and feeding the thousands of pigeons who take advantage of their largesse. Several of the highland people had brought their alpacas to the plaza, I was unclear as to whether they were selling rides or pictures of children on an alpaca. There were lots of school children including some brightly dressed preschoolers being brought to the plaza by their teachers.

We went by the Emerald Traders market (Colombia is one of the principal miners of emeralds), saw the Juan Valdez coffee shop. We rode down Carrera 7, the center of Candelaria past shops, churches and craft markets. We passed what Tati calls the museum square-a several block area with museums including Museo Botero(a famous artist of the area) a museum of coins, a military museum etc. We had lunch at a charming place on Cerera 7, sitting upstairs. We chose their cerviche and epanadas. We have had wonderful food in Bogota, both in the restaurants and from the street vendors.

We then visited the bullfighters’s arena where a class of toreadors was in training with their capes. Interestingly enough, the best of the bunch was a female. Although I have no desire to see a bullfight, I was impressed by the architecture of the building and the grace of the bullfighters.

We visited the Quinta de Bolivar, a beautiful residence surrounded by a gorgeous garden with walking paths that wander through various waterways and plantings.. This appears to be where Bolivar when with his mistress and where he died. It is truly a wonderful setting. Last, we visited the Park Independencia, a large welcome area of nature in the middle of this large teeming city.

We finally returned to the bike shop and were treated to a cup of tea. In addition to seeing many of the important sites of the city, this tour gave us an orientation to Bogota, which we will use the next day on our independent excursion.

We decided since we were on that side of town to go up to the aerial tramway to Monserrate and see the lights at night. There is a beautiful church at the top and though quite chilly, we wandered around, took photographs and finally made our way back down. We took a taxi to Casa Viejo for dinner where we split one dish of beef brisket and chicken and another of Colombian variety foods, both fantastically delicious but expensive and served with uncharacteristic snobbishness, arrogance and intolerance of language communications problems (i.e. don’t put this guy on your itinerary).

September 10, 2009

Hola from Bogota Colombia!!

We woke up early and weather to be beautiful though a little colder than what we were used to. First order of business is find breakfast then we have a bike tour of Bogota!

This is our hostel- double room/private bath for two nights for $45. It is situated on the southern edge of La Candaleria about three blocks from the presiential palace.

Looking up the street we see the eastern edge of the mountains that surround Bogota and down the street the Plaza. Many streets are cobblestone and the houses in various states of repair.

Report of our bike ride later.

Good Morning from an overcast NYC. We arrived at JFK a little early and are waiting for our 11:40 flight to Orlando. Both the Sacramento and JFK have free wireless so it really makes it easy to stay in touch.

I slept well from SMF to JFK but since it was only a 5 hours flight, I feel a little brain dead. Dick was listening to his Spanish language tapes and I think he got less sleep. The regular seating on the Jet Blue planes do have substantially more leg room which made it more comfortable for both of us. Each seat has its' own tv screen and you can watch TV, rent movies or listen to music.

Found a shop that sells yogurt with granola, so I am happy!! We get into Bogota at about 8:30pm tonight so long day. Nancy