Traveling and Hiking: Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Hiking, Beaches, and Outdoor Sleeping

I went hiking with friends over Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Our destination of choice: Parque Tayrona.

We left from Santa Marta on one of the worst "buses," I've been on. It was overcrowded, humid, and I believe 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I cannot stand swapping sweat with people, which is bound to happen when you're squished so tight, you're not sure where your skin ends and theirs begins.

After a torturous hour of sweat-swapping, breath-sharing, and odious scents we finally arrived at the park entrance.  Now, I have a cedula, which is a residency card issued by the Colombian government, but because it takes FOREVER to get the i.d. they gave me a temporary one that is "supposed," to be accepted just as if it were the actual one.  This never happens. They always look at it weird and tell me, its not legit. Whatever. It really only bothers me in situations like buying my ticket at the park. I had to pay triple, just because of this stupid temporary card.

Suffice it to say, I was not in the greatest mood upon arrival.

Then, we arrived at our hike's entrance and all of the frustration melted away when I saw this....

Making our way through towering foliage and swaying trees our hearts pounded with every anticipatory step.

Bulging rocks led us deeper into the heart of the origin of life.

I could feel the proximity to Eden. Warmth and light filled our lungs, crushing away the doubt.

Blue. Green. Life Colors.

Every step, every breath, was leading us to this moment.

Eden.

Hope.

Joyous raptures!

The physically exhausting hike was worth every ragged breath when I walked out of those trees and beheld this.

We camped here.  I slept under the stars with the crashing waves lulling me to sleep. 

Love Love Love

I heart the ocean

Its the Aquarius in Me.

Hot Springs in Colombia's Coffee Region

Hot Springs in San Vincente

One of my favorite places to relax.

The best part of living in Pereira, is traveling to the nearby towns.  San Vincente isn't a town, it is a health spa on the top of a mountain surrounded by the jungle.  In short, for me, Heaven.

  I love going to Hot springs. For me, its pure bliss. The hot springs in San Vincente are especially my favorite because of their rustic surroundings and remoteness. I love being in nature. My dream home is far away from civilization. I also am quite fond of the reasonably low cost of staying in a cabin and the spa benefits.

  I stayed for a weekend and had two full body massages, a mud bath, and an exfoliation massage in mountain sand for 220,000 Colombian pesos, which is about $120.00 U.S..  It also includes transportation and two meals.                      AWESOME!!!

View on the Way.

Colombian mountain range.

View from my room at the resort.

You can swim until midnight!

Coffee and Rum: Manizales, Colombia.

WELCOME and BIENVENIDOS

The Juan Valdez Cafe is the Starbucks of Colombia. Of course, they claim they are the original Cafe coffee shop and Starbucks is the copycat.

A group of friends from school went to Manizales, Colombia for an art fair and International Fair.

Of course, Jesus was there as well!

There were some outdoor concerts, great food, and lots of artisan crafts.

We toured a Rum brewery and listened to the history of Ron Caldas. They had samples too! I wasn't really into it since everyone was drinking from the same set of unwashed glasses. Yuck! No thanks.

 Jesus met some very flavorful folks!

Enjoying the concert.

Manizales is a great day trip in Colombia's Coffee Region. The city is designed oddly because it weaves up and down the mountains. If you are going to walk around for the day, make sure to pack very comfortable shoes. You will be getting a ton of exercise going up and down the city blocks.

When you arrive you should take the Cable up to the top. It has a great view and it is the cheapest way to get there.  While you're riding up you can still see some of the destruction caused by the devastating landslide of 2011.

Creative Writing Day

Ants march.

Diligently, without interruption

Steady on, Steady on.

The Queen stays,

in her castle-Shouting

Commanding.

With Leadership,

the Species lives on.

Alike they move,

dancing the designs previously set.

And in the moment,

that one diverges,

Sets on a course

Un-previously known.

The Queen and her children,

being left with The Known.

And the Only 

Risk Taken,

Is from the One,

now on his own.

 E. Ward

Lessons from Colombian Kids

Ganar v. To Earn

I teach 6th and 7th grade English at a private school in Colombia.  There are many differences in our interpretations of what something means and how to translate it.  One of those, is the verb; Ganar. Which, in English translates as to win, earn.  They use one verb for our two. Now, with my Hoosier (Indiana born), culture the verbs, to win and to earn have two completely different meanings.

When I think of winning something, I don't associate any work going into it.  I think, WOW!, I won something. I feel so lucky and ecstatic that the "Odds Were Ever in My Favor," like the announcer's blessing in The Hunger Games. This feeling associated with winning something is like saying, God and the heavens have noticed my plight and decided to give me my own personal Passover. 

Best Seller and Awesome Movie!

I was active in the winning, because I either filled out some sort of form or participated in someway to be involved in the win, but I didn't toil and sweat to "earn it." 

On the other hand, when I earn something there is the feeling of my blood, sweat, and tears going into the achievement. I know the hours of studying, training, and passion I put into it and because I did my very best, I earned what I achieved.  It wasn't luck or chance that made the achievement, it was pure effort and passion.

When I think of how hard I have worked on a project or studied for an exam, I never consider winning as part of it.  My children on the other hand see the two as one. There is no difference. This doesn't just affect the mixed up translation, like when they say, "Teacher! I am winning the class because I won my note!"  It affects their ability to separate their effort from the "gift" or "win," that I supposedly helped give them.  Then when they ask me, "Teacher, why am I losing the class?" I try to explain to them it has nothing to do with me being fair or unfair, it's how much effort you have put into the class.

Translations and attempting to equivocate meaning and significance can cause complicated communication misunderstandings, arising from diverse cultural perspectives. 

My American perspective has taught me, homework, grades, and my future are a result of what I've earned. My rewards are better and brighter future, but is it really this simple?  I don't believe it is. By being born where I was, I had certain advantages and disadvantages in the journey of what I earned.  So, every time I had an unlimited choice of reading material, was that a part of what I'd earned? Or, by divine placement did I win a spot in the lottery of life, giving me extra help?

So, perhaps the Spanish language allows the speaker to pay diligent respect to the balance of winning and earning. Maybe my students have realized something I haven't, maybe they know that in life it takes a little bit of winning and earning to make the goal.

I guess the way I can best sum it up is through the lives of amazing people who have come before us.  In almost every biography I have read, the person accounts their success to passion and a wee bit of luck.  They usually describe it as, "that one breakthrough," or "the break I needed."  A bit of the "right time and right place," magic to make the struggle cease and the destiny begin.

So, with lots of sweat and a little bit of luck, I wish you success!

Colombia's Jewels: Taganga, Santa Marta

Colombia Rocks!

This past week I was able to visit one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen! 

My roommate and I traveled to the lovely town of Santa Marta. A dear friend of hers allowed us to stay with them so the trip was relatively, cheap. We took a bus to get there, which I would never recommend because you don't see a whole lot between Medellin and Barranquilla.

Our first stop was Barranquilla. Home of the inspiration of my blog name, SHAKIRA! It's a dry, hot, dusty city. There was an area with a very nice shopping mall, but not much more than that. We were only there for a few hours and then we took another bus to Santa Marta.

The trip from Barranquilla to Santa Marta is about an hour and a half. It's a beautiful trip because of the ocean and towns you pass on the way.


When we arrived, we were greeted like family. The one thing I truly love about this country is how welcoming and friendly Colombians can be.

Santa Marta Beach at night. There is music, dancing, and drinking!

The beach in Santa Marta is not the greatest, but it is a lot of fun. If you're looking to meet new people and dance, just hang out here for awhile.

View from the pier where you can shop for local crafts.

Santa Marta is a wonderful break from the busyness of Pereira.  The streets are not filled with people, it isn't consumed by traffic and obnoxious buses, and it's warm.  We walked around the city almost every night, just enjoying the weather and architecture. One of my favorite streets is covered in adorable restaurants. One even uses books for tables, it's very chic and quaint.

Restaurant Alley

Santa Marta is filled with gorgeous architecture. I love buildings. I am especially fond of the colorful themes the buildings have.

As beautiful as I thought Santa Marta was, I enjoyed Taganga and Parque Tayrona even more. I love small, quiet places, perhaps that is why it appealed to me so much.

 

 

The many views of Taganga Beach. My favorite is the man getting his yoga on. I love watching characters.

This is Jesus. Jesus and I have a goal to see as many cool things as possible before the world get crumpled like a giant wad of paper. I think Jesus found the climate quite familiar to home.

Parque Tayrona deserves it's own blog, so I'll continue the journey in Part 2.

Global Perspectives

Case in Point:  Woman Adventurer

I have never considered myself a rarity or exception to the norm.  In my mind everyone dreams of traveling the globe, saves some money, and lives the explorer's dream. I think it must come from my community of friends, especially my former Peace Corps buddies. I read about their worldly adventures online and assume its happening to us all.

I now realize how absurdly skewed my perspective has been. I am very fortunate. I am living my dream. I remember reading about Colombia in high school. When I read about the families who had lost their homes and lives from the violence of cocaine and FARC, I knew I would go there one day.

I desperately wanted to meet and talk to those people who had been affected by the violence. I also wanted to help. I didn't know how, but I knew I wanted to do something.

My journey started in Venezuela. I was able to go to Merida, which is not far from the border. I remember how much I wished I could go over to Colombia. I went with our church missions group. It was one of the best trips in my life. We mostly talked with people and helped with some of the local church's construction. 

The people were so nice, but it was one of the first times I was in a place where every area had military personal and they walked around with M-16's and AR-15's. It was a bit intimidating.

I returned to Venezuela another year, but quickly realized it was Colombia I wanted to be in. I can't explain my obsession. I only know I truly believe everything happens for a reason.

I went to college and still the desire remained. Near graduation I started the application process for the Peace Corps. I had a chance to go to an Asian region, but I chose to wait a few months. The next offer was for Ecuador! 

Again, I desperately wanted to get to Colombia, but as a volunteer at that time it wasn't allowed. Again, I moved on. A few years and jobs later I finally found my chance.

I am currently in Colombia and the longer I am here, the more mysterious the place becomes. I think I've discovered some general cultural trait, but then it shifts. It seems everything here is always shifting.

I know I have something big to discover. I don't know if it's a personal revelation, cultural revelation, or life-changing revelation. I just know that I am finally here and there is a reason behind it. I am looking forward to the rare adventure.

Traveling in Colombia's Coffee Region

Medellin Home to a "New Cartel."

When most Americans hear the word Colombia their minds revert to images of rain forests, guerrillas, and cocaine.  Bombarded with images and violence seen on screen in movies like, Collateral Damage, Behind Enemy Lines, Clear and Present Danger, Romancing the Stone, and Miami Vice have cemented this viewpoint in any action-film, loving American.

With every story or folklore there is usually a bit of truth in history. Colombia is no exception. Throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's Cocaine and those who meddled with it, flourished. There are still remnants of the money and corruption from cartels, but having recently traveled to Medellin with my mom, those remnants seem few. Instead the "New Cartel," resembles tourism.

My mother came to Colombia a nervous wreck. She was actually scared to exit the airport. She didn't see me right away so she just waited, but I couldn't walk in from that direction. Luckily, a decent man who knew some English helped her find me. In her defense it was very late and she knows ZERO Spanish.

I had to work a few of the days she visited, so we stayed in the Coffee region. My mother loves to shop. All she wanted to know was where she could buy crafts and gifts to take home. Jewelry and clothing are her primary loves. I had only been in the country for about two months myself, which didn't make me the wisest tour guide. 

Thankfully, I have wonderful co-workers who helped me out in this endeavour. My boss took us to a beautiful restaurant called El Mirador. It sits on top of the mountain with one of the most beautiful restaurant views I've seen. Below are some photos.

Sunset View of El Mirador.

Afternoon View.

Another co-worker made my mother's dreams come true by taking us to Salento. Salento is beautiful and small. It is a pueblo specializing in hand-made crafts. My mother loved it! She bought a ton of jewelry, clothes, and anything else she deemed a necessity. She still calls me and asks if I've gone back and bought her anything.

A Chef made from metal and wire.

Salento from the top.

Mom shopping in Salento.

She definitely blends in.

After our trip to Salento we tagged along with some of the guys I work with to travel to Medellin. It was nice to travel with them because they had been before and could point us in the direction of Medellin highlights.

When traveling to Medellin I would highly recommend buying a ticket on the metro and riding it to Parque Arvi on the Cable. The view is amazing and its the best way to get a feel for the city.

On the way to Medellin.

View inside the Cable car.

View from Parque Arvi.

Medellin Furniture

Medellin Art

Medellin Architecture

Medellin Hotels

There are many reasons to travel to Colombia. Adventure, food, people, and making memories. I'm so thankful my mom braved the trip and came to see me.