Spot the gringo!

Several of us have studied as much as four years of high school Spanish.  Me llamo Carlitos.  Me gusta bailar todas las noches.  ("My name is little Charlie.  I like to dance all of the nights.")  Yet locals can sometimes figure out that we're not Colombian.

On the other hand, one benefit of being in the middle nowhere in South America is that I can finally wear this t-shirt without feeling like a loser, literally.  (Yes, after you lose an election you get to keep the extra swag.)  Ask me if you want a bumper sticker.

Cocora Valley

After a lovely breakfast at "Hotel Finca El Rancho" we took a short Jeep ride into the Cocora Valley, a national park just outside of Salento. We took a two hour hike through the jungle and along a ridge. There were several harrowing bridge-crossings, thousands of "wax palms", and stunning scenery.

With help of Medellin police, CJ and Katrina return home safely!

Yes, I'll admit that's click bait.  But the headline is accurate:  The (transit) police were involved, and CJ and Katrina did get home safely.   We had a bit of a snafu on the Medellin metro, which is beautiful, efficient, and unbelievably crowded at rush hour.   As we were trying to board, CJ wandered over to a transit map and yelled, "San Pedro."  The rest of us assumed this was the stop where we should get off.  In fact, there is no San Pedro stop.  (Note to self:  Never, ever listen to CJ giving transit advice again.)  This would not have been a problem, except that our family got split up.  Leah squeezed on one train; Tess (my niece) and I got on the next train; CJ and Katrina were five or six trains behind us.

So we were now on three separate trains as it dawned on each of us that we had no idea where to get off.  And no cell phones.  (We could text, but only with wi-fi.)  I got off at one station, Leah got off at another, and CJ and Katrina actually headed for a place they found on the map called San Pedro.  It's a cemetery, several miles from the closest metro stop.

I contacted the transit police.  (I cannot emphasize enough how friendly and functional this country is.)  I explained, "Mis niños son perdidos."  (My children are lost.)  This officer no doubt imagined a pair of toddlers separated from their parents.  I then said, "La nina tiene diez y ocho anos."  (The girl is 18 years old.)  This fine officer did his best to keep a straight face.  For a moment, imagine you are in an American shopping mall.  (The Medellin metro is only a few years old and it is every bit as nice as a mall.)  And you approach a security guard to say, "I've lost my 18-year-old daughter. With my 13-year-old son."  What exactly do you say to someone who has lost a child old enough to be in college?  This guy replied helpfully, "Maybe you could call her."

Leah and I eventually found each other via text and waited for CJ and Katrina to finish their odyssey to the San Pedro cemetery and then back to the metro.  That took almost an hour and a half in which they were AWOL.  In the meantime, the transit police broadcast a message over the loudspeakers to every single station in the whole system (at rush hour).  My Spanish is weak, so what I heard over the speakers was, "Spanish Spanish Spanish KATRINA WHEELAN! Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish KATRINA WHEELAN!"

CJ and Katrina eventually made their way back to our apartment.  CJ reports that according to the pedometer on his iPod, they walked a total of 9.5 miles.  Great adventure.  Remarkably, it made us like Colombia even more.  It has the feel of a place where the people wrestled their country away from dark forces and are intent on not giving it back.

We left Medellin this morning and have arrived in Salento, which is a tiny town in the mountainous coffee-growing region.  This place is so small that after we finished dinner at a restaurant, the manager insisted on driving us back to our finca (farmhouse) because it was raining.  Happily reunited!

A Modicum of Hope

For anyone over about the age of 10, Medellin is a place associated with drugs and violence.  Around 2000, it was one of the most homicidal places on the planet.  (Those who will admit to watching Entourage may also associate it with the plot line involving the terrible biopic on Pablo Escobar.)  The turnaround has been quite dramatic.  Medellin is a bustling, comfortable place.  We spent much of yesterday afternoon loitering in a park with a Sunday farmers' market.  It was every bit as yuppy as Lincoln Park in Chicago.  Below is the view from the balcony of our Airbnb apartment.  Yes, if you look closely at the billboard, it's Sophia Vergara from Modern Family.

We are taking a "down day" in the comfortable apartment for laundry, schoolwork, etc.  The girl on the right is Tess Kuczun (Leah's sister's daughter) who has joined us for the first three weeks.

Meanwhile, one of the best things about Colombia is the street food, and one of the best kinds of street vendors is the avocado peddler.  The avocados are HUGE.  You eat them in wedges sprinkled with lime and salt.

Night bus to Medellin

Sounds like a great film title.  In fact, it's the 13-hour ride up and over the mountains.  Thank you Dramamine!  Remarkably, we were able to Uber to the bus station in Cartagena.  We'll spend a few days here and then head to the coffee growing region.

Bidding farewell to Cartagena

The Old City really does deserve its status as a World Heritage site.  Remarkable photo opportunities around every corner.  After dark (when the heat dies down a little) the place really comes alive.

Street food!!

Please do not tell Rhonda at the DHMC Travel Clinic.