Jeff
The Rubel Family Joined: June 14th 2005
Logged in: February 4th 2012
Logged in: February 4th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
During the past 10 years, I have been given the opportunity to travel through Mexico, Central America and now, for the first time, South America. I can’t help but reminisce about the adventures I have had tramping through so many wonderful Countries. All the countries I visit and people I meet along the way will be etched in my mind forever. So let me share some of my reflections on Columbia, South America: 1. If you decide to go, you’ll get strange looks and questions (“Why would you want to go there…”). One friend said he would pray for me! My brother said his partners told him (jokingly) they would not take up a collection to pay the ransom. Perception and reality are often quite a long way apart. Columbia was out of favor for years, ... read more
Gondola
We arrive in Bogotá airport 40 minutes late. Edgar from Explore Bogota, is waiting for us www.explorabogota.com/index_english.html. We had only one day in the city so I decided to book a tour. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the city in a very short time. I had read about Edgar on the internet. He has great reviews on tripadvisor.com so two weeks before our departure I contract him and worked out two tours. He picks us up at the airport and takes us to the hotel to drop off our stuff (Hotel looks great!) We start with the <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">City Tour. He drives us part way up a hill in the city. We exit and go a building where we catch a swiss style gondola that climbs to Convent Monserrate. From here, ... read more
Hotel Aluna
Thursday 1-19-12 I started my Spanish classes early again today (7:30 a.m.). My teacher is wonderful. If you are in Santa Rosa, and want to study Spanish in a very informal setting, check out <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Neotropical Language School Calle 21 3-88 Corner of Calle 22 & Carrera 4, www.neotropical.se. After classes, we tossed our stuff into our bags and ran for the bus. Four hours later we were back in Cartagena. Tomorrow we will fly to Botoga. On Wednesday afternoon I called Hotel Abril (the place we stayed our first two nights in Cartagena) to get a reservation for Thursday night – they were full. I called 3 other places, all full (Dec & Jan and holy week are the busy tourist times). I spoke to Patrick (Owner of Hotel Aluna in Santa Marta) he ... read more
Minca
Wednesday 1-8-12 I slept really well last night. I have not said anything about the sleeping arrangements at Ranchero de la Luna in Minca. We are on the top floor and there is only one full size bed that hangs from ropes in the middle of the room. Given Lance’s condition he automatically gets the bed. There is a sofa and Milton, the owner, covers it in sheets and blankets for me. It was great. I wake in the morning to birds all around the house. I can hear Milton moving downstairs. He already has coffee brewing and is cutting up vegetables. I walk downstairs. The smell of coffee is wonderful. The taste is even better. Milton is making a consume. He thinks it will be easy on Lance’s stomach. He has cut up potatoes, onions, ... read more
Minca
Tuesday -January 17,2012 Today my classes were to begin very early at 7:30 a.m. We wanted to leave for Minca by noon.<span> We had our first setback today.<span> When I awoke, Lance manages to mutter, I am sick, I have been on the toilet all night and my back is killing me.<span> Oh, no,<span> he is literally hit with a double whammy.<span> Whatever he did to his back, it totally stiffened in the night. He is in serious pain and moves only with difficulty. We talk about how he got sick.<span> He has been brushing his teeth with the sink water – this may be the problem.<span> Sometimes you can get away with this, but not a good idea.<span> Dr. Rubel, does not want to take anything. I give him pepto-bismo and Imodium and dash to ... read more
Mercado Bazurto
We awoke early this morning. After our Coco Krispies from the day before we decided to walk to Gato Negro for breakfast. It is located on the same street we visited last night in Getsemani. We were not disappointed - - a wonderful breakfast for just a little money. From there we took a taxi to Mercado Bazurto. I love to visit markets in Latin America. But this one was a real disappointment. Dirty, dirty, dirty. We stayed about 20 minutes and took the second taxi of the day to the central area. We then walked to Plaza Bolivar. Our destination was Palacio de la Inquisition. Heretics were denounced here. There is a display of “gnarly instruments of torture” and we both wanted to take a look. We arrived at 9:50 a.m. and they did not ... read more
Parque Tayrona
We awoke very early and the owner of the Hotel Aluna arranged for a local to drive us to Parque Nacional Tayrona ($70.000). The plan was for him to drive us to AND INTO the park. If you exit the taxi outside the park, you have a surprisingly grueling 30 minute walk to the trail. I was very glad we opted for the extra drive.<span><span><span><span><span>The downside is it costs 10.000 pesos for the car to enter the park and leave (there is a shuttle but it was empty and you have to wait). The guide book said it was about a 3km walk. If you are loaded with packs, you will regret the walk. The first part is quite easy, just walking along a smooth flat road, although slightly uphill. It will be hot though and ... read more
Arrival in Bogota
Thursday 1-12-12 The first day of our trip really could not have gone better. All of flights were on time and we easily found each other in Ft. Lauderdale. We had time to walk in the central area along the beach. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant just off the beach. After returning to our hotel we both had no desire to go out to dinner. We ordered a pizza. It was really good. We went down to the hot tub which was about four times the size of a normal size and then called it a night. We had time for breakfast in the morning and then we were off to the airport. Friday 1-13-12 The second day of our trip went as well as the first day. Flight from Ft. Lauderdale left ... read more
Long ago I decided that I would try to conquer Mexico and Central America before I ventured over the pond or into South America. I have concentrated my effort on Mexico for the past 7 years. I have visited most of the Country, save the north, which has little appeal to me. I have studied Spanish on the Caribbean Cost (Vera Cruz, Merida, and Campeche), the Pacific Coast (Puerto Escondido and Manzanilla) and in the central highlands (Queretaro). My wonderful wife and I trekked through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and Costa Rica. My brother and I also spend 9 days enjoying Nicaragua. So naturally the next trip should have been to El Salvador or Panama (no interest in Belize they speak English!). I set my sights on Panama, bought a book and started reading. Seemed like ... read more
Church
Teresa's perspective as our stay came to an end: April, 2007 It doesn’t seem possible but we’ve been here since December 28th, 2006. In some ways it has been a roller coaster of emotion, transition, adjustments, and exploration, and settling in. Now, with only 2 months left to go it causes me to be introspective about these last weeks. I also feel that with four months under my belt that I can be a little more accurate in my depiction of life in central Mexico. It has been really fun to have the opportunity to compare the customs of the U.S. with the ones here in Mexico. We are two different countries that geographically are so close but yet are so different in so many ways. The main areas that differ are cultural. Here in Mexico ... read more
