Wandering Dunlows

Knowing that we want to fit in many activities today, we wake up bright and early at Pilar's apartment in downtown Bogota. It's overcast and slightly chilly as usual, so we dress in layers for the long day out and about. Our first stop was the impressive Montserrate. A monastery and sanctuary, this mountain top site has actually served as a site of pilgrimage for religious followers. On most Sundays, lines of people trek to the top by stairway to visit the holy church and surroundings. Other days, Monserrat serves as a serene destination for those wishing a spectacular view of Bogota. The sprawling city of 8 million people is unbelievably impressive from this scenic overlook. A cablecar or funicular takes you to the top, and the well manicured gardens and ancient architecture complement the natural ... read more

Knowing that we wouldn't be back, I was sad to leave our hotel in the morning, but I was looking forward to the tour of the surrounding area we had planned for the rest of the day. A breakfast of url=http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Huevos-con-Hogao.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/2009/10/baked-eggs-with-colombian-style-tomato-and-onion-sauce-huevos-con-hogao.html&usg=__76xxmg_lR7WcDlhPQZdAQJad7g4=&h=336&w=448&sz=48&hl=en&start=10&sig2=AI8U6--8xPEcIFGeiKLBmA&um=1&tbnid=g0vTO6fG9JwCKM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhuevos%2Bpericos%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1&ei=N8hES9nsM-CA8Qbbou3WBA/huevos pericos, juice, and coffee was served in the dining room, and then we were on our way. Our first stop was the Finca de Avestruces (Ostrich Farm). We followed guided lectures on the ostriches... read more

It's 11pm and we're exhausted from a long day of flying and driving to our destination of Claraibeth's hometown in Boyaca. We settle in under many layers of blankets in bed; it will get down to 48 degrees tonight. It's 12:30am. Reggaeton music pulses in the background as the central square to the small town is one street over, and there is a festival this weekend. A d.j. on stage keeps the crowd going strong. I try to fall back asleep. It's 2:30am. The d.j. makes one last announcement to end his set on stage. I wake up momentarily to the short speech on the microphone. Back to sleep. POP! POP, POP, POP! CRACK! WHIZ, POP, POP, POP! It's 4:15am. Is someone hammering metal on the roof of the house? Are we being attacked? Should I ... read more

Although I haven't written about it yet, now is probably a good time to mention how our mornings start in Medellin. To do that I have to first talk about class. Before this trip I could tell you a lot of things about Colombians, about how they lived, what they ate, what they like to do. What I couldn't tell you, because I didn't know, was that there is a fairly obvious class system in this country. My naivety is surely the result of having known mostly family from Colombia, and therefore, mostly one type of class. Monte and I started to notice this right away since class differences are obvious from the time you wake up in the morning. A typical morning for us in Medellin would include walking into the kitchen to tell the ... read more

Although we're only a long weekend into our trip, I feel like I've been here for weeks already. Everyday so far has been full enough with activity that we are ready for bed by 10pm. There's no daylights savings here, so it doesn't help that it's dark around 6:30, too. Our favorite thing to do so far is to sit out on the balcony of my grandparents' condo. Monte says he could sleep out there. We eat, drink, talk, read, and gather out there for hours at a time. We're on the 20th floor of a tower that gives us an amazing view, and the weather is so perfect, that the windows and sliding doors are left open all the time, even when we sleep. Eventually, I'll get some pictures up here. Our first weekend ... read more