vivakula
Vivakula Joined: January 29th 2009
Logged in: January 5th 2012
Logged in: January 5th 2012
Wish me luck!!!
Travel Blog Posts
SURPRIZE!! I'm back in Toronto! -but not for good.... I thought I'd make a pit stop back to see family and friends, but the trip is not over, rather on hold -sort of.... I will be here 1-5 months depending on a few things -its very likely that I will travel in the summer, and definately return to Colombia in September. I will still keep you all updated but I suppose untill something exciting happens the entries will be few and far between. How is it to be back?? well... crappy... no KIDDING! It's true my heart is back in Colombia - and NO it is not in the shape of a man like most suspect, I just am no longer fond of the North American lifestyle. That being said it has been great to see ... read more
So I arrived in Miami to spend one night on my way to carribean islands... My surfer, Aljandro didn’t answer the phone when I called from the airport so I was a little worried. Luckily I had another number for another surfer, Andrew. Andrew, an American, saved my butt. After a long bus ride, carrying my 60 plus lbs of gear, Andrew picked me up from a strip mall on the corner of something and something. Luckily a nice girl on the corner let me use her cell to call him. Miami was FREEZING and way less convenient them my SWEET Colombia - god how I would miss that heavenly place... Andrew was formal and nice, we had some tea, pizza, exchanged stories, and went to bed. He had to work the next day so ... read more
So a crazy dash in airplanes, taxis, buses, and what not across the country in just one day. Running early from Manizles, to Bogota, all the way north to the infamous colonial town of Villa de Leyva. I arrived just after dark around 7pm. Villa de Leyva was certainly the picture of romance, and since I was all alone, it made me feel very lonely- something I had not felt in a while. I walked the streets entering all the posadas trying to encounter something I could afford. Everything was terribly expensive, but I had no doubts and all the confidence in my Colombia. Sure enough I encountered a cheap empty, cute hostel around a pleasant corner. The young owners, Alex and Liliana were incredibly warm and hospitable. I dropped my stuff and marched off ... read more
So it was good that I called my friend (dance teacher) from Cali, Carlos to ask him if he knew of a good place to stay in Manizales cause he sent his good friend Hernan (chacho) to pick me from the terminal. Chacho and his wife, Mario Eugenia, were super nice! They picked me up from the terminal and offered me a place to stay at their home but I declined cause I only had about 40 hours in Manizales and the tour operator to take me to the Nevados was already scheduled to pick me up from a cheap hostel in the city center 6 am the next day. It was about 5 pm when I arrived in Manizales but Chacho and his wife and friends had the time to show most of the city’s ... read more
I was dead tired from lack of sleep on the bus ride into the eje cafetero (towards Armenia). When I woke to see a mirador near the entrance of the city I was speechless and breathless at the same time. I could not believe the beauty before my eyes, and it was just a tiny peak through the sun-filled windows. I could see high, jagged rolling clustered of lush, green, mountain, hailing before the bright blue sky, covered with... well green, exuberant shades of life. SR. Alvaro (a friend of a friend sent to take care of me) picked me from the bus terminal and dropped me at the ever so cordial and accommodating SRA Martha’s hotel. It was beautiful, clean, and had HOT water! -but situated in the rather ugly town of Montefeo, I mean ... read more
Cali is Salsa! It really is. -and the energy, the vibe, the... je ne sais quoi, is contagious!! So I came back from San Cipriano and was suppose to go visit the coffee growing region... but... well.... there were still more salsa schools for me to check out, and lesson to take, and clubs to discover so.... I stayed! Everyday, another salsa lesson, every night another club! Hours, and hours of salsa. I wasn’t getting quality sleep, that was for sure. -and I was growing tired, but only well sleepy (with headache). -But I was loving every salsa moment- all it took was to hear that music, and a he’s it built up, and up, and up, BANG, here we go!! Let’s do it again! It got to the point that my salsa teachers were taking ... read more
mini-IMG 3399
Ok fine I’ll go to San Cipriano! (- a remote town about 2-3 hours from Cali, close to the Pacific coast and big city of Buenaventura, and known as a popular weekend getaway for its river attractions). I thought I was going to leave Cali, but here I was being dragged to see this apparently unmissable sight. -But wow, was I ever glad I went!! Tuche and I hitched a ride with Leo part of the way, and then hopped on a bus off the highway, to the gateway of San Cipriano. You see, the small village was unreachable by road- only train. However, the train had long been closed and so the locals (which were really, really poor) invented a new, highly fun, and faily dangerous system of transport using the railway tracks, which ... read more
mini-IMG 3254
So after an extremely long day of planes, trains, and automobiles, -ok maybe no trains- I got to Cali, the city of salsa!! Cali was not what I expected, although maybe it was not outright beautiful, it was far more beautiful than I expected, with a hot and almost tolerable climate. Cali really was a relatively well organized, good looking city, with many conveniences, great restaurants, awesome coffee bars, and a ton of hot, spicy, and lively salsa clubs. Everything from roots, to high end, Caleneans really lived and breathed salsa, its passionate rhythm. In fact, I thought I knew how to dance salsa before, but really this would be the place where my heart would truly connect with its beat, something you can never forget or lose once you’ve found it. What an amazing place- ... read more
mini-IMG 2664
So we arrived at the top of the hill, or small mountain, if you will, and could see all of Bucaramanga and its mountains. There was a large zone fenced off for the take off and landing of parapenters, and they were dozens swirling in the air above. So you gonna jump? You’re going to do it? -said the eager voices of Ramon and Jorge. My initial thought and response was no way!!! Did I really need to fly off the edge of a mountain?? I knew I wanted to try it someday, just to do it, but not because it was something I always wanted to do. The two of them kept insisting, especially Ramon, do it, do it, do it. It really didn’t persuade me. It was not just that I was afraid, I ... read more
mini-IMG 2561
Bucaramanga! A place I never thought I’d love… Ok, so as mentioned, I was a little nervous about landing Bucaramanga cause I hadn’t made any plans and I didn’t know anyone, and I wasn’t staying in a backpacker place where I could meet people, and well, Bucaramanga (a major city and commercial centre) is not really touristic at all. So why did I want to come here? Well, basically it was just a connection, to get out of beautiful San Gil, and away from my lovely family, and move on. I already had a plan. It was to stay in BC for like a day or two, just to see since I was already there, then take a 2 hour bus ride over to my good friend Luis’s place back in Barancabermeja (if you remember way ... read more
