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Published: June 18th 2008
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Greetings!
Thank you so much to those of you who have written messages in response to my last entry, they were very funny, and it was great to hear from some of you!
Keeping with the style of the first entry, there is a story to go along with each word/phrase in the title of this entry. Thus, we commence.
El Embrujo means something along the lines of The Enchantment in English and was the name of a property that my friend and I visited. This story will be quite long, but I think is absolutely wonderful, I hope you enjoy.
El Embrujo belongs to a friend of the family I am staying with, Jose, and he is a man probably in his 70s, who lives there with his wife and the live-in staff that help him run the property. The property includes an incredible garden, a house full of little dolls and figurines collected from all over the world by his wife, and a barn full of horses and pictures from this gentlemen's riding career.
He invited my friend Aleja and I to come riding with him, and when we set out to drive to
his property which is 1,000 feet higher up the mountain, it was a sunny afternoon. By the time we had reached the elevation of his property we were in a cloud, literally. The fog was so thick that we almost didn't see the fallen power line in the middle of the road until we had driven into it. Thankfully, the power company truck pulled up right behind us and moved the cable out of our way so we could keep driving. Only then, did a rock happen to punch a hole the size of my thumb in the tire of Aleja's car, deflating it completely.
Fortunately we made it to El Embrujo and Jose insisted that we drink first, then ride, and THEN worry about the car. Jose, is an expert in South American alcoholic beverages and served Aleja and I a little rum that, according to Jose, is the best rum in the world and will make us ride much better. Following the drink, we put on riding caps, and went riding into the jungle and fog near Jose's property that is a reserve and thus protected from any development. We rode into the evening when the lucieras
(lightning bugs) came out, helping us navigate the cloud (It was here that the perfection of his name for his property hit me, it was literally like being in a dream). The ride was not all charm, as it was also accompanied by barking dogs, some wild, some tame, chasing after the horses and biting at their heels. As well as ATVs roaring around the corner on our same path.
After returning from the ride, Jose then insisted that we have some red wine, cheese that he made himself, and some of the cake that we brought him as a gift. His wife joined us and then commenced an hour long debate about the upcoming elections in the U.S. THEN, we broke out the flashlights and got Aleja's spare tire on and started the drive back down the mountain.
--x--
This past weekend Aleja and I took on overnight bus to Bogota, the capital of Colombia, that sits on a flat mesa on one of the mountains surrounding Cali, and houses some 8 million people. The weekend was a blur of meeting new people, good food, museums, churches, history, and a general lack of sleep. This story
Zoo
Danielle, this is just for you, my friend. is quite short, but lovely.
After 5 hours of walking around the center of Bogota and a very big lunch, my coffee addiction kicked in and my friend Catalina and I quickly found a Juan Valdez cafe (the South American Starbucks, Juan Valdez is the guy with the mustache, sombrero, and mule whose picture is on many coffee products in the U.S., he is an actual guy, is somewhat of a celebrity, and is replaced whenever the current Juan gets too old). It was here that I saw on the menu, tinto cardemomo. Tinto means black coffee here, and cardemomo is cardemom. I LOVE cardemom and cinnamon in my coffee at home, and thought I was unique and exotic because of this. Ha! Coffee is a major part of Colombia's economy, thus, they have learned how to do it right. That little cup of coffee had me grinning for the rest of the day...
--x--
To end this entry, I have a few little one-sentence clips from some of my adventures here, I think they reveal something about the people here, buen provecho (bon apetit):
In a salsa workout class, one woman walked in late and
Bogota
How lucky I am to have these women in my life, Catalina and Alejandra, both of whom I met while studying abroad in Prague. politely said good evening under her breath, the entire class then responded with a loud and smiling good evening, enthusiastically welcoming her.
I have lost count of how many tims Aleja and I have been somewhere and needed something but not had enough cash on us, only for whatever we needed to be given to us on credit, followed by an "Ay Mami" (sounds like, I mommy) which is essentially sure honey bun.
--x--
I very much hope you all are thriving in all of your endeavors! Please know that I am thinking of you often, and having the time of my life, challenges and perks alike. A great big hug and kiss on the cheek to each of you!
Andra
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