Blogs from Armenia, Quindío, Colombia, South America - page 2

Au retour de Gorgona, je prend un bus pour Arménia où m'attend Carlos, avec qui j'ai plongé à Malpelo. Il me présente à sa famille, Liliana (sa femme) et Susana (sa fille, dans mes âges). Ils m'accueillent chaleureusement dans leur magnifique maison dans un quartier résidentiel d'Arménia. La maison est très bien arrangée, beaucoup de toiles, de sculptures, de maquettes de bateau; et un très beau patio rempli de mobilier en bois que Carlos a fabriqué. C'est le voisin, Juan, architecte qui a dessiné et construit le quartier. Je ne tarde pas à le rencontrer. C'est un sacré phénomène ! Il parle français et ne manque pas d'humour. Je suis comme chez moi; ici la citation "Mi casa es tu casa" prend tout son sens ! Les journées sont bien remplies. Susie m'emmène dans les environs, ... read more

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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

In Colombia during Christmas, almost anywhere you go you will see Christmas lights... but Im not just talking about plain old Christmas lights you see on Christmas trees... Im talking huge displays of lights in the shape of flowers, animals, people, cars etc. called alumbrados. I had heard of these lights my whole life, so when I went to Colombia and saw just how amazing they were I couldn't believe it! The ones I saw in Cali and in Armenia are located in huge parks. I dont know where they store these after Christmas is over because I imagine they'd need a warehouse to store them, they're so big! I really enjoyed Christmas in Colombia. Los alumbrados are something unique and special in Colombia. You have families hosting novenas, which are a series of traditional prayers ... read more

In Colombia, if you walk into a souvenir store you will deffinitly see this for sale: a hand made minature version of a bus that is extremely colorfull usually with reds, yellows, and blues (like the Colombian flag) and on top of it features little tiny fruit baskets, chickens, and may or may not have a little person riding on the back. This is called a "Chiva". Chiva also means goat in spanish, but in this case we are talking about the Colombian party bus. Back in the day the chiva was used for local transportation and people used a ladder to climb up the bus and store their belongings for the ride. Today there are more modern city buses for transportation, so the Chiva is used less but can be rented for partys! You can ... read more