Pacific Paradise

The Pacific coast of Colombia will never be a major tourist mecca.  This has nothing to do with the fact that it is mostly rural, jungle, severely under-developed, and a victim of much poverty.  Its the fact that it rains.  It rains a lot.  The Colombian coast on the Pacific ocean is one of the rainiest places on the planet.  However, last weekend the sun made a visit and decided to stick around.

Almost a year ago I took a trip to go sea kayaking with Julio Pérez and Bicivan Tours.  Despite sore shoulders and a bit a sea-sickness, I knew I needed to repeat the adventure once more before my time in Colombia came to a close.  Some new friends had visitors coming for the long weekend, so a group of us formed and set out for the coast.  The sun included.

I knew the excursion would be memorable and a perfect reprieve from the bustle, noise, and grime of Cali, but everything turned out amazingly.  Not only was there the aforementioned sun, but both boat rides from and to the port city of Buenaventura and Juanchaco were amongst the smoothest and shortest I've had the pleasure of taking.  The company was fantastic, the food delicious, and to top it all off, I didn't get more than a small sun burn on my wrist!  A winning weekend all around!

¡Bienvenidos a Juanchaco!

Julio orientating us to the area with a sand-map on the beach.

The kayaks in a secluded cove on one the islands.

Amanda and me surviving our sea cave exploration.

A beautiful day to kayak the Pacific!

*All photos are courtesy of Cassie Supilowski and Julio Pérez (the last one) since I shockingly forgot my camera. 

A Capital Trip

Colombians are generally not fans of the way Hollywood portrays them in movies.  Type-cast a drug dealer, lately?  Residents of Bogotá, in particular like to cite the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie blockbuster Mr. & Mrs. Smith at the top of their grievances.  In the movie, the titular couple are in the capital city where jungle vines encroach on Spanish colonial-style buildings and rain is seen as a refreshing reprieve from the heat of the day. In reality, Bogotá sits at 2,625 meters above sea level (about 8,600 ft) and the residents have wardrobes containing more jackets and scarves than bikinis and bermuda shorts.  To quote the author of the blog Intercultured, "I’d say I spend approximately two-thirds of my life in Bogotá underwater."

Tragically, despite the fact that I've passed through Bogotá many times en route to other locations, either by bus or airplane, I've only spent about 24 hours here as a tourist, and that was one brief day over four years in transit to the Amazon.  This seemed to be a similar theme for five other of my colleagues, so about a month ago we decided to pick a weekend and go. 

One of the first things on our to-do list was visit "La cervecería pequeña más grande de Bogotá" (The largest small brewery in Bogotá), otherwise known as the Bogotá Beer Company.  Their slogan could be adapted to include all of Colombia, as there are few micro-breweries in the country, but until the BBC expands to other cities, they aren't necessarily incorrect.  One company, Bavaria, brews pretty much all the other brands of Colombian beer.  With this kind of monopoly it is not surprising that an artesian start-up could find a niche market.

Sam and Mandi in the BBC lab

BBC Tour stop number one!

The group at the Usaquén location.

The tour started with a pick-up in a company van in front of our hostel, a tour of their small factory, then stops at three restaurant/bars of our choosing throughout the city including a complimentary pint at each stop as well as one appetizer per every two people all for the amazing price of about $30 USD each.  Fascinating tour, informative tasting session, great food, VIP service at every establishment, and a free ride around town made for a pretty great first night out!

The next day we explored the Zona Rosa neighborhood we were staying in then headed to a small city north of Bogotá called Zipaquira.  The main draw of this town in the Salt Cathedral, an actual Catholic church carved deep inside an active salt mine.  I was the lone one to have visited this unique site before, however, I though it would be interesting to see again.  In the last four years there has been some serious work done on the tourist infrastructure, and while not anywhere near amusement park, it is a far cry from the more rustic look the area had on my first visit.

The main "room" inside the catedral de sal from the choir loft.

One of the stations of the Cross.

Later that evening we headed to an iconic Bogotá destination, the restaurant Andrés Carne de Res, located in the municipality of Chía.  If TGIFriday's in the US is considered "kitch" in decor, this is "super-kitch on steroids."  Serving an enormously diverse and international menu, the maze-like restaurant is giant party; emphasis on the word giant.  This is where people go to see and be seen but in the most unpretentious of ways.  Loud but not deafening and bright without being blinding, the entire place is an overload to all the senses.

We kicked off the last day of the weekend with a breakfast at Crepes & Waffles - despite this being available in Cali - and then headed to the Usaquén neighborhood to stroll their weekly Sunday flea and craft market.  Though the weekend was perfectly chill, both in attitude and climate, visiting the bustling and cosmopolitan mountain-top capital city was a perfect and needed break from the "big small town" feel and heat of Cali.

Strolling the streets of barrio Usaquén

Checking out some baked goods

Hipster street musicians outside an Irish Pub?  Why not!

Kelsi takes a break in style, per usual

Two of my favorite things: photography and street art.  ¡Gracias, Bogotá!

Its A Bird, Its A Plane!

No, Its Basuraman!
This week my Pre-AP Biology students finished launching their school-wide recycle-awareness campaign aimed at getting people to think about where they dispose of their paper waste.  This project has been nearly all student-driven and executed; after assigning various roles and leadership, they conducted their own update meetings, sent status emails to the group, and set and maintained their own due dates.  Other than some occasional red-tape cutting and suggestionary interjections, they carried this entire project.

What began as a critical look at our school's own recycle system after a visit to a local eco-community, the class held a panel interview with the high school principal and head of maintenance ultimately deciding that the system did not necessarily need to be changed, just educate people to how it true should function.

Thus was borne the Basuraman campaign.  Making a surprise first appearance during a lunch period calling out to the entire cafeteria from the balcony above to "be super like me" and recycle, to anticipatory "Basuraman says..." announcements in the daily memo, to finally presenting a propaganda video at three separate assemblies, the campaign was successful in its initiation.  In the end we have the support of the administration, giant "Basuraman posters around campus, and teachers have posted specialized signs on or near paper recycle bins in their classrooms asking people to "Think...Recycle."

Basuraman asks students and teachers to "THINK" at a Primary assembly.

But will people remember to "think" after the current school year ends?  Like all superheroes, Basuraman has a weakness too, only his will be time.

Grease is the Word

Four years ago I dipped my toes into directing with a little show that played homage to Elvis called "All Shook Up!" This year we went back to the poodle skirt era with "Grease."  

Though it takes place at a high school, the stage version of the show is a bit risqué for high school; the movie starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta has its moments as well.  Our staging combines the two with some songs not found in the film as well as added dialogue to fill some story gaps.

Though this show wasn't my preferred choice, I am very excited about having a fantastic cast of hilarious and dedicated actors to work with.  I also got to design the promotional posters for the show (at right) as well as the cast t-shirts.

The six show run has been nearly flawless and this cast rolls with all the punches like pros.  The last curtain goes up tomorrow and I'm sure a few tears will be shed during the closing of "We Go Together."

Sandy meets the Pink Ladies...and Patty Simcox.

Coach Calhoun "primes" the crowd at the pep rally.

The Pink Ladies have a "Sneaky Pete" at Frenchy's sleep-over.

Danny tries to win Sandy back at the diner.

The gang consider their options at the diner.

Viola reacts to Frenchy's "trouble in tinting class."

Principal McGee getting the American Bandstand dance contest started.

Danny & Sandy strike a pose.

Rizzo & Kinickie have a fight about her potential "bun in the oven."

"You're The One That I Want"

The cast takes a bow.

Cows on Stairs

"Well that's why you never see cows going down stairs; their legs lock up."

"What are you talking about?  Sure they can."

"No, they can't.  Have you ever seen a cow going down stairs? They can only go up them."

"Well then I'll have to check the upper floor of my house to make sure there are no stranded cattle up there to be sure.  Why would a cow even be near stairs?"

Tell me, vaca: how do you feel
about stairs?

Take four college swimming friends going on over ten years of friendship, add in thirty miles of mountain jungle hiking over five days and you're bound to get conversations like this.  We never solved the mystery of bovine agility on terraced surfaces - and frankly I don't care - but we did experience an exhausting and rewarding journey through a beautiful and relatively unknown corner of Colombia.

The week before leaving to hike through the jungle in search of the "lost city" of the Tairona indians in the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Santa Marta, I discovered that many of my Colombian colleagues and students had not heard of this "ciudad perdida."

Mike, Peter, and Matt arrived to Cali on Friday.  I showed them around the city and on Sunday we hopped a flight to Santa Marta.  After a great night at the hotel Casa Aluna, we were met Monday morning bright and early by our machete-weilding guide, Juan Carlos.  From there we picked up the rest of our hiking group - two Czech girls and a German girl - and drove three hours into the mountains as far as the bumpy dirt road allowed the Jeep to go.

The first part of the hike is through campesino land; cultivated country-side, sparsely populated by farmers, donkeys, and chickens.  The second half of the hike was through land designated for the Kogi indians, a group of indigenous people who have cautiously embraced tourism while remaining fiercely private and holding to their ancestral way of life.

Some Kogi children in the hills.

The Kogi, dressed in white tunic-like clothing, were present at various turns, either walking the same trails we were - though often barefoot - or hidden in the forest and would whisper a quiet response when greeted.  The children seemed most interested in the hikers, but as a way to barter for sweets, bracelets, or bandanas.  Kogi villages are relatively small, but not terribly far from other settlements.  The grass and sugarcane-constructed circular houses have two points at the peak of the roof, symbolic of the two highest summits in the Sierra Nevadas, both over 5,500 meters.

"Juan Carlos says the 'lost city' is over there."
~Peter on day #1

We took three days getting in to the base of the mountain where the "lost city" was located and two days getting out, including day four when we doubled back and covered around 10 miles.   Juan Carlos was impressed with our drive; I hesitate to use the words "stamina" or "fitness" as some of us are nowhere near the fine physical specimens we were in the pool-days.

Most of the hiking was either up, down, or, as Juan Carlos prepped us, "varied."  Most of our uphill exertions were rewarded with oranges or watermelon wedges and our assents started with a banana and a "good luck."

1,200 steps to the top!

Even to get to the actual "lost city" one has to climb approximately 1,200 ancient stone stairs which begin along the banks of a river and go essentially straight up the mountain-side.  Likened to Peru's Machu Picchu, but older, the "lost city" was originally called Teyuna and was one of the most important settlements for the ancient Tairona indians who were driven out of existence by the year 1600 through a combination of wars with the Spanish conquistadors and retreating into the mountains and beyond.

Also like Machu Picchu, the Spanish never found Teyuna.  However, in the mid-1970's a breed of grave-robber known in Colombia as the guaquero, did.  Archeologists followed, attempting to salvage the damage caused by the guaqueros destructive search for gold.  Add to that the various para-military groups hiding in the area, the Kogi communities, poor campesino farmers, and the secret illegal marijuana and coca plant fields and the Sierra Nevadas are not a place you want to find yourself!

The top foundation belonged to the Shaman's house.  The adjacent one on the same level
is believed to be where his wives lived.  Since he was the most important individual in
the community, his house was at the highest point; only tombs of the ancestors could be
located higher (ie: where this pictures was taken from).

"Ciudad Perdida" far exceeded my expectations.  I had no idea how expansive it was and as Juan Carlos took us to the various sections of the once-spralling mountain town, every painful step along the trail became worth it.

Morning sunrise from hammocks at Camp Alfredo.

Kogi hut used in the processing of sugar cane
at one of the summits along the hike.

Most of the Kogi men carried a poporo with them.
The bottom is a hollow gourd filled with powder made of
ground shells and coca leaf.  They put the stick in through
the hole after applying saliva and then rub in on the
outside, causing it to grow slowly over time.  This is
meant to demonstrate a man's responsibility and his
readiness to "keep" a woman.  It is also a bit sexual.

Taking a break with the guides "Pollito" and Juan Carlos.

Welcome to the "lost city" of Teyuna!

Did I mention three helicopters landed while we were at the "lost city"?
The third one stayed.  Supposedly the President was coming later.  Hmm...
Really happy about that being in my picture.

 Juan Carlos was incredibly knowledgeable, having both grown up on his grandmother's farm in the area and guided tours for close to twenty years, he was always prepared and overflowing with knowledge.  Thankfully I have intelligent and inquisitive friends who were more than happy to sit around after dinner most nights, lit only by candles waxed to the tables and test my translating abilities.

The one question that never got asked concerned those stair-climbing cattle.  However, if we managed to haul our sorry selves all over that terrain, I'm sure a cow can tackle a few steps.  Just let's all agree never to bring this conversation up again.  I beg you.

Shoo Fly!

What to do when you are heading to jungle and normal insect repellent won't cut it with the super-powered mosquitoes?  Make your own!  When I went to the Amazon several years ago, the following recipe was recommended, and, while not the best cologne, is quite effective.  While it does contain some suspect ingredients, it contains no DDT or other known carcinogenic substances.

Since I will be heading off to the tropical forests of the Caribbean, south of Santa Marta to hike Ciudad Perdida, and several friends are heading down to Leticia, we gathered after school one day to concoct our repellent in my science lab.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 mL alcohol
• 250 mL "menticol"
• 6 camphor tablets
• 1 oz. 10% "Eurax"
• 2 Tbsp citronella essence
• 3 Tbsp Johnson's baby oil
• Nopikex soap

WHAT TO DO:
Other than crushing the camphor tablets and breaking the soap into smaller chunks, the basic idea is just to combine all the ingredients together.  The originally recipe calls for the use of a blender but I don't think anyone would be willing to drink juice out an appliance that at one point created this mess!

Using mortar and pestle to crush the camphor tablets. 

Mixing, mixing, mixing...

The finished product...before it got rebottled.

*No one had a camera so I used my computer's camera, thus the low-quality and backwards images.

Say Whiskey!

In Colombia when you smile for the camera you say "whiskey" (or "wee-skee").  This is appropriate in any and all occasions.  Even for a four year old boy posing in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Last weekend my friend Andrés, another amatuer wannabe photographer, asked if I wanted to go on a day-long paseo fotografía to various lacations in the Valle del Cauca (the department where Cali is located).  He is taking a photography course for fun and as an activity the class and whoever they wanted to invite were visiting the small city of Buga with its "miracle" basilica, the Yotoco Nature Reserve, and the town of Darien on the shores of Lago Calima.

All the locations provided a variety of subjects and potential themes.  Some sites had opportune moments to capture people in their Sunday rituals, whether it be worship, relaxing, playing on the beach or at a park, or eating.  Others were ripe with nature or architecture.  And there never seemed to be lacking sweeping landscapes for those photogs looking to capture the coutryside on film.

The class participants were supposed to choose five photographs to be entered in a class contest.  Since I'm not in the class, these are my five favorites from the day:

Lady selling chontaduros

Fiddlehead

Religion for sale

Nun buying incense

Green bee