Cake in the face:)

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Cake!

A no wave Atlantic kind of day

Hanging with Grandma Gert on the farm

defrosted cake and the adriatic

It's amazing how quickly time flies. Last night we unwrapped the top tier of our wedding cake and shared a little nosh. We opted to do an early breaking of cake because in less than 12 hours we head out for a week long cruise on the Adriatic Sea (Italy, Slovenia & Croatia...here we come!). My thoughts were, just bring that sucker with us and we could eat it on international waters. But being that customs might night be so open minded, we were good with celebrating early in good old Medford Lakes.
It has been a good year and with one behind, I look forward to the years ahead and all the chapters that are before us. I drove Grandma Gert and Harold around the farm for a little personalized tour and as we drove along the pond where we exchanged vows the grass is higher and the cows and pigs now graze. It was a great night with even more amazing memories surrounded by our loved ones. I've sort of freeze framed different parts of that night from walking down the aisle, singing to my husband by the lights of cell phones, glow sticks and leopard throws courtesy of my thr girls; it was quite an experience.
I feel profoundly blessed to have so many really good, salt of the earth people in my life. As my dad would say, 'it's good stuff.' Yes it is.
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Tristan picking pears 

Gabe taking a walk from the big barn

Grandma Gert visiting the farm

Farm, Grandma & Heat...oy vey!

Last week upon returning from Colombia the jungle temps were pretty comparable to good old 08055 temps. Yay, jungle fever! I don't mind the heat, but feeling like one bears resemblance to a gingerbread in the oven or a empenada in the fryer isn't the most empowering state to be in. But, with an intense week of heat it seems to be breaking, at least, for the moment.
I headed to the farm on Friday and left around 3 am where I hopped in my car and spent the first 3 hours going through a heavy layer of humidity. I have to say, early morning combined with high humidity is a great combination for the hair. To add, no hair product was applied at that early hour and therefore no pics will ever be provided to document.
The boys are growing by leaps and bounds and the farm is in prime season as July seems to be quickly transitioning to August. I may be on summer vacation, but the farm is far from it.
I love seeing the kids heading up to the big barn to help milk the cows, hop on the hay bales to pick apples for the market and collect eggs from the chickens. The little dudes have quite the work ethic and it's pretty impressive. Although I'm not really the 'farm type,' I do my best to help out while here and get my fill of outdoor physical labor. There has always been that part of me that enjoys hard work, physical challenges and just being part of nature.
Yesterday, Grandma Gert arrived to Faith Farm from Florida. She typically heads up for a visit once a year around this time. Last year, she visited for a little over a week for my wedding. I have to say, there is no one on earth like my grandmother. From her leopard print pajamas (aka evening wear) to golden bedazzled shoes, she is one of a kind. The boys get a kick out of her and I'm glad that there is GG time for them. Being that she is my only grandparent still with us, time with her is something I value no matter how very different we are. Good times on the farm.

Just a week ago I was in the middle of the Colombian jungle & now I am full fledge back to 08055. After ten days abroad I returned to find my garden still green and even kicking out a decent batch of cucumbers and beets. Yay, for veggies that are going strong! I have to do a shout out to the husband for keeping the garden hydrated:)

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I'm not sure it's possible for me to sit still for any long period of time. Summer has been jammed packed and I have to say so that I'm loving it. Five of us from work signed up to participate in the Annual Dragon Boat Festival held on the Schuylkill in October. We had our first practice late yesterday afternoon and it was awesome. About mid-way through digging our oars through the waterways it started to down pour and shortly after that lightening streaked the sky.

Garden of goodness

Needless to say, we managed to pick up the intensity and made it back to shore safe and sound. I was with 19 others skimming along the waterways and it was really an experience. We have practice again in a few weeks and I plan on toning the upper body muscles a bit and really being ready for October's race. Good stuff.

Me gusta Colombia

Another successful trek with the backpack, no compass and new friends. From the get go many were leery of my venture to Colombia. I heard over an over, why Colombia? why not somewhere in Europe? How about London?' Hmmm...let me think. No gracias.

This time around I spent more time researching, networking and pulling my itinerary together. There definitely has been justified reasons for being apprehensive in naming Colombia as an international tourist destination. But the government and country of Colombia is doing its best to shake its bad reputation and long history of violence, drugs and just all around negative perception held by most of the world. For the past ten years there has been a shift in government leaders and a consistent focus by the military and police to dismantle drug alliances, drug cultivation/ production and all of the nasty stuff that accompanies it. Is the drug issue a thing of the past? Absolutely not. But tolerance for it has lessened and most of the warfare is going on is concentrated in the northern portion of the country. In the jungles near the Venezuela/Colombia borders violence, drug growth and production is still intense and real. There are still serious problems and violence. The drug issue will always be a problem, but it seems there priorities here and realization that tourism's success banks of the world perceiving this place as safe and not a huge mound of cocaine, guns and counterfeit money. I think the perception, in many areas of the world, is beginning to change. It is a slow process. And now for something completely different...

This morning I headed out to the markets for a little shopping for some things to bring back home. I packed up on a bit of coffee, cocoa and some snacks for heading to the airport tomorrow. I have wanted to pick up a few gems while here and a friend recommended a small section of town to check things out. Ducked into a few places and managed to pick up a few stones that I'm pretty happy with. Woop!

I headed up to the north part of the city to meet up with a friend, Hernan, and do lunch. It was absolutely one of the best meals I have had during my time here. Grilled plantain, chorizo with grilled potatoes and a traditional soup heaping with rice, potatoes, corn, avocado and a whole bunch of other ingredients I couldn't figure out. It was awesome!


As evening fell and this couch surfer's feet were aching from ten days of hiking, walking and hitting the pavement in a way I haven't in a long time. I was observing a protest locals were having on the main strip when a little shop caught my eye. Manicure and pedicure! Yay! I strolled in and for $11 USD I was all about a little pampering. I can say with confidence there was no 'judge free zone'going on with these ladies. My feet, legs and fingers look a little rough from ten days of global treking. When three ladies huddled around me poking and shaking their heads and proceeding to suggest that I needed 'much help.'I figured there was no room for hiding the fact that I was in dire need of some serious assistance. For the next hour they went to work and when they whipped out the sand paper, I was sure that this was not going to be pain free. But, it was so worth it!
I am ready to go home and it has been a wonderful trip with great pics, memories and experiences. Viva Colombia!

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a little coastal Colombian footage

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Return to Bogota

Yesterday was a great day of keeping it low key. I was fortunate enough to connect with a friend of a friend in a great area of town overlooking the beach and overall, a pretty great place. From strolling around town, taking pics, sitting by the pool and ending the day with a barbeque my battery was recharged.

Returning to Bogota I feel like I have a pretty solid grasp of town, where to go and where not to go. The people here are so welcoming and I was pretty content just sitting in one of the main squares sipping a cup of coffee and taking in my surroundings.

I'm not sure if it's a sign of age, but I have become more fond of soaking in the culture of a country and interacting with locals than seeing how many countries I can hit in a week. There was a point a number of years ago I was more consumed with how many countries I could rack up instead of really taking it at pace and getting a solid grasp on what the country consisted of. I have enjoyed the last week and a half and I am looking forward to more journeys and seeing what tomorrow brings. Good stuff and ready for a solid sleep before heading out and soaking in one last day in the Bog. Ciao for now!






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Bueno

Less than 24 hours ago I was in the middle of nowhere in a place most have never heard of and less will venture to. After hours of hiking, dodging jungle animals, hopping on and off busses I arrived back in Cartagena. I am staying with a friend of a friend about ten minutes outside of town.

It was really nice sleeping in a real bed and getting things prepped before heading back to Bogota. Another perk is staying at a flat overlooking the beach and in a great area of town. The world is massive, but in reality my feeling is I know someone who knows someone somewhere.

I love travelling, meeting new people and discovering new cultures and dots on the map that become more than a place, but more of a page in another chapter in life. Tomorrow, the road leads to Bogota. Hasta luego!

Dodging donkeys and chilling on a hammock

I have returned to civilization. I woke this morning and treked a solid three hours through the heart of the jungle sweating like mad and about midway through wishing I had rented a horse instead of opting to go on foot. The past few days were truly spectacular. The two french backpackers I met in Santa Marta accompanied me along the coast line. We pressed past the first two towns and made camp at Cabo San Juan with our hammocks perched high on a hill overlooking the coastline. The views, from all angles, were simply astounding. From sunrise to sunset the scenery took my breath away and it was the definition of paradise. I wish time permitted me to stay longer, but I am really happy that I was able to experience the few days that I had.

Getting to and from was sort of like prepping for the ironman, but I survived. At one point a line of donkeys with bags of grain made there way along a path and one nearly knocked the wind out of me, but I managed to grab a vine in time and sort of swing around it. I actually found myself laughing out loud and feeling very ´Jewel of the Nile¨ for a split moment. From geckos, tribes people, dodging donkeys and scaling the sides of hills with vines it was insane and I loved every second of it!
There are still villages of Colombians who have resided in this area since the beginning and crossing paths with families making their way to and from villages was really amazing. Every moment here has been an experience.

I will go into more detail later, but I have to catch a bus to Cartagena which is about four hours south of here. Ciao for now!


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Jurassic Park without the Dinosaurs...

arrived in tayrona national park. it is beautiful. hiked through the jungles with two other backpackers and i was amazed at the beauty of this place. sleeping under the stars in a hammock that comes equipped with a mosquito net. this place is truly breathtaking. hoping to spend two nights, maybe three before heading back south.
i wont have internet access for the next few days. i am using the net via the small hut at the info center about 75 feet from the beach. so far, it has been an amazing journey.
signing off and checking in when the internet resurfaces:)




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en santa marta...bien!

I woke this morning and took a brisk walk around Cartagena. By the time I returned, around 8 am, my shirt and shorts were fully drenched from sweat. Cartagena is situated right on the doorstep of the coastline and is surrounded by a very massive and thick wall originally constructed to protect it from incoming threats. It´s a cute town, but this morning I was feeling a little too tourist laden. So with that, I grabbed a taxi to the bus station and hopped the first bus to Santa Marta with the intention to connect to Tayrona State Park.

The roads here are pretty much small etchings along a very massive region of jungle, mountain and coast. The ride may have been a tad on the bumpy side, but the views were breathtaking. The vegetation and terrain reminded me of a cross between Fiji and Costa Rica. From all angles it was an absolutely breathtaking ride and I met some great locals along the way.

Once in Santa Marta I was informed that Tayrona had closed for the day. This, I was later told, was incorrect. So, that leaves me in a small little hostel about three blocks from the beach in Santa Marta. I spent the afternoon taking a swim with some local kids who refused to believe that I was not fluent in Spanish, perused the local markets and enjoyed some pretty epic Colombian fare in one of the local squares with a fellow back packer. I was a little frustrated with not reaching Tayrona, but all in all it worked out well.

Three of us are heading up north tomorrow and my intention is to be laying in a hammock, listening to waves slapping on the beach by eleven in the a.m. Bring on the playa!

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Next push pin on the map...

ok. I am going to try to give this a go for the fourth time. The internet here is not much to talk about, but then again I will be grateful for what I have. It is midnight and I am in Cartegana, twenty hours north (by bus) from Bogota. The temperature is a comfortable 8 million point six degrees.
This morning I awoke in Bogota to fairly comfortable temps with a light fog layering the city. I headed out early with a few other back packers biking through the city with our tour guide, Mike, who is actually from California. I am not much for tours, but I have to say it was pretty awesome. We treked through the various boroughs of Bogota the are as ecclectic as they come. Areas that were stunning in architecture to peddling a few blocks where kids were begging on street corners for pesos and others searching for scrap food in corner trash bins.
In the States, or anywhere else for that matter, when you hear Colombia one quickly thinks drug cartel, poverty, blood shed and corruption. There is still a drug issue in Colombia, but mostly concentrated near the Colombia-Venezuela border. The FARC, as they are so aptly known, are the force behind a great deal of unrest, but not nearly what it was ten years ago.
Colombia is struggling to recreate its image and prove to the world it is more than Pablo Escabor, cocaine rings and oozies. I will say in a mere 2.5 days it has exceeded my expectations and is so much more than I was prepared for. Colombia is a country rich in tradition, pride and character. I have experienced a very small fragment of what it holds, but already I am embracing the people and their culture. From the old ladies who whipped up a wicked batch of empanadas this morning for me to the college students I chatted with in the town square this evening;Colombia is a myriad of color, faces and richness that jumps out at you.
Looking forward to tomorrow, but enjoying the moment.

Beautiful Bogota and beyond....

I am sitting in front of a fan typing on a computer that more than likely was assembled when Edison was around. Ok, so maybe not that old. I arrived in Cartegena, the northern part of Colombia, about two hours ago and it is hot.





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