Travel in Colombia

Busses do manage to navigate this narrow street in Barichara, Colombia

If you want to experience Colombia, travel by bus. The bus service is totally awesome in Colombia and the drivers are generally the owners of the equipment, leased to private companies. Recently I took one to Bucaramanga, a three hour adventure and thrill ride. It only cost me about $15,000 pesos, which compares to U.S. dollar at about $7.50. Nowhere in the U.S. can you have a Disneyland ride for that sum!

The Colombians, whether driving a car, truck or bus, have turned driving into Olympic competition events. Our driver managed to pass at least (I lost count after a while) 70 trucks and cars and only one other bus on a windy narrow (at least it was paved!) road up and down the Chicamocha Canyon. This is no mean feat – imagine driving up and down the Grand Canyon on much narrower roads than are usually found there and every time you come to a curve, no matter the degree, you take the other side of the road and pass whoever is ahead of you! Maybe you use your horn, maybe not. If someone is coming from the other direction, it is his responsibility to avoid hitting you. And it is your responsibility to swerve back into the line of traffic with only inches to spare.

Because there is no official government mail service in Colombia, all messages, packages and sometimes checks, go by bus. (The money is flown in by helicopter.) The busses will stop for anyone on the roadside who waves them down, unless they are an “express” in which case they only stop with a reservation. Tickets are handed over when leaving the bus, not upon entering.

The drivers are so agreeable and helpful it is almost unbelievable. I used to live in New York City and rode the bus every day from Lexington and 64th downtown and took the subway home. All the workers on those transport services were unhappy with their jobs and passed it on to all of us using it. Very few people in the countryside have cars – cattle, goats, horses perhaps, but no cars. They may have a motorcycle (moto) but generally not more than 250 cc of power and usually less. When they have to travel to the city, they take the bus. So the bus service will take you almost anywhere you want (or need) to get to – and when you go, be like a child on an adventure ride and be ready for anything!

Colombia is…

This is the beginning of the 2 km drive to the finca (farm) in Barichara, Santander, Colombia, S.A.

… so many things! It is beautiful, it is challenging, it is unusual, it is remote (in places) and it is community, even when the closest pueblo is 2 kilometers away over a dusty, windy, occasionally cobblestoned road.

We have been here for a month now, learning to speak the language and discovering all the many ways that Colombians can get things done without having the electrical tools so easily used in the U.S. The view we have is extraordinary and the light, from the beginning of the day until it “goes out” with the sunset, is always changing.

Last rays of the day on the finca in Barichara, Colombia

One thing I’ve been amazed about is how the sun operates this close to the equator. When it is about to be daylight, there is about 45 minutes of gradual lightening and then “boom!” the sun is coming over the horizon. It’s the same at the other end of the day – you begin to become aware there is going to be no more sun and then it’s going, going, GONE!

The people here in Barichara, in the state of Santander, Colombia, are quite curious about the gringos and gringa who are living out in the campo (countryside) and going to town creates quite a stir as everyone stares. More and more U.S. and European visitors are finding their way to this quaint and charming village, so we will be less and less interesting as time goes by, I am certain.

Meanwhile, our focus is on finding ways to more fully utilize what little water this arid land has, because in spite of the appearance of the green countryside, water has more value than gold here.

Saw the ducks heading south

 

Late summer shot, we hear this area has snow on it already.

And we will be leaving soon as well. Our mode of transportation will also be wings, but not ducks or geese. We’ll fly commercially to Panama City where we’ll have a few days to decompress from the stress of trying to close up activities in our home town in preparation for a new adventure in South America. Check in from time to time and we’ll share some pictures and some journey notes…

 

More Glorious Views of Cabo San Lucas

The other side, the Pacific side of the Baja

The rough but beautiful Pacific side of the Baja is seen here in this look at the beach accessible only from the other side by boat. The locals call this side “DIvorce Beach” and the boat-landing side is “Lover’s Beach.” Most of the sunset cruises pass by this area, if the weather and seas allow, to get the terrific shots as the sun sinks into the west, as seen in this shot.

The rocks to the left are behind the ones seen in the sunset shot…. we had more fun taking pictures in this area than any we’ve been to so far.

The tip of the Baja seen at sunset by boat in October

Views of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Looking out toward the Arch

We arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Saturday, September 19 just after 2 p.m. There had been a storm a few days before leaving its remnants in the form of strong waves on the shore, seen here.

This is the famed arch that people get into boats to see at Land's End of the Baja.

One day we took a boat ride out to see the famed Arch of Cabo at land’s end, the last spit of land before you have to cross the Pacific to find more… don’t quite know how far that might be.

Sunset boat cruise - last shot for the day

We also snorkeled that day and saw hundreds of fish, but the water wasn’t that clear, not like the Bahamas. Since I don’t have an underwater camera, it wasn’t possible to get any shots.

On another day we took a catamaran sunset cruise and enjoyed a soothing ride out to the same spot and got this view after sunset.

There are no end to beautiful camera shots down here and the difficulty comes from trying to decide which ones warrant being posted in the blog. For the past week we were at a beachfront hotel with moderate surf and plenty of sunshine.

Now we are on the Pacific side with a lovely beach, but the surf is actually very dangerous, although beautiful in its power. Anyone foolish enough to challenge this section of Mother Nature’s world is in for a deadly awakening.

The Pacific Ocean's power covers many miles of ocean...

Bucksnout, Tennessee?

It’s well into the land of Tennessee,  but who would imagine naming a town “Bucksnout?” While driving (again!) west from Florida, I was looking for a place to lay my head and briefly considered stopping at the “inn” there. Unfortunately it was too early in the day to stop, so I drove past. Below is a shot I took nearby… so at least it’s got some appeal…

A shot from the road in Tennessee

He would have been 99 today

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, 99 years ago today. My father had three children and I’m the middle child, the little girl he spoiled. But he loved his two boys, too, and it was his Victorian upbringing that made it hard for him to truly express that feeling without being weak. As I look at the photographs of him the year before he died, I realize that I’ve almost out-lived the years he had. My older brother has already. But it’s my younger brother who really looks the most like his father.

Three old cars in Granite Falls, WA

When I saw these three old cars last weekend, it made me think about the days when I was just getting interested in boys and my dad let me help him rebuild the old cars he was working on. By the time I was really able to drive and was being ‘chased’ by those fellows that my father was worried about, I already knew the difference between a carburetor and alternator, could crank the engine of the 1931 Model A Ford that I had helped to rebuild and understood that shifting gears was an art not just a necessity.

This afternoon I was driving a Mercedes S600 Coupe that my dear dad would have really appreciated. When I washed it, I smiled as I remembered hearing him say, “Wash from the top down, and never, ever clean the wheels until you are done with the body!” Thanks, Dad, for all your lessons. I miss you.

Up to the ice caves

It is hard to get the sense of size from this distance, but these openings are approximately 30 feet across and 7-10 feet high.

The journey up to the ice caves in Big Four Mountain park takes a couple of hours walking on an easy path (sometimes even a wooden walkway!) with a slight elevation and probably in the neighborhood of four miles. Following are some shots from the top and things seen along the way.

Courageous chipmunk sat for several minutes as I took its picture.

Among them was this little chipmunk, which seemed to be perfectly willing to allow me the time necessary to take a few shots. I have a new lens which is automatic and is making my photo work much more fun.

Then I saw these ferns and against their background, they looked quite lovely.

The beginnings of something bigger I am certain.

There were lots of varied walkers also on the journey – the weather was exceptionally pleasant with temperatures in the low 70’s and mixed sun and clouds. We saw everything from the very young in backpacks to ‘mature adults’ walking with canes. But everyone seemed to be smiling, which I have found rare enough these days.

Part of the crooked path to the ice caves.

One peak reflection

Foxglove and Fir trees

The tops of the Big Four Mountain reach over 6,000 feet, but I don’t think we climbed much above 4,000 – and the view was 360 degrees from the overlook of the ice caves – quite remarkable.

The view from the ice cave overlook toward the north.

All in all, it was a fine day spent outside, walking and taking pictures.

Is everything being discounted?

Pleasure is going out of business?

It would appear that the business of pleasure is going out of business… everywhere we are seeing signs of the distress in the economy.  This sign was found near Olympia, Washington, this week. Pretty scary. Although I never have supported this particular area of shopping, just the idea that even this one is in distress seems to be more upsetting than the closing of furniture or camera stores.

The hint of fall

Today the wind changed it’s texture and smell and the hint of fall was in it. I watched the bees hovering over the remaining blooms and saw the faint color of red and yellow in the trees. While I love fall for many reasons, there are hints of other things ahead which are more sinister and I have to keep my focus on nature’s inevitable plan so I don’t help to create a disaster by joining in the negativity of — is it? — creative thinking.

Bees in the last blooms of summer

Still, the pulse of major change is there, and I wonder what be the outcome. Will it matter that I was able to get a used telephoto lens for a great deal on Ebay? Will I wish I’d put that money into bags of rice and flour? When I’m in Mexico in September, will I be caught in an adventure I’d rather not have?

Is this “hint of fall” some kind of step down from grace that has been earned by the greedy demands of a populace that refuses to learn any scriptural lessons?