Colombia - A Dream Come True - Shopping Day-Cartagena

I know you must be wondering--didn't she shop in Colombia?? Well, yes, I did. Even though I had decided to save my money for a Paso Fino! :)

We took a carriage ride to the open air market. Along the way I snapped a couple of photos.

A whimsical balcony!

That's one heavy door!

There's my blue color again!

Arriving at the market

 I was a little disappointed in the selection--I guess because the cruise ships were not docking, shops were not stocking heavily. I did stumble upon a neat item, though. A mola bag! My favorite was this one:

I love this bird!

I also bought a t-shirt with a mola design. The t-shirt is no longer wearable, but I saved the design. Any ideas as to what I can sew it onto??

Waiting for an inspiration!

But the best shopping was yet to come. That afternoon we went to a jewelry store in search of emeralds. My son had called ahead for an appointment. I've never been to a high end jewelry store in the states--I wonder if they have this kind of service. 

Before shopping, we were invited into the office by the owner and served shrimp cocktails. Yummy! The owner sat and visited with us. See what I mean about Colombian hospitality? Are you beginning to see why I fell in love with this country?

After much browsing (and I'm sure much patience on the owner's part), I chose this ring and earrings. She had the ring sized and delivered to the hotel that night before dinner!

My new jewels!

By that time we were pooped--off to bed. Next stop--Pereira tomorrow! Stay tuned for more adventures in Colombia--my now all time favorite country!!

Colombia - A Dream Come True -A Life Changing Ride

What a special day!! As you may remember, my son coaxed me into visiting him in Colombia by promising me a ride on a Paso Fino. Early one morning as we finished our breakfast, his friend (the editor of the Cartagena newspaper) came to our hotel in Cartagena. I had practiced my Spanish, hoping not to make a fool of myself saying hello. Turns out, he spoke perfect English. He and I chatted a little about the Paso Fino breed and then we all set off for his finca, a few miles outside of Cartagena. Remember when I said that  I was only nervous once? (make that twice)  On the way out there he mentioned that he had talked to the head of the army in the area and checked to verify that it was safe this day to go. Hmm. We did have an army checkpoint on the highway. Soon we turned off to a narrow road leading to his finca. Once again, I was impressed by how gracious the Colombian people are to their visitors. I know he was a busy man, but he acted as if he had all the time in the world to entertain us. We met the people who worked for him there and were served tea under the trees. As we drank our tea, he  filled us in on the history of this finca. His family had owned it for generations,and he came there often as a child, spending many hours on horseback. H shared with us his dream of breeding the perfect Paso Fino.  Huge guard dogs came to say hello. We were told that they would be friendly as long as he stayed with us. Needless to say, I didn't test that. All the while we were talking I kept glancing at the horse I was to ride--a beautiful bay.

Beautiful Marinera!

I felt very privileged to be able to ride his wife's mare.

He explained some of the training methods and had his trainer demonstrate for us.

Notice the tied tail

The tail is tied while training so the horse learns to hold it still-they are penalized in the show ring for tail swishing. This man definitely believes in treating horses kindly. He talked at length about the wonderful traits of the Paso Fino and how he believed they should be treated. We also saw a baby, just a few days old, gaiting naturally.

Baby in gait--notice just one foot off the ground

He also showed me a 100 year old bit, still usuable. He had found it while cleaning out an old safe on his property.

An education about Colombian bits

Once I felt our host tensing, looking out at the jungle and listening--we did hear monkeys in the trees. I felt a little nervous, wondering what else (or who) might be lurking there. But he soon relaxed, as did I. Then it was time for our ride.

Adjusting my stirrups

Our host adjusted my stirrups and gave me a few pointers about riding a Paso Fino. I felt pretty nervous at first.  I wasn't used to direct reining and keeping my legs off the horse but soon got the hang of it. It did help of course that I was riding a highly trained (and expensive) horse.

Talk about a life changing experience! I marveled at the smooth ride and responsiveness of this horse. Absolutely no bouncing - push button. I was sold!  We rode through the countryside and by the time the ride was over, I vowed to return home and find a Paso Fino to own. (You can read about my success on former posts).

This is the place where I found the name for my place-Salsipuedes. 

Another wonderful day in Colombia!

Stay tuned for my next Colombian adventure - emerald shopping.

Our host!

Colombia - A Dream Come True - Islas del Rosario

Another beautiful place in Colombia- a short boat  ride  from the Santa Clara - one of the islands of Islas del Rosario - to the Hotel San Pedro de Majagua.   Cartagena seemed to shimmer in the distance.

View of Cartagena

As we docked at the island, we marveled at how quiet everything was there. We were the only tourists. I should mention that at time  most cruise ships were not docking at Cartagena  because of the danger level. Hmm,  what were we doing there? :) I only felt nervous one time in this entire visit to Colombia. (I'll share that in a later post). The island was delightful. The hotel was very basic--thatched roofs, hammocks scattered around the grounds, etc. I did have a little concern about kissing bugs because of the thatched roofs (they cause Chagas disease, you know), but quickly forgot about that.

Open air restaurant

Relax!

We stowed our belongings in the room, changed to our swim suits,  and strolled  to the beach. (Notice how I'm strolling instead of race walking?)  My son and his wife took a kayak and went exploring, while I just chilled out on the beach. Wonderful  views!

Look at those beautiful shades of blue!

I did manage to stir myself enough to wade in and cool off a little.

Refreshing!

After lunch we explored a little. While walking around the island, we came across this cute creature!

Big lizard!

Great trees!

As we sat down to have a drink before dinner, we noticed the waiters erecting a fence of some sort just outside the restaurant. We noted that it blocked our view. Well, we soon found out why! In about thirty minutes, the trade winds began. I had never known exactly what that meant--well,  it is a continuous wall of wind--no gusts, just a continuous solid wall of wind. I can certainly understand how it propelled the sailing ships.  It lasted throughout the night and into the next day. Wow! What an experience, and just think, if we hadn't gone to the island, I would never had truly understood just how they sound and feel. A boat was to pick us up at 9:00 a.m. the next morning, but the winds were too strong. So began the wait. My son was eager to get back to his massage appointment that afternoon! We braved the wind and sat on the beach for a while and, explored a little more, had lunch and waited - and waited - and waited. My son called the hotel and re-scheduled his appointment. Finally about 4:00 p.m. a local sight seeing boat arrived! Hurrah! We barely were able to board because of the rough seas. We thought--"Well, just a short boat ride"--wrong!!

We were definitely an attraction!

The people on the boat kept looking at us and smiling. We all had life jackets on and I was grateful, for within minutes we were  soaking wet from waves splashing in our faces! Exciting!!

 It turned out that the boat was taking people island hopping to swim on the sides of the islands away from the wind. So we had a little detour. We pulled up to another island and everyone disembarked and went swimming. Except us! We did disembark. :) 

As we pulled into a channel going back to Cartagena, we noticed some fisherman with nets. They seemed to be standing in the water.

Men with nets

They waved and called out to us.  Uh, oh! We were in such shallow water that our boat became stuck! Not to fear, though - the men walked over and after much visiting and laughing, pushed us out and we were on our way again. Those Colombianos are certainly friendly!

At least the water was calm enough to take a photograph

We were indeed a sorry sight when we arrived at the hotel--they did have a complimentary cocktail and profuse apologies for us. By the way, my son did miss his massage. But what a great adventure!!

Stay tuned for the next post--a few photos of Cartagena.

Colombia - A Dream Come True -- First Stop-Cartagena

I guess my fascination with South America began when I was a child, studying geography. I'm not sure why it called to me, but it did.  I had always loved going to Mexico.  Then when I studied Spanish in high school, I felt an even stronger pull toward that part of the world. My first major in college was Spanish and  the language seemed musical to me.

It's funny how things have come to pass in my life. I believe I mentioned in a previous post about my son becoming a foreign service officer and having a tour in Bogota. When he invited me to come visit, I was fearful because of the drug problem there and the violence. As I said earlier, he convinced me to come by telling me he knew a man who owned a Paso Fino and agreed to let me ride.  The deal was done, as they say, at that point. :)

I'll leave it to others to tell you about the history, politics, etc. of Colombia. I'll share with you why I came to love it.

As I disembarked on the tarmac in  Cartagena, I immediately felt as if I had come home. Unlike in the U.S. and elsewhere that I had traveled, the passengers strolled toward the terminal. Wow-- an easy walk for me!! I resisted the urge to hurry and joined the strollers. This was my kind of place! These slow, languid movements proved to be the rule rather than the exception in every place I visited in Colombia.

I did notice a strong presence of soldiers in the airport - they smiled and said hello (in Spanish of course).

I had an even better surprise coming. My son picked me up from the airport and after the obligatory search of my luggage, we took a taxi into Cartagena. We drove down a narrow street and the taxi stopped in front of a nondescript door. Little did I dream that this was the place that I would come to view as the best hotel in the world (at least for me). This sign was posted by the door.

My front door was  painted this shade of blue!

As we walked through the door, I took note of a guard with a dog, who was sniffing the luggage. I felt grateful for the security. A white clad waiter holding a tray of pretty drinks served us as we waited to check in. The hotel absolutely took my breath away-I felt as if I were in a dream. My favorite architecture--my favorite colors--wide verandas with comfortable chairs,  beckoning to me to sit and relax, lush gardens, etc, Spanish spoken everywhere, etc.

Veranda

I've had walls this color in my homes for 20 years! Arches bring me immense peace. Synchronicity??

Veranda leading to our room

Poolside in the evening

Each time I walked out of the room, sat down on the veranda or by the pool, a waiter immediately came and asked how he could be of help. Delicious snacks and drinks!! I had my first Mojito and my first  Michelada there. On a hot summer day I sometimes drink a Michelada in memory of the Santa Clara.

lush gardens

There was even a toucan who perched in a chair next to me and looked in the cushions for berries.

Toucan

This was only the first day and already I knew that this would be the best vacation of my life (sorry, Europe!) Before, Italy had that honor.

Stay tuned for my next adventure in Colombia--trade winds, a wild boat ride and beautiful scenery.

Grandchildren at Salsipuedes

It's always so much fun when my grandchildren visit! Looking at nature through a child's eyes is an adventure. This year the first visitors were my older son, his two children and one of his nephews--what a delight--three grandchildren at once! The two little ones are soon to be 6 and already 7 and the oldest is soon to be 13.

Thank you son!

Despite the 100+ days, we stayed busy outside. Even though they were tired in the mornings, they all got up bleary eyed and helped me feed and muck.

Taking hay to the horses

Yummy grain!

Sweet boy!

Showing the younger ones how to scoop poop!

Girls can work also!!

They all had fun taking turns driving the golf cart!

Of course we had to pay a visit to the pond--this time we fished for crawfish! What fun--I learned a few things about catching them.

Looking for the crawfish holes

Waiting patiently!

Caught one!



No, we didn't eat them. We released them to live another day.

They also helped with the container garden-picking and watering.

My future gardener!

They loved eating the fresh produce!

These veggies are delicious!

My number two grandson even cooked breakfast for us one morning--his famous omlets. Delicious!

Chef at work!

A big hit with my youngest grandson was a bow and arrow set from the local "dollar store". He demonstrated  his technique for his great-grandmother.

See, this is how I do it!

My granddaughter gave her a nice massage.

Doesn't this feel nice?

We kept hearing the pileated woodpecker, but couldn't manage to see it. Finally, my youngest grandson and I set out walking and finally saw it flying over us.

Be very quiet!

Poor Rufus--he didn't sleep much--just had to see what the kiddos were doing every minute!

Can someone else take over for a while?

Okay, you can rest now, Rufus. They are just hanging out in the cowboy room.

Quiet time!

My number one grandson., who is 16,  didn't arrive until the next week, just in time for my brother's famous July 4th family reunion! More on that on another post! Stay tuned!!

My younger son always finds time to clean up my computer. Hurrah!

Hmmm!

A photo of all my grandchildren!!

I love all of you!!

I'm already planning things to do next summer when the grandchildren visit me at Salsipuedes!