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Kay's Travels

Kay's Travels

podróżował/a po 26 krajach. Czytaj więcej🇺🇸Bodega Bay
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  • Kay's TravelsColombiaPodróżnik

    Colombia Day 20

    15 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 77 °F

    Last day for me in Colombia. ML and Robert left for Minca about 10:30 this AM. It is about a 5 hour drive from here on the other side of Santa Marta. Wish I was going there as it is pretty much jungle and good hiking. They are also doing a full day of bird watching. Everything is done with a guide. I waited for the gal to come at noon to check us out of our place and take me to where can store my bags for the day as my flight back to Bogota is not until 8:15 tonight.
    Out to walk around Cartagena one last time. Got cigars for Mark and did a little shopping. Then lunch and off via cab to the airport. Had a long wait but busy with E-mail and computer games. Cartegena to Bogota flight on Latam on time. Final flights from Bogota to Mexico City and Mexico City to SF uneventful. Did not sleep much. BART to Joel's to pick up my car and home by around 5PM. End of a successful and very interesting Colombian experience.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 19

    14 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 82 °F

    An overcast morning but off we go for our "beach" day to the islands. There are tons of boats that do beach trips every day but Flavia helped us find one that was less expensive than some and sent us pictures of the location which looked lovely. Took a taxi to the port and joined the hundreds of other vacationers off to the island beaches. "Our" island was a small island, Islabela, about an hour speed boat ride away. Got there by 10AM and it was lovely. Our boat held about 40 so we had the entire island for the day. Lovely setting with our own cabana and chairs and a lovely spot in the Caribbean to swim right in front of us. We were waited on for drinks as well. I had forgotten how much I like Mojitos which I had not had since I was in Cuba. They are excellent here as they are made with yerba buena instead of mint for a more subtle flavor.
    They had massages, snorkeling, and other activities as well. Lunch of grilled fish and rice included. Just lounged around, took a nap and swam whenever we wanted. A great relaxing day. Back to the mainland by 4PM and back to our bnb. Some catch up time and out to the plaza about 100m from our place for our last dinner together.
    A lazy day and my last in this wonderful spot in the world.
    I leave tomorrow night for home. ML and Robert going on to Minca, a town outside of Santa Marta in the jungle with great bird watching and jungle hikes. Wish I was going there as well but time to get home for camping next week - maybe depending on the fire situation.
    A walk after dinner for ice cream, coconut for me. Their coconut ice cream is chock full of coconut - coco palms everywhere around here.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 18

    13 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 86 °F

    Last move day for me. Yeah!! (Except for going home that is). Only booked this place for 3 days and decided to stay longer so off today for another place in historic Cartagena about 5 minutes away. Packing, pictures and breakfast filled the morning. Valentina came to pick us up a bit before noon and we took our luggage to the new place.
    I like the new place better. On 2 floors with a rooftop terrace. Lighter decor and not as cluttered as previous place. Had to leave right away as they were still cleaning so out to walk the City - back to Getsemani for ML and Robert. Still very hot mid day, stopped for a lemonade in the shade. Shopping along the way at the dozens/hundreds of artisan and souvenir shops along the way Back to the condo for a "feet up" hour. Planning to go to the Modern Art museum and it does not reopen until 3PM. Robert and ML doing some planning for the rest of the trip and we are getting things organized for our beach trip to the islands tomorrow. Flavia, the manager of the last place, has been extremely helpful. She knows everything and everyone to make things pretty seamless. Off to the Modern Art museum. Some interesting things but not air-conditioned so our attention span was limited. A stop for groceries in the way back and then the 2nd shower of the day and dress for dinner. Robert and ML invited Flavia to join us to thank her for all she has done. Had some wine here and then to dinner - Juan del Mar - just a couple blocks away. Lovely restaurant and very good food, we all shared various dishes and enjoyed Flavia's company.
    Very tired tonight - between a queasy gut all day long and the heat, glad it was an early night.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 17

    12 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 88 °F

    A morning of planning as we only have this place one more night. ML and Robert have 2 more unplanned weeks so they are thinking about where to go. They have decided to stay in Cartagena until I leave on Thursday. Our host has a friend with a place 5 minutes away so we will rent that place for the next 2 nights. In our discussion with our host, Flavia, Robert asked her about the beaches. She said she was going to a local beach today and asked if we wanted to go along. ML and Robert off to the beach with her, I missed some sleep last night so opted to stay here and do some things on my own. Have been wanting some "alone time" anyway. They are off around 11 and I am off to the store for dinner supplies as we will cook in tonight.
    Groceries in, food is very inexpensive, and by, Bay area standards, restaurants as well. Just nice not to have to go out to dinner all the time.
    My stomach is "talking to me" today so taking it easy. ML as well, we think from the cerviche last night as that was the only thing she and I ate that Robert did not. Strange as we have had cerviche almost every night that we were out to dinner.
    I went out to walk the Getsemani neighborhood not far away, of the walled city center. Lots of wonderful street art and more colonial architecture. Back to bnb to meet ML and Robert when they got back from the beach. They had a good time, said it was beautiful, we will go out to the islands and their beaches before we leave.
    We have been wanting to go to one of the clubs - late night music, dancing and drinking. Flavia gave us the name of a more non-touristy club close to us. So instead of going to bed at 9PM, we went out!! We did know that most of the clubs do not really get going until around midnight and it is a Sunday night as well. The club was on the main plaza of the central area of the city and we sat outside on a small balcony of the club sipping beers and waiting for something to happen. Lots of music but the recorded type. One Latin couple dancing and encouraged ML and Robert to join them which they did. Fun pictures. Around 10:30 we decided to leave, having had a bit of the experience.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsColombiaPodróżnik

    Colombia Day 16

    11 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 88 °F

    Some AM laundry at Casa Pilar, our home for three days. Then out into the heat of Cartagena for a walk around town. Temperature in the 90s and humidity in the high 80s. This is typical of the city weather - pretty constant year around as all of Colombia is not far from the equator. (Equator runs through Southern Colombia). The historic, center district of Cartagena is very beautiful. Full of old Spanish Colonial architecture in all colors. We walked out to the ocean and wandered through the streets at random. Stopped twice for something to drink - learning to love coco lemonade - made with coconut milk and lemonade - very refreshing and yummy. Afraid to find out how many calories. :-( Lemonade is big here - you can also get it with yerba buena and it, too, is delicious. They also make the mojitos with yerba buena (instead of mint) and they are really good - have not had a mojito that good since I was in Havana.
    Robert went to a museum while ML and I walked the streets, taking pictures and a little shopping. I still have not bought very much but this is the best shopping area we have been in. Back to the bnb for a shower and some "feet up" time.
    Out for dinner - Peru Fusion - for a very good dinner of cerviche, poke bowl for me and pisco sours. :-) A lovely restaurant about a half mile from us through the narrow streets crowded with people, stores/artisans on both sides of the street and some on bicycles selling as well. Warm and sultry and just fun to stroll the streets in any direction. The historic center of Cartagena where we are staying is not real big, everything is walkable, with the Atlantic on one edge and the wall circling the city, on the other 3 sides. This city is alive with party goers, lots of clubs and bars, even saw a gal protesting that the street to her home was closed due to a wedding - she was pretty much lying on the hood of a taxi and had traffic stopped for 4 directions as far as one could see. :-)     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 15

    10 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 86 °F

    OK So this text disappeared into cyber space so this will be a shorter note for the day.
    A travel day but not until late afternoon so ML and I off via walking and metro to the Flower show at the Medellin Botanical gardens. We finally found the "real" flower show!! A huge botanical gardens with an open air exposition center in the middle. Flowers of every kind with the focus on orchids - hundreds of different types. So beautiful and fun to walk around. Last year Illene and I atteneded the world's premiere flower show, the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Some of the designs and displays here rivaled those in Chelsea. Around the perimeter of the grounds were all types of artisan stalls with more upscale goods. Unfortunately we did not have more time to really look around well as we had to get back but it was a wonderful couple hours.
    Back to hotel to check out, Uber to the airport and a quick one hour flight to Cartagena - my last stop on this trip.
    Interesting feeling when I stepped out into the sultry, warm, humid air of Cartagena. I said to myself - "this feels like the Caribbean". Now I have not been to the Caribbean for about 35+ years but that was my first thought. What makes that happen?
    Our bnb is great, right in the center of the historic district. We can walk anywhere from here. A quick trip to the local Exito - super market - for essentials and then out to dinner- La Mulata - at a place recommended by our host close by. More cerviche and fish for dinner - cerviche very good, dinner just OK. Back to bnb for an early evening.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 14

    9 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 66 °F

    Up and about early this AM. Robert cooking breakfast - eggs and veggies. A short walk after breakfast, settled account with the hotel and off via taxi back to Medellin with Alex, our driver. Arrived back at the hotel we stayed at previously and they did not have the reservation that Robert had made - and they were full. :-( !!!! Back to Booking.com and quickly made another reservation in another hotel - The Art Hotel - about a mile away. Uber to the new hotel, short "settling in" period and out for wine. Busy area and nearby a park with all kinds of street entertainment going on. Salsa and tango dancers, mariachi, clowns, juggles, break dancers. violins, and most anything else you can think of. There were small stages set up in the streets all around the park. Surrounding the streets were restaurants and bars on all sides. Lots of places to sit and watch the entertainment. Each group would perform for about 20 to 30 minutes and then all the stages would change. It was a cacophony of sounds and lots of fun. We stopped for a drink at one of the bars and enjoyed the vibrancy of the neighborhood.
    Got to be late enough to go right to dinner from there. We had been talking about having sushi and there was a Kabuki (Peruvian and Japanese restaurant) near by. A walk through the very busy streets to an extension of the same neighborhood and a "restaurant row" area. Lots going on here as well and we had good sushi, cerviche, and sashimi.
    A walk back to our hotel through the entertainment area now transformed into multiple venues of dancing and music. All VERY loud!!! We were "done" for the day and decided to let the rest of the evening to the younger folk. After the hotel fiasco, made lemonade out of lemons. We would have never had the experience of this lively neighborhood from the other hotel. Another one of the joys of travel.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 13

    8 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 81 °F

    Breakfast and out for a walk before we sit in a car for a couple hours getting to Guatape. Have hired a taxi to take us to our next stop for a couple nights. It will be nice to be out of a big city - Guatape is an hour and a half east of Medellin and known for its very large lake and architecture of the small town - population 5,200. Walked about a mile and a half from the hotel to a large shopping center which is one of the venues for the flowers. A huge display in an atrium of the 2nd floor with flowers in a semi circle on the floor and a colorful display of birds in the center. Hard to get the entire picture due to space.
    Off for Guatape via taxi - cost $100 US dollars for a good size taxi that holds all our luggage, most of the cabs here are quite small and accommodating 3 folk with luggage can be an issue. A nice ride through the Colombian countryside, lots to see and nice to have our cab driver for questions. Robert enjoys practicing his Spanish. Arrived at our hotel by 1:30P and check in not until 3 so we spent the time enjoying the lovely restaurant deck by the lake and having a cerveza and a snack. Our cabana is terrific. Large space with living room including kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2 bath. Deck is terrific with sofa and chairs as well as table and chairs and replete with fireplace. However the best part is the view - the"rock" (more on this tomorrow), this part of the lake and surrounding green hills.
    Today is a holiday in Colombia so restaurant is closed. We decided to eat in so Robert and I off to town via "motochivas" (see picture below) - much fun - to get groceries for dinner. Town is about 2 miles away - what a cute place!! Will explore more tomorrow but saw a multitude of street vendors, dozens of colorful building, narrow streets and lots of people.
    Cocktail hour with music from Robert's play list and good conversation on our deck. ML and I made dinner of trout, rice, peppers and onions with avocado as a salad. Tasted good and nice not to have to go out for dinner. Some computer time and off to bed to watch another episode of "The Crown".     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 12

    7 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 84 °F

    A bright sunshiny day in Medellin. Temperature projected to get to 85 today. :-( Out by 11 after an AM of planning and relaxation. Off to see the first of the Medellin flower festival venues - North Park, which is also an amusement park. Also decided to take experience the Colombian rapid transit system. The city has a metro that is above ground. Wander from our hotel to the closest metro station about 3/4 mile away. Stations and trains are very clean and orderly. No transfer or day tickets available so, as a tourist, you need to buy a new ticket for each ride. A 20 minute ride North to the University area and North Park. In its "real" when it is not a venue for the flower show, life North Park is an amusement park. The flower displays are intertwined with the park rides and in the open spaces. A stop for cervezas for Robert and me, a walk around a large lake in the middle of the park - lots of birds and egrets nesting in the trees on an island in the middle of the lake.
    Next off to a park up one of the mountains surrounding Medellin. Medellin is in a basin/valley with mountains all around. The "suburbs" of Medellin are built up the sides of those mountains and many people live there so public transportation to those areas is essential. We took the elevated metro further north in the city. The main train artery runs North-South through the valley with a river alongside. We needed to transfer to a line that runs east and goes up the mountain, turns out that line is a cable car!!! Quite the experience going over all the housing that spans the mountainside. There are 3 stops on this line until you get to the top where we transferred to another cable car line that went another 15 minutes across the top of the mountain to get to the park!! Quite the ride. The park was wonderful - lots going on - focus as a nature preserve - you think you are in the middle of nowhere and then there is all of the very well planned park setting with tours, restaurants, more flowers on display and lots of trails to walk around. Quite fun and a highlight of Medellin for me.
    Back via public transport to our hotel and a walk across the street for dinner - Fiorella's, a cute outdoor restaurant, Italian with pastas and great eggplant parmesan. Loving the Argentinian white wines. After dinner I walked up to the main thoroughfare about 1/4 mile away to find some ice cream and watch some kids dancing in a park. A good travel day.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 11

    6 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 63 °F

    A rainy, cloudy day in Medellin. Awake early at our “hostel”. 😊 Its really quite interesting – the apartment is very nice, decorated well and with modern bathroom and kitchen amenities - on the 4th floor with a terrace at the top. It would be fine if we were there by ourselves. Oh well, another travel lesson learned. (Read the fine print)
    Decision made on a hotel to move to and out for an early walk in the rain to find a grocery store and a bank – both Robert and I out of money Got there by 8:30 and they opened at 9. Back to the hotel where I found 40,000 Colombian pesos ($15.00) so we could go to breakfast!! Found an outdoor “hole in the wall” local’s place near a large church (its Sunday) and had our empanadas and other meat filled pastries for breakfast. The apartment is in a “neighborhood” - so fun to see all the people there, lots of diversity and many children.
    Then Uber to our next hotel (Hotel Sites -very nice) to drop off our luggage and out to see downtown Medellin – a large city of 2.5-3 million people. An uber to city center where you find most of the museums and pedestrian areas to see the city sites. The city center has a large plaza named Botero plaza. Botera is a Colombian artist known for painting and sculpting very large (fat) figures. The plaza has probably a dozen of his sculptures. Lots of people there even with the cloudy, rainy weather. Also, a museum – Museo Antiquiro (the state of Colombia that Medellin is in) devoted to Botero’s paintings and his art collection with artists from all over the world that he donated to the museum. Three stars for this museum – well done and interesting.
    One of the primary reasons to come to Medellin at this time in our trip was to see the annual Medellin Flower Festival – a week-long event with flower displays at many places in the city and special events. One of the tourist police gals headed us to another plaza where she said there were flowers. A stop for a beer overlooking another large plaza filled with vendors selling handicrafts of all kinds. ML looking for a bag to carry her camera but could not find anything that would work. I would have bought several things but had no money !!! ☹ (Its Sunday and no banks, or their ATMs) open. And no flowers…….
    Back to hotel to do some wash – free laundry at our hotel. 😊 Cocktail hour on the top deck with a 360 view of the city. Very nice. A walk to another neighborhood to a pizza place, Zorba’s that we had been told about. It was a jumping, happening place – pizza was very good – dinner for 3 with food and drinks - $26. 😊 Back to hotel with a stop at an open ATM at a bank for some money for Kay!!! Yeah !!! Finish up on laundry and to bed.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 10

    5 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 73 °F

    A travel day, flight at 2PM. First breakfast at the hotel and then ML and I for a facial and foot massage !! Lovely spot in a bamboo canopy on the edge of the property with the green hills as a backdrop. Alas all of my wrinkles are not gone but she tried. :-)
    A settling of accounts - would have been impossible without Robert's Spanish skills. Off to airport for quick 40 minute flight to Medellin. However flight was not so quick with a 2 hour delay which was just the beginning of the woes for the day. Could not get any cash out of the ATM at the airport and I am out of money. :-( Arrived Medellin around 5PM and, with some difficulty, found our apartment. Apartment was on 4th floor - no elevator. Apartment was lovely, large however, unbeknownst to us, had several others living there as well as the host !!! As Robert said, it was like an exclusive hostel. :-( So we are staying here tonight and will look for another place tomorrow. We drowned our sorrows with a great, expensive dinner and some very good Chardonnay. Argentinian beef -the best steak I have had in years!!! The joys of travel.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 9

    4 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 70 °F

    Pretty much a "day off" from tourism. Some catch up communications and internet stuff, breakfast and out for a walk. Did about 3.5 miles, a lot of up and down along the road that leads from the hotel. Colorful birds are everywhere here. The barranquero is the most local and they are beautiful. Bright red, lots of deep yellow and blue birds. Much fun to see so much color.
    Back to hotel for some pool time and a swim. Lovely large pool and all of the amenities to ourselves. Other people here but they must be out and about today. Decided to go into Pereira - the city near by - to see some Botanical gardens at the local university (University of Technology Pereira) that ML had found in her reading. Tour guide was a little gal who was studying environmental ecology at the university. A different type of botanical gardens as it was a cloud forest that we walked through and heard all about the different types of trees, plants, reptiles, birds and animals in the forest and how live in the forest/jungle together. We must have walked about a mile and a half thru the jungle - mostly a paved path and lovely bamboo stuctures - bridges and viewing platforms. Robert was our translator as our guide did not speak English.
    Back to hotel for dinner and early night for a change. Off to Medellin tomorrow.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 8

    3 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 73 °F

    A sunny beautiful warm morning. Leisurely breakfast with good food - lots of fruit in this country. Sold on all street corners, pineapple, oranges, passion fruit, dragon fruit and many fruits I have never heard of. Planning on a coffee tour in Santa Rosa (believe it or not) today along with other sites along the way. Not leaving until 1PM so Robert and I took a couple mile walk down the road from the hotel/spa. Lush jungle countryside with lots of flowers and hundreds of different colorful birds everywhere. Anything grows here - rains/showers most every day and constant year around temperatures in the 70's daytime. Reminds me of a more rustic Hawaii.
    Off at 1PM with our guide for the rest of the day, Alex. Alex lived in the US, Florida, for about 12 years and spoke excellent English. He is now back in Colombia and has 3 girls under 6. Off to Santa Rosa de Cabal, a city of about 70,000, a 45 minute drive from our hotel. Roads are mostly dirt and quite bumpy until you get to main roads that are quite good. So lots of bouncing around in the car. We stopped to take pictures in the main plaza of the town - the obligatory church, vendors, restaurants and bars all around the pleasant plaza. Then off to find the coffee farm - some road work so detour over more rutted dirt roads.
    The coffee farm Fincadelcafe tour was really great. Only one other young gal, Carolina, from Chile - a dental student, besides us in the group. About a 3.5 hour "conversation" about coffee from beginning to end. The young fellow, the coffee process expert, only spoke Spanish so Alex and Robert were our translators. A long walk through the coffee field to see all of the processes up close and personal and to see all of the other things that they grow there - flowers and fruits. A finish with "home made" (roasted in a skillet, hand ground, placed in a burlap sack and hot water poured over it) coffee. All of this for someone who never drinks coffee!! The finca had a small 8 room boutique hotel replete with swimming pool so we decided to have some wine before we left. Lovely environment on a great afternoon.
    Back to Santa Rosa for dinner - the city is know for its chorizo so Alex said this was the best chorizo restaurant in town. Picture of my food below. Dinner for 4 - $22 !!!
    Then the final entertainment of the day and off toTermales Santa Rosa - the hot springs and baths. It is now almost 9PM until we arrive - 5 more miles of dirt roads to get there one comes out into this oasis of cars and people. You need to walk about a half mile to get to the bath houses,restaurant, bars and the pools. Hundreds of people there all having a great time. Bath houses spotless, rent a locker, change your clothes and go for a soak. Lots of fountains pouring water in the pools and, though too dark to really appreciate, the landscape was a huge rock side to the mountain with a dozen separate waterfalls coming down. Lots of fun. Home over the same road with one last crisis for the day - our guide Alex ran out of gas (or something happened to the car - about a 1/2 mile from our hotel. So we walked the last 800 meters at 11PM !! A really fun day.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 8

    1 sierpnia 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 64 °F

    A travel day. Bogota to Pereira - just a quick 1 hour flight - as opposed to an 8-10 hour bus ride. Pereira is a city of about 1M due west of Bogota. We are outside of the city about 6 miles at a lovely spa hotel in the middle of the coffee district. La Colina - rolling hills, lush jungle follage and lots of coffee farms. Arrived here around 4PM. A "nesting" time and a glass of wine while discussing what to do for the next 2 days. The hotel owns many acres of land around - including a real trail thru the jungle up a nearby mountain, which of course I wanted to do immediately. An elevation gain of around 700 feet in less than a mile (very steep)
    Lots to experience and see along the way, About a quarter of the way up the hotel has an outlook structure replete with hammocks, benches/beds with places to lie down and look our over the scenery. Higher up there are other overlook spots with structures made from bamboo to look out over the jungle and the hills and mountains below. At the top a tower with steps to the top to see all of the area. Really a short but terrific walk in the jungle.

    Back to rooms - mine has a deck replete with fireplace, a vine covered area with table and chairs and a hammock. Quite the neat place. Dinner here of paella and lots of wine. Life is good.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 7

    31 lipca 2018, Kolumbia ⛅ 59 °F

    A rainy catch up AM and some rest for Mary Lou. Off to explore the La Candelaria area in more detail today. Using Uber most of the time for transportation within the city. First stop, the Teatro Colon - could not get in so only a picture. Looked to see if we could attend an event there while we were here but only a play going on, they also do symphonies,opera and ballet but not this week. Wandered around the pedestrian streets for awhile, checking out the stores and wares for sale. Tried to go to the Museo Botero but it was closed on Tuesdays. Fernando Botero was a Colombian artist know for painting fat figures. So off to the only 3 star attraction in Bogota - the Gold Museum, Museo del Oro. A very well done museum with a lot of gold as well as interpretive movies on the making of gold designs and other metallurgy work. Definitely worth a stop. ML and I out to thee the San Francisco church listed in the guide books. A stark reminder of all of the catholic churches that I had seen in Ecuador and Peru - walls of gold - and very poor parishioners. Not my favorite thing to experience. A light snack and a beer at a cafe and home for a late afternoon rest.
    Out for dinner locally at the recommendation of our hosts. El Barrio - a neighborhood Colombian restaurant - just OK - dinner for 3 - $45. (only 1 beer in that for me). Early evening home for ML to get some rest. Off to Pereira tomorrow.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 6

    30 lipca 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 57 °F

    The husband half of our hosts provides tour services as well so they are an "all inclusive" B & B. Have had several discussion with him and decided to do the Nemocon salt mine. ML very tired of not feeling great but ready for today's adventure.
    Off around 10:30 for Nemocon and the salt mine. Nemocon is a small village about 1.5 hours NE of Bogota. Scenery along the way - first, getting out of Bogota, anything you read about this city is the horrendous traffic. It is true. Usual story, too many vehicles - not enough roads. Started to thin out in about 45 minutes, then lots of green, many colorful towns - all with the Northern Andes as a backdrop.
    Arrived at Nemocon Salt Mine and had an English speaking tour. Quite fascinating, a non-working mine since around 1970. The tour was very good thanks to our driver Rick who has done it so many time and has all the details. A very interesting history with displays throughout. A short stop in the very colorful village for an empanadas from a bakery - very different as they are baked (not fried) and filled with chicken and mushrooms. Cost $1.00 😀 A stop at the local supermarket for a few things and off to Guatavita.
    "Interesting" roads thru the countryside - long section of dirt and very bumpy. We are in a refurbished 1973 VW van!! First stop along the way - Sesquile,. Small town with a pretty town plaza and a church. A very short stop as it was raining, a couple of pictures and back in the van. A short drive to Gutavita along a very large lake Embalse Tomine - which is a reservoir as well with a hydroelectric plant at the South end.
    The town of Guatavita is a lovely whitewashed colonial architecture town on the lake with a wonderful church and lots of open plazas with amazing brick and stone work. We walked the plazas admiring some unique water features. A photo shoot for a bride with a lovely Spanish gown was special. Town was very quiet but Rick says on holidays all year around it is very busy. A stop for a beer and our way to Zipequira.
    Dark by the time we got to Zipequira so just a quick walk around town - lively town plazas. A very tourist oriented town due to the famous Salt Cathedral there. (a different and more popular tourist salt mine to visit than the one we did this AM as it is closer to Bogota) Then to dinner in Bogota to the very tourist oriented restaurant - Andras. A very large uniquely decorated restaurant with eclectic decor. Much fun, meat oriented, and the food was very good. An added bonus with really good jazz music the entire time. Home after a long day of tourism.     Czytaj więcej

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    Colombia Day 5

    29 lipca 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 54 °F

    A lazy AM planning and conversation with a French couple who are staying here. They came for the first time last year and spent a month traveling the North of the Colombia and back this year for another month to visit the South of the country. All the people we have met here just love this country and the people. Our friends, Carlos and Claudia, have made this such a great experience and have helped us to understand that you really can (and should) talk to anyone, they truly want to be helpful. Carlos has said that, if you have a problem and are in a crowded room, just stand on a table and holler - I need help - and everyone will try to help you - and after 4 days, I believe him.
    Sundays are special in Bogota. Every Sunday 76 miles of City - the Bogota Ciclovia - streets are closed for bicyclists, runners, roller skates, walkers and any other type of exercise you can imagine. ML feeling better and the 5 of us decided to join the tradition. Our B & B host got us 5 bikes and off we went. So much fun and entertainment!!! The routes are full of other activities and things to stop and see such as Zumba, dance, martial arts, yoga, music, food and drink along the way. Just a great way to get all out and doing something for exercise and health. Lots of people, in some areas too many - had to walk the bikes due to crowds. I had not ridden a bike in about 2.5 years but as the saying goes "just like riding a bicycle". Back to the B & B for an afternoon snack and conversation.
    Montserrate is a monastery and church on a mountain that looks over Bogota. You can see it from all over the city. Website below. We thought we would go there today but our hosts warned us that on a Sunday it is very crowded and recommended the mountain next to Montserrate - Guadalupe - higher and even better views of the City. So off we went to Guadalupe. As it turns out today was an celebration of some sort and hundreds of vehicles were up on the mountain - all decorated and providing a significant traffic jam on a very small mountain road. Had to park about a half mile from the top - we are now at over 10,000 ft and climbing !! And ML with her already existing problem of not being able to breathe - and now we do this to her. Made it to the top - 10,800 !! Amazing. Just like Rio - to our surprise a huge sculpture of the Virgin Mary and all kinds of food and people. The view of Bogota - a city of around 8 million - were terrific. However weather at the top of the mountain quickly turning rainy and cold. A few pictures and back down the mountain. the
    Off to dinner - all agreed we were hungry for Italian so off to a new area of the city. Good dinner @ Di Lucca with lots of wine - nice to have someone else driving. Said good by to Carlos and Claudia - they were so terrific to take us everywhere and help with everything we needed - and were so much fun to be with. An experience I will remember for a long time.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monserrate     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsColombiaPodróżnik

    Colombia Day 4

    28 lipca 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 54 °F

    Another late start this AM. Mary Lou feeling lousy and decided to stay home today to get some sleep and see if she can kick this nasty stuff. Carlos and Claudia having car trouble so arrived a bit late. Robert and I out for a walk in the area - mainly residential and small tiendas (stores). Walked to a park and watched some "football". (ie soccer) Off to Plaza Bolivar and the La Candelaria area - the primary tourist center in Bogota. The very large plaza is primarily government buildings, churches and palaces - replete with the obligatory pigeons. Then a stroll down 7th Avenue :-) - all pedestrian, filled with mimes, craftsmen selling their wares, music from all directions, llamas and on and on............... Lots of fun, people and highly colorful. Some necessary phone work (more minutes, new Sim card) and a "coffee break" with pastries to "rest" from tourism.

    Using Uber/Taxi today as Carlos's car has a problem. Very easy,convenient and cheap. Back to pickup Mary Lou who is feeling some better after a day of rest. Chose a Tapas restaurant that we had seen last night for dinner. Tapas Macarena - tiny restaurant (3 tables) it was full so they took across the street to a "larger" restaurant (7 tables) and they brought the food across the street !!! A fun, lots of conversation in 2 languages with lots of laughter and making new friends. A great travel day.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsColombiaPodróżnik

    Colombia Day 3

    27 lipca 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 54 °F

    A "get organized" morning. Late breakfast - this is a really great B & B - breakfast at whatever time you ask and whatever you want. :-) Mary Lou not feeling great - she brought a bronchitis/asthma condition with her from the US and its not getting better. Robert and I out to the closest ATM for some local money. Colombia is one of those countries with a lot of pesos to the dollar - around 2,880 pesos to the dollar!! The math gets complicated but still not as bad as the old Italian lira. (I think I am dating myself) Next to get SIM cards for our phones. Robert and ML have 2 phones and the acquisition was quite a process so mine has to wait until tomorrow as our friends had arrived to escort us around for the day. The B and B folk found an MD for Mary Lou who would come to the B and B !!! House call was $30 US!!! We went to the Museo Nationale while ML waiting for MD. A very interesting museum - some English but not in all areas. My Google translator was on overtime. The museum was a combination of Colombian history and art. The museum (not the building it is in) was just started in 1999. All of their history is so very recent - they really just united the country in 1991. Lots to learn in this country as I really have not paid much attention to Colombian history.
    Back to the B & B to pick up Mary Lou - stronger decongestants prescribed. (and the pharmacy delivered the drugs to the B & B) !!! Off to the La Macherena section of the city for dinner - and a walk around the upscale area before dinner. A wonderful restaurant, Santa Fe, recommended by our hosts. Good Chilean white wine and wonderful food - wonderful white fish cerviche and salmon carpaccio for appetizers. Great service and even serenaded by a saxophone player during dinner. A really fun experience and again - lots of lively conversation.
    Back to B & B around 8PM. ML "beat" for the day. I went to do this blog downstairs in the lobby with a cup of tea and after a short while, new guests arrived. As it turns out, they had been guests at this B & B last year so knew the hosts and I spent the next 2 hours with the hosts and the couple from France talking about everything in the world - it was just wonderful. And the conversation was in English !! :-) Now getting the blog done and soon time for me to crash.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsColombiaPodróżnik

    Colombia Days 1 and 2

    26 lipca 2018, Kolumbia 🌧 57 °F

    Arrived this afternoon in Bogota Colombia. Traveling with friends Mary Lou (ML) (nurse I worked with at Santa Rosa Kaiser) and her husband Robert. They left a couple days before me and spent 2-3 days in Mexico City, the half way point of a flight from San Francisco to Bogota, Colombia. I took a red eye last night, leaving San Francisco at 11PM, arriving Mexico City at 5:30AM their time - 2 hour time difference from SF. Met ML and Robert at the airport and after a 2- 3 hour layover, on to Bogota. All via Aeromexico, uneventful and comfortable flights. I do not sleep much on airplanes but finally did get at bit of sleep after we left Mexico City about 8:30 this AM.

    On arrival, after through all the usual protocols, we were met by distant relatives of Robert's who live here in Bogota - Carlos and Claudia. Robert had arranged this and they are a delightful couple who are happy to show us around Bogota!! How lucky is that. We had booked a Bed and Breakfast in the City and, after some "rush hour" traffic woes, found our B & B the Bogota Bed and Breakfast Inn. It is lovely and hosts are so very gracious and helpful. We did just bit of settling down and then had a lively cocktail hour over a bottle of Chilean wine, in their lounge with the 5 of us. Carlos speaks fairly English, Claudia not much, Robert speaks quite good Spanish (that is going to be a blessing), Mary Lou understands more than I do and I catch a work, phrase or 2 during the conversation. :-( Got a local typical Colombian restaurant recommendation from our hosts and we all went to dinner - lots of conversation, did not hit religion but, of course, did hit politics. I had a typical Colombian fare - Canzuela Montenero (not exactly sure that is right) - pork, chorizo, plantains, beans in a hearty broth with rice and avacado on the side. Along with Sangria and a lemon yerba buena combination - non-alcoholic - and like a slurpi (very good) - we are all ready to crash.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    London

    11 czerwca 2018, Anglia ⛅ 63 °F

    Last day in London and of this trip. Home tomorrow. Spent the AM cleaning up and "pre-packing". Had been thinking that I needed to do at least one new thing on this trip. When I left here after a month last year,one of the neighborhoods I did not get to was Shoreditch. Shoreditch is an revived warehouse area in East London known for its quirky shops, a creative hub of London, good food and street art. So off I went.

    And there is street art everywhere including entire buildings painted with art. Took tons of pics will attach a few. Walked 3-4 miles in the narrow streets, poking around corners and checking out the curious shops and looking longingly at the myriad of street food trucks and kiosks. An area called Boxpark - a unique store front shopping block - all the shops are very small - probably about 400sq ft. (10x40) An entire block long - every kind of shop imaginable with very different types of items and clothes. Wish I had more room in my suitcase. But much fun. Also hit Brick Road - a street with dozens of restaurants, and more quirky shops. Old Spitifields Market, touted as the best in East London was a wonderful mixture of open air shops, restaurants and food trucks.

    A major decision was where to have late lunch/dinner. Wanted to east outside as it is another warm, sunny day in the city. Decided on a food truck an had a duck wrap with hoisin sauce, slivered cucumbers and spring onions! Delicious - lots of tender duck.

    Back to flat in time for a quick "lie down" and then out for my favorite show - Les Miserables. Wonderful as usual - strong leads and the show never fails to impress with its music and story. The theater is still full and prices for tickets above anything else I saw this week - and it is over 30 years old!! Amazing.

    Miles: 6.7     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    London

    10 czerwca 2018, Anglia ⛅ 70 °F

    Up and out for a day in London parks. Had brunch out this AM, was tired of my yogurt, berries and cereal and ready for something more substantial. Had mashed avocado on toast with poached eggs and smoked salmon!! Should last all day. Then off to Regent's park, the primary reason, to get tickets to Peter Pan in the park's open air theater this afternoon. Regent's Park is known for its Rose Garden. The roses are still beautiful, maybe a week past their prime. Picture do not do them justice but a lovely walk thru the roses on a warm, sunny day in London. Sold out for the afternoon show today so got tickets for this evening. Back to flat for my phone charger and off to walk the famous parks of central London. Took tube to St. James station and walked through St. James, Green, Hyde parks and Kensington Gardens. Lots of sights to see as usual. Always something new going on. Lots of Londoners taking advantage of this Sunday afternoon. The spring flowers are gone but still beautiful roses, lots of lavender and of course the English gardens with grasses and shrubbery that they manage to put into such lovely pictures. On the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, Christos has an installation that is set to open on June 18. Especially meaningful as 4 of us went to his last installation, the Floating Piers, on Lake Iseo 2 years ago. This one is colorful barrels that are being fit together into a huge pyramid (with the top cut off). See pic. It will float around the lake all summer! A stop for frozen yogurt and a rest in the lawn chairs that are stationed at various places in the parks.

    Back to flat to grab something to eat and back out to Regents Park for Peter Pan. An open air theater and the entire experience was terrific. The show is very hard to explain. A dark remake of Peter Pan WWI with the opening and closing scenes in a field hospital in France with the war going on around it. The fantasy scenes, pirates, flying children were spectacular. The interpretation takes the concept of children that do not want to grow up from Peter Pan and compares to the young men (mostly) that lost their lives so early in WWI for Britain. It never fails to amaze me how these playwrights think of these things. An evening to remember. Website if you want to know more. https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/peter-pa…

    Miles: 10.3!!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    London

    9 czerwca 2018, Anglia ⛅ 57 °F

    A late start from the day, slept until almost 9AM!! To bed after midnight 2 nights in a row is highly unusual for me. Today is a double header theater day so down to the West End for a bit of shopping and the first play at 2:30PM.

    Was in search for a tie for a friend of mine and have been looking since Milan as the criteria are quite specific. Finally found what I have been looking for in the Saville Row environs of London. Quite the area, all high end men's clothing stores. It was a fun find. Then to the matinee for today, The Moderate Soprano. The drama is a new play and the sometimes funny story of John Christie, who built and founded the Glyndebourne Opera house in pre-war Sussex. A touching love story as well and very well done.

    Found my way back to the Southbank and the busy area around the National Theater. Spent an hour watching the fascinating scenes around me with a glass of wine. Had a lovely pre-show dinner in the Terrace Restaurant at the theater - small plates, wonderful Croquettes and an asparagus salad. Tonight's show was Julie, an old drama by August Strindberg - Miss Julie, con temporized to modern day London. Vanessa Kirby, Princess Margaret in The Crown, was the lead and outstanding. The play is rather depressing but the acting and staging was terrific. A thoroughly enjoyable day.

    Miles: 5.7     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    London

    8 czerwca 2018, Anglia ⛅ 63 °F

    Feeling much more rested today! Catch up on E-mail and "life" in the AM. I have not done any shopping for 2 months and have a list of things I want to get here in London. So need to start on that today or, as usual, I will be shopping at the airport.

    A warm sunny day in London, the city sparkles. First off to go to the National Theater (for those of you who like theater this is the theater in London that does the filming of one of their performances that show in our movie houses) for tickets for Saturday. The National always has new/innovative and unusual remakes of old standards. They do more drama than musicals. Saw Angels in America here last year, this year it will be Julie. A old drama that I had not heard of before and it just opened last week. The gal who plays the lead was Princess Margaret in series The Crown - Vanessa Kirby. Will let you know.

    Then a wonderful lunch at one of my favorite London places - Wagamama. An upscale noodles place and they now have a location on the busy Southbank area of the Thames near the National and the Royal Festival Hall. Duck Ramen in the wonderful London sunshine. All is right with the world. On my way back to the tube, I went past the box office of a play I had been looking at, new, called the Moderate Soprano. I went in and, as luck would have it, they have a matinee on Saturdays, so bought a ticket. So double header tomorrow.

    Then off to Harrods for my annual trip around the store. The store is always changing and I continue to be amazed to understand how so many people really "shop" there. Harrods's defines upscale shopping for me. I just look for the Harrods gift store, get my mug and little things for friends that might appreciate the sentiment. A real treat today as I was walking by one of the many restaurants - an Italian and Pizzeria - and a chef (at least he was all dressed in white with a bakers hat) was singing Italian opera!! What fun! Did not get my camera out in time.

    Home for a "feet up" and change for the evening's outing. Tonight is the Harold Pinter drama - Consent. Had never seen and it was excellent. Acting was terrific and the rape subject is timely with the #metoo focus. An interesting way to approach a legal issue through the life of 3 couples. Would highly recommend.

    Miles: 7.5     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    London

    7 czerwca 2018, Anglia ⛅ 59 °F

    Up to get organized for London. Did not even unpack last night, fell into bed. Spent AM time cleaning up and doing some theater planning. Have a list of plays I would like to see, have 5 days and plan on 5 or 6 plays. Off to "downtown" and the discount ticket kiosk. Got tickets for Dream Girls tonight and then went to the box office for Consent - a Harold Pinter drama - for tomorrow night. Got my Oyster (transportation card) for the week, walked around the usual hordes of tourists in the Piccadilly Circus area. Back to flat to get groceries at the Waitross (supermarket) right across the street.

    Lunch and some more planning time and out late afternoon for a walk in Holland Park with an entrance right across the street. Had been here last year in April and it was so beautiful with all the tulips in bloom. This year, all of the latest planting (I think they were iris) were gone and they are getting ready to replant the next annual. Some roses still left in the Rose Garden but not a lot there either. So not as pretty this year but still a huge park and so much more to see and do. Lots of babies in carriages, toddlers - some terrific kids playgrounds - and, as always in London, heard part of a rehearsal for their Opera in the Park series, and lots of people just out enjoying one of the fantastic London parks.

    I checked out the Kyoto Garden, a Japanese park within Holland Park. It is still very beautiful and comes up as one of the 5 best parks in London. Back to figure out the washing machine and out for the theater. Dream Girls was good, not great. I marvel at how many good singers there are in the world. This musical has a lot of them. The lead was terrific and one of the fellows (their manager for those of you who have seen the play) was also excellent. Walked around for a bit after the show to see the usual mobbed night life in this area (the West End theater district) of London at 11PM at night. Always fun - for just a little while.

    Miles: 7.5     Czytaj więcej

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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Podróżnik

    Bad Wildbad to London

    6 czerwca 2018, Anglia ☀️ 66 °F

    A long travel day so not much to report today. Left my beautiful spot in the Black Forest around 8:30 for the drive to Munich, about 3 1/2 hours. Uneventful. Flight was not until almost 5P so a long wait in the airport. Left a little late and arrived London an hour late. Then the various forms of transportation to get to my final destination, my new flat in London. Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, tube to Earl's Court to pick up key (owner of the flat is on vacation). Then a walk to the apartment about 1/2 mile away. All went smoothly and arrived about 8:30PM.

    Long days in London this time of year. Still some light at 10PM and also at 5AM. Out to dinner and some much needed wine. High Street Kensington is just around the corner, tons of cafes, restaurants, and shopping areas. Entrance to Holland Park right across the street and a supermarket around the corner. Tube is about 5-7 minutes walk. Very convenient to all. Had light dinner at Cafe Concerto - very good as was the wine!! Back to flat to fall into bed.
    No pics today.

    Miles: 5.0     Czytaj więcej

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