it´s getting a bit better now. Alex is a member on couch surfer, so yesterday we met a very nice couple. They took us around the city, to a local restaurant (where everything is fried again), to san antonio church with a view of the city, and some statues. They know a lot about the culture and history of colombia, so it was very interesting to learn. They want to give us spanish lesson on the farmers market sometime next week.
Later in the evening we met another girl, and a whole bunch of her friends at salsa club. They were all nice, but kinda young. Very early 20s, it was like being in high school again :) everybody is so interested in visitors, and tries to find out who, what, where you´re from. me and eva didn´t like salsa at all. they all just doing some basic steps with right hand turn AND THAT´S IT for the whole song !!!!
We got invited to a bunch of places, some concerts, and to go visit native tribes, and a tour to another city.
I think people in Cali are the nices people on the planet ! They all go out of their way to help. They will show you the way, tell you things that you didn´t ask them, drive you around, pay for you, and for nothing, for no return at all !
Alex is teaching me to break my "bad" habbits. so now i´m learning to live with cockroches, sleep less, and enjoy the stinky bus rides :) so today i even didn´t kill the cockroch in the room, and actually fell asleep :))
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
pictures in reverse order :S
Eva doing yoga in the room
Girls from couch surfer
city center
city center
city center
city center
city center
city center
terminators from gov building
yoga in the morning in our hostel
colombia from above
"sleeping" in miami airport
Eva doing yoga in the room
Girls from couch surfer
city center
city center
city center
city center
city center
city center
terminators from gov building
yoga in the morning in our hostel
colombia from above
"sleeping" in miami airport
Can't find a place to eat. There are burgers for $6, but where are the daily specials that include soup, entry, desert and a juice for $2.50??
Tried to find appartments today, but still no luck. There are a bunch of phone numbers, but no phone to call from :) Although there are many people on the street making business by renting their phone, but the minutes quickly add up, especially with these talkative espaniolas.
What we learned is that when we buy something, just cut the price in half, and that should be about right :) Got a juice yesterday for 1200 pesos, and today double the size for 1000. conversion rate 1 USD = 2000 pesos, so we're millioners in here :)
so we went to a supermarket, bought yogurt, granola, and fruits, just mixed them together and ate on the street. Later went to the city center where everybody tries very hard to sell you something. I have no idea how they do business, since everybody sells exactly the same thing, and there are couple of hundred of stands!! Alex bought a digital watch today for $3.5. Saw nice shirts for $2.5, I guess we need them for salsa :))
There was also some government building, where every 2 meters stands a police man looking like some robocop or definitely something futuristic. i guess that's where they take ideas for these movies :) Very big contrast to see hundreds of these terminators and kids running around chasing the pegions.
Alex is a couch surfer member. So we met 2 girls today, and went to hang out in a very nice mall. Where everybody walks, and nobody shops :) There are a lot of American shops like Zara and Lacoste, but they're all empty. They bought us a typical Colombian food, which is ofcourse fried. I don't really understand the reason for these hosts to do it. Especially that they don't really speak English, and we don't speak Spanish, but they still invited us to go to eat something, mall and salsa on Friday.
Eva's bag arrived, yeippeee ! Now we need to spend $60 to go to the airport to pick it up.
Found a way to use the internet, just go into an expensive hotel, and wifi is free :)
Also in the guidebook there is some swiss embassy that's also a hostel, and a swiss counsel hosts it ... very very weird !!
It's 10 pm now, Alex is writing something, and the only sound is Eva's breathing doing yoga on the floor, and Alex and me constantly taking her pictures (without her knowing ofcourse) :) Common, what is she doing, the room is already stuffed enough :)) ... Eva, don't listen to me, I wish I had your determination :)
Oh, damn it, she noticed :) She kept on thinking that there is something wrong with the light when the flash was going off (which of course in our hostel is not surprising if it were :S ) :))
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First day in Cali
It took us 10 minutes to change 10 dollars, with some phone calls, passport copies and finger prints :)
What can you get for $10/person in a hostel? some cockroches, broken doors, a bunch of holes, no lights, no windows, no AC and cold shower :) and that's why we're going to look for an appratment now. hopefully we'll find something.
yesterday went for a walk in the city, there is nothing really to see, and not a lot of people. but they say that people come out during the weekend. so we'll see.
we had a fresh fruit juice for 50 cents, it was amazing !! i think i'll be drinking it every day, twice a day :) didn´t like the local cusine yet, it´s all very deep fried. there is a lot of police on the streets, and a lot of baggers who we run away from :) cars don´t stop not on pedestrian cross walks, and not on red lights, so we´re always on a look out for them. constant beeping is a regular noice in the city. not much nice to say right now, but we hope for the best and for the better!
i guess the good thing is that everybody is willing to help, and meanwhile tells us all the stories about their children, and grand parents. so something that they say in 5 minutes, can be samarized in 1 sentence :)
We got lost at night in the city. It wasn´t a really good feeling. Some hookers on the street, the streets are dark with no one there. Held my bag close to me, just out of paranoya I guess.
in the morning we did some yoga on the floor, and our hostest thought there was something wrong with me for not drinking coffee.
not too many interesting stories to tell just yet ...
What can you get for $10/person in a hostel? some cockroches, broken doors, a bunch of holes, no lights, no windows, no AC and cold shower :) and that's why we're going to look for an appratment now. hopefully we'll find something.
yesterday went for a walk in the city, there is nothing really to see, and not a lot of people. but they say that people come out during the weekend. so we'll see.
we had a fresh fruit juice for 50 cents, it was amazing !! i think i'll be drinking it every day, twice a day :) didn´t like the local cusine yet, it´s all very deep fried. there is a lot of police on the streets, and a lot of baggers who we run away from :) cars don´t stop not on pedestrian cross walks, and not on red lights, so we´re always on a look out for them. constant beeping is a regular noice in the city. not much nice to say right now, but we hope for the best and for the better!
i guess the good thing is that everybody is willing to help, and meanwhile tells us all the stories about their children, and grand parents. so something that they say in 5 minutes, can be samarized in 1 sentence :)
We got lost at night in the city. It wasn´t a really good feeling. Some hookers on the street, the streets are dark with no one there. Held my bag close to me, just out of paranoya I guess.
in the morning we did some yoga on the floor, and our hostest thought there was something wrong with me for not drinking coffee.
not too many interesting stories to tell just yet ...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
cali cali cali
A girl from the surfers agreed to help us find an appartment. She is so nice! She's from Cali, doesn't speak any English, we don't speak any Spanish, and yet we've been together for 12 hours, and somehow managed to understand each other! I learned a lot of words on the way. I feel kinda like a parrot, repeating everything. Saying words out of nowhere, reading every sign on the way. I guess I'm getting better. For ex. the most complicated thing I said was: Te qieres dos fillet de pollo para quatra personas? ... (do you want 4 chicken filles for 4 people?) There ! :)The girl (Camila), told us that some guy wanted to date her sister, but her sister didn't like him, so he killed her :((( Is that the latin passion that is so well known?
We just found 1 appartment, that is furnished, and doesn't require 1 year contract. But it was kind of dirty and didn't give us a good feeling. On the way we found another hostel. First we didn't even want to hear about it ... bulk beds, shared washrooms ... NOOOOO!!! .. but then we decided to come in, and it's so clean, the vibe is very nice, they were learning salsa with an amazing teacher. Eva got so excited, she's like "That's it, I don't want to look at anything else, I don't care about anything else, we're staying here!!" There are so many different stories about dangerous things. For ex. we went to a bar/club street where everybody said - no don't go at night, always take a taxi. We went there and it was fine, just like any other street. So it's hard to know who to listen to. Also people say that you should always write down the license plate of the taxi, or call somebody and tell the number to them. And close the doors, because if there is traffic, then somebody might just come in and as they said "take a tour in the bank". Also, it's not advisable to stand on a red light in the center of city. All these precausions, but we didn't really see anything dangerous. Anyway, we were there for a few hours, and me and Alex went home (by foot), and Eva continued parting until 6 am ... figures !! :) nothing has changed since greece :) Eva said that there was guy who's about 40 who lived in LA for 20 years. And he said that he couldn't take it anymore in LA, people are so cold, and I guess that he just got into the routine, and didn't live at all. And here people are friendly and so open, and express their emotions, and that's what the real life is about. The next morning, me and Eva went to check out another hostel which by the reviews on the internet was supposed to be the best. well not really ! the host was so cold, not interested, not helpful, so we decided that he doesn't need our money, and went away. On the way there, found massages for $12/hour, and manicure for $1. There is this amazing yogurt that's mixed with fresh fruits, so now we're having it everyday! And there is so much variety ! mucha gusto :))Went to check out of our hostel, and our hostess didn't want to give us any discount :( it was 202,000 pesos, so she gave us 2000 discount so that we won't cry! grrr ! went to the hostel that we liked, and the owner told us that he has an appartment for 1 month, but again, it was in the basement, not really nice, with windows to the main street, so we could hear every car passing by ... and that's a lot of cars !!! still undecided about what to do, Alex doesn't want to stay in the hostel, and we don't want to stay in the appartment. anyway, went to the salsa lesson. The teacher is really good, and we were learning fast fast mucha fast salsa :) I think in 1 hour I drank 4 glasses of water, and by the end couldn't stand on my feet! :)The owners (married couple) are the best! They help with everything, give us addresses, phone numbers, go out of their way to make us feel comfortable. They always say "welcome to the family". Yesterdays was a birthday of the woman owner, so the whole hostel was helping the guy blow balloons, 1 guy cooked a whole dinner for everybody, and we had a cake!
The neighbourhood where we stay is an old part of Cali. I really really like it. There are alot of small streets with 2 story buildings all connected to each other. Very colorful, and with their own character. Later on after 2 hours of salsa, we decided that we didn't have enough, and went to dance some more!! :) We went with the couch surfing university students. First I couldn't really related to them, but now they're so so cool ! just the most amazing people ! A lot of fun, very open, honest, helpful, it's unbelievable what the people will do to make others feel comfortable. It's also a "tradition" in here to share everything. Even if you don't know somebody, they will ask to try what you're eating, and if you order in a restaurant, it goes through a circle of everybody else before coming to you.We went to a student club, it was fun. People dancing on the street. Everybody's talking, having a good time. Later on we went to a house party, so we needed to get some alcohol. I said it's way too expensive, a 750 ml bottle of vodka costs > $30 in a store, and they said that we need to know special places where taxes somehow don't exist, and bought the same bottle for $10. nice! :) To a house party we went in a guys's car - Lada :)) I have no idea how it's still driving, but it does. even up the 45 degree street! although when we parked and wanted to go, it took 4 tries to actually get out :) I think it was more going back than forward ... thank god there were no cars behind us :)In here also you don't pay for parking, but you pay to the guys to look after your cars so that nothing will happen to it :)
5 days in cali, and the phone is going off like crazy! everybody invites us to different places. And we do different things every day. LIke jazz bar, night club, park, tango club, there is salsa championships that starts tomorrow, day after tomorrow a jazz festival, house parties, so much to do, so many different people to meet, and you talk to them or they treat you like you've been their friend forever!It's also interesting that every backpacker has always the same story. Oh I was working, and then I thought that it's not what life is about, so I decided to go travelling :)
Today Alex found a 1 room to rent beside the hostel. It's in a nice house with a huge roof terrace, and some weird and creepy artist who has tens of paintings of naked women in all poses on the walls, and his portrait among them :S But their having parties every weekend, and Alex loves to cook, so we're sure to visit his place quite often. Our hostel owners said that he can also hang out here whenever he likes.We bargained about the price, and what we got is 300.000 pesos for month/person = $5/day, and private salsa lessons also for $5/hour ! :)
creepy artist, and Alex's room
in jazz bar
our hostel
the students in salsa club
couch hosts
couch hosts
the old and the new
our neighbourhood - San Antonio
Camila
san antonio
san antonio
We just found 1 appartment, that is furnished, and doesn't require 1 year contract. But it was kind of dirty and didn't give us a good feeling. On the way we found another hostel. First we didn't even want to hear about it ... bulk beds, shared washrooms ... NOOOOO!!! .. but then we decided to come in, and it's so clean, the vibe is very nice, they were learning salsa with an amazing teacher. Eva got so excited, she's like "That's it, I don't want to look at anything else, I don't care about anything else, we're staying here!!" There are so many different stories about dangerous things. For ex. we went to a bar/club street where everybody said - no don't go at night, always take a taxi. We went there and it was fine, just like any other street. So it's hard to know who to listen to. Also people say that you should always write down the license plate of the taxi, or call somebody and tell the number to them. And close the doors, because if there is traffic, then somebody might just come in and as they said "take a tour in the bank". Also, it's not advisable to stand on a red light in the center of city. All these precausions, but we didn't really see anything dangerous. Anyway, we were there for a few hours, and me and Alex went home (by foot), and Eva continued parting until 6 am ... figures !! :) nothing has changed since greece :) Eva said that there was guy who's about 40 who lived in LA for 20 years. And he said that he couldn't take it anymore in LA, people are so cold, and I guess that he just got into the routine, and didn't live at all. And here people are friendly and so open, and express their emotions, and that's what the real life is about. The next morning, me and Eva went to check out another hostel which by the reviews on the internet was supposed to be the best. well not really ! the host was so cold, not interested, not helpful, so we decided that he doesn't need our money, and went away. On the way there, found massages for $12/hour, and manicure for $1. There is this amazing yogurt that's mixed with fresh fruits, so now we're having it everyday! And there is so much variety ! mucha gusto :))Went to check out of our hostel, and our hostess didn't want to give us any discount :( it was 202,000 pesos, so she gave us 2000 discount so that we won't cry! grrr ! went to the hostel that we liked, and the owner told us that he has an appartment for 1 month, but again, it was in the basement, not really nice, with windows to the main street, so we could hear every car passing by ... and that's a lot of cars !!! still undecided about what to do, Alex doesn't want to stay in the hostel, and we don't want to stay in the appartment. anyway, went to the salsa lesson. The teacher is really good, and we were learning fast fast mucha fast salsa :) I think in 1 hour I drank 4 glasses of water, and by the end couldn't stand on my feet! :)The owners (married couple) are the best! They help with everything, give us addresses, phone numbers, go out of their way to make us feel comfortable. They always say "welcome to the family". Yesterdays was a birthday of the woman owner, so the whole hostel was helping the guy blow balloons, 1 guy cooked a whole dinner for everybody, and we had a cake!
The neighbourhood where we stay is an old part of Cali. I really really like it. There are alot of small streets with 2 story buildings all connected to each other. Very colorful, and with their own character. Later on after 2 hours of salsa, we decided that we didn't have enough, and went to dance some more!! :) We went with the couch surfing university students. First I couldn't really related to them, but now they're so so cool ! just the most amazing people ! A lot of fun, very open, honest, helpful, it's unbelievable what the people will do to make others feel comfortable. It's also a "tradition" in here to share everything. Even if you don't know somebody, they will ask to try what you're eating, and if you order in a restaurant, it goes through a circle of everybody else before coming to you.We went to a student club, it was fun. People dancing on the street. Everybody's talking, having a good time. Later on we went to a house party, so we needed to get some alcohol. I said it's way too expensive, a 750 ml bottle of vodka costs > $30 in a store, and they said that we need to know special places where taxes somehow don't exist, and bought the same bottle for $10. nice! :) To a house party we went in a guys's car - Lada :)) I have no idea how it's still driving, but it does. even up the 45 degree street! although when we parked and wanted to go, it took 4 tries to actually get out :) I think it was more going back than forward ... thank god there were no cars behind us :)In here also you don't pay for parking, but you pay to the guys to look after your cars so that nothing will happen to it :)
5 days in cali, and the phone is going off like crazy! everybody invites us to different places. And we do different things every day. LIke jazz bar, night club, park, tango club, there is salsa championships that starts tomorrow, day after tomorrow a jazz festival, house parties, so much to do, so many different people to meet, and you talk to them or they treat you like you've been their friend forever!It's also interesting that every backpacker has always the same story. Oh I was working, and then I thought that it's not what life is about, so I decided to go travelling :)
Today Alex found a 1 room to rent beside the hostel. It's in a nice house with a huge roof terrace, and some weird and creepy artist who has tens of paintings of naked women in all poses on the walls, and his portrait among them :S But their having parties every weekend, and Alex loves to cook, so we're sure to visit his place quite often. Our hostel owners said that he can also hang out here whenever he likes.We bargained about the price, and what we got is 300.000 pesos for month/person = $5/day, and private salsa lessons also for $5/hour ! :)
creepy artist, and Alex's room
LADA :)
in jazz bar
our hostel
the students in salsa club
couch hosts
couch hosts
the artist again
the old and the new
our neighbourhood - San Antonio
Camila
san antonio
san antonio
On the way
3..2..1 LETS GO!!!
All the parents, brothers, sisters came to say bye to the airport. There was a lot of chair moving, hugs, kisses, last words of wisdom and some tears.
Everybody tries to make excuses to the officers of various reasons of why we are going to colombia ! "Of course I'm working" / "Well, because it's the closest destination" :)
The flight to Newark was excellent, after we came up, the pilot said that in 12 minutes we're starting our descend. I wish all the flights were like this :) I bought a salad, and in the first minute spilled oil on my pants, which wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have only 2 pairs of pants for the whole year ... grrr !!! came out to the terminal, i went to the washroom to try to wash it, no luck and half of my pants are wet :(. Was kind of embarresed to stand hugging the wall with my leg up, trying to dry them with a hand drier :) While waiting for the flight, Eva decided to read some manuals, so we got the manual of a lock, every time i turned around, Eva is twisting it in all directions while staring at the manual. when it was time to board a plane she said that it would be cool to get some brain teasers to kill time, because a whole hour passed by with her figuring out the lock! .... waaaiittt a miinuuuteeee ...................:))
3 hours later, everybody's in miami except Eva's bag :S hopefully it's gonna make it somehow!found a place to "sleep".
beep, local time is 1:00 pm
beep, local time is 1:15 pm
beep, local time is 1:30 pm
beep, local time is 1:45 pm
still twisting and turning ... why are there so many people in the airport at 2 am???? 2:30 starting to get chili, 3:00 already hungry, 3:30 oh my back !!!important discovery. hair protects well against cold and light. hm ... maybe i should stop shaving :))
The flight to Bogota was amazing ! Good plane, good food, a bunch of movie channels, of course I missed it all, because finally I slept for 3 hours, since the plane was half empty, and I found 3 empty seats to dream on. Looks safe, just a bunch of soldiers with Uzi guns :))
pix to follow
All the parents, brothers, sisters came to say bye to the airport. There was a lot of chair moving, hugs, kisses, last words of wisdom and some tears.
Everybody tries to make excuses to the officers of various reasons of why we are going to colombia ! "Of course I'm working" / "Well, because it's the closest destination" :)
The flight to Newark was excellent, after we came up, the pilot said that in 12 minutes we're starting our descend. I wish all the flights were like this :) I bought a salad, and in the first minute spilled oil on my pants, which wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have only 2 pairs of pants for the whole year ... grrr !!! came out to the terminal, i went to the washroom to try to wash it, no luck and half of my pants are wet :(. Was kind of embarresed to stand hugging the wall with my leg up, trying to dry them with a hand drier :) While waiting for the flight, Eva decided to read some manuals, so we got the manual of a lock, every time i turned around, Eva is twisting it in all directions while staring at the manual. when it was time to board a plane she said that it would be cool to get some brain teasers to kill time, because a whole hour passed by with her figuring out the lock! .... waaaiittt a miinuuuteeee ...................:))
3 hours later, everybody's in miami except Eva's bag :S hopefully it's gonna make it somehow!found a place to "sleep".
beep, local time is 1:00 pm
beep, local time is 1:15 pm
beep, local time is 1:30 pm
beep, local time is 1:45 pm
still twisting and turning ... why are there so many people in the airport at 2 am???? 2:30 starting to get chili, 3:00 already hungry, 3:30 oh my back !!!important discovery. hair protects well against cold and light. hm ... maybe i should stop shaving :))
The flight to Bogota was amazing ! Good plane, good food, a bunch of movie channels, of course I missed it all, because finally I slept for 3 hours, since the plane was half empty, and I found 3 empty seats to dream on. Looks safe, just a bunch of soldiers with Uzi guns :))
pix to follow
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Last minute stuff
A few more days to go!!!
Murphy's law in action:
Of course the iPod is not working, can't find hiking pants, barely found insurance which doesn't require ohip, bermuda bank is giving me hard time with the wire, I got sick, Eva changed all of my packing plans ... EEEVVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! :))) Can't sleep, can't eat, my room is a mess, I'm hungry AND need to take a shower!
Can we go already !?!!!?!
Murphy's law in action:
Of course the iPod is not working, can't find hiking pants, barely found insurance which doesn't require ohip, bermuda bank is giving me hard time with the wire, I got sick, Eva changed all of my packing plans ... EEEVVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! :))) Can't sleep, can't eat, my room is a mess, I'm hungry AND need to take a shower!
Can we go already !?!!!?!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Pre-trip
Getting ready!!! So much to do, so little time! Pack, buy, research, get vaccines or not, where to go, what to do?!?
My head spins round and round :)
My head spins round and round :)
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