I woke up and Juan’s housekeeper, Roselia was here. She prepared a traditional Colombian breakfast for us of arepas. They are like a thick pancake and there are many varieties of them. The ones we had at breakfast had cheese inside them and we topped them with another kind of soft cheese on top. We had fresh juice from guanabana. They are green on the outside and the meat inside is white, producing a milk-like color.

guanabana juice

We answered emails and lounged until Juan’s father, Juan Guillermo Lalinde and his wife, Martica came over. We had a really special and fun visit with them. Roselia made us a traditional Colombian soup called Ajiaco. It contains 3 kinds of potatoes, chicken and corn. The toppings are avocado, capers, and a kind of cream. We had passion fruit juice as well. We finished lunch up out in the sun on the terrace having coffee and cocados, which are coconut candies.

After lunch we went for a walk and went to a mall. We bought some plane tickets to fly to Armenia tomorrow. Then we strolled some nearby streets and window shopped. We went to an ice-cream chain called Mimos for a mango Popsicle which is served with salt. And we had a mango ice cream frappe too.

We walked from there to the home of Mauricio & Nancy Betancourt and their two girls Ana and Maria (6 and 8 yrs old). We had such a sweet visit. At first I wondered how we’d communicate because I speak so little Spanish and the girls are learning German in school. But before long I noticed we were talking and playing.

The girls wanted me to stay and have a sleep over with them and they were coming up with really creative ways to make it possible. It was really cute. Nancy and Mauricio prepared a beautiful table of traditional afternoon foods for us. We had hot chocolate, a different kind of arepas which were absolutely delicious, and some other types of pastries. Then the girls showed me their artwork.

Mauricio drove us back to Juan’s. The hospitality and welcome I’ve received here from Juan’s family and friends has been really amazing and humbling. Also, all of the people we encounter are very courteous. All of Juan’s family and friends are incredibly warm.

Shortly after we returned from Nancy and Mauricio’s, another friend of Juan’s, Marcela picked us up. We went to an area which is like the Gaslamp District of Bogota. We sat and had a couple of glasses of wine on the patio of a restaurant called Isola. Then we went on to dinner at an Italian place called DiLucca. It was fun conversation about world travels, government, family relationships and life in general.

It was after midnight when we headed home. It’s been a full and wonderful day.

I flew through Houston to Bogota. The plane was full of U.S. business people many of whom are in the petroleum industry. They said Colombia is oil-rich like Venezuela, but unlike Venezuela it has a stable and friendly government. So business is fleeing from Venezuela into Colombia.

Juan and his dad met me just outside baggage claim for a beautiful drive to Juan’s house. The air temp was about 55 degrees and it felt fresh. They took city streets so I could see more of Bogota. The Christmas lights here are amazing.  There was very little traffic which is unusual. Ordinarily there are driving restrictions in Bogota. Cars with  license plates that end in odd numbers can be on the road some days and even on the others. The city is 8,600+ feet above sea level. It’s metropolitan and modern. The people are really nice.

30-40 min from the airport we arrived at Juan’s house. We chatted for a while and then turned in for the night. I’m staying in his guest room/office which was really comfortable. It gets cold here at night.

I arrived in Bogota on Sunday night.

Oahu, HI

Oceanside, CA

It’s hard to believe “September 11th” was seven years ago. I think 9/11 is like the assassination of JFK in that everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news. I was traveling home from Hawaii, fortuitously not on the Boston flight I would have been on should I have taken my usual annual vacation to New Hampshire. After the attacks, no one knew how many more planes might be hijacked. Until every plane that was in the air had landed, it was unknown if more attacks were coming. When we landed our pilot made an announcement over the intercom, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a joke, there seems to have been some sort of terrorist attack against the United States. We will not be allowed to approach the terminal until we pass a security check. That is all we know at this point.” We all sat there wondering what kind of “attack” had occured without any idea of its magnitude. Once inside the airport, all of the TVs were looping the images. As I drove by flags at half-mast today I was reminded of friends who lost loved-ones in the towers – wishing them peace.

My friend, Michelle Saul, used to be a river rafting guide. She shared an interesting metaphore: “When I talk about the River, it is as a metaphor for facing into fear… I  use the story of kayaking on the river and there is a rock in the middle of the river.  In the kayak, if you lean away from the rock (to get away from the obstacle) you end up in more trouble (the currant catches the edge of your kayak and you get flipped upside down, and are underwater pinned against the rock).  It is only by leaning ‘into’ the rock that you end up supported by the river and having more options.  (You don’t get flipped over!).  It is ‘counter-intuitive’, but it is safer to face into fear then to lean or run away from things we are scared of.  A Celtic quote says it this way, ’If you run from a ghost, it will chase you forever.’ “