COLOMBIA: THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

 March 14-23, 2023

After many of our trips, starting with some of the trips we took with our kids, we have made a list of all of our favorite experiences and things we want to remember. We decided to do that for this trip. So, in no particular order other than this is the order we came up with them, here are our favorite experiences, places, people, and things from our trip to Colombia.

- Fruit EVERYWHERE! Mangosteen was our favorite, but we also enjoyed granadilla, dragonfruit, lulo, and guanábana.

- Fruit juice of all kinds, but especially the kind mixed with milk (probably sweetened condensed milk).

- And speaking of juice, the raspberry grape juice with dinner in Bogotá was Judy's favorite.

- Cartagena--everything about it. It was our favorite city, and Carolina was our favorite guide.

- Listening to Jakob's thought-provoking history lesson while we sat on the steps near the top rim of Comuna 13 and looked down on Medellín, a place we could never have imagined we would want or even dare to visit just 20 years ago because of the extreme crime rate.

- The Umbrella Alleys we saw in Cartegena and Bogotá that looked a lot like the one in the town where we live. Who knew this is a thing all over the world?

- Savannah convincing us to buy and eat the Big Booty Ants in Medellín.

- Bob's chimchurri sauces with his clothesline of meat in Medellín.

- The $2 cup of ceviche at the street stall in Cartagena (and the fact that while Bob and I got mixed fish, Savannah chose straight octopus).

- Shopping at the street market in Bogotá, and our guide encouraging us to bypass the first stalls and shop at those of the indigenous people.

- The vendor in Bogotá who somehow knew Savannah was musical and twisted a piece of wire into a treble clef, which he clipped onto her ear.

- When our Bogotá guide gave our leftover lunch to the parking attendant.

- Purchasing Sav's mochila purse in Cartagena, which she immediately began using and which started Judy's quest to find one for herself. 

- The street art in Bogotá and Medellín.

- The Andean Motmot with it's unique tail at Tinamú Reserve.

- The Oropendola at Tatamá Lodge.

For Bob, all kinds of new (to him) birds.

- Lobster claw heliconias and beehive ginger plants at both bird reserves (and the fact that Sav knew their names even before she came on the trip).

- For Judy, the crazy variety of flowers and fungi.

- For Savannah, the variety of creepy-crawling things.

-  The best of all the bug experiences was when Sav put the huge moth on her nose at Tatamá.

- Bananas, bananas, and more bananas.

- The black-belly jay named Pajito in Tatamá, Montezuma, the owner's pet.

- Our first hotel in Cartagena where Sav got the entire upstairs, and then our hotel in Tatamá where she got her own unit. (Being apart was not Bob and Judy's favorite thing, but we are sure Savannah loved having her own space!)

- The many varieties of arepas. Judy and Bob's favorite was the Cartegena version stuffed with cheese, and Savannah loved them all.

- All the food at Tatamá. Sav especially liked the bean soup.

- Sav and the salsa de aji, tabasco, and other "not hot enough" sauces. The girl has a cast iron stomach.

- The miracle of recovering the record Sav bought for a friend after it got left behind at Tinamú. 

- Dinner with Bob's brother David in Bogotá--another miracle and a very enjoyable evening.

- Fernando's gratitude for the big tip Bob gave him for making an extra effort as our guide in Tinamú and Fernando treating us to breakfast the next morning.

- The cat basking in the sunlight in a shop window in Pueblo Rico.

- Outdoor escalators in Medellín.

- The Botero Museum in Cartagena, where Judy especially liked Botero's Mona Lisa painting, and Botero Plaza in Medellin, where Savannah liked Botero's Gato/Cat and Bob liked Botero's Man on a Horse.

- The palanquera ladies in Cartagena with their colorful dresses and energetic extroversion. 

- The bazillion motorcycles everywhere and gratitude that we didn't have to drive because the drivers are CRAZY.

- Mani-pedis before the trip (Judy and Sav).

- The first street dancers we watched in Medellín.

- The earrings Sav bought in Medellín and how they matched the strap on her Colombian mochila bag.

- All the hummingbirds in both nature and art.

- The moth cloth in Tatamá.

- Being driven in a 4 x 4 up the mountain at Tatamá by a fantastic driver named Jon and having breakfast at the top.

- Techy Sav who was so helpful after Judy's phone got stolen and who could answer all our other tech questions.

- MOST OF ALL: Getting to travel with our 16-year-old granddaughter, who put up with all our weird travel habits and plenty of things she would not have chosen to do, but who was a good sport about everything. What light, fun, and energy she added to this adventure!