Colombia ~ Medellin Makeover

 Medellin is the capitol of fashion and physical enhancement in Colombia. (aka  boob jobs and butt lifts) Girls start visiting the plastic surgeons as early as their 15^th birthday to start the process that continues throughout their lives.

...with practical clothes.

American tourists...

So when we arrived here wearing our practical travel  clothes and comfortable shoes we looked around and realized that we were in a state of serious fashion emergency. It was time to adapt to the culture, go to the mall and shop. Even traveling in the metro confirmed that we were headed in the right direction.

Metro Art

The mall resembled an amusement park with something fun and entertaining for everyone. 

Free Samples

Fun for all ages

Entertainment at the shopping mall

Shoes here are held in a special category of reverence, and the skill to walk in them is awe inspiring except that we are not inspired to ever do that kind of damage to our feet or spine. Slippers are far more comfortable and we are less likely to break our legs if we fall off of them. Thus, our tourist dollars left the shoe sales to the South Americans.

Grrrr Baby..Follow Me Shoes

Thick Training Heels

Skilled Heels with disguised front lift

Shoes with toes to match.

Clunky but colorful shoes for the tourist to buy.

We focused on improving the ‘frump factor’ of our general appearance and spent our money on skin tight jeans and t-shirts. We will never have to buy compression socks when we travel on airplanes but we may need the oxygen mask when too much of our circulation is cut off. 

 After the shopping was completed the final touch was getting our hair cut and styled.  

Artist at work

Finishing touches

Finally our Medellin Makeover was complete!

Makeover complete...sans shoes!

Colombia ~ It can be a Challenge

It can be challenging at times to find a place to stay that 'feels right' when we are traveling but thanks to Claudia (and her wonderful extended family) we landed in the perfect place this time!  

Thank you Claudia!

Lush tropical landscaping surrounds the house and there is water everywhere. Look through any window or walk out any door and there's another beautiful garden or cascading water falls.

  

 
 

Colombia ~ City Life

Bogota

Medellin

 

Reunited after 20 years

We have started our South American journey from the top, in Colombia! I had reconnected with my art school housemate from 20 years ago shortly before this trip and I was looking forward to finally seeing her beautiful country.The troubles of this country are in the past and we were welcomed with the warmth and friendliness that Colombians are known for.

Studying Hard in the Classroom

We passed through Bogota briefly and have been in Medellin ever since. One of our main intentions here was to continue our Spanish studies; we knew that speaking English would only bring blank stares and would force us to speak Spanish. We were right except we still get the blank stares when we speak Spanish, or at least our version of Spanish.   One of our goals was to understand Evelyn, the five year old that lives in the house with us. We soon discovered this idea was over the top optimistic as she talks circles around us. Our skills at pantomime however have improved dramatically and we always manage to get our point across while keeping everyone, including ourselves entertained.

Stories in Spanish

Tire Art

 


 Big cities are always full of visual 'eye candy', fun places to explore and tasty new sweets to eat.

      

   

Medellin is in a valley surrounded by mountains with urban sprawl crawling all the way up to the top. The Metrocable here ascends above the steep terrain to a library that was built to provide more access to education in the poor neighborhoods.   

New Friends

.......and NewFurry Friends

By far the most treasured experiences we have during travel is meeting new people and making new friends.

Costa Rica ~ We Will Return

Our time in Costa Rica has been beyond-words-wonderful.  We spent three weeks swimming in the ocean, hiking through the cloud forests and jungle, and boating up rivers all in an attempt to see the birds and animals. 

Bird watching in Costa Rica is the equivalent of swimming with Maui’s colorful tropical fish. Some people have the gift of spotting a bird perched in a tree while other people, like Patti can find a bird by hearing its song.

Then there are other people, like me who excel at finding the birds at bird feeders.

The Macaws were one of my favorite birds. Not only did they announce their presence with loud squawks but they are entertaining to watch and not at all camera shy.  Perhaps it’s time to join the Audubon Society but we have to learn Spanish first.

One Project at a time… next stop Columbia.