Bye Bye Blog!

Well, I obviously haven’t been updating this thing! I’m sorry to any interested readers, but amidst all our adventuring, homeschooling, traveling, family life, etc., it’s become more of a burden to write here rather than a source of enjoyment. I still plan on documenting our journey in a less formal way (and the kids will be starting their own trip journals), but for the foreseeable future, I will not be posting on this blog. 

However, if you are still interested in following along with our trip, please check out @aubreekeys on Instagram. It’s a private account to protect the kids, but if I don’t think you’re a total stranger/weirdo (or current student of mine—sorry!), I will probably accept your request to follow me. I am pretty good about keeping that up to date with lots of pictures, and I will probably be more descriptive in my captions moving forward.

Thanks for reading along in January, and we will continue to explore the world until July!

Jardín Happiness

We were so relieved to get to the peaceful and beautiful town of Jardín after our sleep-deprived nights in Medellín. We took a bus there on Friday, January 16, and it was only supposed to take about three hours. Well, we’ve learned that in Colombia, you automatically add on some time to that estimate for one reason or another! Sure enough, it was over four hours before we got there, as a previous landslide caused us to be at a standstill for over an hour because of construction. Thankfully, the bus was air-conditioned, comfortable, and even had Wi-Fi for awhile! Plus, the views on the drive were lovely…so much green, mountains, a river, cows grazing, etc.

Our rental was just outside of town, and the owner was nice enough to come pick us up once we realized that there were no Ubers (just tuk-tuks!). Between his car and one tuk-tuk, we got there and enjoyed a peaceful sleep. 

The next day, the kids and I explored some waterfalls down the street, including Cascada del Amor and Cascada del Deseo. Jonas liked climbing them, while Johanna liked taking pictures of the stray cats that wandered around. We walked down by the river, where some locals were swimming, but the water was pretty cold. 

We also went inside a bat cave, which required paying a few dollars to a little old guy, who then led us through the cave, explaining things in Spanish and pointing out things with his flashlight. There were tons of bats and even another waterfall behind the cave! We made a pasta dinner that night and enjoyed watching the Broncos win. Yes, we were able to watch the game on the TV at our place (with Spanish commentary).

On Sunday, we walked into town to go to church. It was very crowded, and we had to split up into pairs and squeeze into the pews. Some differences we’ve noticed between Catholic churches here versus at home: pigeons or other birds fly around in the rafters—it’s normal and nobody blinks an eye, there is no orderly line for communion—everybody just goes up at will, the Stations of the Cross are incredibly ornate—often large and 3D and colored, and music is usually provided on an electronic keyboard—there is no fancy organ or even piano even though the churches are elaborate and gorgeous.

After church, we walked to the edge of town to ride La Garrucha, a cable car originally used to connect the town center to agricultural areas. It works on a pulley system, and it seems a little sketchy, but it’s totally safe. We enjoyed drinks, little empanadas, and views from the top. Then we walked down the winding road back to our place, seeing horses and cats, bananas and waterfalls, and more epic views on the way.

That evening, Johanna and I explored the main plaza, taking in the nightlife and trying out a few treats, including buñuelos and an oblea, which is a dessert with arequipe (basically caramel) sandwiched between two large circular wafers. We also chose to have raspberry jam, cheese, and cream on ours, as that’s what the lady selling them recommended!

On Monday, after school, we set out on some afternoon adventures. Zack and Johanna took one path up toward Mirador Cristo Rey, a viewpoint on the other side of town from where we were the day before. Jonas and I followed a nearby road, which eventually led to Cascada Escalera, an enormous waterfall that we had all to ourselves! On the way, we saw a bird that I had heard about. If you know Jonas, ask him the name of it, as he finds it quite amusing. We also stopped at a truchera, a trout farm, because we had heard it was one where you could fish for the trout yourself and then they would then cook it up for you to eat. Alas, they didn’t allow fishing, but we could view the tanks full of trout (and the nearby vultures), and we shared a trout dinner plate, which was pretty yummy!

Zack and Johanna had drinks at the café at the top and then headed back down. An agouti (the same gopher-like creature that I saw in Tayrona) crossed in front of them on their walk! Jonas and I took a looped path to come down past Cristo Rey ourselves, though we were an hour behind them. After a mango juice break, we hurried down the path toward town before it got too dark and late. We ended up taking a tuk tuk back to our place once we reached town, since we were tired of walking!

The next day, it was time to catch our bus back to Medellín. Two tuk tuks got us and our luggage into town successfully, and we bought some snacks at a nearby store before boarding the bus. This time, our delay was caused by a downed tree branch that got tangled in electrical wires, but I think it only held us up for 30-45 minutes. 

Jardín was a lovely place to explore for a few days. It reminded me of an undiscovered Costa Rica, with the various waterfalls and tropical mountainsides. Jardín actually is the Spanish word for garden, so the greenery everywhere makes sense! 

Medellín Madness

After flying from Santa Marta on January 13, we spent a few days in the city of Medellín, specifically in the El Poblado part of town. While our apartment had hot-water showers (hooray!) and a jacuzzi in the living room (random, but fun!), it was unfortunately located next to several loud bars which played music at a ridiculous volume until 3am each night. Sleep was hard to come by!

We were able to walk to a variety of nearby restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. One fun restaurant was a ramen place with manga character statues and paintings. We discovered a love of buñuelos, which are round fried dough fritters, sometimes with a filling (we had cheese ones). We noticed that there are often street performers who do their act at crosswalks during red lights…tightrope walkers, jugglers, breakdancers, magicians, etc. I’m not sure how much money they make, but it’s entertaining to watch! 

One night, we went to a Colombian restaurant called Mondongo’s and tried some traditional dishes. I had the bandeja paisa, which translates to “platter of the people.” You can find some variation of this dish at almost every restaurant in this area of Colombia. It usually includes beans, rice, an arepa, ground beef, chorizo (sausage), fried ripe plantain, a fried egg, avocado, and chicharrón (fried pork rind). It was very good and very filling, which is the point of this dish, as it is a traditional meal that originated for farmers in the region, providing them enough energy to continue working for the rest of the day.

We also celebrated Johanna’s ninth Adoption Day on January 15 with some pizza from Pizza Hut (yes, they have that here!) and continued with our school sessions. Our big outing was the tour of Comuna 13, described in the previous post. After three nights in Medellín, it was time to head to Jardín!

P.S. Picture loading is being fussy, so I will add those later!

Comuna 13

For our social studies “lesson” the other day, we visited Comuna 13, a neighborhood in Medellín with a very recently violent history. Now it’s a vibrant community that’s incredibly alive with color, music, dancing, and food. We met up with a tour guide who had grown up in the neighborhood; his stories were incredible to hear. He also knew and greeted everyone personally as we walked through the streets, taking us to his aunt’s empanada stand for a snack, his friend’s café for a coffee and hot chocolate testing session, and a popsicle place at the top of the neighborhood to enjoy a treat with the amazing views. He pointed out his childhood home, territory lines, and locations of previous violence.

In correlation with our language arts writing, I had the kids look for murals that represented the community’s past, present, and future. When we got back to the apartment, they had to write a paragraph about each of their chosen murals, answering specific questions about the details and the artist’s message. I’ve included their assignments below…

Jonas: One mural I saw was a stone faced man with a red background that was holding a double barrel shotgun 12 gauge. That mural was to symbolize the past and how they had a violent past and how everyone was scared. Also it shows that it was a scary and dangerous time. The artist’s main message is that back then was a dangerous time.

Another one was a breakdancer doing moves that symbolizes now. The mural was yellow and blue with a guy doing an uno arm handstand. It symbolizes how people have moved away from the violence and now express feelings in art forms. It makes me feel happy because it is a cool move. Furthermore, today's culture lets artists tell stories in paint, moves, and food.  

A mural that made me think of the future was a beating heart. It was a light red and blue showing it was healthy and working. It symbolizes that it will beat now and in the future. I believe the artist was trying to show that the future has hope and will be strong. Also, the artist is showing that the community started the beating heart, and it will still be beating in the future.

Johanna: Past: On the wall, there is a monkey that looks sad. It has human and monkey characteristics, and it was painted with yellow, red, pink, blue, green, black, grey, brown, gold, white, and purple. The artist was trying to represent human evolution and that we are like animals and that we shouldn’t harm animals. The monkey has his arm resting on his head, his fingers a mix of monkey fingers and human fingers. On the left side, it had a more of a pointed ear sticking up from the side of the head, whereas the right side has a rounder more human-like ear.

Present: On the wall there are 4 family members that are smiling and looking happy. It was an everyday life mural with the mother, father, and two boys, one older and one younger. It was painted with green, blue, red, orange, brown, and black. The artist was trying to represent how family is an important part of life and that family can bring you so much joy and happiness. They are all sitting down and it looks like they are posing for a picture. The mural makes me appreciate my family and makes me realize how important they are. Colombia has vibrant streets and embraces their culture through their music and dance.

Future: In this mural, there is a giraffe with mushrooms coming out of its head with blue leaves drifting in the wind. There is a purple sky and more mushrooms next to it. It was painted with blue, pink, green, black, red, brown, orange, purple, and gold. The artist is trying to warn us that if we keep killing animals to the point of extinction, it would disturb animal and plant life, and change the food chain. The artist wants people to be more careful and to think about how killing animals until they’re gone would change everything.

Things to Remember

In no particular order, here are some random things we want to remember about the trip so far…

1. Zack asked for “la checka” at a restaurant the other night. The correct term for the bill is “la cuenta,” and we all had a good laugh at his Spanglish.

2. The kids are always on their Kindles. Jonas has been reading Pearls Before Swine comic strip books and sharing his favorite ones with us at all hours of the day.

3. We taught Jonas how to play euchre, and the kids always partner up and have made it their goal to beat the parents. It hasn’t happened yet!

4. If you know Zack, ask him about a certain bathroom and bread incident. I will not give further details here, but it’s worth hearing the story!

5. We’ve lost a hat and a pair of reading glasses so far. We wish we would have packed a nightlight, a stain remover pen, less flimsy playing cards, a portable power bank, Keens for Jonas, and shampoo for the kids. Obviously we can buy (and have bought) some of these things along the way. We’re happy we brought filtered water bottles, laundry detergent sheets, a portable clothesline, bug spray, and raincoats.

6. Various animal encounters have been memorable: the snake eel we saw while snorkeling, the monkey banging a coconut against a tree in Tayrona, the dog that chased another monkey around our hotel, the lines of leaf-cutter ants everywhere, etc.

7. On our very first night of the trip, after flying all day, Zack tiredly and quickly grabbed his money pouch and gave our Colombian Uber driver a tip…but he realized later he had given him Chinese yuan!

Tayrona National Park

Wow! Tayrona National Park was absolutely beautiful. We hiked several miles through the jungle, listening to incredibly loud howler monkeys in the canopy above us and watching several capuchin monkeys play around us. Then we hit the beach, swimming at the picture-perfect La Piscina, which we had nearly to ourselves. Eventually we hiked on to the famous Cabo San Juan, where we admired the views and had some drinks. It was pretty crowded here, so we didn’t swim. Zack and the kids hiked back from Cabo San Juan, while I went on to explore some further beaches.

Before the day was over, other animal sightings included an alligator in the lagoon, a blue morpho (huge butterfly) fluttering around, an agouti (kind of like a capybara) crossing the trail, a frog, and numerous lines of leaf-cutter ants. We were all sweaty messes by the time we got back, and our watches told us we hit nearly 30,000 steps…it was worth every one of them!

The Trek to Tayrona

We had an exciting speedboat ride from Isla Grande back to Cartagena on Saturday afternoon; it was extremely fast and felt like a roller coaster ride! Zack even lost his hat to the sea as it blew off as soon as the driver accelerated. We eventually found our SUV driver at the pier and began a very long ride to our next place, a lovely location across the street from Tayrona National Park. 

SUVs are smaller in Colombia, and though our suitcases fit in the trunk, the kids and I were stuffed in the backseat with our backpacks for the six hour drive. Watching Colombia out the window made the time pass fairly quickly, as there was plenty to see. We went through bigger towns like Baranquilla, where the whole city seemed to be out for the evening enjoying the Christmas decorations, food, and music. But there were several smaller towns too, where everyone seemed to be sitting outside just hanging out on plastic chairs. There were always places with food or blasting music. There were some traffic jams, and we even got stopped at one point because of a protest, which in this case was just several people standing in a line across the street. Our driver paid a local guy to show us the way through the side streets to get around it all in a few minutes. Driving in this part of Colombia is similar to what we experienced in some of our Southeast Asian travels…lanes are optional, passing is always occurring, motorcycles are everywhere, and you hope for the best and feel lucky you don’t die on every trip! We finally arrived in Tayrona at around 10pm and went straight to bed.

The next day, we enjoyed relaxing at our place, Arca Tayrona Restaurante & Hostal. From our balcony, we saw toucans in the morning! The mountain and jungle view was lovely. Later in the afternoon, Jonas spotted a monkey climbing on the balconies, and we enjoyed watching its antics for awhile. We cooled off in the pool and explored the river behind our place. It was a slow-paced day after our busy travel day on Saturday!