speechless #machupicchu #perú @pepacafe
Taken at Machu Picchu
time to relax
Taken at Laguna de la Huacachina
my altitude record at 5200 meters above sea level
Taken at huaraz
San Agustin and the end of a month in Colombia...
After a whole week in Bogota, our next stop was a little town in the area of Huila called San Agustin. We came to know about this town a few weeks back when we went to the treck to mount Roraima and met a girl from Belgium who was going there and told us about it. We decided that we could spend a few days in San Agustin working a little bit in exchange for accommodation.
Abner had gone to Cali and I stayed in Bogota for the weekend, so, each one of us made our way to San Agustin to meet up again a Tuesday morning in the central plaza of the town. We went looking for the particular 'finca' where we knew we could spend the next couple of days working but when we found the place, we had a hard time trying to get to speak to anybody there. There was a lady cutting down a tree and we asked her about the place, after engaging in conversation, we found out she also had a 'finca' and she agreed on letting us work in exchange for a room.
Those days in San Agustin were a combination between hard work and pure relaxation. The mornings were our time to work the land, help with the construction of a wall, anything we could help with. The afternoons were for us to walk around the town, enjoy the view while reading a book, playing cards, talking to other travelers who were also working and staying there.
This has been a great closing place for our month in Colombia. There's still so much to see and do in this country, places that we know we have to come back at some point and people I'd love to see again in the future.
Meeting with EMI publishing in Bogotá
Yesterday we went to talk to the people of EMI Music Publishing in Bogotá. Contrary to what we expected would be a regular 'we don't have time, make an appointment, come back another day' kind of attitude, we were received gracefully by a couple of people from the team. One of them took us to a little meeting room and we had a fantastic chat about our music, our being there, their work, how they go about publishing new artists and how great it was to see independent artists without the need of a label in between.
I'm glad one of the main purposes of being in Colombia has been accomplished. Of course we don't know what will happen, but we are very happy that the little time we spent there was productive, enjoyable and very positive; that counts for something!
A Week of Paisa
The second largest city of Colombia, with a heavy and well known history, great recent change and beautiful weather all year round (after all, it is called the city of the eternal spring). Being back in Medellin 10 years after my last visit, I find a place full of culture and hope. It is true that many years of crime, violence, drugs and mafia do not simply vanish. It is true that there are parts of the city where you really shouldn't go, but isn't that something you get in every city?
The week in Medellin has been fantastic. Great company, cool walks and places to see! From learning a bit more about Einstein's personal life at the Explora park, to hanging out at Lleras to drink some beer, to drinking some delicious Mezcal and having a domestic rumba!
The city is far from perfect, I have heard some sad stories from a couple of people, but, truth be told, I heard a lot more great stories from the people I've met while traveling! In my experience, I loved it!
- Posted from 0°0'N, 0°0'E
Club Colombia
In general, it was a part of the trip full of paradoxical views; it is here, in the coast, that I have seen some of the most beautiful places as well as some of the dirtiest, most disorganised places. "The coast has always been the forgotten area of the country" a friend we met in Valledupar told us; truth is, it shows! However, it is an area worth visiting, its people are as warm as its weather, its music as lively as their people. The places we have seen, like the Old City in Cartagena, Cabo San Juan in the Tayrona park, the vallenato mermaid of the Guatapurí river... told me stories of beauty, of love, of war and peace...
Many memories to cherish, like the random moment we found a six-pack of red Club Colombia, which instantly kind of became my beer of choice while in the country...
- Posted from 0°0'N, 0°0'E
