BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

January 25 – February 1, 2015

We flew from Miami to Bogota on Avianca Air. Upon arrival we were required to pay a Reciprocity Fee of $80 US – Chris was exempt as he has now reached the delightful age of 80. We then proceeded to get a taxi to our hotel (Abadia Colonial) and the taxi driver seemed to get lost but did not admit it. We had established the fare before leaving the airport so there was not an additional charge.

The Hotel is very old (about 200 yrs) and quaint and is an old hacienda. It was located within walking district of the old town. The only negative was that the owner was confused with the rooms and we had to move the next day but we did get a larger room but in a noisier area. We did appreciate the larger room as some of the rooms were quite small and each room was different

The city is at a high altitude - 2,640 m (8,660 ft) . Chris had less problem than Irene. It is a beautiful city and the city centre and plaza were impressive. 

Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion.  This has been built a number of times and the first was in 1537

We spent many days wandering the area and looking at the colorful houses. 

IGLESIA CANDELARIA

We went to the touristy places like the Gold Museum, the Botero Art Gallery and took the funicular to Monserratt. We also took a taxi to the Botanical Gardens and really had a tour of the city.

GOLD MUSEUM

  MUSEO DE ORO

 

Jaguar head

BOTERO MUSEUM

  MUSEO BOTERO

CERRO MONSERRATT

Bogota at our feet

A centre of worship since 1657.  We are at 3152m (10431ft)

Taking the funicular down

BOTANICAL GARDENS

We also joined a local tour group who were looking at the numerous graffiti installations around the Candelaria area. The graffiti is done by artists and is approved by the owners of the property. They are quite spectacular! 

We did spend a full 1 week and enjoyed the local restaurants. Across the street from us was a very good vegetarian restaurant and a block away was a small colorful little place that was filled with character which we visited a few times.

They serve large meals - including  soup and desert

We had a great visit and very glad we visited Bogota.

We now travel on to Santiago, Chile by plane.

DRIVE  to Alabama and Key West, Florida

October 22, 2014 to January 24. 2015

Our trip to the south took us to a number of interesting stops in the US. We were fortunate to have good weather for the couple of weeks it took us to get to Gulf Shores, Alabama where we were to stay for 2 1/2 months before embarking on our next adventure. We definitely went to Cudjoe Key to visit with my daughter and her husband before on to Miami to store our car while we are away to South America.

Our Condo from the beach  -  Gulf Shores and Racquet Club

Since it was hunting season when we left we had this sign in hotels.

We drove through some old towns that still kept their historical buildings which was a treat to see after all the strip malls and kilometer long main streets with little or no sidewalks.

Auburn, Nebraska

We went our of our way to go to Bentonville, Arkansas where we wanted to see the world class Crystal Bridges Art Gallery. The Gallery was designed by Moshe Safdie who also designed the Habitat in Montreal for the 1967 Expo. It is sponsored and fully paid for by Waltons (Walmart family) The Gallery features only 20^th Century art. We spent a few hours in the gallery and found it an excellent – well worth the stop.

Rosie the Riveter  by Norman Rockwell

On to Hot Springs, Arkansas where the Al Capone gang and baseball players spent their time. Most of the elegant bath houses are still standing and we toured the rooms and saw the old equipment that was used and the baths. It was most interesting and the buildings were well preserved.

The exercise room

Locals fill their containers with spring water

We passed through Meridian, Mississippi where we lucked in to see the old steam engines and printing press demonstrations. This happens once a year when they start the huge engines and open it to the public.

We finally reach our destination for the next 2 1/2 months at Gulf Shores, Alabama. The white sand beach that goes for miles and the condos and houses on stilts were our first impressions. We had a lovely condo with a great view of the ocean. We did have to drive about 5 miles to the grocery stores – so you do need a car to vacation there.

The view to the lagoon behind the apartment

A Skate

Jellies on the beach

Monarch Butterfly

The black shells are Mermaid Purses that contained 6 fertilized skate eggs and the other is a catfish skeleton and resembles "Christ on the Cross".

Many biking and walking trails at the State Park

Barred Owl

Oil rigs seen on our excursion to Dauphin Island

Murals at Lake Placid, Florida

Florida City/Homestead, Florida

Our visit to the local museum

We spent 3 days visiting with our daughter Linda and Richard on Cudjoe Key (near Key West) and it sure was nice to see them looking great. Linda is a good cook and a great organizer. Richard became interested in painting with Chris' influence.

Richard and Linda

After visiting and travelling we went to Miami, put our car in storage and took a flight to Bogota, Colombia.

Miami airport as seen from the plane