Colombia-The Land Of Make Believe Fruits

Posted on May 16, 2014 by jaynezak

Colombia –The Land Of Make Believe Fruits

“Nothing comes as an accomplishment instantly. Success does not come overnight. Patience is the key! Grow up and be the tree; but remember it takes dry and wet seasons to become a fruit bearer, achiever and impact maker!” Israelmore Ayivor

It seems like there are more fruits in Colombia than days of the year. I have never heard of most of these fruits. All of them are delicious. Here are a just a few.

Guanabana (my new favorite fruit) It is a large green fruit covered with soft thorns. The inside is a white fleshy substance with black/brown seeds. The flavor has been described as a combination of strawberry, sour pineapple and banana. The Guanabana tree is a natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than chemo. (the white juice is guanabana)

Lulo (I love this juice) It looks like a small orange tomato. It has a citrus taste. It is usually served as a juice because the fruit has too strong a flavor to eat.

Tree Tomato (Tomate De Arbol) It looks like a tomato but tastes like tomato and kiwi or passionfruit. The skin is bitter so it is usually made into juice or served with cinnamon.

Uchuva It is a tangy creamy berry. It is sweet when ripe but can also be very sour. I brought back some uchuva jam.

Carambola – Star Fruit It tastes like a grape with citrus and apple.

Guama This is the strangest. fruit I have every eaten. It is a pod, like carob or tamarind filled with a sweet cotton like flesh. The seeds are a lot like slippery watermelon seeds but bigger. When you squeeze them between your fingers they shoot out. The Colombian saying “como pepa de guama” (like a guama seed), is used when someone or something leaves very quickly

Maracuya -Colombia has a few different varieties of passionfruit. This is the most common variety. It You cut it in half and scoop out the sweet insides which are full of small seeds.

Granadilla is yellow with a stem.This is a round, orange passionfruit with crunchy blue seeds. It’s much sweeter and milder so it is better to eat it alone and not as juice.

Nispero This fruit is oval or pear-shaped. The nispero is ripest and sweetest when orange, though some prefer it crisper and tart in the light brown stage. It’s got an apple – chocolate – strawberry flavor

Pitayas (Dragon Fruit) You may know those bright pink dragon fruits so popular in Asia. These are a little different. They have the same spiky exterior except they are yellow instead of pink. Inside is also similar: white with tiny black seeds, but the taste is not as sweet

Also there are sweet creamy avocados the size of your head and bananas in all sizes and levels of sweetness.

If you aren’t eating something deep-fried in Colombia, you are having something delicious with strange fruit. Yet when all the fruit is strange, the strange becomes the familiar.

Gracias Alex Rodriguez for the impromptu fruit lesson.

Viaje Con Cuidado,

JAZ

How To Tell If Someone You Know Was Born And Raised In New York

Posted on May 12, 2014 by jaynezak

How To Tell If Someone You Know Was Born And Raised In New York

“The city is uncomfortable and inconvenient; but New Yorkers temperamentally do not crave comfort and convenience – if they did they would live elsewhere.” E.B. White

New Yorkers don’t wait for a street light to turn green to cross the street.

They don’t go to the corner to cross.

They don’t know what a cross walk is.

They walk fast and they walk everywhere. Unless it is raining, then try to get a taxi. You won’t.

New Yorkers talk fast. They might interject a comment if they overhear a stranger’s conversation and then walk on by.

They talk loud – sorry, they speak loudly. Don’t judge them. Remember that they grew up in the noisiest city in the world.

They don’t necessarily believe that one person needs to talk at a time. It is a cultural thing.

They honk their horns in traffic.

New Yorkers avoid eye contact when walking down the street.

They don’t smile on the street.

They appear rude but really they are assertive. Some are rude.

They immediately check for their wallet when someone bumps into them.

People from New York follow baseball and basketball.

They never give directions saying North, East, West and South. It is always street names or Uptown and Downtown.

They hail passing taxis with their hand instead of calling for one.

They think every city has cruising taxis and are very surprised when they don’t.

They never give an exact address in a taxi. They just say eighteenth and first.

New Yorkers ignore crazy behavior. Homeless people, prostitutes, transvestites, cross dressers, lunatics and street performers are all part of the scenery.

They are surprised when restaurants close at ten.

Unless they are in Italy or New York, they complain about the pizza. They eat it while they are complaining.

They also complain about the Chinese Food and the bagels anywhere but New York. They eat it anyway .

People from New York avoid restrooms in parks and subways.

They don’t go to Central Park at night unless it is for a concert or performance in the park. They always leave with the crowd.

They know the difference between a bad neighborhood and a neighborhood that just looks bad.

They are surprised that you didn’t know that the Empire State Building changes colors at night.

They are surprised that you didn’t know who won the Tony Awards.

New Yorkers avoid Times Square unless they are going to the theatre.

They use the letter R inappropriately or not at all.

They read the obituary column to find apartments.

They are not afraid of cockroaches. (They are afraid that the ones who live in their apartments know too much about their lives).

They always look for rats on a subway platform. They are afraid of rats.

They have a New York accent. Like New York garbage, it is always there. No matter how long you have been away or how much you try to disguise it, it always slips out so fuhgeddaboutit.

They are very proud to be from New York or “the city.”

Fly safe,

JAZ

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them – Graffiti Art In Bogota Colombia

Posted on May 8, 2014 by jaynezak

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them – Graffiti Art In Bogota, Colombia

“Graffiti is not about clean lines, pretty colors and beautiful blends. Graffiti is my life’s turbulence exploded on a wall.” Mint Serf

Graffiti started in Bogotá in the seventies with different futbol fans proclaiming their loyalty. It was a time of drug cartels, poverty and a repressed military society.The graffiti was a way of protesting and not so much about art. In the nineties it became more artistic. As in other countries, it was started by art students near the Universities.

In Bogotá like everywhere else, graffiti and graffiti art was a crime. In 2011 Diego Felipe Becerra was spray-painting his signature Felix the Cat image on the walls of an underpass when he was killed by police.

Public outrage and protests led to the city’s change in attitude toward street art as well as the arrest of the officers. Certain walls became legal for graffiti.

The city began hiring street artists for public murals.

Many walls were designated for artistic expression and beautiful murals were painted – usually with political or social messages.

Looking over the photos there is definitely much more of this in Bogotá then in other countries I have been to.

The street art scene in Bogotá is not so much a street gallery as it is art in the streets. There are many less paid for walls and much more self-expression than in some other cities.

The paint is expensive so they use cheaper paint that is not long-lasting. . The art is constantly changing. There are wall wars with people painting over each other’s pieces.

DJ Lu was one of the earlier street artists and his stencils all had serious political messages. He uses common branding as a way of getting his message across quickly. (pineapple grenades, mosquitos ,guns )

Rodez paints with his sons (both college graduates) and sometimes gets help from other street artists. They often teach in Buenos Aires.

Animal Poder Crew is a street art collective started by Stinkfish and has grown to include graffiti artists and writers from all over the world.

Toxicomono started as a punk rock band and grew into a street art group.

The increase in street art also produces an increase in tagging or vandalism. It’s hard to tell street artists where they can and cannot paint. It doesn’t go with the nature of street art. It s harder to tell people who are angry or just have something to say that they can’t write their messages on walls either.

Then there was Justin Bieber. After a concert in Bogotá, he went with a police escort to write on city walls that were off-limits for graffiti. Overnight, hundreds of new artworks appeared on the underpass. When approached by police the artists said, “Why don’t you protect us like you did Justin Bieber?”

Thanks Luiz Lamprea for your knowledge and love of street art.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Day Trip from Bogota, Colombia

Posted on May 3, 2014 by jaynezak

Day Trip From Bogotá, Colombia

“I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.” Woody Allen

We turn on to a deserted road (and I use the word road very loosely). There has been nothing but nature around for a while. I am in Colombia with a tour guide and driver that I have met this morning. I decide to just put it out there. “Are you going to kill me?” Apparently not. We are really going hiking.

I am headed to Encenillo Biological Reserve (http://www.natura.org.co/general/reserva-biologica-del-encenillo.html) in Trinidad in the province of Guasca about an hour out of Bogotá. It was established in 2007 with the purpose of conserving forests and preserving some of the unique species of birds and plants of Colombia.

This is the last remnants of primary forest of the Eastern Andean Cordillera. It had trees and plants like certain species of orchids and cedars not found anywhere else.

This may be the last refuge of populations of species of birds and mammals such as gouache and armadillo in the area.

It was also an area for limestone and you can see many quarries on route. (regenerated quarry)

There are many different trails. Our excellent guide Martha from the Encenillo Reserve speaks no English and I had to really focus to understand. Luiz translated when necessary. My Spanish improved a lot by the end of the hike.

We started at the Encenillo forests past the regenerated limestone quarry and then took the orchid path. It was not easy for me.

I am not a hiker. I was ready to give up before we reached the top with its beautiful view of the surrounding valleys. I happened to have been on a flat part two hours later when I heard we still had twenty-five minutes to go. It is just not heroic to give up on the flat part so I kept going.

But it is not about the hike. It’s about seeing the incredible beauty in a place you have never been before. It’s about your attitude on the steep part where you cant get your footing or you are pushing branches away from your face. It’s about continuing on when you don’t think you can. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other and making it to the top. ( some people got their first)

It is also about getting to the bottom which is always harder for me.

Thanks to tour guide Luiz Lamprea for his kindness and patience; Martha Ligio Gutierrez Avellaneda for her passion and knowledge of the reserve; and Gonzalo Pulido for being such a good driver.

Viaje Con Cuidado

JAZ

La Cometa And Andres Carne De Res – Art, Food, Drink And Dancing in Bogota, Colombia

Posted on April 28, 2014 by jaynezak

La Cometa and Andre Carne De Res, Bogotá, Colombia – Art, Food, Drink and Dancing

When you are everywhere, you are nowhere / When you are somewhere, you are everywhere.” Rumi

Sometimes a space is greater than the sum of its parts. And other times the parts are just as great. This was my experience with two must see places in Bogotá Colombia.

I went to La Cometa in Bogotá (http://www.galerialacometa.com) almost as soon as I got off the plane.

Instead of being kidnapped or forced to do cocaine, I found myself in this amazing contemporary art gallery.

This was not the Bogotá that the years of bad press had portrayed. I was immediately at home in this country.

La Cometa is beautiful, peaceful and unexpected. (photo Lina Leal)

The space itself relaxes all your senses to focus on the art. It is well designed to wander, explore and draw your own conclusions.

The contemporary art always tells me about who a country is now.

La Cometa had Colombian and Latin American artists when I was there .

It is an important gallery in the Colombian art scene. The pieces are, happy, discordant, silly, fun, interesting, challenging or undefinable. (Lina Leal)

Art is always a personal spiritual journey for me.

I actually didn’t go to Andres Carne De Res because I didn’t go to Chia the suburb it is in. I went to Andres D.C. in Bogotá the “smaller and calmer outpost.”(http://www.andrescarnederes.com/es/andres_dc)

From the moment you walk in, it is an all night fiesta or rumba as they call it in Colombia. There are four floors from Hell to Heaven or perhaps you sit in Purgatorio waiting to find out.

The restaurant was founded by artist Andre Jaramillo and the attention to the art and art details is crazy. I’m sure you can go there a 100 times and always see things you have never seen before.

They also serve food. The menu is a novel/ art coffee table book.

Obviously there is a lot of carne (meat) as well as amazing traditional Colombian dishes and everything else you can think of. Sixty four pages is a lot of menu. (Colombian appetizers)

The aguardiente is flowing. If you order wine, it is served in hand painted wine bottles that you are encouraged to take home.

The music is everything from Colombian salsa, my favorite Cuban songs to American. Everyone is dancing or wants to.

There are Cirque de Soleil like characters walking around who’s job it is to embarrass you, get you up on the dance floor and make sure you laugh at yourself.

There is even shopping. Yes, I bought a few things.

Andres Carne D.C is the party energy of Bogotá at its best.

Both spaces are creating a mood where anything can happen. What they have in common is they both use their space to design the sensory experience whether crazy or peaceful and they are both amazing and should not be missed.

Viaje Con Cuidado

JAZ

The Most Touristy Things That I Have Done

Posted on April 23, 2014 by jaynezak

The Most Touristy Things That I Have Done.

“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.” ~George Bernard Shaw

It is an amazing thing to see local customs, festivals, traditions and entertainment in a foreign country. But many times, we are not in the correct location, season or time period to experience them. Here are some of the really touristy things I’ve done. I’m not proud of them .

1.Vienna – Mozart Concert. Don’t buy tickets to any musical performance sold by people in period costumes unless you are at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It is probably a good rule of thumb to not buy anything from someone in a period or ethnic costume ever – unless you are hungry at a theme park.

2. London – Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum . It’s touristy, it’s crowded and there is always a queue but if you are into pop culture or have kids, you are probably seeing it.

3. Budapest – Gellert Thermal Baths are listed as one of the Top Ten Things To Do in Budapest in most guidebooks – guidebooks probably not written by Hungarians. They are expensive, dirty (both the water and the facilities ) and rundown. The lobby looked like the photographs but the women’s area has all the charm of Soviet housing. Stuff gets stolen out of the lockers all the time. Sometimes the towels are stolen when you are in the baths and then you are asked to pay for them. The towels are very small –more like towelettes. Most of the staff is rude or not helpful. Save your money for Istanbul and try a hammam.

4. Hawaii-Luau. Chances are if you grew up in a big city on the Northeast coast, you have never seen a whole pig being brought out with an apple in its mouth. You probably have not eaten poi. So on your first trip to Hawaii, you will experience a tourist luau – sitting at large tables with other tourists pretending to be Hawaiian in a James Michener novel. Food served to hundreds of people is never good. But there are always some fire eaters, flame throwers and hula girls. If you are stoned or have little kids you will probably have a good time.

5. New York City – Horse and Carriage Tour of Central Park. It cost fifty dollars for twenty minutes and though tourists should not be denied their right to be ripped off on their vacations, many of the horses are overworked, abused and mistreated. Also no one really has a cockney accent who drives those horses in NY.

6. Cancun – Swimming With The Dolphins experiences have increased. Anywhere in the world that has dolphins now has this attraction. The cruise lines have forced an increase in this activity. . Most dolphins do not live as long in captivity and the trash left near the pools causes intestinal problems for them. There is no regulation on how much swimming they have to do with us. A dolphin suffered for those cute very expensive photographs. (Sadly you could probably substitute many animals from different countries – elephants, camels, llamas and donkeys etc)

7. Sydney – Harbor Cruise. Nothing says tourist more than a harbor cruise serving bland food and watered down drinks to many people . The Harbor narration is either a person or a tape but can only be heard from certain parts of the boat. Don’t worry if you miss anything – it’s repetitive. Sydney Harbor is amazing but I would rather take the ferries instead of an overpriced tourist ride.

8. Though there are must see destinations in every major city, most of these places are usually over advertised, overpriced and ridiculously overcrowded to really enjoy them. Climbing to the top of any monument requires a long line, and too many people. I have stood on those lines to climb the Eiffel Tour, the Washington Monument, Huayna Picchu, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Duomo and the Leaning Tower Of Pisa. (Washington Monument)

Most famous religious buildings are not the spiritual quiet places of your imagination. I usually stare at the ceilings to avoid the crowds as in the Blue Mosque, Notre Dame, the Vatican and Sagrada Familia. It is the same with the Palaces – Peterhof, Prague Castle, Versaille, Windsor , Schonbrunn. They are all filled to capacity. I check these off on my imaginary list of must see places. The amazing experiences I have in these countries take place in a small religious building in a village or around the corner, a local park, or an old building outside the main tourist area. (Peterhof)

9. As soon as a restaurant gets written up in the guidebooks, it seems to become a tourist restaurant – overpriced with mediocre, bland food. They may have been good once but when they become known, the glory is gone. If they are near tourist attractions, they definitely don’t try as hard – this includes any restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco and any restaurant with someone outside who’s job it is to bring people in. If you want an eating experience, see where the locals are eating and avoid the guidebook recs because if you have read about it, everyone else has also.

10. Taxis. Even the most undeveloped countries in the world probably have a metered taxi system. There are regular fares to get to certain places. The problem is we don’t know them and we don’t know where we are or how far everything is. Most taxis in the world do not have broken meters. The best thing to do before getting a taxi, tuk tuk or rickshaw is to ask a reliable person who has no vested interest in the transportation business ( a cousin driving a tuk tuk etc). Do the taxis use meters? Do they have flat rates? How much should it cost to reach my destination? Always carry small bills . In major tourist areas, you may be ripped off anyway. It is best to take taxis in front of hotels if you can, the taxis there are more reliable . Doing a little research will help you avoid the life long grudge that I carry against the taxi driver in Budapest who drove me around for twenty minutes to go across the street. In countries where the taxi drivers are shady, I try not to take them and walk or use public transportation.

Tourists do stand in out in many countries. We don’t speak the language, have jet lag, different money and are confused by the street signs. We deal with maps, luggage, train tickets and we are much less cool in our temporary state of “tourist” then we are at home. But do the research, be street smart, and if you get ripped off, use it as a learning experience for your next vacation.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Things That I Have Learned In Bogota, Colombia

Posted on April 18, 2014 by jaynezak

Things I Have Learned In Bogotá, Colombia

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps.” Frank Herbert

Bogotá has the best water in South America.

In the year 2000 the Fernando Botero museum opened in Bogotá. The art collection was donated by Fernando Botero and is the most important donation in the country’s history. It includes 123 works by Botero and 85 works from his collection by artists from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century such as Picasso, Giacometti, Monet, Dali, Matisse, Chagall, Renoir etc.

He had one stipulation. The artwork had to be eye level , unobstructed and free to all people. The informality and openness of a collection equal to any high level museum is an unforgettable experience. It is amazing to stand directly in front of a priceless work of art without glass or security telling you to move back.

His overly large figures always make me laugh.

Bogotá has a lower murder rate than the Wash DC.

Bogotá has a lot of hippies. Parts of Upper Candalaria seem like Greenwich Village in the seventies.

The perfect view of Bogotá is from Monserrate.

Monserrate is a mountain in Bogotá. It is 3,152 meters high (10,341 ft) with a 17^th century church and a shrine to El Senor Caldo (Fallen Lord).

If you are on a pilgrimage you will walk up from Bogotá (It takes an hour and a half) On Sunday you can see many families doing this. If you are a tourist you have the option to walk or take a funicular up. I did that and took the teleferico (cable car) down.

There is a rivalry between Medellin and Bogotá.

The airport is Bogotá is clean and organized. I did not see any clocks at the Colombian Airlines terminal – which is maybe why the planes were never on time.

The Gold Museum has the biggest collection of gold handicrafts in the world. It is a good place to see Colombia’s pre Colombian heritage.

Bogotá has the most extensive network of bicycle routes ( ciclorutas) in Latin America and almost in the world.

One of the most amazing things in Bogotá is Ciclovia. On Sundays from 7AM to 2PM seventy miles of the city is closed to traffic

It is a great way to enjoy the city. In addition to bicycling twenty stages are set up for yoga, aerobics and dance instruction.

Around two million riders, skateboarders ,walkers and joggers use the streets on Sundays.

This has been copied by many cities in the world though none have as large an area closed off.

I’m a huge fan of Marquez literature. I love the poetic magical realism. To me he is a wonderful story-teller whether I get the point of all his fantasies or not. In his world lines between beauty and cruelty and dreams and reality are always blurred. Seems to be a lot like life. Marquez died on Thursday at 87. Dream forever Gabo.

He is known as Gabo in Colombia. He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1982 and wrote two of my all time favorite books – 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. At the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Plaza there is an amazing bookstore, Juan Valdez coffee shop and tango classes on Sunday.

Sunday flea market in Usaquen is a fun thing to do. There are unique kitchen items like wooden cooking utensils, handmade place mats and tablecloths, trays and plates made from different materials, and the famous chamba pottery.

There are hand crafted preserves, candies, fruit and coca leaf products and everything is 100 per cent Colombian. Fruit and juice sellers, jewelry makers ,street entertainers and musicians are everywhere. ( guama – a pod fruit with a delicious chewy cotton like inside)

No matter how much partying you have done Saturday night, Sunday is not a day to do nothing in Bogotá. There is just too much going on. (kids in plastic on water?)

Muchas Gracias Beronica Buitrago Vega for a wonderful time in Bogota and for setting the tone for an amazing trip.

Viaje Con Cuidado,

JAZ

My Favorite Band Is Grouplove – Teaching An English Class In Cartagena, Colombia

Posted on April 15, 2014 by jaynezak

My Favorite Band Is Grouplove – Teaching An English Class In Cartagena, Colombia

“Small acts of kindness may or may not change the world, but they definitely change you.” Nipun Mehta

My tour guide was on his way to teach an English class at his church. He and his family volunteer their time to teach English. I asked if I could tag along thinking I would sit in the back. It turned out that I was to be the surprise English teacher.

The students ranged from kids to adults and were at all levels of English. The class was usually larger but because it was a holiday there were fewer people. They are amazingly enthusiastic with a real will to learn – even from someone who sounds as illiterate in Spanish as I do.

While learning English grammar, we share experiences and insights.

“My favorite band is Guns and Roses.”

“Her favorite actor is Brad Pitt.“

“His favorite soccer team is Brazil.”

“Their favorite place is this church.”

“Our favorite writer is Marquez.”

You can see with each one of the students that every sentence requires thought. It is not only about how to say it correctly but how to answer the question. It becomes important what we tell each other about ourselves. “But I don’t have a favorite sports team because I don’t like sports.” It is more than just a grammatical exercise.

I believe that those of us who travel seek knowledge to grow and share with others. What better way then to not only teach but to represent English as something more than a workbook. For people who live in cities where tourism is the main industry learning English will help them get better jobs and have better lives. I could see in their eyes that I inspired them to work on their English that night and I felt honored to be there. If you happen to be in Cartagena, and have a couple of hours to spare for some conversation in English before dinner, contact Jose Villa Rodriguez ( also a terrific tour guide) josevillarodriguez@yahoo.com. It’s a great way to interact with people from a country.

If only someone would volunteer to help me with my Spanish.

Muchas Gracias Daniel, Diana, Edwin, Erdas, Laura, Leidy, Manuel, Muriel, Nini and Salvador.

Viaje con cuidado,

JAZ

Things That I Have Learned In Colombia

Posted on April 10, 2014 by jaynezak

Things That I Have Learned In Colombia

“Once a year, go someplace that you haven’t been before.” Dalai Lama

If you don’t come back from Colombia with your suitcase smelling from coffee, something is wrong.

Coffee plants in Colombia are not native to Colombia. Many of the plants come from Africa.

Juan Valdez is the Starbucks of Colombia not the man picking coffee beans for Folgers. (only people my age know what that meant)

Colombia is not Disneyland but it isn’t downtown Beirut either.

There is always music. (Play and continue reading . It will sound like Colombia – Gracias Kevin)

Colombia has the second highest number of public holidays in the world. Argentina has the first.

Colombians love Juanes as a humanitarian even if they don’t like his music.

Because of its location Colombia is “the door of the Americas”.

In Colombia you dunk cheese in your hot chocolate (my two favorite things together).

There is always fruit.

Colombia is the world’s second largest exporter of cut flowers after the Netherlands. About 1 billion worth of flowers are exported every year, mostly to the United States. People from the United States buy 300 million Colombian roses on Valentines Day.

Colombia does not have seasons; because it is near the equator, it has sunlight throughout the year. Colombia is the only country in South America to have two different coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

They still uses coca leaves in the rural villages and for the tourists. But it is not as easy to find as in Peru and Argentina.

Colombia has the biggest theater festival, biggest salsa festival, biggest flower parade, biggest outdoor horse parade and second biggest carnival in the world.

You’re less likely to be kidnapped in Colombia than you are to be eaten by a shark in Australia.

12% of the world’s supply of coffee comes from Colombia which provides 20% of the government’s revenue. Only Brazil and Vietnam export more coffee.

According to someone from Ecuador at the airport, Colombians are the nicest South Americans. I would have to agree.

Colombia produces 60% of the world’s most expensive Emeralds.

In 1975, Colombian women were given the right to vote.

Colombians speak the clearest Spanish with the lightest accents, especially in Bogotá.

There are more fruits in Colombia than days in the year. Guanabana is my new favorite fruit. (Ice Cream, Dulce de Leche and Guanabana)

Shakira is from Colombia. The women are often voted the most beautiful in the world.

There is always juice.

The FARC was founded in 1964. Adopting an anti-U.S. and Marxist ideology. The group attracts the overwhelming majority of its members from the rural poor. Its aim is to overthrow the government. However, the government and the group have been making moves towards peace in recent years.

The decline and fall of the Colombian drug gangs has led to an increase in tourism. Medellin is still the capital of the cocaine trade but with Mexico taking over the American market, they are focusing on Europe and Latin America. Colombians are still often arrested in these countries for drug trafficking. Pablo Escobar never sold drugs to Colombians for consumption but today groups are targeting the outskirts of Colombia as well.

Colombian food is rich, diverse and delicious with a heavy focus on deep-frying.

Colombians do a lot of praying and a lot of crossing themselves.

Colombia is the worlds third largest manufacturer of women’s lingerie.

The Colombian drink aguardiente means fire water and is 60 per cent alcohol. A party is not a party in Colombia without aguardiente.

The name Colombia is derived from the name Christopher Columbus.

Avoid sopa de madongo unless you like intestines , tripe and cow udders, Luckily I have already gone through which organs to avoid in Argentina. FYI they also make soup out of eyeballs.

Colombia has 84 different Indigenous tribes spread out across the country.

It is actually illegal to walk the streets in Colombia without I.D., but a photocopy will suffice in 99% of situations.

Colombia is my most misspelled country. In the past, I always spell it like Columbia the Ivy League University that I did not attend. I won’t be making this mistake again.

Colombia is one of my favorite countries in South America. I am already planning my return trip in my head.

Viaje con cuidado,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Dublin, Ireland

Posted on April 7, 2014 by jaynezak

Things I Have Learned In Dublin, Ireland

“I live in Ireland every day in a drizzly dream of a Dublin walk” John Geddes

Dublin was founded by Vikings, who settled in what they called the “Norse Kingdom of Dublin” in the 9th century.

The average temperature in January in Dublin is 41°F and in July, it is 63°F. It is estimated that fifty per cent of the city’s residents are under twenty-five years old. Dublin has the youngest population in Europe. My advice is dress warmly and be ready to party. (St Stephens Green)

Dublin houses Ireland’s National Treasure which is the Book Of Kells sacred manuscript created by Celtic Monks in about 800 AD which features the Four Gospels of the New Testament. It is decorated with metallic gold Celtic style writing and symbols and stunning artwork. This sacred Book of Kells can be found in the Trinity College Library in Dublin.

In 1759 Arthur Guinness made the deal of his life. He leased a brewery in the center of Dublin for 45 pounds annual rent and took it for 9,000 years! It is now where the most famous Irish alcoholic drink is made. Ten million glasses of Guinness are produced daily all around the world. Dubliners love beer, they drink 9800 pints every hour between 5:50 pm on Friday and around 3 am the following Monday. Also a donation to the Blood Bank in Dublin is paid with a pint of Guinness since it is recommended to replace the iron lost during the donation.

Soccer is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen. Rugby is a gentlemen’s game played by hooligans.

In 1816 this bridge opened to any Dubliner willing to pay a ha’penny, the exact price of the then redundant ferry to William Walsh, ferry owner and alderman of the city. He retired his leaking ferries and was compensated with £3,000 and the bridge lease for one hundred years. (Ha Penny Bridge)

Dublin Writers Museum is a must visit if you are into literature and writing, or if you want to understand Dublin’s literary heritage. You get a truer understanding of Ireland if you get to know its writers.There are two main museum rooms. Room one traces the roots of Irish poetry and storytelling, and it showcases writers with international status such as Swift, Goldsmith, Sheridan, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde. Room two deals with writers such as Yeats, Synge, James Joyce, Sean O’ Casey, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker Frank O’ Connor, Brendan Behan and many more.

The title of Bram Stoker’s book “Dracula” is said to come from the Irish words “Droch Ola” meaning bad blood..

Christ Church was famous for the first performance of Handel’s Messiah.

The Abbey Theatre was founded as The National Theatre Of Ireland in 1904 by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. Its goal was “to bring upon the stage the deeper emotions of Ireland.” and that is still true today.

The oldest pub in Ireland is called the Brazen Head and is in Dublin .

Temple Bar is one of the oldest areas in Dublin. The modern street pattern of Temple Bar is based on the medieval plan of the Old Viking City. Today Temple Bar has many newer arts venues, cool boutiques and galleries, restaurants,bars, award winning cultural and residential buildings. Temple Bar is home to one of Europe’s oldest built theatres (Smock Alley Theatre), one of Ireland’s smallest theatres (The New Theatre), one of the best examples of a Victorian theatre (The Olympia) and one of Ireland’s best know modern theatre spaces and arts centres (Project Arts Centre)

After Francis Bacon’s death his studio was moved to the Hugh Lane Gallery. You look through a window at the 7,000 items they shifted: a huge easel, piles of paints, jars, brushes, rags, pots, books, photos, towels and empty boxes of Krug Champagne. A fantastic sight.

Built between 1220 and 1260 St Patrick’s Cathedral is one of the few buildings left from the medieval city of Dublin. Today St Patricks is the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland and is still the largest cathedral in Ireland. Its most famous Dean Jonathan Swift is one of around 700 burials here.

Many of U2’s back catalogue of albums were recorded in their home city. Windmill Lane Studios was the place where U2 recorded their early work and first three albums. The site at Windmill Lane Studios is covered in graffiti from fans that have paid pilgrimage from all over the world and is known as the “U2 Wall.”

Dublin is a city of storytellers. Everyone has a story to tell. If you happen to be in a pub telling a story, chances are there will be someone there who knows someone in it. So be careful with your facts and if you embellish, disguise your characters well. And if you don’t know any stories, you will by the time you leave.

Fly safe,
JAZ

Travel Well, Fly Safe

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