Christmas A Colombian Christmas begins early November and goes to the end of December. Christmas trees could be seen decorated and lit up in most apartments, and the El Tosoro mall had Christmas decorations adorning the interior plazas. The tropical weather made this a unique Christmas experience! El Tosoro Mall was a landing spot for …
Continue reading "Final Thoughts: Medellin"The football (soccer to us Americans) game was the highlight of the trip. Upon arrival at the stadium, fireworks were being set off by large groups of people sitting around the food vendor stalls. Pure energy filtered through every person. We moved into the stadium to see 41,000+ people on their feet from the beginning …
Continue reading "The Soccer Game"In my opinion, seven or even ten days in Medellin is probably just enough time to relax, see some sights, and on your last day realize that you needed more time in Medellin. If you are having any challenges trying to figure out what to do, Column 13 or Comuna 13 or “Graffiti Town” or …
Continue reading "Graffiti City: A Tapestry of Healing"This is by no means a comprehensive list of the amazing food you can sample in Medellin. The food scene is second to none. I have provided some of the highlights and/or places that I tried and are located in areas where restaurants are plentiful and easy to access by foot or short taxi ride. …
Continue reading "Sampling the Food in Medellin"Pure-authentic-vibrant-relaxed-present moment (both people and environment) are a few words that come to mind when I think of my visit to Medellin. The weather could be described best as near perfection with a touch of humidity to balance the gentle breezes and mild 70-degree weather. Rain is a short lived and provides time to relax …
Continue reading "Medellin, Colombia–Initial Observations"Alex Gallo J Tattoo When we arrived back in San Jose, my kids and I wanted to get a tattoo to memorialize our time in Costa Rica. While in the hotel, we all committed to researching the local tattoo scene and finally agreed upon trying to schedule with artist Alex Gallo J. I contacted him …
Continue reading "Costa Rica — Tattoo’s and Money (Part Seven)"Playa Hermosa On our way to Playa Espadilla Norte, we visited Playa Hermosa. It is a small surf town, approximately 15 minutes from Jaco, with several local restaurants and places to have a beer while watching the waves. Playa Hermosa is best known for the long stretches of black sand beaches and large surf break. …
Continue reading "Costa Rica — Exploring the Playa’s (Part Six)"Adventure Tours Costa Rica—ATV’ing Riding ATV’s with my adult children is typically a must do activity when we travel. After researching different companies, I decided to book with Adventure Tours Costa Rica (ATCR). They had solid reviews, the going rate was about $95.00 US each for a three-hour guided tour with the destination point being …
Continue reading "Jaco, Costa Rica — ATV’ing (Part Five)"Costa Rica Waterfall Tours Part of Costa Rica’s allure is this idea of trekking through the jungle to find an exotic waterfall. Our group members were enamored with this thought, so I signed our group up for a guided tour (Costa Rica Waterfall Tours) through TripAdvisor. Our two English speaking guides arrived on time and …
Continue reading "Jaco, Costa Rica — Waterfall Tours (Part Four)"Food Review One unexpected aspect of our Costa Rican experience was trying to sample the local food sources and/or understanding what types of food locals ate because there’s such a wide range of food available (Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian, American, Thai, Asian inspired, sushi, and Greek to name a few) in the town of Jaco. When …
Continue reading "Jaco, Costa Rica — Food Review (Part Three)"