Bucaramanga, Colombia

Colombia- third most populous country in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico.  But the world is smaller than we can imagine, bigger than we can see.  

At Bogata International I am retrieved by Vicente,  the family driver for la Familia Garcia-Sossa, a relative of whom I met in Alaska.  

For two days I am shuffled around the chaos of the city (in a Jeep with 1/2 thick glass and armored doors, a common feature of many automobiles of those who can afford it here) to do various errands and see the sights. I'm treated like family back at their apartment.  

I don't know quite how to put in to words the sense of... perhaps Cosmopolitan-ness? is the word I'm looking for- that this family possesses.  They are more travelled than I will ever be and have a sense of welcoming worldliness that I can only hope to achieve some day.

Carolina (Car-oh-leen-ah) has been to Alaska to visit her Aunt Patricia several times.  She has yet to see the Northern lights herself, but has brought them to life with a paint brush (above).

It's a ten hour bus ride from Bogata to Bucarmanga.  Average speed is about 60 km/h, lots of rain and bad French action movies blaring uninvited from the screens overhead.  A girl of about six is in the seat ahead and is traveling solo, I just heard her on the cell phone with her mother a minute ago though.  Her doodles in the window fog eventually overtake my window too, so I draw her a smiley face.  She giggles and draws the same, then follows my lead as we first do a stick body, then hair and facial features.  I draw diagonal eybrows over my smiley face, she draws tears streaming down from hers.  

"Por que las lagrimas?" (Why the tears?) I ask.

"Por que él esta enojado," (Because he's upset) she explains.  

I've always said that I've learned more Spanish from kids than grown-ups, or Spanish classes for that matter.

For a few weeks I am planning to stay here http://colombiaparagliding.com/ and do as much flying as possible.  It really is an amazing set-up here if you are a paraglider pilot: a cheap hostel outside the city  just a few steps from the best lunch site in the country, Volador de los Aguilas.  

It happens that I've arrived at the beginning of the Colombian National Cup and the site is restricted for most of the day to competing pilots.  So until it's over in a few days I'm able to fly only in the mornings and evenings, but it has been good to see what talented pilots can do with this amazing ridge soaring/thermal site.

Sam (above, just landed) is a pilot visiting from Whistler, Canada.  He's a classic ski bum character and professional ski racer, but he says he especially enjoys flying because it's a different community of people than the sports he normally is involved in.  I'll just say that his actual words were more brash than that...

In this photo (above) Pablo, a Colombian Pilot (who is deaf) is explaining to Sam (who doesn't speak Spanish) how he too overcame and learned to fly.  By use of a specialized hat/helmet with which the student could see lighted arrows and dots that the intructor controlled with a radio hand set, he was able to learn.

All is well here and I am spoiled.  Take good care out there, readers.