Dia de Amor y Amistad

Colombians celebrate their version of Valentine's Day "Dia de Amor y Amistad" (Love and Friendship Day) on the 3rd Saturday in September.

Now unlike the American tradition of Valentine's Day being about your wife, girlfriend/boyfriend or love interest, in Colombia it is about celebrating both your love and your friends.  It's a chance to show them how much you care about them.

At the different grocery stores and shops around Cartagena I had noticed all the candy displays, heart shaped balloons and flowers being displayed and wondered what the deal was.  Robert came home from work and told me his office had exchanged names for "Love and Friendship Day" and he would need me to help him get gifts for his secret person.  It seems that among the Colombians it is common to pick names secretly among your co workers and show them some "Love and Friendship".

Well last night I had the privilege of seeing "Love and Friendship Day" happen among some Colombian co workers.  While eating dinner at Hard Rock Café I noticed many tables put together and party decorations displayed.  I even mentioned to Robert that it must be someones birthday.  What a treat it was when we realized it was a group of friends celebrating "Dia de Amor y Amistad".

I tried not to stare, it was hard...but the fun and love coming from that group said it all.  Didn't matter that I couldn't understand the language because the laughter and smiles told me exactly what I needed to know.  Each one would stand up (this was a large group of over 20) and tell something special about their special friend and present them with a small gift, then it was that person's turn to go next.  This went on until all secret friends had been revealed. 

What I learned last night is that no matter what country you are from, we are all the same.  Maybe we speak different languages, eat different foods and look different, but at the end of the day....we are all so alike.  Just like the group of young professional Colombians I watched last night, no different than when we get together with our co workers or friends.  Celebrating "Love and Friendship"!

It sure made me miss my friends and family but it also made me realize I didn't have to be a Colombian to celebrate "Dia de Amor y Amistad" AKA "Love and Friendship Day", so to all my friends and family much love from me to you.

Convents La Popa dela Galera

The views from LaPopa will take your breath away!  The steep and narrow road to get to LaPopa is well worth it once you arrive and can see the entire city of Cartagena.

When we arrived our guide took us on a tour.  This is the courtyard of the building and he was showing us how the well worked.

The locals believe LaPopa was once an Indian Temple for a Golden Baby Goat who they worshiped.  They believed he had "Higher Powers".  When the Spaniard's settled in Cartagena they wanted to prove this was foolish nonsense son they threw the baby goat over the hill.  The locals call this "Elsaltodel Carbo".

The church is small, but the history surrounds you.  The alter is beautiful and brings you back in time.  Robert and I both felt so moved by the spirit of this church.  Knowing it is hundreds of years old and we felt so untouched...like it was just as it was back then.  We both said a silent prayer for my Mom and left an offering in her name.

This is a display of all the gowns worn by the statue of Mary as the virgin of Candelaria.   Each year a competition is held to choose which dress the statue will wear for the feast day which is Feb. 2 each year.  The local Cartagena women make all the gowns.

LaPopa means "The Stern", this name was given because when entering Cartagena by boat the hill looked like the stern of a boat.

Between 1822-1963 LaPopa was inhabited by the Augustinian Fathers.  It has always been the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of Cartagena.  This is the image located at the golden alter of the chapel.  Pope John Paul II Lady canonically crowned on Sunday July 6, 1986 in his Apostolic visit to Cartagena.

This is the design model that LaPopa was built from.

To this day a few monks still reside at LaPopa.  Mass is still held in the chapel each morning at 6:30 am.

Ciudad Amurallada also called The Walled City

The city of Cartagena was founded on June 1, 1533, and was named after Cartagena, Spain.  The region around Cartagena Bay however dates back to 4000 BC and was populated by various indigenous people.  Cartagena served a major role during the colonial period of expansion during the Spanish empire.  The city of Cartagena, Colombia is most associated with pirates in the Caribbean, and the world. 

In 1984 Cartagena, Colombia was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This picture is of the wall surrounding the old city.  The old city has 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles of walls.  Some measure 20 meters thick.  Today these are Cartagena's most significant identifiable features.  The wall was built to protect Cartagena from attack.

Construction of the walls began in 1631, all of the neighborhood of Getsemani, outside El Centro, had been enclosed; most of the wall is still standing today.  In 1721, the construction of the walls resumed and by 1796, Cartagena, Colombia was completely surrounded.

Inside the Walled City there are four sectors or neighborhoods.  Each one has a story to tell.  The names are San Diego, LaMatuna, Getsemani and Santo Domingo.

Walking around within the walls transforms you to hundreds of years ago.  I sat on the steps in a plaza and wondered what life was like many years ago.  The colonial architecture takes your breath away.  The beauty in all the detail is overwhelming.

Before I came to Cartagena, Colombia I had read so much about the Walled City.  I didn't know what to expect?  It was everything and more, I could have stayed for hours.  It's so large that we only experienced a small part.  We will be going back for many visits and plan to take anyone who visits us to see this beautiful place.

Cartagena is very special; lost in time and from another age!  You cannot visit this city without experiencing the Walled City. 

The View From Here...

 

 

I finally finished unpacking and found my camera so I decided to start with the view.

The picture above showing the U.S. Coast Guard Ship is the view when you walk out on the balcony and look to the right.  This is the harbor and the location of the Colombian Navy.  The U.S. Coast Guard has been here doing training exercises with the Colombian Navy.

 

This picture above is the view straight out our balcony and looking down.  This is the early morning hours but by 10:00 am this will be filled with chairs and umbrellas and lots of activity.

This picture is to the left of the harbor picture and shows how Cartagena is located on a point with water all around it.

 

When I sit in my chair on my balcony this is the view.  The Walled City of Cartagena is on the point.  We are going to the Walled City tomorrow so I am excited to see it and I plan on taking lots of pictures.  I also have this view from my kitchen and living room.

The views are beautiful and I still can't believe I am here!

I Am Finally In Cartagena Colombia

I arrived Wednesday night late and by the time I went through customs and found ALL my luggage we arrived at the condo around 11:30pm.

The flight was long but for the most part uneventful.

Funny thing that happened was while in Panama City waiting for my flight to Cartagena I found a quiet place to sit at the gate.  I remember Robert telling me to watch my luggage at all times so I had my rolling carry on bag next to me and my purse at my feet in front of me.  I had my drink and cell phone sitting on the top of my suitcase so I could check the time.  I was just people watching and next thing you know I see a baby about 18 to 24 months run by and she is carrying a cell phone.  I look closely and think ...wow her Mom's cell phone case looks like mine!  Next I see the Mom chasing the baby and she grabs the cell phone away and begins to walk towards me..

THE BABY STOLE MY PHONE AND I NEVER HEARD HER!!!!!!

The Mom was so sweet and in her broken English said how sorry she was.  The baby just smiled!

Then I decided to go to the restroom before I boarded the plane (I hate airplane bathrooms) and as I am walking up to the one with the lady with a dress on.. a man in a wheelchair goes in the women's restroom.  I stopped, looked again to make sure it was a dress..it was!  Then I hear someone say "this is a women's restroom" and the man responded "I have a disability"  not sure what that has to do with it.  I waited for him to come out needless to say.

Finally, as we were about to board our plane... a lady standing next to me asked if I had come from the Houston flight.  I said yes and we talked a few minutes about why she was going to Cartagena.  Turns out she was going to the Hilton and since Robert had just spent 6 weeks there I was able to tell her some things about it.

Now if you are wondering why I am telling you all this there is a reason, I promise!

When we got up Thursday morning and were having coffee... Robert asked again about my flight.  I told him all of the above.  All three stories I just told you.

Today as we are out exploring the city of Cartagena , which by the way has millions of people who live here, we had lunch at the Hilton and ran into the lady from Houston.  While leaving the grocery store we saw the "BABY Cell Phone Thief" and her Mommy and right as we turned the corner to come back to our condo that evening the guy in the wheelchair was driving his wheelchair down the sidewalk.

Now if that isn't strange I don't know what is.  These are the three things I told Robert about and we run in to all these people today?????   Crazy I tell you and had I not already told Robert these stories I don't think he would have believed me.  When we saw the wheelchair guy Robert said he knew it was time to go home because at that rate I was probably going to start seeing strangers from the plane I was on...LOL!!!!

Today I have been busy unpacking and resting.  Colombia is as beautiful as I had thought it would be and I am so happy to finally be here.

I didn't bring by good camera yesterday but plan on doing some exploring on Sunday so hopefully I will have some good pictures to share.

Grocery Shopping 101

The first rule for grocery shopping in Colombia is make sure you have some way to translate since all the items are written in Spanish.

Robert found this out the hard way....

After Robert got moved in the condo he needed to get some groceries so he went shopping.  Washing powder was one of the items on his list of must haves.  For over 5 weeks his laundry has been done by a laundry service via the hotel and now he was needing to wash some clothes.  Well he bought what appeared to be laundry detergent, washed his clothes and LOVED how great the smell was.  He decided to use the translation app I loaded on his IPhone and see what the scent was called since he liked it so much. 

Well it should smell good....considering it was liquid FABRIC SOFTENER!!!! 

Grocery Shopping 101.....Check the translation before you use it!!!!

Well at least it wasn't BLEACH!!!!!

Bless his heart....his clothes might still be dirty but at least they SMELL GOOD!!!!!

Let's Talk Colombian Peso's

If you are wondering...NO I have not made it to Colombia yet!!!

I'm in Dallas visiting with the kids and telling them bye.  I'm still waiting on my passport to arrive and anticipate leaving around the 5th of September. 

I've had my shots that are required, I've taken care of  my eye visit  while in Dallas  and now I'm just waiting!

I've  been studying my Spanish and  I've also been trying to get familiar with the money conversion so I thought it would be fun to share how it works out from Colombian Peso (COP) to US dollars.  Below I found a very helpful chart.

We finally received our contract for our condo and Robert is moving in on Tuesday.  Monday is a Colombian holiday so it was pushed back a few days.  It was really funny to read the contract and see our rental payment listed as $5,600,000.  Yes we are paying 5 million 6 hundred dollars in rent! 

I also received the inventory list of what is in the condo and let's just say...I have lots to buy to make it like home.  The basics are there but what we as Americans are accustomed to having in our homes, kitchens and baths is lacking but it will be fun to personalize it and make it our on.  I've done this before in Thailand and I can do it again, which I love a challenge so it will be fun!  One thing I have found that is different in Colombia verses Thailand is that I actually have more options for shopping.  I've already even been able to look online at what they have available in the stores and determine what I need to bring from home.  The variety in bedding and linens seems to be lacking much like Thailand was so I plan on bringing that from the US. 

I'll keep you posted on how it all works out.

Here is the chart that shows the conversion rate:

COP	USD
coinmill.com
1000	0.53
2000	1.05
5000	2.63
10,000	5.26
20,000	10.52
50,000	26.30
100,000	52.60
200,000	105.21
500,000	263.02
1,000,000	526.03
2,000,000	1052.06
5,000,000	2630.15
10,000,000	5260.30
20,000,000	10,520.60
50,000,000	26,301.50
100,000,000	52,603.01
200,000,000	105,206.01