Tag Archives: Colombia

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Why I Might Not Use CouchSurfing Again - Meet My New Brother Felipe

“Couchsurfing? No, I don’t thnk I will use that” I hear that a lot. And for a good reason. It is hard to want to trust a stranger to your home, or a trust a stranger you have never meet and stay with them for a time. How do you know they won’t do something bad or steal your items? Couchsurfing can be very scary. I can tell you that after my first time using Couchsurfing I don’t want to use it again.

What is Couchsurfing?

What is Couchsurfing? Well, it is a website designed to meet people around the world. It has groups where you can discuss with people with similar interests online. It has events where you can meet up with people that share you desires and interests. But the most powerful part is that people can open up their house/room/couch to a stranger and show them their life and culture and in return learn more about someone else’s life and culture.

My First Experience

I have always feared using Couchsurfing, it just did not seem like the right thing for me. But I was running out of money while staying in Bogota. I needed a place to stay, but even more so I did not want to stay in a hostel as I would be around other travelers rather than a local. My friend mentioned how much fun she had meeting and hosting people through Couchsurfing and that I should give it a try. I also have another friend who happens to be ambassador for her region and I hear the great stories she has of people she has hosted. With all these positive things people had to say about Couchsurfing it was time for me to dive right on in, eyes closed, unaware what might happen.

Finding Someone

After scouring through mounds and mounds of profiles I submitted a request to 5 different people who seemed like they were interesting people. One really stood out, he did not have a lot of references, just one… the thing that is said about this person “He is always smiling”. That was the person I wanted to stay with and learn more about. His name Felipe.

Felipe with Some New Friends and Beers - Bogota, Colombia

The Rejection and Acceptance

One by one each person proceeded to tell me that they did not have space available, were out of town, and one by one my heart started to sink and feel heavy. The pound of my heart could be felt as my disappointment set. Four people had said they were not available for host me at the time for the three week period. Felipe was the last person on my list. His response finally came with and I started to read it, my heart started to sink a bit more. The words “I do not have a room available…” were the first set of words I saw. At that point I did not want to read on. I was glad that I did though. The email continued “…until Monday, where I have a guest who is already staying with me.” I had accepted his invitation and so I booked a place to stay for the 5 days wait after I landed in Bogotá, Colombia.

Day 1

After those eventful filled five days we meet in the region of Suba in Bogota, an area I was used to as I had stayed there 2 years before. In my email requesting a place to stay I had mentioned that I was an excellent cook and enjoyed cooking. For the first night, I wanted to prove what I had said. We headed to the store and picked up the ingredients needed to create an Indian curry and combined the ingredients to create a steaming hot turmeric stained food that is very common in Inida. As we ate, we had some beers and moved our mouths and tongues as we conversed all night long. I don’t remember what our conversation was about, but it must have been a good conversation as we did not get some sleep until almost 1 am. It was starting to become a good connection. The connection kept getting stronger and stronger over the next few days, especially when the weekend came. How so you ask?

Felipe and His Loving Sister in Villa De Leyva - Colombia

The Family

That next weekend we headed to Tunja where I was taken in as family. First we meet up with his cousins, two Colombians who lived in Brazil. The two were also on the same route, we shared a car ride with them. The car ride was a bonding experience with his family.

As I arrived to a square house on the corner of an intersection of Tunja I was given a room to stay. I got to meet his sisters and felt like I was starting of become part of the family. We had lunch, a vegan meal, which was fantastic since I am a vegetarian. I got to converse with his sisters as well as his father, who spoke very little English. I was shown around the town of Tunja personally by his father and I got take part of family activities. It was like I was having another family in a different land than my own. And from this I was learning what it meant to be in a Colombian family. We headed back to Bogotá and I thanked Felipe for the wonderful weekend.

Our Time

While in Bogotá I got introduce Felipe of what I know of Bogotá from the 6 times I have visited. We got to know the nightlife of Bogotá as it was now the week of my birthday. A week hard to remember and hard to forget. It was basically partying just about every night, not one night ending before 2 am. It made it hard for me to do my work, but the memories made (if I could remember them), were amazing. We both had a great time meeting new friends.

Felipe and I In the Plaza in Tunha

Why I Don’t Want To Use Couch Surfing Again

Felipe called me his brother, and I considered him to be my brother. And because of this experience, I may never want to do Couch Surfing again. It will be impossible to try to out do this experience. I can’t imagine a better host and a better connection than what I had for three weeks. It is hard to imagine that Couch Surfing can better than this experience. I fear that it can’t get any better than my time with Felipe. I meet a new a family member that I never knew I had and a strong connection to his family. I learned a lot from Felipe, and what it really means to be in a family. It is hard to forget what I learned in those three weeks (especially never to take a shot called Kill Me). I want to reach this article out to him and say thank you. I also want to thank Couch Surfing for making this happen.

Who knows, perhaps someday I will Couch Surf again, but that person has to be very special, or perhaps I will leap blindly like I did the first time using Couch Surfing. It is hard to get past that fear.

What do you think of CouchSurfing? Tell us Perhaps you have questions? We want to hear those stories. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels :)

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Travel and Photography Inspiration - How I Became A Travel Photographer

Nothing says amazing like capturing an amazing view while suspended way above air looking down on a beautiful canyon. Amazing is capturing a beautiful woman standing in front of a romantic scene of a giant waterfall. Amazing is clicking away at a beautiful secluded beach scene that you will only see a few times in your life. Amazing is capturing a culture that you have never experienced and sharing it with everyone else through photography.

Parapante Through Chicamoche - Colombia

The Travel Photographer

Photography is amazing. Travel photography is even more amazing. The job of a travel photographer is to tell a story about people and places to entice others to visit. And although I am no expert at it, I try my best to entice others to travel. Why? Because it is hard to pass up the experiences and views that I have come across. It is amazing when others can also experience what I have seen and done. That is why I created this website to begin with. I want other to explore the grandiose waterfalls of Iguazu. I want people to know how it is to experience the extreme passion when dancing Salsa in Colombia. I want and enjoy the friendly nature of the people of the Philippines.

Funny Paniki - MacArthur Philippines

The Beginning

How did I start off? Well I never thought I would have gotten into photography. I thought I was not artistic enough or even could learn to use a camera. Aperture? Shutter speed? ISO? It seemed so sophisticated and complicated to me. What are all those dials for? Why are there so many buttons? I am certain I was not alone. I know you are saying some of the same things or said some of those same things at one point.

I started off with simple point and shoot digital camera at the age of 19. Nearly every year I would upgrade to a slightly better one. I have always been a fan of Olympus and always went with them. That then is when it happened. My girlfriend at the time invited me to visit her in India. I seized the opportunity and said HECK YA. Travel way across the world to be with a girl I loved and experience a new culture? It was a no brainer. But I figured my point and shoot camera would not due for this trip. I wanted to document it and with a higher quality photos than the snapshots I was taking with my point and click cameras. So that is when I purchased my first DSLR. It was a Canon Rebel t2i. I had ditched my Olympus (and recently returned back to Olympus) for a Canon DSLR. I wandered India grasping shots of the experiences I was having through out the land. I was documenting the faces and people I was meeting and framing to the views around. I tried to get the artistic shots of beautiful places like the Taj Mahal, but I would have to admit, the photographs were mediocre at best.

Early Photography Taj Majal Minaret - Agra India

Persistence

Most of my time was spent trying to learn my new camera and at that time I had no concept of photography techniques. After my trip I found that my photography was lacking. I was studying Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University at the time and was learning a lot about space and shapes and how people perceive communication. At this time I was also noticing how my photography was lacking. At this time I found that it was time to learn more about camera techniques. I taught myself my camera through Youtube videos and posted my photography on travel photography websites and asked for feedback to help me improve.

Indonesia, Korea, Hong Kong and India again, I started pushing my technique more and more. I forced myself to travel on my own, with friends and meeting people who invited me to their country. I took photos, not just a few but A LOT. Same shot, different angles, experimented with the lighting, settings and tried some new dials on the camera. I was gaining new insights and different skills. All of this was self taught with no schooling in photography at all.

Second trip Korean Folk Village (still Learning)- Yongin

The Break

I was visiting my ex-girlfriend in India, the girl who was my girlfriend the first time I was in India. We were to visit the town of Ladakh. To make a long story short, she had to leave and I was on my own to travel to Kashmir. Her family set me up with a guide. Kashmir is rarely visited by most Americans, due to the bad press it gets. But there I was in Srinagar, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. There I documented story of an amazing area that many have no experienced outside of India or Pakistan. When I returned I entered the photos into a contest. I did not win, but I did get noticed. At that time man contacted me from a publishing company asking to purchase the rights to some of my photos. This was a break into the industry I was looking for. They bought my photography and it was published in a new magazine. From there other started contacting me do some work for them. I was now starting to get paid to travel and to photograph.

Fisherman on Dal Lake - Kashmir India

The jist of this story? I am not a trained photographer. I never knew I was going to be a photographer. Heck my schooling is in Architectural Engineering and Graphic Design. What made what I do happen was devotion and persistence. I then started this website. I wanted others to accomplish their dream. To be a photojournalist, journalist, traveler, photographer… what ever it is. This is why I am starting to make a new commitment to this site. I will start to be offering more articles of photography. To help those learn the skills, become persistent and accomplish their dream. Look towards the beginning of next year for classes on photography and tools for photographers.

Why?

Why did write this article? I want to let you know the following:

  1. I started off not knowing what I was doing as the most of us do.
  2. Persistence with a passion to improve is a great way to accomplish a goal.
  3. I love traveling, I love photography and I want others to love them too.
  4. I want to let you know I am here to help you accomplish your goal to travel and photograph.

So what is a dream you want to follow? What goal have you added persistence to? Did you ever get a lucky break? I want to know. I want to share you story. Leave a message below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know, we want to share it with others.

 

 

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Colombia Travel Tips - Things Learned In Colombia

As I walk down a familiar street and turn down a familiar road, there are still observations I make. New observations, the kind of observations that make me have new insights. The kind of insights that make me go “Oooh”. You know what I am talking about. You have experienced it in your own home town before. Although I have traveled to Colombia four different times, there were still things I learned on my last trip. Through familiar cities and familiar cultures an familiar streets observations and “Ooohs” kept coming. Here are a handful of them:

  • Traveling with a loved one is one of the best ways to travel. When you travel with a loved one it enhances everything you do much more.
  • Traveling is a great way to test any relationship. I can tell you we had some rocky times on this trip and we learned a lot about each other on the road. It really makes you learn more about someone… and even more so, yourself.

Let Us Get Some Sun La Miel - iPhone

  • Work or Play? - As a travel writer and photographer, it was ESPECIALLY hard to keep the two balanced. I was having so much of a good time, I forgot about work. And when I was working, I forgot to have a good time.
  • Colombians are all about family. I was invited to eat with the family, check out housing with the family and I was expected to be interacting as if I was part of the family. It is main staple to Colombian life. It made it seemed like I was married already… that can be scary to some.
  • Keep it simple. Especially at the border areas of Sapzurro, it was key to make sure to keep it simple. There are no roads there and not a lot of amenities. My iPhone was saw as thing that was not needed as well as my high tech camera. Good thing my laptop was tucked away most of the time.
  • Practice your Spanish… at all times. My girlfriend spoke most of the time which made it hard for me to speak for myself. It made it seem like I was not friendly. I have travelled Colombia alone before and was very open to talking, but even when some is talking for you, talk for yourself in the language. Otherwise, you become the dumb foreigner.
  • Semana Santos is a rough week to travel. It is the day that everyone else in the country goes to visit their family. Expect high volume of other travelers. Even the news was covering the travel week. The only shame is that I did not get to be on TV.

Catfish Floats - Parque Explora in Medellin

  • I am glad I took the airfare to Medellín because it is a gorgeous, organized and amazing city. It can be considered the London of South America. It is one of the best travel places. It is no wonder why there are so many expats that live in Medellin. That and the women wear less clothing due to the nice weather.
  • I am still in love with the travel to BBC, aka Bogota Beer Company. It is my favorite reason to go to Bogotá and have a great craft beers.

BBC Stout - Bogota Beer Company

  • Estereo Picnic Festival in Bogotá was awesome and Crystal Castles puts on an Amazing show.

 

Crystal Castles at Estereo Picnic Bogota - iPhone

 

Again after 4 times visiting, I still have a lot to learn about Colombia, even though I learned a lot last time. And that is yet another excuse to return. What do you think of these tips? Do you have any tips to leave about Colombia? Leave a message below, send us a tweet on twitter, or post on our facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let us know, we want to share it with others.

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Giant Cross in Zipaquirá Salt Mines

Zipaquirá Salt Mines about an hour north from Bogotá, Colombia. This is the giant cross at the end of the tunnel.

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4-5 More days: Colombia

In 4 more days I will be catching my flight to Colombia. In 5 more days I will be landing in the city of Bogotá. What I am really looking forward to is all the food there is to try. Colombia is not known for lots of flavors, but it does not stop me from wanting to try out some amazing foods.

One of the foods to start with are buñuelos. Buñuelos are deep fried corn dough filled with cheese in the shape of a ball. Sometimes coated with sugar, I know that these things may put me in a diabetic coma. I am still willing to risk my life to try them in Colombia.

Arepas which is a rather thick like tortilla sometimes filled with cheese and served with breakfast and buttered, are another meal I want to try. I can not wait to sit down one morning to fill my mouth with an Arepa.

The one thing there is about Colombia is the fruits. There are fruits in Colombia that can not be found anywhere in the world. I am looking forward to try fruits that can not be tasted anywhere else in the world. The best place to get all these is at the farmer’s market.

I can not wait for all the flavors that I will put to my tastes buds.

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22 More Days: Colombia - Bogota

So in 22 more days I will be landing in Bogotá, Colombia. Bogotá is known for being a magnificently large city, rivaling San Francisco and others like it.

Bogota is known for it’s new city skyscrapers as well as it’s old colonial style areas. There are amazing places to go visit; including: Plaza Bolivar, La Candelaria, La Catedral, Torre Colpatria, Parque & Museo El Chiquo and others. Those are just some of the great sites one can visit while traveling in Bogotá.

Now it is nice to see all the great these great places, but in my last travel I did something different. My trip to Jammu/Kashmir was different than my other travels because I spent a lot of time with people and their families, learning more about the people and culture there. What really makes a place is the people who live there and how they live their lives.

When in Bogotá, it will be amazing to see all these wonderful sites, but what I would like to learn is the people, the culture and just how people conduct their lives.

Now the best way to do this is to try to avoid as much of the touristy areas as possible and try to keep to the small local areas. But how do I do this? Good question, and the answer is that I do not know. Granted I will be meeting a friend in Bogotá, perhaps she can introduce me to some interesting and amazing people.

How would go about trying to meet new people in a different country? Would love to hear your ideas.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr to find out my adventures of my trip.



This travel blog photo’s source is TravelPod page: Olga (Lucia) Tenjo…London 98

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To Colombia

In January I will be traveling to Colombia, a country once known for it’s rocky past. It is funny, when I mention to people that I will be heading out to Colombia they look at me as if I have a “death wish”. Colombia is no longer the place that it used to be, at least of what I hear.

So why Colombia? Well I for sure wanted to go to South America, but I was not sure where. When a old co-worker came back from his trip through South America I asked him where I should go. He said to me, “Colombia, you have to go see Colombia!” so I took him up on his advice.

For the past 2 months I have been planning my trip to Colombia, and have been finding that it does not seem like a bad plan at all. Colombia provides everything a person can find. From the big cities of Bogotá and Medellin; old colonial towns like Villa De Leyva; the mountainous Andes; gorgeous beaches of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts; and nearly 50 National Parks. It is no wonder why he told me to go to such a place. I the trip will be great.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr to find out my adventures of my trip.

So how who has some great ideas of where I should go and do in Colombia? I am willing to hear you ideas and suggestions.

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