Another Sunset from Cypress Point Park

Last weekend, we finally went to a nearby beach to take a few pregnancy pictures before it's too late. Our baby girl will be here in exactly one month (or hopefully less) and we were running out of time. Since sunset is now so early we went to Cypress Point Park located only 15 minutes away from our place. I have been there before to take sunset pictures with a photography group. I love this place because is next to the airport and is right under the flight path. All the airplanes landing in TIA make me dream about traveling. This is not the prettiest beach in the area, but it is a nice place to watch the sunset and take a nice walk by the water.

Here are some of my favorite shots. These were taken by Andre, my husband, and with the help of a tripod for the pictures of the 2 3 of us. 

Guest Post: Day Trip to Salento, Colombia

Desde que nos mudamos a Estados Unidos have 13 años, hemos apreciado mas a nuestro pais. Cada vez que viajamos, tratamos de visitar lugares a los que nunca habiamos ido o que no habiamos visitado en muchisimos años.  Uno de estos lugares fue Salento. Este hermoso pueblo esta hubicado en la region cafetera a menos de 3 horas de Cali y aproximadamente a media hora de Armenia. Lo mas lindo de la zona cafetera es el paisaje, su clima, y los paisas quienes son probablemente las personas mas amables que existen. Una de las cosas que siempre habiamos querido hacer era un tour en Jeep Willys, uno de los emblemas de la region cafetera. Los Jeep Willys fueron importantes en el desarroyo de la industria del cafe Colombiano y todavia es usado para transportar el cafe y la gente de las fincas.

El jeep que contratamos nos recogio en la mañana en una finca de la region donde nos estabamos quedando junto con mi esposo, mi hermano y mi cuñada. Para nosotros fue toda una aventura montarnos en este jeep abierto en carreteras destapadas y sobretodo a nuestra edad. Este dia no solo fuimos a Salento sino tambien a los pueblos de Filandia, Quimbaya, Montenegro y Pueblo Tapao. 

After we moved to the United States 13 years ago, we appreciate our native Country even more. Every time that we go, we try to visit new places or places where we haven't been in a long time. One of those places was Salento. This beautiful town is located in the coffee region less than 3 hours away from Cali and approximately 30 minutes from Armenia. The best about the coffee region is the scenery, the weather, and the paisas - some of the nicest people you will ever meet. We always wanted to take a Jeep Willys tour which is one of the emblems from the region. The Jeep Willy's was an important part in the development of the Colombian coffee boom and it is still used to transport coffee and people from the coffee farms. 

The jeep that we hired picked us up in the morning in a country house where we were staying along with my husband, brother, and sister in law. It was an adventure for us to be riding an open Jeep along the unpaved roads at our age. We visited Salento and also the nearby towns of Filandia, Quimbaya, Montenegro, and Pueblo Tapao. 

Our ride

Si necesitan prueba que el Jeep Willis es importante en la region cafetera miren las siguientes fotos...

If you don't believe that the Jeep Willys is so important in the coffee region, see the pictures below...

Salento es famoso por la comida, la arquitectura y el mirador. Para llegar al mirador hay que subir mas de 250 escaleras. Vale la pena subir porque desde alli se puede apreciar el Valle del Cocora.  En este Valle crece la palma de cera, el arbol nacional de Colombia, la cual es la unica palma que crece en clima frio. Nosotros no subimos porque ya habiamos ido en otro viaje y ademas acababamos de llegar del mirador de Pueblo Tapao. Nuestra visita a Salento la disfrutamos comprando artesanias, tomando fotos, y almorzando la comida tipica que es trucha con patacones.

Salento is famous for its food, the architecture, and the lookout. To get to the lookout you have to go up over 250 stairs. The climb is worth it because from there you can see the Cocora Valley. The wax palm, the national tree, grows in this Valley. This is the only palm that grows in cold weather. We didn't go to the lookout during this trip because we had been there before and also because our tour included a stop at the lookout in Pueblo Tapao. We enjoyed our trip to Salento buying handicrafts, taking pictures, and having a traditional lunch of trout with fried green plantains. 

From the Pueblo Tapao lookout

Valle del Cocora

Las escaleras que se ven al final de la calle (amarillas y azules) son las que llegan al mirador. 

The stairs at the end of the road (yellow and blue steps) lead to the main lookout in Salento.

Colombia es un pais del cual la gente se enamora por su cultura y por su belleza natural. En mi opinion, uno de los atractivos mas grandes de latinoamerica es ver los pueblos que todavia conservan su arquitectura española. Esta fue nuestra tercera visita a Salento pero en el Jeep Willys disfrutamos aun mas. 

Colombia is a Country that people love because of its culture and its natural beauty. In my opinion, one of the highlights of latin america is visiting the towns that still preserve the Colonial architecture. This was our third trip to Salento, but with the Jeep Willys tour we enjoyed it even more.

Yolanda Suarez, my mother, is an Colombian artist. She will be posting and sharing her pictures in this blog while I'm on maternity "leave" and I can think about traveling again.

Guest Post: Overnight Trip to Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Nuestro paseo empezo en Bogota donde una empresa de transporte nos llevaria hasta Villa de Leyva. El tour que contratamos era una van que se paga por puesto. El precio fue aproximadamente $200 dolares por persona e incluia el transporte, guia turistico y una noche de hotel. Nosotros eramos los unicos pasajeros en este viaje con el guia turistico solo para nosotros. El nos instruyo acerca de la historia de cada region por la que pasamos. La primera parada en el camino fue en Sutamarchan a comer arepas y comida tipica Boyacense. Lo mas representativo de este lugar es la longaniza (un clase de chorizo).

Our trip started in Bogota where a tour company would take us to Villa de Leyva. They took us in a van that was paid by seats. Sharing rides is a common practice in Colombia for out of town trips. We paid approximately $200 dollars per person for the round trip, a tour guide, and one night in a hotel. We were the only passengers that day and had the tour guide for ourselves. He gave us history lessons about every region along the way. Our first stop was in the town of Sutamarchan to eat arepas and typical food from the region. This town is known for its longaniza (a saugage).

La segunda parada fue a conocer el Puente de Boyaca, un sitio historico porque aqui fue donde Simon Bolivar gano la batalla definitiva para la Independecia de Colombia el 7 de Agosto de 1819.

Our second stop was at the Boyaca Bridge. This is a historical site because this is where Simon Bolivar won the last battle for the Colombian Independence on August 7th, 1819.

Approximadamente 4 horas despues de salir de Bogota, llegamos a Villa de Leyva. Esta ciudad es Patrimonio Nacional y en mi opinion la mas linda de Colombia. Este pueblo parece seguir en el siglo 19. Las nuevas construcciones estan obligadas a seguir la misma arquitectura. Todas las casas deben ser blancas con puertas y ventanas verdes; las calles de piedra pueden ser transitadas por carros. Pasamos la noche en un hotel tipo hostal cerca de la plaza mayor con habitaciones y baños privados que incluia desayuno tipico.

After approximately 4 hours we reached Villa de Leyva. Villa de Leyva is a national heritage site and in my opinion the most beautiful town in Colombia. This town is still looks like the 19th century. Any new constructions are required to follow the Colonial architecture. The houses are all white with green doors and windows and the cobblestone streets can be used by cars. Our tour included one night in a local hostel with a private room and bathroom near the main square. The hostel also included a typical Colombian breakfast.

Plaza Mayor, Villa de Leyva

Hostel Entrance

Nuestro tour tambien incluia una visita al Convento del Santo Eccehomo. Este convento esta en las afueras de Villa de Leyva.

Our tour also included a visit to the Santo Eccehomo convent located outside Villa de Leyva.

Al dia siguiente, paramos en El Fosil, el museo de los fosiles donde hay un Kronosaurio exhibido. 

The next day we visited El Fosil, a museum where you can see a kronosaurus.

De  regreso a Bogota pasamos por Raquira para comprar artersanias y disfrutar de la comida tipica de la region por ultima vez. Nuestro guia tambien nos llevo a Chiquinquira a conocer a la famosa Virgen de Chiquinquira.

On our way back we stopped by a town called Raquira to buy crafts and eat local food for one last time. Our tour guide also took us to the town of Chiquinquira to see the famous Virgin of Chiquinquira. 

Raquira

Iglesia de Chiquinquira

Virgen de Chiquinquira

Lo mejor de viajar por Colombia es el cambio de paisaje y de climas en el camino. Este pais es rico por muchos motivos y uno de ellos es la cantidad de pueblos conservados en el pasado.

The best thing about traveling in Colombia is the change in scenery and climate along the way. This country is rich for many reasons and one of them is the little towns preserved in the past. 

*This post was written by Yolanda Suarez, my mother. She will be posting some of her travel pictures in this blog. For more information about Villa de Leyva, there is a NYTimes article here. *

Help!

In the past few months, this pregnancy has taught me many things including patience and letting others help me with simple tasks. I refuse to get help with many things. However,  as my belly grows bigger,  I find myself in trouble and I even need help getting up or pick up something from the floor. 

I told my mom a few weeks ago that I was thinking about closing this blog because I'm not traveling anywhere anytime soon and I do not want to make this blog a baby blog. She offered to post some of her best travel pictures and write (in spanish and I'll translate) a few of her adventures around the world.  I liked the idea of having someone who thought me the love of photography share her pictures. She is the reason why I have so many childhood pictures. It is hard to find her in pictures as with any person that becomes the family photographer.  I asked her to share mostly her pictures from trips around Colombia. Since my dad and her are retired, they spend about 6 months of the year in Cali. They are enjoying their retirement and travel constantly.

Airplane Picture 1984

I posted her pictures of her most recent trip to Santa Marta, Colombia with my dad. She doesn't have a fancy camera, but she is a great artist who loves taking pictures. You can see some of her paintings here.  I can't wait to share some of her memories in this website. 

Santa Marta, Taganga, and Tayrona

Last night, I found a great blog that talked about Colombia. It was so nice to read good things about home. Emily also went to Colombia and I'm feeling VERY home sick!! I haven't been to Cali since my wedding last year, to Bogota since 2010, and to Cartagena since 2004.

I  regret that I was never a tourist when I lived there. I always wanted to go to the same place, San Andres, over and over. Apparently, my parents didn't care that we spent our summer and Christmas vacation in either San Andres or Cartagena EVERY single year. Maybe it was because we always thought there could be another time to see something else. Sadly, that time didn't come when it was just a short 1 hour flight. I can't complain, Miami is only 3 hours away from most Cities in Colombia. The worst part is probably my Tampa-Miami flight, the waiting at the airport, and immigration and customs. This means it is a whole day of traveling not just a 3 hour flight.

My parents are now retired and they spend about half the year in Cali and the other half in Tampa. They have started to travel in Colombia again. They recently went to Santa Marta, Taganga, and the Tayrona National Natural Park. I asked my mom to share her travel pictures in this blog. I can't wait to visit this wonderful place.

On Giving Thanks...

Thanksgiving is not an important holiday for me. I've lived in the United States for almost 13 years and turkey is not my favorite food. However, I like the idea of giving thanks and the 2 paid days off are always welcome. I usually travel abroad since November is low season for international travel. Last year we went to Ecuador. This year we had plans to go to Peru. Since I am 8 months pregnant, I am not allowed to get on an airplane anymore. I'm Tampa bound and I plan to enjoy the days off doing the best thing to do this weekend: Shopping!!!!

Black Friday is probably the craziest and busiest shopping day of the year. I'm not planning to join the masses on this day. I am planning to go during the weekend to an outlet mall since they have great sale specials during holiday weekends. 

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The only choice we have to make is which of the 3 nearby outlet malls we should go to. There are 2 in Orlando and one in Sarasota. It takes about the same time to get to both. The only difference is that the Orlando Outlets have more stores and that since it is a tourist destination they are always PACKED! Black Friday or not, parking is impossible and you feel like they are giving away everything for free because of the excitement of the shoppers. 

One of the things to do when you come to the U.S from other Countries is to shop!! My friends from out of town always ask me which outlet is the best. They are all great, but it depends what you want to buy. They all have Coach, Ninewest, Lacoste, Polo, Banana Republic, Gap, Jcrew, Michael Kors, Nike, Guess, BCBG, Ann Taylor and many other stores. 

Ellenton Premium Outlets

This outlet is typically my choice when I don't want to go to a massive place and I don't want to spend all day shopping.  There are over 130 stores with a great selection and not many tourists. Parking is easy and I love the drive to Sarasota. The only store that is different here is the Saks 5th Avenue that has a great selection of shoes, dresses, designer jeans and all other amazing Saks merchandise at great prices. 

Photo Credit: www.premiumoutlets.com

Orlando Premium Outlets - Vineland Avenue

This is typically my choice when it comes to shopping in Orlando. Probably because it is closer to Tampa. Traffic getting in the parking lot and even out can be tricky. There is only one main exit road and unless you are familiar with the back roads you will be in traffic for a long time. There are over 150 stores in this mall. Some of my favorite stores that are not found in the other outlets include: lululemon, Prada, Burberry, and Tory Burch. My sisters like it because there is a Toys r us outlet store for their kids. The 7 for all mankind store is always a must for me, but you can also find one in the International Drive Outlets. 

Orlando Premium Outlets - International Drive

There are over 180 stores in this Outlet and you don't get to see all of them in one day. I usually plan what I want to buy before I go. Some of the stores that can only be found in this Outlet are Victoria's Secret, Champion, Forever 21, Aldo, and Ugg. There is a Pinkberry to take a break. There are a few better options for food apart from the food court. This is the newest Outlet mall in the area and in my opinion the best option.