One month left in the journey

On October 13th I fly back to the USA. Thus, I must take advantage of the month that remains which includes one more week in Colombia, one week in Ecuador and two weeks in Peru. My trip has been amazing thus far, but not without dreaming of home. But do you blame me? It has been since January 2008 since I've been living south of the border with only a few quick trips home.

So what have I done since my last post? I'll update you with the highlights:

- Went for a bike ride along the gorgeous Caribbean coast in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is not a misnomer.



- Walked across a train bridge to cross into Panamá.



- Saw the Panamá Canal in action. This was extra special for me because my paternal grandfather, while in the Merchant Marines in WWII, crossed through the canal. Because of his stories, I've always wanted to see it. Also, I discovered that George B. Squires received the Roosevelt Award for 2 years of service in its construction. Relation? Not sure, but it's possible! So, the concept of the canal is quite spectacular, as is the sight. The construction, which originally started in the late 19th century by the French but subsequently failed, was managed by the Americans in the beginning of the 20th century. The Americans also helped Panamá win its independence from Colombia in order to build the canal. Workers came from all around the world, but tens of thousands were lost (specifically the non-whites, as they were given tougher jobs and poorer living conditions) to the hard labor, accidents, and tropical diseases. The canal was inaugurated in 1914 and was run by the U.S. until 1999, when the ownership was transferred to the Panamanians. The canal works with a system of locks where gravity drops the water level in one in order to raise the level in its neighboring chamber so that the ship either rises or falls in order to continue its journey. Sadly, all the water used in this is fresh water, and it is all lost to the sea in the end. However, they are building new, larger locks where they will recycle the water and which will allow passage of a much larger percentage of the world's ships. I hope you enjoyed this small history lesson.



- Flew AIRES, which is the Colombian airline who recently had an accident. Yikes! But I was okay :)

- Discovered the colonial Caribbean city of Cartagena, Colombia where I took a mud bath inside of a volcano, went for a run on the fortress-like wall that was built to keep the pirates out, and rode a party bus called a chiva.







- Explored the paradise that is Parque Nacional Tayrona: a huge protected area in the Caribbean jungle of Colombia where the green jungle leads into snow-capped peaks. I hiked 2 hours in through the mud and on the beach to sleep in a hammock with an ocean view.





- Reunited with my Colombian friends from Yellowstone summer 2004.



And it must be said, Colombia is not the scary place that most Americans think it is. I have felt extremely safe here and the people have been wonderful. The media needs to stop picking on Colombia and actually see what it is really like. I recommend you visit!