A Weekend Getaway

Whereas Finns have summer cottages and getaway cabins by a lake, the Colombians have fincas, weekend and vacation houses outside of Bogotá.

A Finnish friend of mine, Jukka, invited us to his parents-in-law's finca in Viota, 90 km south from Bogotá last weekend. We happily accepted the invitation as we haven't done yet many excursions here. Last Monday was a feriado, a public holiday so it customary to take advantage of the possibility to escape the city. Even if the distances in kilometers are not very long, one must calculate at least two hours of driving because of the combination of huge amount of fleeting Colombians and curvy serpentine roads.

On the way we passed a very stinky and polluted river, some other villages and many curves. The white stuff in the river is not water foam but pollution, unfortunately. All the dirt from Bogotá's industries ends up in this river.

Makes you want to recycle, right?

After breakfast and meeting another couple on the way that Jukka invited, we arrived at the finca!
 

Viota is a village in tierra caliente, meaning hot land. The temperature rises significantly as we are descending 2000 meters from the plain of Bogotá to this village. In Viota the weather is humid and warm, close to +30 degrees.

Jukka's wife Carolina and their daughter, Kataliina.

The view from the finca was spectacular.

The pool was just a fantastic refreshment. As there are no seasons in Colombia, the weather is always pretty much the same.

The houses are built differently because one doesn't have to worry about cold temperatures. So there is an open inner courtyard or patio in the house. The house is huge with six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen and dining / living area, which of course was not much in use because the most of the time is spent outside.

This kiosco offers shade and hammocks by the pool - total relaxation! Additionaly, at the finca there were numerous fruit trees - orange, papaya, mango, lulo, soursop (=guanabana), coconut, you name it! Paradise.

However, we didn't spend too much time in there as we were exploring the village on one day and the marvellous landscape by bike another day. More to follow...

Photography Pupils

One of the most important things I have done this year was to do a course in photography; more exactly, I learned how to use my camera. Many people own fancy digital single lense reflex cameras but only a few know how to use them to their full potential.

The first part of the basic course, had an exhibition of the final work done during the course. The classes had different themes for the final work. Ours was based on the decontextualisation of domestic objects and it was influenced by a famous photographer, Chema Madoz. In other words, the task was to put an everyday object like a toothbrush into a new environment.

Thanks to Labloom, our school in visual arts and photography here in Bogotá, I know now, too, how to use my camera! Our teacher and co-owner of the school, Fabian Acosta, is handing me the certificate.

All photos above by Labloom

My final work was a travelling family of Nivea body cream bottles. They travelled all the way to Europe with me, were waiting for the train at Zurich Airport, got onto the Swiss train and did even a snow shoe hike on the Finnish slopes.

So I had my first exhibition already; now I'm waiting for potential buyers wanting to invest in my art. And I'm one step closer to my dream coming true! ;)

Bike Tour La Calera

We met these newlyweds, Colombian Lisandro and his American-Cypriot wife Daniela, on one of the tours organised by Internations in February. Since we met, we have been keeping contact and hanging out on a weekly basis. In many ways, they're very much like minded; outdoorsy and sporty but like also the occational night out.

Lisandro is an enthusiastic mountain biker, so it was only a matter of time that also we start going on off-road bike tours with them. Lukas tried out the new bike with Lisandro already earlier, but last Sunday was the first time for me. It was my second time so far - once before, last summer in Austria I did mountain biking.

Made by Lisandro Benavides

So Daniela, Lukas and I cycled up the paved road to La Calera, where was our first pit stop. The Colombian roads are generally steep: there is no beginner's level, just straight to advanced.

Fueling up with breakfast!

This is yellow arepa, a typical Colombian substitute for bread. I would describe it as slightly bigger, thicker and softer nacho. There are pretty much all the colours of rainbow available, and many different kinds of toppings. Mine was served with avocado and cheese. Side dish: scrambled eggs with tomato and onion. Drink: hot chocolate.

Lukas opted for manlier breakfast, caldo de castillo. It is tasty, quite clear soup with chunks of meat and potatoes in it. After the breakfast, our journey continued. We were invited to a friend of Lisandro's, who had birthday. The plan was to make another off-road tour and afterwards go to Leonardo's for barbecue.

We drove up; Lukas cycled.

Casa de Leonardo.

At Leonardo's we got geared up again and headed for the second part of the trip - the harder part!

On the way we saw this gorgeous lady. I fell in love - she was beautiful and nice. I was joking to the guys that next time they'll go cycling I will come on horseback.

Stylish, eh? ;) Half marathon is a piece of cake in comparison to this! My bum was bruised and burning. Where's my lady saddle??

Yey, we reached the top! The view from the top reaches over whole Bogotá. Normally it would be a relief but this time... it was not all downhill from here on.

Made by Lisandro Benavides

Who designed hand brakes?? I want my old 3-gear Nopsa Boulevard with a lady saddle and leg brake back, please. :D



Back at the house! Now beer and barbecue.

It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon! After the lunch I had time to get to know the surroundings and concentrate on my passion, taking pictures.

Living in the countryside has definitely its sides. It's peaceful and calm; here you can recharge your batteries well.

Made by Lisandro Benavides

Tennis Time!

Last Sunday we were invited by our landlord and his wife to play tennis at the club where they are members, Ameríca Tenís Club in Bogotá.

As we are both beginners, we got an instructor who showed us the basics of the moves. He also made us run! I didn't know how exhausting tennis can be! But I enjoyed every minute of it, even when I was catching my breath...

After the lesson we had breakfast, sauna and showers, and got to know the club a bit better. The club's garden is also where we spotted a Colombian fruit called lulo growing in the trees. The same fruit is known as naranjilla or 'little orange' in Ecuador, and it's often used to make juice.

Tennis is definitely a cool sport which I could imagine practising more frequently. It's fast paced, if you're handling the ball well enough, and so much fun, if you get the sensation of succeeding every now and then. So maybe before planning the hobby any further, I should get an instructor, at least in the beginning... ;)