My Paradise:)

The bus ride from Medellin to Salento was splendid. Just beautiful green hills and cute little towns to stop in. It's common that people will hop on the bus and sell foods and goods, which were usually pretty crappy, but on this ride a man got on with homemade popsicles flavored blackberry, dulce de leche, and coconut. Those eased my nausea which was nice, but it all came back after our first stop when we ordered 4 different kinds of breads made with cheese. About midway into our trip, an adorable little girl sat with her mom next to nick, and she did a great job of having my attention. Later as I noticed nick was trying to read and the little girl mummbled loudly some childhood songs, I asked Nick if he wanted to trade. It was lovely, sitting and talking with her mother, Aura Maria, who invited me to come and visit whenever I wanted. We told each other a lot about our lives, and it was lovely sharing those moments with her. Soon after, she encouraged me to ask where two other foreigners who sat a couple of rows in front of us were from. The one sitting in the isle turned and said Melbourne, and proceeded to talk to me and we shared a few travel stories. The conversation began to deepen after we began talking about the farms I was looking into going to and our interest in expanding through spirituality. We ended up talking for the rest of the bus ride, and he totally inspired me with his enthusiasm and excitement for life and traveling. He then passed along the name of the camping grounds they were headed to and we ended up meeting there. We would have no clue of the paradise we were in until the next morning, but that night we were greeted by a sweet Argentine from my favorite region of the world, Rio Negro. That night I was able to bond with a bunch of awesome architecture students from Manizales, a bigger city near by, Argentine and another young french guy, both who turned out to be volunteering at that moment. It worked out that the French guy, Hugo, would be leaving the next day and I would be able to take his vounteer position to have free stay! Can't deny that! So the next day we woke up on the top of a hill surrounded by valleys and mountains off in the distance covered in lush green trees and grass. That day we decided we would walk down to Finca Don Elias, a small coffee farm deep down in the valley where we got an awesome tour of the coffee harvest and roasting process. It was absolutely beautiful, and of course the three of us ask about the irrigation system only to drop our jaws when he explained that the rain is more than sufficient. At the end, we got to enjoy a fresh banana, the sweetest we'd ever had, avocado, and a cup of coffee roasted in a sautee pan right there on that little four hectare farm, and then ground up two feet away in some 100 year old grinder. When we returned, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen, nearly walled with windows and beautiful views, working on a hair wrap and listening to Jack Johnson with the Argentine, Juan Manuel. He was making pizza for that night's dinner, which would be preceeded by an INCREDIBLE sunset with a bottle of wine, all about 10 feet from where our tent was set up :). Yes, now you can see why this was my paradise;  cool air, wine, mountains, lush greenery, INCREDIBLE wild flowers, and great people. The next day we would go on our horse back excursion, which was great, and it will always amazing me how horses can endure such rough rocky terrain with someone on their back... we stopped at a water fall where I was prepared with a swim suit and first to get in. Our guide however wasn't going to allow that nick leave without getting in in his little underwear, and our guide did exactly the same with him! Then Sarah came running in afterwards to join us in the 55 degree water! After the horse back riding, that night was a night for Mexican food!  And I'll tell you right now, it was better than ANY I've had in Texas. The women they have hired to cook and clean here have a gift for cooking, handmade flour tortillas, red beans cooked with garlic and cilantro, pico de gallo, AWESOME guacamole, white rice, chicken sauteed in fresh tomatoes, and beef fajita meet. But man, those tortillas. Oh, and Sarah and I got to treat everyone with fresh squeezed lime and passionfruit margaritas!!! We were thanked that night by many :). Those two dinner were magnificent, the kitchen was filled with some 15 or 20 travelers up in the mountains with dim candlelight and lots of laughter and love. It was great. Oh, not to mention, the moon has been huge and nearly full for the time we have been here! So, day three was our day to go to Valle de Cocora ,which turned out to a be a breath taking, not only for the beauty but also the steep inclines ;), 5 hour hike. It reminded me a lot of my time in the mountains of Argentina. We headed into town afterwards to get some great food for just 4 dollars a person which consisted of either chicken or trout (fresh from the region :):):) ), then vegetables, potatoes or beans, with a side of rice, salad, fried plantains, and some deeeelicious fried bread thing. This was the best meal I have had in Colombia, and one thing we decided was so great about Colombia, is the set meals with very few options...we often take this for granted but it truly does make life a bit easier. At the end of day three, it was time to say farewell to Nick :(, and off he went. Today, Thursday, Sarah and I have been super lazy, just hanging around and doing some gardening, catching up the blog, etc. But, we did pick a huge zuchini and sauteed it with some onion, garlic, and green beans, which has been the highlight of the day topped off with a brownie drenched in fresh milk from the cows on the property....Yes, this is the life we are living, and it is a blessing! Now, I'm still on a hunt/debate on whether or not I am ready to purchase a guitar to take around with me...