Catolico Confimado!

One more step in the marriage process completed. On Saturday we went to the cathedral for our confirmations. As you can imagine, as with any ceremony in the catholic church, this was a long evening. We arrived at four o'clock only to find out that Cecy had forgotten that we needed to go to the church in which we are going to marry to pay for the confirmation and to collect the candles for the ceremony. In the end other candles were found in the cathedral and we paid there. Not a big issue from my point of view but it was a worrying moment for a while because this was the final opportunity to attend a confirmation ahead of the wedding day. So with our witnesses on hand (Cecy's dad and sister) we went through the standup, sit down, stand up, sit down, sing, pray, stand up, sit down for an hour or so then approached the cardinal for the confirmation (which takes about fifteen seconds each to do). Done!

Back at the house they tried to tell me that we will be required to dance with other people briefly, fifteen to twenty minutes. Cecy with all the men and me with all the women. I think I managed to upset the tradition a little when I told them that it was our special day and I didn't want to dance with anybody else. We are not getting married until 8 o'clock so will not get back to the house until about ten. I don't want to spend the rest of the evening separated from my new wife! In the end I conceded to a brief period, maybe two or three very brief dances. I can be very stubborn and I don't even want a reception. I have told Cecy that it is our day and as soon as I get the feeling that anyone is interfering with us spending time together we are going to the hotel. I am looking forward to the day from our point of view, we are going to be married. I hope I enjoy the reunion at the house after but if I was a betting man I would say definitely not. We didn't want his, we just wanted to go straight to the hotel after the ceremony. Dozens of guests have been invited, none of whom I know. Who knows I could be updating this blog at the hotel while everyone else is dancing the night away at the house. More to follow.

Paris to Bogotá

Two hours after arriving in Paris I was on my way again en route to Caracas in Venezuela. Ahead of me lay a ten hour flight but no worries because I could watch the in flight DVDs and possibly catch up on some sleep since I hadn't slept since the morning before.

The crew had a surprise in store for me though because the in flight DVD was only partially functional. In the end no problem because I managed to keep myself occupied with the films/programmes available and at least my breathing had returned to near normal although the truth is that my bronchii were still very uncomfortable. It would take another two days for the discomfort to resolve completely. The flight seemed to last forever but eventually we arrived in Caracas where I would get my next surprise of the journey. Yes, Air France had placed a note on the flight that I was a passenger but they had not booked a seat. Perhaps in the baggage hold? In the end sense prevailed so the attendant (who knew the flight had been paid for and that there were spare seats on the flight) booked me into a seat. I had three hours to wait for the connecting flight and would no arrive in Bogotá in time to fly to Valledupar the same day. Also I had not managed to sleep on the flight. Also although I was gasping for a drink I had both UK currency and Colombian currency but was in Venezuela so I was going to have to wait until arriving in Bogotá for a drink.

Just before boarding the flight, an hour late and for no apparent reason other than the fact the flight crew weren't that bothered about punctuality, it began to rain. This statement needs a little explanation because although we think it rains in England in South America rain takes on a whole new meaning.Think of the worst rainfall you have seen and think of that as spitting rain. Then try to imagine torrential in this context. I watch a few successive flights skid their way down the runway and the plumes of spray in their wake and began to wonder if air traffic control in Caracas is actually manned. The conditions were unchanged when my flight took off and I began to understand how religion is still deeply ingrained in the population here. When I looked at the flight path my understanding was even greater because none of the flight appeared to be over level ground, it was all along mountain ranges. We had to wear our safety belts due to the turbulence which did little to reassure me. Have you ever seen a news announcement where they say that a plane has crashed into the side of a mountain...................but luckily all of the passengers were wearing their safety belts! Didn't think so. But no worries, we arrived in Bogotá without incident.

Adams Park to Paris

My brother met me at Adams Park after the friendly fixture with Chelsea XI. It was a good evening with the 5-1 win, a little show of appreciation from the crowd and a nice goodbye from the staff and players in the dressing room post match. I really did appreciate the gesture. My brother dropped me at Heathrow, I didn't want him to wait with me because 1. I hate goodbyes and 2. I had no idea what time my pay would go into the bank and thus how long I would be waiting around in the airport. For all I knew it could end up being a matter of days depending upon flight availability.

As it turns out my pay entered the bank just after three o'clock. I managed to book a flight online for 06:40 in the morning. Brilliant! Then a little later I received confirmation along with a message that my online boarding passes would be processed in the next 48 hours. 48 hours!?! What the fu**!?!?!? I tried my passport in the auto book-in and it registered without issuing a boarding pass but it was prior to the 4:30 opening for my flight. When I went to check-in for boarding I was informed that although the booking was registered a problem was being flagged and I would need to consult the Air France desk. They informed me that the flight had been booked but not paid for. Decision time, what to do now? Pay for the flight again and try to cancel the original booking or take a chance and wait until the boarding passes were confirmed and that they would be valid for the next available flight. I couldn't call the booking agent because they did not accept calls until 9 o'clock in the morning. In the end I booked with the Air France desk and paid again. I went to the check in with ten minutes left to boarding to be told that the tickets I had been given were not boarding passes so had to return to the automated machines to check-in. Nobody was helpful. The desk staff would not allow me to leave my luggage at the desk and no passengers would get out of the way......but then they were French so no surprise there. I checked in at the desk in the final minute of boarding at the time given for gate closing for the flight. I had to make a World record attempt sprint finish over the 1000m to gate 24!! The security staff must have thought I had kryptonite in my cases because I was virtually waved through all security checks after leaving my belt  and throwing my loose change on the floor. I got to gate 24 where the flight had been delayed due to luggage loaded without the passenger (me) having boarded, feeling like I had two collapsed lungs, couldn't feel my hamstrings anymore and that there was no oxygen remaining in the atmosphere. The staff wouldn't allow me to board until my breathing rate had reduced to less than 120 breaths per minute and I had consumed 2 litres of water to replace the sweat pooling on the floor beneath me. Once I had collapsed to the floor I was unwilling to return to the seated position.
45 minutes late the flight left Heathrow for Paris Charles de Gaulle. I was on my way but still sweating heavily and unable to breath without an audible wheeze!

Volver!

 It was more difficult returning to England than I anticipated, for the both of us. As it turns out events transpired to allow me to return to Colombia much earlier than originally planned. So, here I am. Very happy and incredibly busy every day trying to organise things with Cecy. We are working against the clock! I have sixty days on my tourist visa although this can be extended for a price (surprise!) upto the end of November.

I have a story about the return journey which as it turns out was an adventure worthy of the telling. We have to get to town now though to organise a few things. Also we have to attend a course at the Catholic church tonight in preparation for the wedding next month. Nothing happens easily here although paying an extra few thousand pesos seems to ease things through at times, even in the office of DAS, the Colombian Department of Internal Security! More to follow.

Biodiversity

Cecy and I returned to La Piscina, this time to stay the night. We met our friend Yamie in the centre of Manaure, he's  the head honcho under the owner. He organised our room for us and then we had a wander into Manaure. The venues that were open were a little too lively for us, we came here for a quiet night away from it all so we bought a couple of drinks from a local shop. Funny idea because the shop owner takes your order through a little hatch in a metal door like the ones in prison, disappears for a little while and then your order is pushed out through the hatch. We walked back to our room at La Piscina to spend the night after downing our drinks under the stars.....what a clear sky!We had to walk back into the centre of Manaure to catch a "taxi" (actually just a local guy in his car making a few pesos) but I was struck by the diversity of fruits and plants here. These pictures were taken walking along one road in town.

These are coffee beans growing on some bushes in the grounds of La Piscina. They are not ready to pick because they are still green. They will change to either yellow or red when they are ripe for harvesting. They only go brown/black once they have been picked and go through processing.

In this picture you can see two different types of mango growing in trees alongside each other. The green ones are the bog standard mango that you would expect but the red ones are called Mangos de manzana (apple mangos) and are a different variety of the mango. I haven't tried a mango de manzana yet so can't comment first hand on them. The normal mangos grow in the garden of our house so I both eat them and have drinks of mango fairly often.

Here's where I start to get a little bit out of my depth because I am by no means a botanist. I just take the pictures and Cecy tells me what they are called. This particular tree-growing fruit is a Guanabana.

A little more familiar this bush-grown fruit, at least I have heard of it. These fruits are Maracuyás. Cecy told me this is a plant that behaves a little bit like ivy, growing attached to a larger tree - no sign of that here though.

OK, happier here because this is familiar territory. It doesn't take an horticultural expert to recognise these babys. These are bananas to you and I, here they are called plátanos, bananos or guineos depending on where in Colombia you are. The are either picked green (plátanos verdes) to be used more like a vegetable or picked yellow (plátanos maduros). Over here they actually prefer bananas nearer to black than yellow but they don't ofter seem to eat them like a fruit preferring to fry them or use them in recipies.

Not really much to add here.......coconuts.

This is a type of citrus fruit called toronjas. Look them up on google because that is about all I know about them! I could look it up myself for completeness but I am here to spend time with my other half, not researching on the internet.

I'm not going to upload all the pictures of the flowers in this street, just one as an example. All the flowers I took photos of are varieties of Margaritas (Daisys in the UK). This particular one is called a Margarita Fucsia. The other versions I saw are Naranjas (orange) and Rojas (red). 

One final point is to reinforce that these plants were all found in one street about seventy metres long. A diversity to admire I think.

La Piscina, Manaure

After the school visit Cecy took me to a bar/hostel called La Piscina on the edge of Manaure. In the past it was dangerous to visit here because of the presence of guerrilas but it is safer now. On the walk there we passed a tree with a wasps' nest.

A little further down the road I was just a little surprised to see this horse wandering freely in the street, nobody even seemed to register that the horse was there. It is so tranquil in this village, Cecy and I are going to look for a place here.

Ok, so eventually we arrived at La Piscina. I have to say I was very impressed, I love this spot.

Cecy poses for me before we cross the bridge over to La Piscina. Heavenly location and a goddess for company, man it doesn't get better than this! The river below the bridge is fast flowing, almost rapid-like through the rocks. I love the sound of running water. One of my dreams before arriving here was to visit the beach (also called La Piscina) in El Parque Tayrona on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. We are planning to go there on Thursday so perhaps loads of photos of that day to follow. Fingers crossed here.

I guess the owner (nice guy originally from Medellin) is a bit of a romantic judging from the signs over the bridge. The first reads "Con un beso sella el amor para siempre" (with a kiss seal [your] love forever). The second reads "Arroja una moneda al río y pide un deseo" (throw a coin into the river a make [ask for] a wish). Not a great view of the river but at least you can get an idea.

I was there after all. I keep taking pics of Cecy and forget about myself at times, easy to do though. Quite the picture this one too, it's not very ofter that you can see a photo of me next to a horse. I have never liked them very much but am going to have to from now on, especially to visit Cecy's sister's ranch in the nearby mountains. It's a a trek so I'm told. Perhaps we'll go there this week.




Ok, a few more pics to show the river. Take note of the kids swimming in the river and the soldiers on gaurd on the road overlooking La Piscina! There is also a pic of a banana tree next to the bridge we crossed to get in here.

Today I think we are going back to the parque de diviertos, amusement rides in town. Let you know later.

Out of town

Yesterday Cecy and I had to attend a parent teacher day for Juan Filipe at his school in Manaure, a village near to Valledupar. The school has an outstanding reputation. It is a church run school from which students graduate with professional standard qualifications, they can enter professions here with the same regard as graduates from university. However, the kids do leave for school at 5 o'clock in the morning and return home with homework. It is kind of refreshing to see the kids sit down with their homework and tackle it with enthusiasm. Cecy and I returned home after the football yesterday (and a few drinks in town) and Vanesa was still working on her homework!

En route to Manaure from Valledupar by taxi. In the background of this picture is part of tha Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range.

Taxi rides are a real experience here. There appear to be only two speeds in cars, stop and flat out. I took a short video of the return trip yesterday, quite a thrill ride! Cecy has said to me that we will die together one day, for a moment there I thought yesterday was the day!


Below are a few pictures taken in the school grounds.