Bogota Colombia - this is a much cooler place than I thought!

Its hard to surprise me, but when I do get surprised I really enjoy it.  I had to go to Bogota Columbia for work and was thoroughly taken back by just how much this country has to offer.  I only had a few hours here and there to sight-see but the people were amazing, the scenery spectacular and the culture authentic. Here are a few things I was able to do.

Monserrate

What a breathtaking view from on top of the Andes back to the city!  There is a catholic church (85% of Colombians are Roman Catholics) as well as a small market up on top.  This was definitely worth it, even if there was some heavy breathing at 10340 feet up!

If that isn't a sea of humanity (~10mil) I don't know what is!

How adorable is this little guy?  I wonder if he considers that a guitar or a ukulele?

Bolivar Square

Here is where everything comes together, so to speak.  The government buildings are on one side and the main cathedral on the other.  The pope was coming to visit the day after I left so there was a lot of activity.  In fact, they had transported under heavy guard the Our Lady of the Rosary (patron saint of Colombia) from Chiquinquir so we were able to see that as well. 

The Bogota Cathedral

Our Lady of the Rosary painting

Obviously I would want to jump in on a picture with a bunch of nuns! I think they enjoyed it even more than me!?

Their military police were really nice guys as well, even humoring me with a picture.

Zipaquira, Catedral de Sal

Colombia has many natural resources and mining operations throughout the country.  One major resource is salt.  In Zipaquira they have made a cathedral carved out of the 3rd level of a salt mine.  It was rather interesting to go through the mine and end up in a large chapel area.  This particular area has been used for salt mining since the 5th century!

Lighting created some cool effects in the salt mine.

Food & Everything Else

I really enjoyed the Colombian food and had the opportunity to try out lots of it!

I love it when you can eat street food! (especially when it doesn't crawl!)

I just had to get a picture with the most famous Colombian - Juan Valdez. 

Yes, this is marijuana at the local floral store - there just might be a few issues still remaining in the country! 

If you want to see some other pictures please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.

South Africa Side Trip: Pretoria and Cape Town

My latest Africa adventure ended with a speed through visit of South Africa.  We were able to hit two spots - Pretoria (to visit my cousin and his family) and Cape Town.

Pretoria has some cool features - like being able to pet lion cubs and cheetahs and the Apartheid Museum (well, maybe this is JoBurg, but close enough right?)   We also hit a Saturday food market which was yummy for my tummy.  Thanks to my cousins for being, once again, amazing tour guides!  I love you guys!!

I've got the tiger (I mean Cheetah) by the tail!

Those are SERIOUS paws!

Love these folks!

Next spot, Cape Town.  I fell in love with Cape Town.  One reason could be that after being in places where you can't drink the water for 10 days it is a welcome feeling to not stress about brushing your teeth and forgetting to rinse with tap water.  Refreshing is the word that comes to mind.  The other reason is that it has so much to offer.  We really did speed though the town with only about a day and a half to visit, thus, only hitting the highlights.  They were, however, amazing highlights.

Cape of Good Hope

The beach areas were all beautiful - just wish it was warm enough to jump in! 

The farthest southwest tip of the African continent is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, maybe.  Yes, there is some discrepancy about where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean's but it's neat to see regardless.  Someone said it actually depends on the time of year - so maybe it was where the two meet...then again...maybe not?!  The drive from Cape Town is beautiful as you go past mountains on the one side and the ocean on the other side.

A little harbor just outside of Cape Town

Climbed to the lighthouse (ya, the tiny thing far away and up.  Shouldn't have eaten that second helping the night before!).

Boulder's Bay Penguin Colony

These little animals are just so darn cute!  I've seen penguins in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and now South Africa.  I still have lots of species to check off my list (Antarctica?) but it was fun to see these little guys.

Aren't they cute?

Table Mountain

They claim it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world (have you notice a theme of claiming things in the area?) and it is beautiful.  Due to time constraints we got up early and took the cable car up.  We were glad we did, by 10am on our way back down the que was horrendously long.  The vistas are amazing, they have a great free 15 minute overview talk and we got to see little Dassies.  How weird is this...these animals are related to the Elephant.  After you see the picture below you will wonder.  Yes, you read that right?!

View towards Lion's Head

No, I didn't hike this...not enough time sadly.

Queen of the Mountain (better than king of the hill any day)!

Dassie, more of a large rodent, really are related to an elephant - go figure?!

V&A Waterfront

There was a festival going on while we were there so the waterfront was filled with people and activities which made for a fun afternoon.

How cool -they have a swing bridge downtown.

If you want to see some other pictures please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase. 

Cheat Sheet - Cape Town

Hotel:  Cape Town really is amazing and easy to navigate.  Staying down in the waterfront area was perfect so you could walk to many areas and it is a pickup drop off point for many day tours.  They have great restaurants which are affordable and nice walk ways around town.

Money:  Be aware, the city was a bit hit and miss as to if they would take credit cards so having cash on hand is a must.

Food: Cape Town has a ton of different food options ranging in price from cheaper street food to the expensive fancy places. A few places we ate at and enjoyed were:  V&A Foodmarket and Step Brothers Restaurant

Transportation: We walked a lot as we were so close to the majority of places.  We used Uber to get around a bit farther out and found it to be cheaper than taxis.

Don't Miss: Read above, we really hit the major sights and there is more to see.  Guess I'll have to go back again!

Karibu Kenya

I love to travel and I love animals so how cool was it to spend almost 10 days in Kenya on a safari with Lion Trails Safari and one of my childhood best friends and her sister?  Incredible!  It was an amazing trip filled with some of the coolest adventures.  Below are the ABC's of the highlights of our Kenya portion of the trip!

A - for Animals

As an animal lover who always watched Wild Kingdom growing up it was really spectacular to see the full diversity of animals interacting with each other up close and personal.  This was the number one reason why we went to Kenya and it did not disappoint!  I won't bore you with all the pictures and every animal we saw (although I have more posted on TrekkingTrego Public Gallery) but we did see everything! In fact, to keep with the theme it was from Antelope to Zebra and everything in the middle including the Big 5 (and their babies) and unique species like the Gerenuk.

One of my big wish list items was to see the great Wildebeest migration across the Mara river.  Guess what...I didn't see it just once but twice on my trip!  It was definitely a highlight.

B - Big Smiles
Okay, so this B is a little of stretch but my friends and I did have lots of fun creating crazy memories to last a lifetime. Our guides were fun, knowledgeable and survived my millions of questions (always a feat, I know).

Straddling the Equator

Chege, our awesome guide of the North

Notice how I have my friends closest to that horn!

Straddling the Tanzania/Kenya border

Jackson, our guide for the south when we weren't actually racing to some animal (that's a story in and of itself!)

C - Culture
It was also great to take some time to experience the cultural aspects of Kenya.  We visited the Samburu and Maasai Mara villages.  It was interesting to learn about how they live, celebrate life and interact with the modern world.  I wish I had these guys "hops" still (ha, okay never had it) but sure glad I don't have to live in those huts (which the women build, btw-Girl Power!).

The tribe let us dance with them (guess who was the worst dancer?)

The kids sang us some songs 

The house of a school teacher, she built it herself - she should be an engineer! 

The Medicine woman of the village - those wrinkles have stories to tell. 

The word that comes to mind...Boing!

It was a trip of a lifetime.  If you want to see some other pictures please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.  And, stay tuned for the last part of our trip - South Africa!

Dabbling in Dubai - A Dubai Cheat Sheet

One of the cool factors about flying Emirates from the US to Africa is that you have the chance for a free layover.  Depending on the ticket Emirates will provide you with a hotel, hotel transfer and even meals!  Who can pass up an opportunity like that?  Certainly not TrekkingTrego!

So, what do you do with 20 hours in Dubai?

Burj Khalifa - Worlds Tallest Building

First, you better go see Burj Khalifa.  Being the tallest building in the world it is pretty amazing.  What's even more amazing is that you take a single elevator up 124 floors in 90 seconds and the ride is as smooth as a cadillac!  Yes, I know I'm an engineer but it is pretty amazing.  The view down to the ground gives you a good perspective on things! Of course, all you see are tall buildings and sand!  If you look hard enough, you can see where the latest Star Trek movie was filmed.

Notice how hazy it is, and that's at 830am!

Second, the fountains are nice to see if you are there in the evenings.  We got in just before dark so after checking into the hotel we quickly headed out to the Dubai Mall (largest by size in the world - not that I care for shopping but google said so <g>) and watched the fountain shows.  They range in timing from about 3 minutes and not super spectacular to 7 minutes of wow. After the show go walk around the mall and eat an expensive bowl of cereal (two flavors for 3$).

Watch out Vegas, here comes Dubai

Inside Dubai Mall was an ice rink

My favorite store - buy a bowl of cereal!  

Third, see a lot of other really tall and fancy buildings around the marina area.  They have twisted buildings, they have the famous Al Arab building, and a lot of other buildings still under construction.  It is a growing place with a lot of hustle and bustle.

Burj Al Arab

Lastly, go old school and take an abra wooden boat across the Dubai Creek for a little nostalgic ride.  It only takes about 15 minutes and 1 AED.

Cruising down the river...well, putting down the river.

It was definitely a blitzkrieg of a trip through Dubai, and with the heat so crazy (110F with 80% humidity and blowing dust) we didn't explore much more.  In fact, we were a little bit like the Wicked Witch of the West as we were melting as we quickly visited the Persian Gulf.  Nonetheless, we were able to see a majority of the tourist spots and have a little adventure in the process.  Dubai - check!

Stay tuned for a post about the rest of the trip!  You can view additional pictures in my Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.