Ad hoc travels

Thursday night, sleepless eyes, time on hands. Taken a nap earlier and knowing that following 5 hours will be restless, I was luckily visited by a muse , which inspired me to share couple thoughts about Colombian cultural traits, that I’ve found interesting. Entonces after living a month in Colombia, I’ve clustered enough information for a small article about things that, at first seemed strange to me, but now completely normal. Granted, that truly understand one’s culture requires spending years within the environment (which is called cultural relativism in anthropological world), so my goal is to outline my personal observations. Vamonos!            After my first week in the country, I’ve slowly started noticing that Colombians have their own understanding of time. I’ve read about Latin countries' “time sensitivity” before, but never had opportunity to experience it on my own. So what do I mean by it? It is known fact, t...

Valle de Guadalupe Will you believe me if I tell you that lucky San Diegans are only two hours away from tasting one of the best Mexican wines, strolling along Russian vineyards (whaat???), and having a romantic dinner aboard Titanic? The best part of it all - the price, that is twice cheaper than going on wine tours in Temecula or Napa Valley. Mix of Mexican and Russian history with Di Caprio in it too? How is this possible? Well, after reading this 5 minutes article you'll see how! Fortunate residents of Southern California (San Diego in particular) have it all:  sunny  climate,  ocean till horizon, pristine beaches, snowy mounts, international cuisine, possibility to surf and to snowboard within the same day. It's almost impossible to find something that will awe "spoiled" San Diegan. Although, not many people know that only two hours drive down south, one can find himself/herself among spectacular valleys that are known as Mexican Tuscany . As much as 90%...

A breath of nature in the heart of the megalopolis. Flower garden * I apologize, no photos in this post as it seems like there are issues in Google servers* Every city has its own trademark green-space: New York City boasts, more than a century old, Central Park; sunny San Diego has signature Balboa Park, that had opened city to flocks of visitors in the beginning of 20th century; Bogota takes pride in Simon Bolivar park. It features aquatic complex, library, Children's museum, space for concerts and Botanical garden. Today, I'll review my observations of Bogota’s climate, its air quality problem and how it is all connected to the Botanical Garden, place that offers escape to nature in the middle of the hectic city. This 5 minutes’ article will enrich you with some facts about Bogota and hopefully gives some thoughts to ponder on.           The two things that might catch by surprise unaware traveler in Bo...