Welcome to Bogota

Tatianas house is cool and unusual at the same time. Her family is wonderful and her mom is a great chef. We are
nearing the end of the process, we went to the U.S. Embassy today for Marias Visa and will pick it up tomorrow. We will then be free to leave the country. We are likely to stay until arepre-arranged flight which is for the 27th. We are going to check with the airline to se if they make exceptions for adoptions but I fear the costs will still be astronomical to fly out early. Today with advice from Tatiana we took the transmilenio or as I like to call it the Sardine can. Our goal was to make it  to Lacandalaria this is the oldest homes in Bogota, the transmilenio stopped way early though and we were forced into a 3 mile hike through the centro downtown Bogota ,a place that we were told never to go to as Americans. It was quite the experience,street vendors and people crowded every square inch for miles  shouting and selling there items. Imagine New York city but with street vendors on every sidewalk and street selling stuff. It was utter chaos I would not advise this area for anyone. We did meet some cool Americans at the Embassy that are gpoing through the adoption process and it was fun to speak english to someone else for a change. I may not be posting anymore pics until I get home as the internet is a little slow. I hope everyone has a wonderful xmas and we'll see you all when we get back.

The fun continues

After 8 days I was suppose to see our guide today. She called me to say she doesn't have a car and she could come get me and go by taxi anywhere I wanted to go. I said no I could do that if I wanted. My guess is either the car has been smashed into a billion pieces or on one of her many braking performances she pulled the hand brake right out of the floor of the car. Either way I will be taking a taxi to court today on my expence I suspect and then a taxi to get Marias birth certficate and then a taxi to the hotel and then a taxi to the airport to get the heck out of this insane asylum. At least I'll be safe from the crazy person. I don't think im exagerating when I say she is the worst guide in the history of guides. I would have rather givin the 700 to Osama bin Laden then her. I hope the next time you here from me will be from Bogota.

My new christmas song enjoy

Jingle bells this place smells but here im forced to stay.Our guides nuts lost her mind and here I am today hey. dashing down the road only in the day, to the store I go, frightened all the way. Through the cars I run hoping that they'll stop, I think I see a gap,I better hurry up. I'ts like the frogger game but it's really not Did that car just backfire or have I just been shot. etc etc

What we have here is a failure to communicate (cool hand Luke 1963)

By popular demand I thought I would explain the circumstances of why Im by myself in Medellin. The final court date was suppose to happen last week,because this didn't happen it was decided that one of us should try to have some fun and go on to Bogota. I could say that I was a selfless team player,but that would'nt be exactly true. Karen,Tatiana and the kids also took one for the team by taking a 9 hour bus ride to save us some money. Because with no income coming in at home and the hotel costing us a fortune not to mention the adoption expences we need to scrimp. Today our wonderful guide was suppose to pick me up and bring me to the house where escobar was killed, no real surprise when she called last night and told me that she had a luncheon to attend today and couldn't make it. She then advised me that we have court on wednsday at 3pm,which basicly means that I can't book a flight to Bogota yet because after court's done we have to get a new birth certificate and that late court time may cause a delay in getting the birth certificate done in time. Now maybe you all understand the frustration and sarcasm toward Our guide and the system here.

Paranoia setting in

Im still trapped in my hotel room to frieghtened to venture out,Thanks to Tatiana. Allow me to explain my problem. Tatiana makes it seem like everyone is out to get you here. I have not experienced this,however she lives here and I have to take her word for it. Everywhere I have been I have always kept my money in my front pocket along with my hand to foil any would be pick pockets. I always keep a decoy wallet in the back(which incidently I cant find Im hoping someone took it and got the 1 dollar it contained along with a nasty note.)
Tatiana has explained to me that this does not work because
everytime I take my money out "theyre" watching. So she wants me to take 1 bill out at a time which doen't work because Im not superman, I can't see through the pockets to know what Im grabbing. So now she basicly has my pants laid out like a cash register. I have small bills in my left pocket medium in my right large in my sock,coins in the rear. Yesterday I needed the correct change to pay for my meal at the restaurant and I looked like a circus act trying to pay the guy. And yet somehow according
to Tatiana This is not as noticable.

Logan masters the bull

video

mas video

more video try to watch without laughing

picture yeah

Boooooooooring

 Its now the 5th day of not hearing from our 700 dollar guide. Did she get captured by Gorillas? did she cause a 78 car pile up? Has she finaly been put in an institution? Your guess is as good as mine. Its also the 3rd day without my family and of being sick. I should clarify sick. Im going to the bathroom 20 times per day you figure it out. It wouldnt be that bad except one problem. The day staff Marlene knows I don't speak Spanish very well so everything is acted or mimed if you will out.(with a medellin flair) Every morning I come down stairs and she asks  how I slept and puts two hands up by her face folded together to indicate sleep. Then she asks if Im still sick. To do this she bends forward pushes her butt out and makes a pssssssssssst sound while motioning back and forth to her butt to indicate whats coming out. If thats not embarassing enough she usually does this in front of the other Hotel guests. Tomorrow sounds like fun too. The Guide is suppose to bring me to the house where Pablo Escobar was killed. I have tried my hardest to explain to her it's in a area called barro medellin. No she insists it;s in a place called la america. In other words I'll just be looking at some guy's house tomorrow.

more pictures

Exiled

The hotel we were all staying in is now home to just me. I have been moved to a room with a strange pink bathroom.  The sink is inch's away from the toilet which requires a person to do the limbo to get by either one to access the shower or sink. The word "shower" maybe generous there is no shower head just a 100 mph stream of either scalding hot or arctic cold water coming out. Trying to get out of my as of late illness I used said shower and felt better. The staff here which consists of 2 ladys that work 15 hours a day 6 days a week for 10 dollars a day. Knocked on my door today for help with there impending wedding preperation.  It seems they were having trouble hooking up a hose to a pressure washer. They were using a metal fastner that was american style fractions and trying to hook up to a metric plastic connection on the pressure washer. Thier plan was to use plastic wrap around the fitting to make up the difference. I tried in vain to explain that this course of action would not work and that they needed the right connector. They insisted I put it on. I then watched in horror as Doris the night staff opened the valve and the hose exploded off the pressure washer and sprayed me with muddy water. I did get to prctice my limbo a second time on the way to the shower.  The hotel is now alive with people resembling worker bees preparing for the wedding tonight,which Im told will go from 8PM to 3AM. after my second shower Iwas asked to help a 85pound weakling and nearest I can tell Doris's boyfriend help unload 80 pound boxes of plates and glasses. Im now considering a third shower.

more photos

I need spanish lessons quick

 Today I found out that we may not have all of the paperwork that we needed from the orphanage to travel. Very frustrating as I explained to the rep in Bogota that it would be helpful if our guide to all of the legal matters spoke 1 word in English like they promised us. To add to the frustration they won't let Tatiana come with to any of these kind of matters. Last night We all had a couple of beers and talked to one of the women that work in the hotel,(I thought I was holding my own in spanish) I think now I may be taking her kids shopping on Sunday. I thought I was talking about the weather. Oh well if I can make some poorer people happy while Im here all the better.

Bad news and good news

 First the bad news,because of some idiotic paperwork mistake at the courthouse are court date has been delayed. The only good news is we have a date of next wednsday so we are free to leave prison until then. I think of it as out on parole. Next stop BOGOTA

Another day another near death experience

Yesterday was pretty fun we knew we had to stay out of the hotel because they were having a business conference, we also knew that our guide/lunitic was picking us up at 6:30 to see the lights. So we went to a mall here in medellin that has rides. The problem was of course the odd couple Maria and Logan. Logan being the tallest 8 year old in the history of Colombia and Marie being the shortest we could only go on a few rides as Logan sat there frustrated watching the 14 year olds go by him on to the fun rides. He did however get to do something I have always wanted to do, ride a mechanical bull. He was a little scared mind you when his parents had to sign a waiver form in spanish. Then the guide came to pick us up to see these lights that Medellin sets up. Which by the way are amazing they set up about a 2 mile stretch of lights. They span a tarp like structure over the river about every 50 feet or so and pump water onto these pinwheel like lights which spin and throw the lighted water into the air. Im almost positive a MN electrical inspector would not approve. And the peridodly they have huge scenes like santas workshop and his house and giant nativity scenes. The problem was that our guide told us she would be parking and walking and told Tatiana once we were in the car that we couldn't park we would have to drive.(Tatiana neglected to tell us this until we missed half the lights to take pictures. She was oblivious also to the near death experience we were about to have. I neglected to mention all five of us were in the back seat of her Chevy Aveo to make room for her friend from colarodo that may have been the tallest woman i have ever seen outside of a basketball game. As the guide talked with her friend she drove into on coming traffic and only Karens gutteral scream saved us from certain death. Tatian none the wisere still wants to drive with the guide as she is somehow more scared of taxis. More to come tomorrow if I survive tonights driving experience.

a few misc picture

pictures from the cable-car ride up the mountain

Waiting around

Their is not much going on around here just waiting,waiting ,waiting. I do want to tell you all a little about medellin. First of all it's almost impossible to believe I have never heard of this place,and that it's not a tourist destination.  The weather here is remarkable. it's mild everyday. They can leave all of the windows open to the outside all of the time. In fact the downstairs of the hotel is wide open to the outside. There are no bugs probably because of the altitude. It rains but only for a little while. Thier is no way for people to drive that are from America because of the utter chaos of the traffic,but the flip side is that taxis are everywhere and they are unbeleivably cheap. Food is a little expensive unless you go to the rural areas which may be dangerous for Americans. The views here are like none I have ever seen everywhere you look is a beautiful mountain. Im not sure of any weather dangers other then maybe mudslides close to the mountains. Anyone that wants a peaceful vacation without having to worry about weather should come to this place.

Day 9

Today started out interesting and happy for Logan as he got to Skype with his class at home,  for those of you that don't know what skype is, it's a video conference on the computer he and his classmates were very excited to see each other and his new sister. But I think they got a big kick out of seeing Tatiana there old teacher. Then we got some passport photos at 1 mall and we needed to get visa photos for Maria which meant she needed a dark shirt. after 2 exhaustive hours we found a black shirt she could wear for her photo. Thats when all H. E. double toothpicks broke out. Karen and Tatiana decided to leave me alone with Maria and our guide to get the photos. The guide explained to me in her barely exsistant english that we needed to take her earings out for the picture. I tried in vain to tell her I don't know how to take earings out. She then got upset and told me the Colombian govt requires the no earrings are worn. I told her I don't know how how to take earrings out. She showed me paperwork in english with the requirements. I told her I don't know how. She got the staff that didn'tspeak english involved. And I told them I don't know how. ON and ON this went for 10 minutes while I screamed on the cell phone for Tatiana and karen to get their Colas over there. By the time they got there I was ready for a bar.

more pictures

Video of our girl

Logan and Maria near the orphanage xmas tree

Another adventure tour with our guide

I Should start the blog with last night at the grocery store. Prior to going there Tatiana reminded me to tip the person thats bags the grocerys because they don't make any money just tips. Feeling bad about my previous not tipping I gave the girl that bagged the grocery's a nice tip, I wondered why she shrugged her shoulders and then giggled as she put the money in her pocket. Then Tatiana sprung the news on me that I tipped the wrong person, I was suppose to tip the person that brings the cart to your car(same as in America) Another tip later and I now have the system figured out no thanks to Tatiana. I am not sure if I can talk about todays car ride with our guide without throwing up and going into convulsions. So I will just say we eventually took a metro train to the north part of medellin and got onto the metro cable which is the same as the cable cars at the state fair only larger. From above the city where Maria was born and raised untill 11 months you could see everything clearly the people in the mountains are very poor and even on the banks of the river you see make shift homes.  The area does not appear scary to me at all. They have a huge library up there that had been donated by Spain it's perched high atop the mountain with a foot bridge going to it. after that we went to a mall and then out to eat, Our wonderful guide left us stranded there with no hope for a ride home other then a taxi. The taxi ride didn't however not take anymore years off of my life. I did find it kind of funny how Tatiana had no problem jumping in the front seat of the Taxi,because when asked to ride in the front seat with our guide she always refuses.

The final trip to the orphanage for Maria

Today we got up early to go to the Orphanage to have a short meeting with the Govt official to see if we could proceed with the adoption. He asked a few questions and seemed very pleased and now all our paperwork gets forwarded to the court and we wait for our court date. We then got to tour the orphanage and see where she has been living since she was 11 months old. The people there are fantastic and run the place like a well oiled machine. It breaks your heart being there you just want to take all of them home. I was especially drawn to 3 girls that were all sisters. I was relieved and happy to find they were going to a very nice couple in Texas. Afterward we went to the Botaro museum. If you haven't heard of him(niether have I) He is a famous Colombian artist that paints everything large all of his figures appear fat and so do his sculptures. I will say this he is now my favorite artist his painting are beautiful along with his sculptures and he is from right here in medellin although he resides in France now. Tommorow our plan is to see where maria is from. Because it is an extremly dangerous place we will be seeing it from the metro which we were assured is safe. To give you an idea how dangerous it is, this is where the famous drug lord Pablo escobar is from and not even the police will go there.