Salento, Colombia

Hi y'all,

The Valley of Cocora with the Nevados
obscured by clouds in the distance.

On December 25th I took an excursion with Claudia and family to Salento, Colombia to eat some of the famed trucha, to breathe in the fresh air and to enjoy the stunning views of the Nevados (the volcanic mountain range). The road from Pereira to Salento was lined with telos on our way out of the city, but as we rose higher into the mountains the telos gave way to... well, nicer telos... which finally gave way to peasant homes and coffee plantations and a large species of pine that grows high in the mist-covered mountains of Colombia. I soaked in the view and the clean mountain air, and looked forward to tasting the trucha. Ahhh trucha. 

Salento is located in a valley in Quindio, one of the 32 departamentos (provinces) of Colombia. Deep in coffee country, Salento has stunning views of the central cordillera and the nevados, the high mountains and volcanoes that cut a jagged line through the heart of the country. 

The mirador overlooking the town of Salento.

"The Father of Quindio" as Salento is known--being the oldest town in the province--receives heavy tourist traffic every year. It is home to a beautiful Catholic church founded in 1843, a mirador where they sell "water with oxygen"--a joke due to the altitude--and an amazing view of the Valle de Cocora. One can also find all the typical trappings of a quaint touristy town including beautifully colored buildings, hippies strumming ukeleles, a variety of artesanal shops that sell touristy items sometimes completely unrelated to the town or its history, and residents who pose for pictures in the traditional dress--if only people still dressed that way.

Trucha buried in a steaming broth of melted cheese!

But one can also find the famed trucha, yes the savory, succulent, and satisfying trucha. Sometimes fried with butter, at other times drowned in a boiling broth of cheese and condiments, the trucha is a tasty part of the cultural landscape of Salento. To get to the point, trucha is Spanish for trout, a fish that can be found in the streams and rivers of this region and has long been a part of the daily menu for many of the residents and permatourists.

We dined at one of the small trucha stands that lined the Plaza de Bolivar, the main plaza of the town. The trucha came with patecon, fried and crispy plantain that looks and tastes like a giant tortilla. I ordered trucha hawaiian style, with cheese and pineapple, and it arrived boiling in the cheese and sauce in an iron skillet. Per person the prices were decent, about $5 USD per person or $6 USD including a drink.

Fried plantains known as patecon.

A quaint tourist town with perhaps too many tourists and tourist merchandise, Salento has great options for food and spectacular views that outweigh the touristic everywhereness of ukelele playing hippies and generic artesanal products.

Cheers,

Kyle

Me in the Plaza Bolivar with a girl in
traditional dress.

  

La Novena de Aguinaldos

Hi folks,

The children singing the Christmas songs for La Novena

I've decided to devote this post to describe a little more in depth about the Colombian Christmas celebrations, as they are in many ways similar, but also very different, from those in the United States. As for similarities, Papa Noel--Santa Claus--abounds; as well as Christmas lights of all colors that rival those found in the United States. The lights adorn the houses, yards and landscape; and everyone has a plastic Christmas tree.

However there is also a heavy Catholic influence, and one can find a pesebre, the Colombian version of the nativity scene, in nearly every house in the country.

The Children performing outside in front of all the adults.

In front of the pesebre, for the nine days leading up to Christmas, Colombians celebrate the custom of La Novena. Every night beginning the 16th of December at 6:30 or 7:30 (depending on the location), children and adults gather to recite prayers, sing, retell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and all accompanied by plenty of maraca shaking. At the end of each novena, the hosts of the novena give out a treat to all the kids, symbolic of the gifts given to Jesus on his birth--and to the gifts the kids will receive on Christmas!

La Novena was founded by a Franciscan father in Quito, Peru in the 18th century, and has been practiced and has been practiced in Colombia and the countries of northern South America ever since.

Alfonso (Mondongo) with the gift bag.

On December 24th they celebrate the largest Novena, in which the entire community comes together to celebrate with a choral recital performed by the children and a reading by the local priest. At the end of the novena the children choose gifts from a bag while adults pass out steaming cups of rice pudding. 

Colombia has managed to incorporate the bright, commercialized, western Christmas culture, with the older more traditional Catholic Christmas celebrations in a way that is both respectful of the old traditions but also fun and extroverted in a way that reflects the Colombian people.

Cheers,

Kyle

Playing the carrasca--
a percussion instrument common in northern Colombia

A Mountain Trek

Sunrise on the mountains

Dos Quebradas is ringed by mountains checkered with patches of plantains and coffee that hug the steep hillsides. Many of the residents in the neighborhood where I am staying enjoy trekking into the mountains early in the morning for the fresh air and the exercise.

Posing in front of the mountain view.

Starting at five in the morning, a group of seven of us  began our trek out from the city, across the main thoroughfares that at this time had minimal traffic, and onto the rocky road that led up the mountainside. The air changed dramatically as we climbed, and the noise from the city died away as the houses thinned away and we were left with a treelined road, dotted with peasant houses and the occasional finca (large, ranch-style homes in the country).


As we ascended, we took occasional breaks to admire the views of the mountains leading into the Andes Cordillera, and the peak of the Nevado del Ruiz, one of a string of active volcanos. From our view on the mountain we could see the volcanic giant with smoke rising from its crater. In 1985 the Nevado de Ruiz erupted, spewing ash and lava and causing massive mudslides that covered the town of Armero, killing more than twenty thousand in what has become known as the Tragedia de Armero.

Everyone relaxing in the clearing at the end of the trek.

We continued our trek up, seeing the occasional motorcyclist descending carefully, and we greeted campesinos along with other trekkers and runners. According to some reports, Colombia is ranked as the happiest country in the world, and this isn't surprising judging by the way strangers are generally greeted with smiles.

After an hour and a half the road ended in a small clearing surrounded by the thick rainforest. A cool mountain stream trickled down into the clearing and we took turns drinking from the pure mountain water and eating bocadillo, a sweet made from the sugar of guayaba, a sweet fruit found throughout Colombia. In the clearing, the air was fresh and rich with oxygen, high above the noise and pollution of the cities below.


On our descent we stopped for tinto, Colombian coffee, black with sugar, and cookies, a motorcyclist and a campesino in the typical rubber work boots were also taking coffee and agua panela (hot water with brown sugar).

The mountain stream

Everyone on the descent

We arrived back at the house at 8:00 in the morning, ready to begin the day, though not without a little nap beforehand.

Cheers from Colombia,    

Colombia, The First Days

Bienvenidos a Colombia,

A view from the terrace of the mountains

Having arrived and settled in, I can now begin to write on my first impressions of Colombia. First of all, I am grateful that Claudia's brother, Andres, has welcomed me into his home and has helped ease me into my new environment. The entire family has been very generous and have helped me feel quite at home. Below are a few of my first impressions.


There is a saying in Colombia that those who come here never want to leave, and there is probably some truth to this. Everyone from the employees at the airport to the campesinos selling avocado and spinach, have all met me with smiles and friendly expressions--a pleasant change from Buenos Aires. 

The nativity scene in the living room

Pereira and Dos Quebradas are located in the Cafetero (the coffee region of Colombia). The plantain and coffee plantations checker the mountains and the two cities are nestled in the valley below, separated by the Viaducto--the suspension bridge that spans the river connecting Pereira to Dos Quebradas.  

Colombia has been heavily influenced by the holiday spirit of the United States, and the houses are adorned with Christmas trees, Papa Noels, and multicolored, flashing Christmas lights. However there is a strong Catholic tradition as well, and an elaborate nativity scene--complete with lights, three kings, Jesus and Mary, and a fisherman--occupies the larger part of the living room.

A sugarcane juice stand

Corn, fruit, beans, rice, make up the base of the Colombian diet, and corn, in some form, can be found in just about any dish. Two of the most common foods are arepas and empanadas. Arepas are a form of flat bread made from corn and sometimes cheese, and can be accompanied by egg, ham, rice, beans, or just about anything savory. Empanadas are a tasty snack found throughout Latin America. and consist of meat or vegetables wrapped in flour. In Colombia the empanadas are usually made from corn flour and are filled with meat and potato.

Ripe coffee fruit ready to be picked

Fruits abound. Myserious and fascinating fruits. Sweet fruits, tart fruits, fruits with unpronouncable names, like guanabana, lulo, borojo, or chontaduro. And other more well known fruits like mango, banana and plantain. Most of the fruits can be eaten raw, or blended into delicious juice, packed with vitamins, nutrients, and refreshing flavor. So far I've had the opportunity to try guanabana, borojo, maracuya, tomate de arbol, sugarcane juice, and mango. All delicious.


The other day I ventured with Andres and family to a mirador, a place on the mountains where you could get a good view of the cities and the coffee plantations. We spent the afternoon there, taking photos, relaxing, and enjoying the view of the cities, and the cloud-covered mountains.


So far, my first visit to Colombia has been a positive and a friendly one. It is a country of friendly people, open to share their culture and their customs with the world.

Cheers until next time,

Kyle

A view of Pereira from the mirador

A Gaucho Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving! That time of year when the cold begins to set in, the leaves dry up and crumble, dancing as the winter wind whips down from Canada. To feel the comforting sensation of a warm oven, to arrive home to the sweet smell of pies baking, the turkey in the oven, and friends and family gathered around the hearth, Ah, such fond memories... But none of that this year!

For expats like myself, we are all too familiar with those particularly pernicious challenges of living far from home, far from the culture and tradition that makes this day so much easier. And for those of you who think celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. is hard, you really need to go that extra mile to have a true Thanksgiving feast far from home. 

Let us first list the ways in which celebrating Thanksgiving is easier while abroad. 

1. No family! Yes, no family means you decide who attends, and who DOESN'T attend. No hyper children or crazy aunts. No table divided on religion or blue or red party lines. Yes, living abroad takes politics and religion almost entirely out of the equation. But this is perhaps the only way in which Thanksgiving abroad is easier. 

2. Well, also that friends typically don't need to travel very far--perhaps 30 minutes by bus at most.

The stuffing before the burn.

Here are a few challenges faced, fought, and overcome in my efforts to host a Thanksgiving dinner whilst living abroad. 

1. One must improvise. Yes. Forget turkey in Argentina--and a host of other countries for that matter. Most of what you cook traditionally cannot be replicated exactly in other countries, unless you are wealthy enough, and can take the time off of work (another complication) to spend the day traveling around the city in search of all the ingredients you will need (You still probably wouldn't find marshmallow fluff or cranberries). 

For food I swapped organic chicken with homemade barbecue sauce for the turkey, which may or may not be located in a large supermarket far away from home, the price and quality of which is as mysterious and unknown as the presence... or lack of presence... of the bird. 

I made apple crisp to replace pumpkin pie and pecan pie.  

Mashed potatoes: The secret is in extra
crema de leche, garlic and cheese.

We had some damn good mashed potatoes and macncheese, but I needed to sacrifice the cranberry sauce and marshmallow salad. 

Fortunately the Canadian brought deviled eggs and the Argies brought cider, which brought us a couple steps closer to that traditional thanksgiving table we so desperately sought to replicate. 

Stuffing was a success, but the top burned because the ovens don't have temperature settings, and a thermometer isn't one of those luxuries you go out and spend money on : )

2. Thanksgiving isn't a holiday. You can't take a day off of work and neither can anybody else. So you opt to have Thanksgiving dinner on Black Friday, at night, after a long day of work. This not only means you have to cook much of the food the day before, but you also need to eat, and eat, and eat, at 10PM at night, then sit around for five hours until the food is hopefully sufficiently digested so that you can climb into bed and not suffer too much regurgitation. I suppose you wouldn't have to eat so much, but that kind of takes the fun out of Thanksgiving. Celebrate 100% or not at all.

Setting the table.

3. Summer. Thanksgiving is not a good holiday to celebrate in the summer, and right now it's summer in Argentina. Imagine doing oven-broiled barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, and apple crisp on a hot, humid summer night. Well, you put a hand to your heart and tell yourself it's for the holiday and you suffer through it. But...

4. Add water cuts to the mix and you're in for some pretty scrappy cooking conditions. I went to clean those potatoes and apples and realized there was no water. None. I couldn't even go to the bathroom...for a day. But I guess this is part of the sacrifice as well. 

Nick, Cristian, Cece, and Anne. Let's eat already!!!

5. One or two general mishaps. There are always one or two mishaps with every Thanksgiving whether at home or abroad. My mishap was that in preparing the salad I dropped the olive oil, the glass bottle shattering on the floor and the oil slicking across the kitchen. I mopped it, and mopped it, and mopped it, but oil can be a nasty, slippery business to clean up--and I left a little to fight another day. There was also the cider bottle incident, which chinked a piece of the glass table. Sigh...

Listing all of these difficulties in hosting a Thanksgiving makes it seem like a nightmare, though in reality it is far from such. For as with all difficult circumstances, with greater difficulty comes greater reward, so long as you succeed in reaching that reward. After all the sweat, the cleaning, the preparing and the improvising, we came out with one damn good Thanksgiving. 

Pollo barbacoa, estilito gringuito!

So for all the folks living abroad, don't fear the preparation of the Thanksgiving meal, or hosting other holidays for that matter. Stay strong to your traditions. Fight the good fight and reap the rewards. 

And for all you folks who gripe about the Thanksgiving madness at home, once the battlefield has cleared and the table has been set, you can hopefully settle down to a good meal and good company, so long as the crazy aunts and hyper children stay home. 

Next I will be travelling to Colombia for Christmas and new years with Claudia's family, so stay posted for an entry or two about that. 

Cheers from abroad,

Kyle

Me, Cristian, Cece, Ann, and Claudia.