Alright… back to Colombia.
Day 3 in Colombia I was in San Gil – which is in the northern part of Colombia right in the middle of the Andes. It is a well known spot for backpackers for an adventure travel spot. And there is nothing I love more than adventure. It is considered the adventure capital of Colombia, filled with whitewater rafting, paragliding, caving, bungee jumping and more. I wish I had more time to spend there – I only spent one day there but I got a lot of adventure while there.
This past weekend was my birthday (Monday actually)… I turned one year younger. Okay… okay… I’m 27 now – which I know isn’t old – but when I don’t feel 27 it’s odd knowing that at this point my mom was 27 years old when I was born – it’s just weird.
Anyway – this past weekend it rained. Like always. It is April. But did that stop me? Stop me from?
Camping!! At the Eastern Shore.. i.e. beach.
No, it did not stop me from camping. Kinda… I had this trip planned for a month. I wanted to cross camping on the beach off my bucket list for the year. But the weather had another agenda for me. As in torrential rain, flash flooding, tornado warnings.. yeah – all of it. On the weekend I planned to camp.
But I was gung-ho. I was going to camp! Until my friends (sane) decided, we’d go – but camp in a hotel room. Ha! So much for roughing it.
But it was a blast. We still got to go to the shore, walk around, see wild ponies and then spend an unhealthy amount of time in the heated pool and the hot tub.
We did some campy activities – we roasted marshmallows over a camp fire stove… we made beer brat and had hot dogs. All delicious. We made the best of the situation an I had a blast.
I’ll go into more detail later. It’s late, I’ve had 4 days in a row of birthday celebrating and I’m pretty tired.
But for now – enjoy two jumping shots on the beach. There were 5 of us – I had to photoshop these photos to make it seem we were all in the picture!
It was my first time really photoshopping – I downloaded a free trial version – and I did pretty well if I do say so myself. 
Happy Birthday to me!
Jumping for Joy!
Were at the beach!
I moved into my current apartment about 5 months ago. In the very beginning of December. And I love it.
I actually lived here before – two years ago – not the same apartment, but the same complex and I have the same layout as before – but just flipped. I loved my apartment before but I was getting antsy and wanted the experience of living with roommates. So I moved out of my perfectly lovely apartment that was decorated the way I liked it to move in strangers. And I loved it. I loved living with them – Amanda and Shri – and I count them as two of my dearest friends. And living with them was a great experience – and honestly, we would probably still be living together if we didn’t have an ass of a landlord and the location were just a bit better. But good things come to an end and when our lease ended – we went our separate ways. We all live in our own apartments – they both live in the District – which I’m jealous of – but I love Virginia and I loved my old apartment complex, so I came back.
There was however a brief period, four months, when I lived with my sister out in suburbia. And I enjoyed living with my sister during that time – but I didn’t like suburbia. I wasn’t ready for it. And I thought I could live with family again for a long period of time – I admit I was wrong. So – I’ll put those 4 months in the past and into the my folder of distant memories.
But when I moved in with my sister – I gave up a lot of stuff that I had. And so when I moved 5 months ago – I pretty much had to start over from scratch.
Which has been fun/stressful. But it’s starting over with a new design focus and bringing out my creativity. I still have a bit of a way to go – but after moving 6 times in the past 3 years (ugh – all in the past), I don’t want to move again for a while. And I want to really establish my home base. Even if I traveled for a long period of time – I would sublet or someething – so I won’t have to worry about moving.
Anyway – the past few months, I’ve been rebuilding and it’s slowly going. Like, I have a dining room table, but no chairs. I have my flat screen – and meant to mount it on the wall, but I got the wrong wall mount. My kitchen isn’t full stocked quite yet – and I need to get a big pot so I can cook pasta. I did just buy a colander – not that I can drain anything quite yet.
But most recently (10 minutes) I hung up some of my photographs that I printed out and framed. These are recent photographs, from my trip to Colombia – where I took countless pictures of doors/churches – so I printed them out and then bought frames for them. Now – they are hanging (albeit crookedly) in my long hallway. I’m proud of them.
I also started decorating my foyer – it’s still a work in progress. I’ve also bought plants and new pots for the current plants I have that have been sitting in foil the past 4 months. I’ve now just re-potted them and babied them a little bit and hopefully I’ll have a green thumb.
Sigh… I have so many ideas – but so little time – well actually, plenty of time, I’m just impatient. I wish I could see ideas – and then have them magically done in the blink of an eye. But I’m not Hermoine Granger. Damnit.
For now – here’s a glimpse of my recent endeavors.
My hall of doors.
The beginning of my indoor garden - it includes two Peace Lillies, a pointsettia, gardenia bonsai, a small herb garden that hasn't grown yet and a pot of daisies that I just planted.
Any ideas on things to do? Plants to add?
After my first day in Colombia – I made my way 3 hours north to a historical town called Villa de Leyva. It was a must see for me – because I just love historical towns – and I kept reading about Villa de Leyva as a good stopping point.
I was extremely happy to have stopped off in Villa de Leyva too. Considering that I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning so I could catch a 5:30 bus to Villa de Leyva. I happily slept on the bus -and when I arrived in Villa de Leyva – it was a beautiful gorgeous day.
Villa de Leyva is everything you expect a historical town in Colombia to be – filled with cobblestones, churches, Spanish architecture, arches, and old men with cowboy hats. It is settled in a high altitude valley in the middle of the Andes – and all I can say is: Gorgeous!
When I got to Villa de Leyva – I had my giant backpack and I didn’t plan on staying in Villa de Leyva but for a few hours. So I was on the lookout for a hotel/hostel that I could keep my backpack safe until I left again that afternoon. While roaming the town – I ran into an older gentleman (in his 50s) and he introduced himself to me – Mauricio. He asked if I was looking for a hostel – and I told him only for a few hours. He replied that he owned a hostel and that I could keep my bag there for the hours that I needed to. I think I trust to easy – so I said yes and followed him. He proved to be honest and trustworthy – and for $5.o0 I was able to get a small room to keep my backpack safe.
Mauricio then took me for a tour of Villa de Leyva – which wasn’t long because it’s not a big town at all. I went to the main plaza called – Plaza Mayor – with a non-working fountain and surrounded by churches and stores… he took me to a local restaurant for breakfast, a local food store for snacks and introduced me to the locals. He also showed me around the museums. He was really a great guide. So very nice. And he didn’t make fun of my bad Spanish.
Later on – I walked around the town and took pictures (that’s all I do really) and just relaxed. It was a sleepy old town and it was a nice stopping point since I had such a busy two days with traveling, biking and touring the big city of Bogota. I got to enjoy the outside air, the heat (it was hot but not humid) and enjoy the small town Colombian culture. I would definitely go back to Villa de Leyva if I had more time and probably do some hiking that it’s known for and visit some waterfalls in the area.
For now, I’ll just reminisce by looking at the photos that I took. I hope you enjoy them!
I’m giving you all an update on my Bucket List 2011. I’m actually pretty happy with my progress so far…
- Do another Solo backpacking trip – already in the works for Colombia in February <– Totally done! More updates on my Colombia adventure soon!
- Go camping on the beach (hopefully my birthday weekend in April) – Already in the works for two weeks from now.
- A day trip skiing – I’ve been mentioning this for the past few years and it still hasn’t happened… it will this year. I swear it! – Darn it – it didn’t happen this past winter, but there is still the winter of 2011. I’ll do it. I swear!
- Go skydiving – always on my list – but I’m determined it will happen this year. <– Already in the works – I bought a Groupon Deal for Skydiving and I’m going with 2 friends (my sister and brother in law might join in too) – and my appointment as been made to jump out of plane for June 18th.
- Go to NYC more than once this year – and while I’m there visit my aunt and cousin on Long Island <– I’ve now been two weekends in a row in March – and I did visit my aunt and cousin who live on Long Island. I plan on going back up again by June.
- Bike my own city of Washington DC – I’ve bike NYC, San Fran, Sonoma, and I plan on biking in Bogota – I need to bike my own city! <– My bike is in the shop getting a tune-up and spring is nearly here – so soon I’ll be biking the city.
- Learn to crochet/knit – and actually finish a project! <– Uhh.. not started on this yet.
- Complete two-three more triathlons this year – including the same one I do every year – the Kinectic Sprint Triathlon in May 2011. <– I don’t think this will happen. 
I had my race bike stolen in the fall last year and I’m not sure I can get it replaced in time. So far now, I’m just doing some road races, hopefully a half-marathon in May and a full marathon in October.
- See more pyramids – including Macchu Picchu (Peru with my brother) and the Great Pyramids in Eygpt – if/when I go to visit my friend Eric who is moving to Egypt this August – and I plan on visiting him at the end of the year. <– I bought my tickets to go to Peru! I will definitely be seeing Machu Picchu. However, I might not be doing Egypt with all the unrest happening in the Middle East.
- Learn how to make a salmon dish… cooking seafood intimidates me.. I will conquer salmon. <– Haven’t made the Salmon yet – but have made Tilapia, Trout and Cod – Salmon is still in my freezer.
- Apply to be a contestant on the Amazing Race/Survivor – two shows that I absolutely love and would do in a heartbeat. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get on unless I apply, right? <–Not done yet.
- Swim a mile without stopping – my swimming endurance is pretty good now, I think I can do this by the end of the year. <– Need to get in the pool for this to happen.
- Get scuba certified <– Hopefully this summer or fall.
- Pay off my credit card debt <– 2/3rds done!
- Walk/Cross another famous bridge… I don’t know which one it’ll be – but I’ll figure it out soon. I’ve done Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge… what are some other famous bridges? Any in Peru, Egypt or Colombia? <– I’m not done yet. Maybe I can make a quick trip to London? And walk the London Bridge?
Okay – I knew my list for this year was very ambitious. 15 things on the list. I’ve really only crossed off one thing – the solo backpacking trip – but the beach camping is in the works, skydiving appointment has been set, I bought my tickets to Peru, which means I’m definitely seeing Pyramids… I’ve been to NY twice already and gone to Long Island <– Therefore, I technically have crossed 5 things off my list – 33% of my Bucket List for the year. Not bad as I’m just past 3 months into the year!
Next time I update this list – I hope to have more things crossed off!
