S

Barichara, Colombia

Our stay in South America was foreshortened because of a group of thieves who happened to check into our hotel in Cuenca, Ecuador and stripped our room of laptops, power supplies, cash, and silver jewelry. Happily, they didn't find all of the cash we had hidden and they didn't find Jan's more expensive gold jewelry that she had given up wearing since Guatemala. Perhaps the silver jewelry in its Thai silver box served as a decoy.

That meant that we only got to see Colombia and Ecuador, but apart from the theft they were both most enjoyable. We spent most of our time in Colombia visiting old colonial towns and cities like Barichara in the photo. At first Jan was very nervous about being in Colombia, but gradually became convinced that the route we took was very safe especially if travelled in the daytime. We travelled in a more-or-less straight line from Cartagena de las Indias to San Francisco de Bogota by bus. For the sake of the Colombian people we met who were unfailingly friendly and helpful, we wish we could convince more northern hemisphere tourists to visit this beautiful country. Altogether we spent six weeks here, including three weeks in Bogota trying to decide where to go and how to get there. In the end, we took the coward's way out and flew directly from Bogota to Quito, Ecuador skipping the souther provinces that are reputed to be the least safe in the country. Chances are we would not have had any trouble, but Gerry had run out of passes from Jan.

It was a strange sensation arriving in a city by air. The flight was unremarkable and the Quito airport small and friendly. Even though it was very late we got a hotel and taxi with help from a friendly tourist company desk clerk. We loved the temperate climate of the Andes of Colombia where we climbed from tropical heat and humidity to the mild climate of Bogota. In Ecuador, we found even higher peaks and so more dramatic landscapes. Snow-capped volcanoes became almost commonplace, although we never got tired of gawping at them, especially in Riobamba where we could see three different peaks at once.

Ecuador was very much like a cold Laos. The high mountain valleys are settled mostly by local Indian tribes, many of whom speak Qechua, the language of the Incas. We rode buses into out of and through mountain areas and were constantly enchanted by the landscapes we saw. We encountered many more tourists in Ecuador than we had in Colombia, which surprised us at first, but later got used to again. Here we visited our first Inca archeological site — on the very day our laptops were being swiped. It was therfore a memorable day in more ways than one.

It took us almost a week after the theft to conclude that we ought to cut our trip short and head back to the US. We might have managed to buy a laptop in South America, albeit a less powerful one for more money than we paid here, but we didn't think we could manage to protect our assets from the determined identity thief should we stay in the southern hemisphere. We were very sad to make the decision, but Jan for one was happy at the thought of spending some time in the land of powerful plumbing (showers with power and drains that could handle toilet paper!).

Cris, Moshe, and ten-month-old Uri

We were very happy to accept a very kind invitation from our friends Moshe and Cris in Jersey City to share their apartment for a while with them and their 10-month old son Uri. What a joy that turned out to be. We became honorary grandparents for a while and coo-ed and babbled with the best of them. Watching Uri learn how to pull apart his jigsaw puzzle carpet became a highlight of our day.

In between days of mind-numbing efforts to close accounts, open accounts, transfer balances, and change personal passwords, addresses, and so forth, we found time to catch up with our tri-state friends (tri-state=New York, New Jersey,and Connecticut, briefly the area around New York City). We managed to see everyone at least once, and some more often. We learned to love the view from Moshe and Cris's apartment. It isn't hard with views of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings among many.

Where next? Most likely it will be somewhere in a German-speaking city. We have been looking at Vienna and Berlin, but haven't yet found the perfect place.