Epic Escapades South of the Border

 We arrived in Medellin early last Saturday morning.  The last leg of our journey from Bolivia was an Avianca flight from Bogota to Medellin, the 13th flight of our trip so far.  It was not the flight I was most looking forward to - not because I suffer from triskaidekaphobia (I have plenty of phobias, just not that one) - but for reasons that Colombian history buffs (and fans of the Netflix series Narcos) will be well aware of (others should read on).  In light of the US State Department’s Colombia travel advisory (“reconsider travel due to crime and terrorism”), and recent headlines (“more than 32,000 displaced as violence spirals in Colombian drug trafficking region”), one might ask - and fairly so - why Medellin?  So before I get into the highlights of our visit - which was a blast (as in fun, not as in a bomb) - just a little bit of the backstory for our visit. This time last year Melanie and I took a 2 week hiking trip to Colombia (don’t worry, you didn’t ...

 When we began planning our 3 month adventure trip across South and Central America, we knew we wanted to start in Patagonia and work our way northward, but to be honest Bolivia wasn’t really on our radar, until I saw the website for La Senda Verde while searching for wildlife volunteering opportunities in South America. La Senda Verde, or The Green Path, is located in the subtropical eastern flank of the Bolivian Andes (right at the end of the famous Bolivian “Death Road”, but that’s a story for another day).  Founded in 2003 by a Bolivian couple, Vicky Ossio and Marcelo Levy, the mission of La Senda Verde is to save and provide a second chance for wild animals rescued from illegal trafficking and habitat loss. Hard to argue with that!  Vicky and Marcelo are incredibly devoted (they sleep with baby animals in their bed when necessary, from bear cubs to monkeys) and their commitment is inspiring.  [Interesting small world anecdote:  their son went to the Berkele...

 After our civilized weeklong respite in Buenos Aires and Rio, we moved on to La Paz - the highest capital city in the world at 11,975 feet above sea level - and met back up with our friends JP and Annamaria. I must confess that I knew almost nothing about Bolivia before arriving, except for the fact that this is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a shootout. Bolivia (officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, due to the fact that it recognizes 36 different indigenous nations) is the fifth largest country in South America by area, and one of only 2 landlocked countries on the continent (they still hold a grudge against Chile for having “stolen” their access to the sea in the Pacific War of the late 19th century).  Bonus points if you know the other landlocked country without looking at a map…. Bolivia is also the second poorest country in South America.  The economy is a disaster.  The official exchange rate is <7 Bolivianos to the $USD, b...

  After a few days checking out the highlights of Buenos Aires - Recoleta, Boca, Palermo, Puerto Madero and Casa Rosada (the Presidential Palace) - we came away very impressed with the city.  Definitely the most charming city in South America that we’ve visited so far.  Then it was off to Rio for New Year’s Eve. Our hotel, overlooking Copacabana Beach, threw a New Year’s Eve party that was not to be believed - definitely the EPICEST New Year’s Eve we’ve ever experienced! (Yup, “epicest” is a word - at least according to the Urban Dictionary 😎). The hotel was decorated to the nines: And the view of the music and fireworks on Copacabana Beach was perfect.  As adventurous as we are, we were very happy to be viewing the events from the hotel balcony, rather than being among the estimated 2+ million revelers who gathered on the beach to party.  I guess our age is starting to show….. 😢 We officially declared today (by the hotel pool) and tomorrow (on Copacabana Beac...