Land in the Andes

We flew 3 hours from Miami, crossing Cuba and Jamaica in late afternoon, and landed in South America just after dark. The immigration officer was friendly, and welcomed us to the country. It was the first of many encounters with friendly nationals in this country.

It has been a busy few days, completing the Embassy check-in process, and getting acquainted with my new team and the work responsibilities. Everyone working in the Embassy seems really happy. In the evening, we have had the chance to explore around town a little. The elevation where we are at is nearly nine-thousand feet, and most new arrivals take a couple weeks to adjust to the thin air. Drinking a lot of water helps.

Dog walking is a big business.

My wife has enjoyed experimenting with her new fruit decorating hobby.



A kind colleague invited our whole unit over to her residence for dinner, with fantastic views of the city.






On Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at La Luna with new friends. The city has many fine international restaurants, and the prices are reasonable.

Flowers are bountiful here, and two dozen roses are available for about $5. We think we will get fresh flowers frequently.

Street performers.

Every Sunday and holiday, half the streets of the city are closed off for Ciclovia, where bicyclists and joggers can enjoy quiet streets. Somebody from work is organizing a group for the annual international Human Race 10K run. I signed up with about 50 others for the October even, so it should be a lot of fun. This morning I went jogging on the ciclovia route, but the high altitude quickly took its toll, so it will take frequent training to get in shape at 9,000 feet.

We went shopping for groceries and essentials at Carrefour, where the El Tiempo newspaper girl was passing out the Sunday edition.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner in an Arabic restaurant at the mall, about 15 blocks from here. We ate so much, but the good walk back home to our temporary apartment helped us to feel less stuffed when we got home.

So far we are really enjoying this city. We have already made several new friends and found old friends here. The air is clean and fresh, the nationals are very friendly, and their Spanish is easy to understand. We know that no place is perfect, and that there is a honeymoon phase at the beginning of every new overseas tour. But we are happy.