Now that I've spent time in Iceland, and have gotten to know some people who live there, I find myself feeling sort of protective of them when people who know nothing about Iceland start going on about the only thing they've ever heard about Iceland -- their current financial problems.  I was just talking to someone about my trip, and someone else ( Read more... )

Hi everybody.  I´m at an internet in the town square of Villa de....uh...... can´t remember right now.  I´ll have to post the name later because it really is a beautiful little town that I´d recommend.  The square is a big plaza with a church on one side, and lined with hotels, restaurants, and shops.  The feeling is very neighborly, with lots of ( Read more... )

Today we're moving on from Bogota to head out towards the country.  I loved Bogota -- really nice people.  Yesterday we walked over to the Plaza de Bolivar, by the government buildings and where it looked like there was a demonstation gearing up.  I also spent some time at a craftsperson market place and bought some neat stuff.  And then last night ( Read more... )

Fun night out tonight.  Sleepy and going to bed soon, but to sum up:

Had a fantastic meal, and then went out to another bar for more wine, where I nearly overpaid the waiter by about a zillion dollars because the 50000 peso notes only say 50, while the 20000 notes say 20000.  He was nice though, and corrected me.  Then, walking back, someone came up ( Read more... )

Started out going to the Museum of Gold today -- huge collection of gold, silver and copper artifacts, and exhibits about what metallurgy has meant for Colombian and pre-Colombian society, etc. It was interesting enough, if you like that kind of thing, but after about an hour I'd gotten the gist.  After that, we wandered through an outdoor market ( Read more... )

So I made it to Bogota, and I'm settling in at a nice little very inexpensive hotel, and the people are very nice.  The flight was kind of trying.  The plane was definitely smaller than what I've usually experienced on Continental.  The seat in front of me was definitely closer to me than I recall, and people walking down the aisle were always ( Read more... )