Here is Carol checking out the school library

When I travel to foreign destinations, I always like to have some real localized experiences. Helga, the director of the school,  set up several side trips for Carol and me that I will discuss in subsequent blogs. Helga also offered us several trips that had we had more time we could have had some other great local experiences.

One of my classes was with Regnaldo who is one of the directors of the school. Regnaldo kept us on the edge of our seats explaining in graphic detail the battles  the state of Chiapas had with the Zapatistas who tried to overthrow the government. Many people know of Chiapas because of the Zapatista movement.

 One of the most riveting stories was the one of how his injured father had been forced out of his home by the Zapatistas into the cold night. He had been told he would return and find his house burned to the ground. Fortunately, when he returned, his home was intact except for some personal belongings.

To hear these stories from someone who had experienced them was incredible! Thanks Regnaldo!!

                         This is the  banner that was hanging in a Zapatista co-op that we visited so we could find out what this Zapatista stuff is all about.               

After a week at Instituto Jovel we felt our Spanish had definitely improved.

If you are interested in attending the school here is the web address:www.institutojovel.com.  I highly recommend them. 

If you want some great Mexican food holiday recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/

BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

Next Posting-some interesting photos of the streets of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:                                          Colombia:                                                         http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

Mexico:                                                                        http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/        

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                           http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/                                                                                  San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                            http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/       

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                   http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

Bela is an extremely warm and friendly hostess, and an American if you need someone who speaks English. Included in the price is a great breakfast every morning where you get to meet the other guests from around the world that are staying with her. During our 6 days there, we met people from Spain, Chile, Panama, Canada, and France. Everyone took time to introduce themselves. I believe this part of travel is the best…….meeting other people who share their travel experiences. You become instant friends.  

 Bela has two great cooks that really know how to prepare fantastic meals.  Take a look at this photo of the kitchen below.  Can you imagine the delicious food that is prepared there?

                 The Kitchen where the great meals were prepared

We had the blue room at the top of the house (pictured below) that had a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains.

                 The view from the window of our room

The rooms were extremely well decorated and spic and span clean.

                 Our Bedroom

Even though only breakfast was included in our price, Bela invited all of her guests for a special lunch one day. Her cook, Manuela, prepared absolutely the best chile rellenos I have ever eaten in the world. The 8 guests at the luncheon table all shared their own stories of their journeys through Mexico.

                                                  The dining room:  breakfast is almost ready

                      A typical, very healthy breakfast at Bela’s

                                                 The cozy fire in the corner of the dining room

                                                 The sitting area in the other corner of the dining room at Bela’s

                                                Bela (Left), chatting with Carol (right).  The dog  could care less about the conversation.

Bottom line: If you plan to visit San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico you need to consider Bela’s. It is a very reasonable place to stay. Here is the link to her web site for more information:

www.belasbandb.com

I have some interesting photos coming up in the next few posts giving you good idea of what the town looks like and the language school we attended

 Next-The food photos of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

 BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:                                                                            

http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

Mexico:                                                                                 

http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/  

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                                            http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/  

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                        http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

Over the years, I have flown through the San Juan, Puerto Rico airport a number of times. Frequently I have had 3-5 hours between my connecting flights. If you find yourself in this situation I would like to make a couple of suggestions.

First of all, go outside of security. If you try to stay in the gate area you will either drive yourself crazy or have the opportunity to eat some of the worst airport food in the world!

In the main lobby of the airport there are at least a few interesting shops to visit. There is also a fair selection of fast food restaurants. If you are a gambler, there is a casino right across from the American Airlines ticket counter inside the airport lobby.

If you walk outside the airport there are two more restaurants in the parking garage(no kidding!) right across the street . One is a Buffalo Wild Wings and the other is a Wendy’s.

However, my favorite thing to do is to go downstairs to the baggage claim area, grab a taxi and head to the Metropol Café in the Isla Verde area. It is a $12–10 minute taxi ride to this great Cuban restaurant. If you have a Guayabera shirt, put it on! Here is the front of the restaurant:

Metropol Cafe in San Juan, Puerto Rico

 If you have never eaten Cuban food then this is your big chance.  Bring an appetite and pig out! 

After you have eaten plenty of food with lots of garlic and onions, you will want to walk it off. Go outside, turn left, walk two blocks to the famed Hotel El San Juan. If you don’t want to do the Metropol gig first then just go straight to the Hotel El San Juan from the airport.  The hotel has a beautiful lobby, interesting lobby bar, and a good size casino. For the shoppers, they have some really nice shops in the hotel where you can spend what little vacation money you may have.

The beautiful lobby of the Hotel El San Juan

If you didn’t eat at the Metropol then treat yourself to a meal at poolside at the hotel.

Pool area of the Hotel El San Juan in Puerto Rico

Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get back the airport and re-clear security.

If you don’t want to do any of the above between flights, then just stay in the gate area, drive yourself crazy and eat some of the worst airport food in the world. Bon Appetit!

Steve

The small terminal is much older and very basic. Check in was much easier than we had anticipated so we had plenty of extra time to visit a number of shops in the airport. I bought some post cards and then tried to find a t-shirt that said “Bogotá” on it. Huh uhh…no t-shirts that said Bogotá. Can you believe it? Our Avianca flight to Medellin was a continuation of one from Cali, but it was late so we now had another hour to wait in the airport. However, our wait turned out to be fortuitous.

While waiting for our flight, we met a woman who spoke almost perfect English. Her name was Olga and she was one of a family of Colombian doctors that had all previously lived in the U.S. for a short period of time. She was traveling to Medellin where she lived. She seemed intrigued by our travels through Colombia and told us her family had a weekend getaway that she called a “farm” located outside of Medellin. She asked us if we would like to come out to visit her and her family and see Colombia from a different perspective. Now, my last promise to Carol when she dropped me off at the airport in OKC was, “I promise I will heed the warnings of my Colombian friends and not travel out into the countryside”. But, my memory was fading fast when offered yet another opportunity to travel off the beaten path. Remember…..”it’s all about the journey”.

Olga gave us her cell phone number and asked us to call her the next day when we were leaving Medellin. She said we could come by their country home on the way to the airport and have coffee with them. We said we would call her. Jay and I agreed it was something we should talk about before just venturing into the countryside to spend time with a strange woman and her family. You will get more of this story in a later post.

After the delay our flight finally departed Bogotá. I was a little concerned because the hotel in Medellin was sending a driver for us and I knew he would be waiting for our flight that was late.

Next-Medellin, our driver agrees to help us enter the world of Pablo Escobar