Southern California

Last fall I spent a week visiting friends in Southern California. I enjoyed mild weather and good times while there.

During my downtime I lounged in the beautiful backyard at my friend’s house.

In the morning I take the short walk down to the beach. I watch surfers catch the waves early in the day. I love all the trails along the beach.

We take a drive out to Coronado Island. We walk along the beach, visit the historical Hotel del Coronado and walk the town a bit.

We later stop at La Jolla Cove and watch the sea lions and birds. If you can stand the smell you could have hours of fun just observing wildlife. Unfortunately some get way too close to the animals which is not cool. We also notice a group of swimmers that swim through the cove as a hobby; I guess dodging the sea lions in the process.

We watch a beautiful sunset and then catch dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the way home.

In the morning we have booked a taping of the Price is Right in Los Angelos. We make the drive from San Diego to try our luck on the show. It is my first time but my accompanying friends have been on two times before. It is a long day but a fun experience. One of my friends may have been picked to be on the show that aired March 17th, 2026 – St Patrick’s Day.

The next day two of us need to connect with nature and walk a trail in town. We end up at a nature center where we do some bird watching. Following the trail takes us to a sidewalk path towards the beach. Our path has taken us a bit out of the way so we call our other friend to come pick us up. While we wait for him we watch surfers in action. Our friend arrives and tells us about some of the local surfers. This is a small town surf community where most people know who everyone is.

On our way back to the house we make a stop at the Golden Lotus Temple to admire the tropical gardens there.

The next day I take a visit to Disneyland but more on that in another post.

Our last day we have delicious breakfast burritos and donuts from VG donuts.

It is a great end to a great trip. My flights home are not so great. I end up flying home during a government shutdown. I get about ten minutes in fancy lounge access before I have to run through the airport to catch an earlier flight because my itinerary keeps getting wrecked in real time. The rush to my flight doesn’t even matter because my connection gets cancelled anyway with no chance of getting home that evening. The one fortunate thing with moderate technology is that I see my flight being cancelled while in flight and I proactively book a hotel in Atlanta for the night since I am not getting home. I am glad I do because people are scrambling to find hotels that are not sold out since numerous other flights are cancelled as well. But at least I am on the east coast, closer to my home.

As a frequent traveler you have to expect a bout of travel drama from time to time.

One bright spot about the terrible travel time is the impressive Atlanta airport art. I chose to walk instead of the shuttle and enjoyed all the art on the way to take the bus to the hotel I booked.

Another highlight to my horrible travel days is the flight I am scheduled on the next morning happens to be the last flight for the captain who is retiring. He has an entourage on the flight celebrating, including his family. Thank goodness this fun flight wasn’t canceled and he was able to take this last flight in a joyful way.

Alaska: Kenai Fjord Cruise from Seward

My first full day in Seward Alaska consists of a nature cruise. I have a little anxiety about going on this cruise because I have had the bad luck of not seeing much wildlife on cruises or the tour getting cancelled for bad weather in past attempts. Neither happens today. The Captain’s Choice National Park Tour goes on spectacularly. Most of the boat tours have a set itinerary but this particular tour goes where the Captain sees best and the captain is amazing. On this cruise I see more wildlife than I expected. My animal checklist on the cruise pamphlet has me check off ten out of the thirteen possible animals.

The first wildlife we see are the cheeky sea otters. They love swimming along the side of the boat. We learn how these otters were almost extinct because they used to be hunted for their unique fur. Their special fur keeps them very insulated and dry.

We next spot some mountain goats. We see a mom and a baby goat. The mother is trying to teach the baby to climb. It is endearing to watch the mom encourage the kid and the kid too scared to climb.

Next we see a glacier – Holgate Glacier. What is good about this cruise is we come very close to the glacier, something we were unable to do with the big cruise ship. It is a more intimate experience. The crew collects some floating ice from the glacier and I order a glacierita made with the ice.

After the glacier we are back to animal viewing. We first see the cormorant, a bird that is an excellent diver.

I finally see some puffins, in fact we see two types: Horned Puffin and Tuffed Puffin.

We cruise by a bunch of stellar sea lions.

I am introduced to the Common Murre.

Also seen is a beautiful bald eagle.

We also catch Humpback whales, Orcas, dal’s porpoise and harbor seals.

We arrive back at the dock and all I can think about is some more king crab legs. Luckily there is a restaurant nearby that has them on the menu.

I walk around town and back to my hotel with a view full stomach. I don’t think I have ever seen so much sea life in one day. I highly recommend the cruise.

Jardín to Salento

My last hours in the town of Jardín are nice. I spend my time wandering around and relaxing at tables spread out in the square. I’ll grab a beer or two and people watch during the day but this behavior doesn’t seem to be normal. Not many people are day drinking and the ones who do are mostly males; most people drink coffee or other beverages during daylight hours.

I tried to connect to the public WIFI a number of times but I am never successful.

I finally wake up early my last morning to take pictures in town. My photos aren’t the greatest but at least I don’t have all the shadows of the daytime. I enjoy watching the town wake up. The garbage collectors are out and they have a trail of dogs waiting for trash to spill out along the way.

I make one last stop at a cafe to get a coffee and a pastry before it is time for my bus to leave.

I loved my stay in Jardín but I must be moving on. I have one more small town to visit before I go to Cartagena to meet my friend in a couple days. Right now I am heading to the town of Salento.

When I booked my bus ticket I was under the impression that I would be taking a fun chiva part of the way. However the bus company I chose uses regular coaches for the journey. I am disappointed but I did learn that the chiva buses are quite uncomfortable so maybe I did make the correct choice.

This is my actual ride….

The bus ride is relatively comfortable. I mostly have the row to myself but occasionally have to let another passenger sit next to me. A man enters a bus with a burlap-like sack tapered at the top. I hear a loud qui-qui-ri-qui coming from the bag (Spanish for cock-a-doodle-doo). We are sharing the bus with a rooster – well a rooster in a bag. He is very vocal today, as heard in the video below.

Today is a long journey of two bus rides. The first bus travels from Jardin to Riosucio on a 3-4 hour journey (with a couple health stops).

We have a bit of a layover in Riosucio. Luckily there are other friendly travelers taking the same journey. I am able to leave my bag with them to go buy a snack. It is nice to have a few people to trust enough to leave your heavy bag with; I of course return the favor. From the nearby café I pick up some empanadas, cheese bread, and the most amazing pastry called Pasteles de Arequipe (Dulce de Leche Turnovers). Sounds like a healthy lunch to me!

The second bus ride is another long journey (3-4 hours). I nap a bit but I do enjoy the scenery on the way. There is no rooster on this leg of the journey!

I finally arrive in Salento. The bus station is at the bottom of a hillside. According to my map my lodging is not too far away. I walk a little uphill and a couple blocks over to my hotel Casa Olier Hotel which is more like a bed and breakfast that has its own chocolate factory! I picked a great place to stay. Again it is a little more than I would normally pay but since it is my last month traveling why not?

After my hotel check in I walk to the town center. The town is built on hills so there is much walking up hill during my visit. I head to the town square and order dinner. I have a dog companion waiting for his share.

The signature dish of *Salento*, Colombia, is trucha con *patacones*— *trout* with mashed, fried plantains

I wander around the lively town at night. I tried to have a cocktail at one bar but some rude dog is hogging the seats.

It is a long travel day so I head back to my hotel. Tomorrow I visit a finca or coffee plantation.

Salento Streets at night. Things seem pretty safe here.

Jardín: Gallitos de Roca (Cock of the Rock)

This afternoon I am heading to the Parque Natural Jardín de Rocas where I can witness the Gallitos de Roca (rare and unique birds). They come to this reserve looking for female birds to mate with. The English translation is Cock of the Rock (I’ll just leave that there with no further comment).

The reserve is located not to far from the bridge I crossed previously for another hike .

The park doesn’t open until the late afternoon because you will only see the males performing in the early evenings.

The lady who runs the park is very nice. She tells me of all the great places to go for bird observation.

I don’t have to go far because there are already birds hanging out in the tree right next to me.

I find a place along the observation boardwalk and wait.

I am glad I brought my telephoto lens with me because while the birds are close by, they aren’t close enough to get decent photos with the diffused lighting.

We sit quietly and wait for the males to fly in and start singing for a lover. They are loud. I can’t see how the females would be attracted to that but what do I know.

After viewing the birds I chat with some other travelers outside the preserve. They give me some helpful advice on my next town. The Colombia traveling community is small but very supportive.

I head back into town and have a nice dinner at Óleo Bistró Restaurante.

Tomorrow I head to Salento. I love my time in Jardin and would stay longer but for once I scheduled just the right amount of time in a city. I definitely would not mind returning some day.

Jardín: Hike to Christ

Another day in Jardín (Antioquia, Colombia) so I decide to take another short hike but this time to a Christ statue on a hill.

The town looks beautiful this morning as I head out for my hike.

Where I am going today is up the hill to see the large statue of Jesus (Seen as the little white thing in the photo below).

The path is straight ahead and not clearly marked. I only know it is the correct path because of website that created a great guide to the area (fortunately I found the link to their website intentional travelers – they are so helpful).

The trail begins as a steep decline downhill on a rock trail. I am glad I am wearing my hiking boots again.

A kitten comes by to greet me before I start my hike.

I don’t really see many others around once again today. Traveling in Colombia is quiet compared to visiting other countries. Normally the isolation would have me worried about my safety but for some reason I feel safe here.

I come to a large moss covered tree. The tree is beautiful and reminds me of home.

I come to a little wooden bridge and cross a stream.

The area around the stream looks like a nice place to picnic during the day.

It is not clearly marked but I notice a rough path going uphill. I am thankful that it is both dry and that I am wearing my hiking boots. The steps are challenging for my shorter legs.

I arrive to a gate. There is no sign but it is not locked. I open the gate and walk through, hoping I am not tresspassing.

I am at some sort of summit. I stop and take in the views. There are large beautiful black birds flying to and fro.

I walk past banana trees. The path I am on is clearly used but very rough. I see another couple hiking around so I know I am in the right place.

Eventually I arrive to the area that contains the statue. There is a restaurant or café that appears to closed but a gate is ajar. A tour guide has entered into the viewing area with some tourists; I assume since he is there then it is ok to enter. I grab a seat and enjoy the view for a while.

At some point it looks like the owner shows up. I pack up my things in anticipation of getting asked to leave but he doesn’t seem angry we are there. I don’t stay long anyway.