Transportation in Colombia

 Si, it is illegal, but no one says anything  and it's pretty normal to travel like this in the middle of  a busy street, and it doesn't matter if it's not safe. There aren't tickets for them because they are working, aren't they? In this picture the jeeps are not really busy, most of the time there are a lot of people on the top of the car, plus ten or twelve inside, plus the ones who are standing up in the back— many times there are more than six all together holding themselves trying to not fall off. 

 Here, "la chiva" (the way we name this funny bus) is the normal transportation in the remote villages in Colombia, mostly in towns that is very hard to visit because of the hard roads and distance from the big cities. It's the native transportation and almost always it is like in the picture, very crowded, and the natives not only bring their kids and stuff with them, but also chickens, turkeys, or even pigs (alive). In the big cities however, "La Chiva" is not a way of transportation, but an entertaining distraction for the locals and tourists.

 

 As I wrote in an older post about "La Chiva", inside of these buses there is a big screen playing the most popular Salsa orchestras, a nice dancing floor in the middle, loud music and a disc jockey who makes everyone feel happy and ready for the fun. Everyone drinks, dances, sings, and over all, we laugh till we cry. This is my favorite thing to do when I visit my family and friends in Cali. La Chiva goes around the city and for three hours we pay $700,000 pesos which is more or less $350 CAD. Some Chivas hold more than 100 people, but of course, we don't go on the top!

This is the modern form of transportation in Cali, and the rest of  the big cities of Colombia, nothing to do with La Chiva.

The "Smiling Bird"...

In 2005 the rare and believed extinct “smiling bird” was photographed in Colombia after 40 years of absence. The curving beak that gives the illusion of a “Mona Lisa” smile is what makes this bush bird an enigmatic and exotic species. Researchers found the bird in a 250-acre reserve and said that it was last seen before 1965. The smiling bird has also been seen in Venezuela, but always in very remote habitats. Colombia has the most wide and exotic natural sanctuaries in the world; a few years ago the “”Yariguíes Brush-Finch”  was also discovered there. It is a beautiful bird that has a large and colorful black, yellow and red plumage. The “smiling bird” photograph was taken by a Colombian conservationist who works for Pro Aves, a Colombian non profit organization. CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

Nostradamus Prophesies...

Nostradamus was born on December 14, 1503 in St. Remy, France. At an early age, he was taught by his grandfather, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, and astrology. In 1529 he received a medical degree and it is said that he had extraordinary healing abilities. When he was in his late 40s, he started having visions of the future, so he began to document them and published his famous “Centuries” in 1558. His revelations have been always criticized by believers because they say his predictions came from the occultism and not from a gift, or inspiration from God. Nevertheless his prophesies are scary because they are extremely accurate; all that he predicted in the past has been realized. He even predicted his own death.CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

Secret Societies...

Secret society can be described as a “fraternal organization” in which secret practices are performed by selected members. These practices are secret ceremonies ranging from the common to mythical, often with luciferian beliefs and weird rituals. These societies have existed since ancient times and always have been clandestine; among the most known secret societies are the Masons, Odd Fellows, Rosicrucians, and Skull and Bones, society that president Bush, and Massachusset’s Senator John Kerry,  have been said to belong to. Today secret socities still exist and all of them are very powerful; they have strong ties beteween members, and frequently have their rituals which outsiders never are permitted to observe. CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

A Beautiful Love Story...

Boris and Anna Koslove, were married for only three days when he had to say good-bye to his wife, to rejoin his military unit. Anna kissed her husband expecting to see him again soon, and never thought for a moment that it would be the last time she would see him; at least, for the next sixty years. When Boris returned from the war, he didn’t find his bride, nor her family. The whole family was sent into exile in Siberia, thanks to the cruel regime of Joseph Stalin. Boris did all that he could to find Anna with no luck. No one knew where she was, so he eventually lost track of her. Anna’s mother decided that her daughter should remarry, and against Anna’s will, arranged her daughter’s wedding. According to Anna’s mother, Boris had “remarried and forgotten her”. Boris and Anna remarried with others and had children, but never forgot each other. They grew old, and their spouses died, and it was then when Anna decided to visit her home town, to see the house again where she once married the love of her life. That day, in the same town, she saw a familiar face staring at her…it was Boris. He was also visiting his home town, and he had come to lay flowers at his parents’ gravestones.  “I thought my eyes were playing games with me,” Anna said. “I saw this familiar-looking man approaching me, his eyes gazing at me. My heart jumped! I knew it was him! I was crying with joy!” Boris and Anna are married again, and are now inseparable. CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

The Maya Calendar

The Mayan Calendar is a complex system of multiple calendars used in conjunction. The Tzolkin, or “The Long Count”, is the most fascinating calendar of all since it is above all a prophetic calendar and it records time intervals in excess of billions of years. This calendar is used to track dates and utilizes a numerical decimal system. Its accuracy is astonishing. It predicts the end of an era or the end of the world—as many believe, on December 21, 2012. However, it’s not really the “end of the world”, it is just the end of a 5,126-year era, or the end of the Mayan Calendar. It is actually, the start of a new age—the golden era as many call it, and the cycle of wisdom, harmony, peace, re-birth, love, and the return of natural order.CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

A Breathtaking Monastery...

The breathtaking sacred monastery of Tiger’s Nest, in Paro, Bhutan, was built in 1692, and it hangs on a cliff at 3,120 metres (10,200 feet), some 700 meters (2,300 feet) above the bottom of Paro valley. The monastery suffered several blazes and is a recent restoration, however the building remains exactly the same as it was built in its beginnings. The monastery is magical, and anyone who visits it, is touched in the most astonishing ways; the experience is completely amazing and you will never want to forget the feelings you got by being there. Special permission is required for non-Bhutanese to visit the monastery, and you will find a few Bhutanese army soldiers at the entrance to register the visitors and to ensure you are not bringing a camera to the sacred monastery. Picture:Douglas J. McLaughlin (Photograph edited by Vassil). CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.

Experience your own funeral...

If you want to appreciate your life more and feel really “alive” consider going to Korea to have a temporarily death. Thanks to Korea Life Consulting Co., who charges up to 300,000 won ($460) per customer, you can experience your own funeral. The whole process starts by the client solemnly reading his or her will; then a man in a black suit says in a resounding voice: “I want to give you one more day to live, but it’s time to be placed into your coffin. I hope your tired flesh and body will be peacefully put to rest.” The client lay in the coffin, which is then nailed shut with dirt thrown over the top. The lights are turned off, and funeral music is played. After 15 minutes, and when many participants are just about to have a panic attack, the coffin is opened up and the person experiences a “rebirth”. Korea Life Consulting held the fake funeral at a mountain resort in Chungju, 150 kilometers south of Seoul. Participants take a class on the meaning of life, pose for portrait photos to be used at the service and write wills as if they have three days to live. CafeJournalCopyright 2010-2018. NohraCeciliaLeschyson. All Rights Reserved. No part or totality of this site may be reproduced, copied, altered in any way without the written permission of its owner.