Southern comforts

Snow place like Park Slope for the holidays. . .

 Hello from snow-covered NYC!  I am missing the sunshine and warm smiles of Colombia (hay que ir al sur, for many, many reasons).  I spent my final days in Ibague visiting la familia that I got to know in Cartagena.  They gave me a delightful tour of the town, complete with a taste of the nightlife, spectacular views from the top of a mountain, and LOTS of food.  I was worried I wasn't going to be able to fit into my pants by the time I left.  We had a great lunch at an open air place and stopped at a road stand for some merengon on the way back (delicious!).  It was fantastic to see my friends again and I hope that we'll be able to see each other again someday soon, in Ibague, Cartagena, Cary, or even Dhaka!

Climb every mountain. . .

Ana at work on the strawberry merengon.  She hasn't reached the age where "sharing" is a concept yet!

Delicious breakfast!  Tamal, cheese, the famous bread of Ibague, and a full cup of hot, frothy chocolate.  After eating this, I want to go right back to bed!

Hard to believe that was just a few days ago, now that I'm packing up my bags here to head east for a new set of adventures.  I've had a few days here to catch up with friends, take advantage of the myriad food options, catch a really bad movie (cough, no strings attached, cough) go for a long run in Central Park (evidently drinking beer on the beach does not count as training), and do a little bit of work to prepare for what's next.  Been working on downloading a year's worth of books onto my kindle--suggestions are most welcome.  Right now I'm in the middle of Sex at Dawn and Songs of Blood and Sword. 

My "office" these days is just the essentials--a notebook and a good cup of coffee.  This was at Mud.http://www.themudtruck.com/spots.html

I've posted my pictures from Colombia here.  Thanks Camilo, Margara, and Andrea for sharing your shots.

High in Dhaka for Wednesday is 81*F.  Life is good.  Yellow curry, here I come.