I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Sorry for the long pause in blog posts. I have been running around like crazy ever since I got back from South America. I know one thing, though, I really miss writing in this blog thang. I am not sure when I am going to write in my blog or how. This may turn into more of a life blog than a travel blog; but nonetheless, I will keep on.

I went to San Francisco for the wedding of my two dear friends, Erica and Bryan. They met me at the airport

after of a year of not seeing eachother. I was very excited, and so were they. We immediately went to the Haight, which is the part of San Fran that I have probably heard the most about. I didn't go the famed "Haight Ashbury" cross street, though, and I am not sad about it... We did, however go out to the Haight for Erica's bachelorette party, and that was enough for me.

Although I spent two or three days doing the bridesmaid thing, I was able to take a ride on my first trolley car and get a good glimpse of some sea lions. I was staying in Fort Mason, where the wedding is located, and walking distance to many things.. At least for me :)

The rehearsal dinner was a great restaurant called Greens. I have been a quasi-vegetarian for

many years, and I was still shocked by the

creative ability 0f the chefs at Greens. It was an all vegetarian, mostly local meal. At the dinner, I was able to catch up with old friends and meet a

couple new ones. We later went out to a local sports bar - yes people love sports in San Francisco.

The actual wedding was beautiful, a little cold but still awesome. They were married in a park in San Francisco

called "Fort Mason". You could see the Golden Gate Bridge from where they said their nuptials. They even made us (the whole audience) promise that we would not meddle in their affairs unless asked!

The reception was within walking distance of the ceremony. There were mariachis and a wonderful selection of cheeses waiting for us outside of the reception hall! There are my new amigos above. After we had drinks and appetizers, we went to the reception hall and had a great time. We ate and danced for HOURS. I even jumped rope with a bunch of children.

The day after the wedding the whole wedding party and then some went to the Muir Woods. This was my first time seeing full grown redwoods. It was very impressive. What was more impressive was the smell of this place. It was so fresh and so freeing... It is like nothing I have ever smelled in my whole life. We walked around for about an hour, said our goodbyes, and then I headed back to San Francisco.

I had been staying in the Fort Mason hostel and the Comfort Inn, but on the evening after the wedding, I stayed at a hostel in downtown San Francisco. One of my main goals of my trip was to eat as much ethnic food as possible. So, on the night after the wedding, I ate at a Mediterranean restaurant. I must say, it was the first restaurant that I have ever visited where it seemed like the entire wait staff was bi-lingual. This was very impressive, and so was the fact that the whole place was packed at 10:30 on a Sunday night - Europeans :).

The next day I walked from my downtown hostel back to my Fort Mason hostel. This took about an hour. I then dropped off my things and made my way, by foot, to Sausalito. This took about six hours - including my much needed stop for an Indian buffet. On the way, I crossed the

Golden Gate Bridge, walked down a kinda sketchy street that was not made for pedestrians, and saw enough solar panels to make my heart

melt. I was however, exhausted when I reached Sausalito. I took the ferry back to the Pier One of Fisherman's Wharf. This will be the closest I got to Alcatrez, but I would love to visit this site next time I visit San Francisco. I scurried over to another of town and met Erica's brother for Vietnamese sandwiches! First time for this and definitely good :).

The next day, my second to last day in San Fran, I decided I really wanted to go the Castro (the traditionally gay part of San Francisco) and Oakland/Berkeley to see friends that I had made in Peru. I first went to the Little Italy section of San Fran, or North Beach, to eat pizza... It was very good and a cool little part of the city. On the way to the Castro, led of course by my trusty I - phone GPS, I stumbled into China town. I bought a hat there and moved on.. It was very cool to see,

though. I reminded me a lot of some of the markets I visited in South America.

After walking for another three miles/two hours or so, I made it to the Castro. I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect... I had heard about naked men in the street, which I saw. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this part of San Fran. The streets were lined with crude shop names, and there were same sex couples holding hands everywhere! Hell yeah :). I

also visited the space where Harvey Milk, the country's first openly gay politician, had his camera shop. It is now a human rights shop/museum. If you haven't seen the film Milk, I highly recommend it.

After walking through the Castro, I used the trusty I-Phone to get me to Oakland. BTW - I heart public transportation...

In Oakland, I met up with some friend that I knew from Peru - Jen and Dave. We had some coffee, and Dave and Travis, their friend, prepared us some amazing local snacks. There were figs, strawberries, three types of cheeses, olive oil, blackberry honey, and bread. OMG!! I was soo

excited. We ate this lovely meal, and then headed out to meet some more of our amigos from Peru.

I saw Eileen from DC, Angus from Scotland, Pat from Georgia (even though he won't admit it), Colleen from Virginia, and MC Jesus (Christian) from Sacramento!

The next day, I headed out but made sure to eat in The Mission, the Latino part of San Francisco, before returning to BOONE, North Carolina where the food opportunities are, to say the least, much more limited...

I am now back in NC working at Appalachian State, again and teaching classes at ASU, again.... It sure is nice, though, to have somewhere to go home to. I feel like that about Boone, now. It is my home. I am welcomed to it like I was once welcomed at Topsail Beach. I'm a lucky girl! Until next time - probably when I go visit E and B and the Solar Decathlon in DC. Ciao :)

SachaMama - Family and Quality

While I was staying in Salento, I visited a local coffee farm called "Sachamama". The name means mother of the forest or jungle in Quechua - the Incan language. It was a gratifying, inspirational experience that has left me motivated and

thinking of project ideas. I definitely suggest buying coffee from Pedro and if you can, visiting the farm.

I went to the farm with an American couple from Colorado and finance expert from Switzerland. We started walking at about 7:00 in the morning from La Serrana, our hostel, and made it to the

farm for coffee and music at about 10:00. In order to reach the farm, we took "the short way", which led us over a sketchy bridge. This way is not mandatory, but it is sooo much fun!

After we arrived Pedro's home, we met his beautiful wife and daughters. They do not have electricity a their home and use leaves and other items for

decorations. It is beautiful. Not only the view, but the design is breathtaking. Jack and Nina from Colorado were musicians, so we had a little jam session on the porch before venturing out

and discovering Sachamama.

Pedro is a trained agro-engineer who is very educated in regards to sustainable farming techniques. Before starting his own farm, he worked with a local environmental organization.

The farm is also going through the process of being certified by Slow Food. His philosophy of life is: family and quality (and one other thing but I can't remember what). I have visited many quote un quote eco farms in South America, but I have never been as impressed as when I visited this place. He and his family are well educated.. I learned sooo much.

Pedro and his oldest daughter, Juanita, took us on a detailed

tour of his farm. The area where he is growing his forest and coffee was formerly a farm with cows where GMO grass was planted and the area lacked any real diversity. There are still small portions of GMO grass that grows on his farm, and he

explained to us that it is Monsanto grass that can only be killed with - guess what- Roundup, so he is not sure what to do.

He has been slowly changing this ecosystem for the last nine

years. And, excuse me if I do not get the scientific specifics exactly correct - I was listening in Spanish! He has planted wax palms, wiped out a large portion of the grass and planted flowers, trees, and of course... Coffee! He has created an

ecosystem that is perfect for coffee. He uses no chemicals or GMOs - perfectly organic, and all the fallen trees in the forest are used for his home. He explained that many other coffee farmers in the area claim to be organic, but use

compost from animals that have been fed hormones and other antibiotics. This, in turn, impacts the soil and makes the resulting coffee -

inorganic. The tour was very informative, and he is definitely passionate about what he does.

After touring the farm, we ate lunch with his family and went through the process of making

coffee. First, we shelled the beans with a hand-cranked coffee sheller located on the border of his forest. These beans are then set in the sun

to dry. We retrieved beans that had already been dried for at least one day (a little unclear on the time here) and took him to the shop.

At the shop, we then roasted the beans. This part process is the only part that uses electricity, and Pedro hopes to change this by someday installing photovolataic or solar electric panels - more about this later. This machine roasts beans at a very high temperature.

We were instructed to not touch this machine because we could get hurt!

It asked us what the smell reminded us of. Nina said her family, and I said popcorn and chocolate

:). This part of the experience was very important to Pedro. He is concerned not only with the quality of the coffee but also the experience. It is beautiful and in some ways spiritual.

After he roasted the beans, we then moved them

with a spoon to disperse the heat. The beans were then ground and Pedro made the coffee. We then put the coffee in bags, and I bought one for me and one for my brother! It is by far the best

coffee I have ever had.

Marco, from Switzerland, and I had to walk back the same evening, so we left after trying and buying some coffee. The experience at his farm motivated me in ways that I have not been motivated in a long time. It was somewhat

magical. I am now searching for funding for the four PV panels that Pedro needs to make his farm 100% ecologically friendly.

He also has hopes of converting his farm into an

environmental education center that could educate other coffee farmers about ecological farming practices. He told us though, that these are all dreams that may happen. His first priority is always his family, and you could tell by the way they geniunely enjoy eachothers' company.

Another priority, as I mentioned earlier, is quality and not quantity. Quality comes from growing food close to home, using sustainable farming practices, and eating the food with your family and friends. I appreciate quality and family. I learned much more from Pedro than just about coffee and suggest a visit to his farm to anyone.

I am in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia now staying with Mom and Hap. They now have 10 goats.. It is crazy. I am adjusting well, so far.. Just having problems finding the trash can for my toilet paper in the bathroom. I look for about twenty seconds before I remember that I can throw it in the toilet. Take care everyone :)

Also, please vote for Pedro's project on this website! It can help he and his family receive possible funding for future initiatives!

http://www.lanzanos.com/caja/proyecto/910/

SachaMama -

SachaMama -

Salento - The Return of the Hippy :)

I knew the I was going to enjoy Salento, Colombia, but I had no idea how much. I enjoyed it so much that I stayed for a week! My stay there

was enhanced greatly by the hostel where I stayed, La Serrana. It is advertised as a backpacker's resort, and it couldn't be a better way description. It is by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in, and I have stayed in A LOT...

First of all, the hostel serves very good meals five days a week for about 8 dollars a meal. And, it comes with great

views, a farm, and a very cute dog named Pablo. It was located about 20 minutes from the town of Salento where I walked at least once a day.

I relaxed for the first two days of my stay in Salento. I had just finished the Lost City trek and Parque Tayrona, so I really needed the sleep. I caught up on things, applied for a

couple of jobs, and watched movies! I also ate

mango and coconut; something I have done

almost everyday since I arrived in Colombia. I like to think that Colombia has Coconut sticks instead of the fish sticks that we have at home...

After I had my rest, I decided to begin the touristy part of my stay in Salento. My first day was "farmer day". I milked a cow and went on a horseback ride. These are two things that I have

not done since I was a small child at summer

camp. Nonetheless, I successfully woke up at

5:00 am to milk the cow, and a horse galloped while I was riding it... We actually drank the milk in the hostel. Very creamy, but good.

The following day, I went with a group of folks from

England, the Netherlands, El Salvador/D.C., Norway, and Germany to the Cocora Valley, a green pasture about twenty

minutes from Salento covered with Wax Palms,

Colombia's national tree.

Side note: for many years people cut part of the Wax Palm to use during Palm Sunday. Unfortunately, when the part was cut, it killed the entire tree. This is one reason it was made the National Tree, to protect it.

It was a six hour hike up to this an eery, mystical place. Cows eat the grass below the trees, so it

makes for a clean looking landscape. It reminded me a golf course from a Dreamworks film. On the way to the valley, we stopped at a small hummingbird farm/restaurant that served us all "free" coffee and cheese - after we all paid 3,000

pesos, of course.. The hummingbirds and flowers that surrounded the house were very impressive.

The valley has to be one of the most impressive views I have seen since I arrived in Colombia. The hike, as well, was enjoyable. The company was cheerful and the scenery was nice, so I

cannot complain.

I also went out with a couple of folks to play Tay Ho! It is like Colombia horse shoes, but you use rocks and the rocks hit gun powder and not steel. Very fun, but I had to cheat :)

I also had the opportunity to visit two coffee farms during my stay in Salento. I am only going to speak of one farm in this blogpost because I am going to dedicate an entire blogpost to

Sachamama... Keep posted for this one.

I visited Don Elias's Finca with a girl from Ireland. They had a very cute puppy, which I held. The twenty year old grandson of Don Elias took us for a thirty minute tour that ended with

two cups of rather delicious coffee. He taught us about the processes that the farm does to be

organic and the process that they do to make the

coffee. It was very interesting - not nearly as interesting as the tour I did the following day, but it was overall worth the 3$ I spent.

The rest of my trip, I spent teaching yoga, watching sunsets, buying jewelry, and eating

meals with interesting people. The hostel itself was so beautiful that I did not want to leave. The

bottom line is that I could talk about this place forever and never get the right word across! You gotta visit :). I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Colombia.

I called this blogpost "the return of the hippy" because the hippy part of Anna came back in force in this place! I loved being in nature, milking cows, and learning about coffee. It made me ready for the mountains of NC... Speaking of which!

Right now, I am finish this blogpost from Mouth of Wilson, Virginia! I finally have fast enough internet to do a blog. I am very tired and groggy, and I hope to have more insightful words in the future! Take care my friend :)