Our Trip to Socorro October 10-12

Since we encountered computer problems, and our computer is working again, I am putting in 2 blogs from last week. One is from Jefersons birthday, (see next entry) and the other is from our trip to Socorro last weekend.

Our trip to Socorro last weekend was fantastic. It was a 3 hour drive from Bucaramanga, and we travelled there with Jose's family. We really enjoyed the scenery. We never tire of the view of the mountains. It was a cloudy day, so we could see the clouds forming below the mountaintops. It is such an awesome sight.



The boys slept most of the way so the ride was very good. The roads are very winding, so we had to travel slowly. Just before we arrived in Socorro, we stopped in another small town named Barachia. It was a quaint little town that was very old. All of the buildings in the main part of the city had to be painted white and trimmed in green, as part of the town ordinance. Also notice the stone streets, that are throughout the town.

We had lunch at a place that specialized in ants. Yes, you know that small little insect that invades your picnics! This is a very common food here. Deep fried ants. No we were not brave enough to eat them as part of our lunch, but Jose and his father did have a dish, that served them in a gravy on top of the meat. The restaurant was very quaint, and the chicken that we had was very good. As usual, the meat was served with rice. There were also some homemade chips that accompanied them. It is very common to have rice and another potato, usually deep fried- either fries or chips. Deep fried bananas or banana chips are also very common.

In the background of the photo, you will see the beef topped with a gravy, and you can see the ants on top of the beef. We stuck to foods that we would classify as "normal". (foreground plate)

We visited a few shops on the main street, as well as a church. It is very unique, in that every small town in this part of Colombia has a city center where there is a park, and most often, there is also a church adjoining the park.

The boys were so cute in the church. Diego took Jeferson’s hand, and they walked up to the altar, and knelt down. It looked like they were praying. At one point when Jeferson started talking, Diego turned to him and said “SHHHHHH” which was louder than Jeferson’s voice talking.

Next we continued on to Socorro. Many of Jose’s aunts and uncles own a 2nd home in a small subdivision in Socorro. With the exception of 1 family, all of the rest of the homes are owned by family members. His grandmother lives in her home in the subdivision year round, but the rest are used as vacation homes. The family was so very warm and welcoming to us. Jose’s mother, Lilliana, has 9 siblings, so it made Joyce feel like she was at one of her own family gatherings. Even though they speak Spanish, and we speak English, we managed to communicate and we truly enjoyed our time with them. They were very nice to both Diego and Jeferson, and the boys cherished the attention that they received from every one of them. They treated all of us as though we were family members as well. We are truly blessed to have met such a wonderful family.

Eric with Jose's mother and her sisters.

Joyce sneaking a Coca Cola Light from the refrigerator at the casa where we stayed in Socorro.

Lounging on the patio at our casa.

Photo of the casa from the front, with the beautiful mountains in the background.

Saturday, October 11

On Saturday, we visited the family farm that is located just outside of Socorro. The family still owns the farm, and they have workers tending to the crops, and animals.

Of the crops, oranges, tangerines, and coffee beans are grown. We were very interested in learning how coffee is processed. We were given a tour of where the coffee is processed. We found out that coffee really has 2 seasons here in Socorro. Also, we learned that when the beans are red or yellow, they are ripe, and if they are still green then they are not ready to be picked. The beans are harvested, and then put into a machine that removes the inside bean from the pod. The beans are then dried and roasted. Once they are roasted, the coffee from this farm are exported out of Colombia. They have many guidelines regarding the soil, and temperatures where the coffee is grown, that they have to follow in order to export the coffee. The process was very fascinating.

Coffee beans before they are picked. Coffee bean on the right after it is picked, and the one on the left is after the shell is removed. On the left is the beans after they have been roasted, and on the right is the final coffee after the 2nd shell is removed.

We also had an opportunity to walk through the orange and tangerine orchards. When we returned to the house, we were treated to a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. It was delicious!

In the afternoon, we went to a house warming party of one of Jose’s uncles. His uncle is an architect, and designed his own home, outside of the subdivision. Again, we were welcomed with much graciousness. We had a popular Colombian meal of Arepas, pork, yucca, grilled bananas, and salad with guacomole. The pork was actually roasted over an open fire. After dinner, we again enjoyed the Colombian conversation.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Today was a lazy day. With all of the family’s staying in the same subdivision, everyone tends to congregate at one persons house. However, after a while, everyone moves to someone elses home. We are not really sure how this happens, as we were at one family home, then we left to go visit the main area of Socorro, and when we returned, the family had moved one house down. Everyone just hangs around on the front porch, drinking wine, and chatting. It was such a relaxing way to enjoy the day.

We were hoping to visit some of the shops today, however, being Sunday, we found that the shops are not open. So instead, we just walked around the center city park, where there were vendors, and children riding bikes, and scooters, and people feeding the pigeons. We of course also stopped at an ice cream shop for some ice cream.
We made one more stop before returning home, which was a scenic overview, overlooking the town of Socorro.

On Monday, we left Socorro and travelled back to Bucaramanga, where we stayed overnight with Jose's family.