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Neiva: First Day

It was a clear day on the flight from Bogota to Nieva and this time I made sure to look out the window to try and get an understanding of the geography of Colombia. Here’s what I saw: mountains, mountains, coffee plantation (I think), muddy rivers, and some deserts. Basically it looked like west Texas with more hills. Nieva snuck up on us on a bend of the Rio Magdelena and then, just like that, we’ve landed in the heat.

Welcome back.

Olga Elana and Sorany met us with hugs. Olga Elena is our lawyer and Sorany is our translator. We catch up. Olga Elena is particularly happy to hear that all the kids are doing well in the United States.

We’re renting an apartment flat. It’s huge, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a pool on the 6th floor. Right across the street is a huge Carrefour (like having a Target in your front yard). There’s artwork – sculptures – that I’m trying to figure out where to hide because I’m pretty sure they’re going to break, given their current location, when Diego arrives. We’re about 9 blocks from the city center (actually pretty close to the BienEstar). Very cool.

The one downside about the apartment is that, while it does have internet, it’s maxing out at high dial up speeds (capped WiMAX). Won’t be doing Google Hangouts or Skype on those speeds. Oh well. Go with the flow.

We walked around Neiva a bit, visiting old sights. Next week starts the new school year, so the markets were packed with people and knickknacks. Two obvious gringos in a crowd!

This morning we went to the Bienestar to have our meeting. Ren wants to write about that, so I’m posting a few images of travels and will pass the computer to her. Today’s pretty much a hurry up and wait day (like many of them to come).