mrjinki:
Some sustenance before our wild ride. The guys at @freakncreekn make some amazing burgers and pizzas, importing the cheese from the US and making the crust themselves. Goes down nicely with a Colombian craft beer if I do say so myself. Keiko and the girl
mrjinki:
The gratuitous selfie, taken high above the valley below. I had no idea how thrilling paragliding here would be. I though we'd just be floating along, but no, my tandem pilot had more in store for me: g-force spirals and whizzing so close to a mountain wa
mrjinki:
The boy sailing past a waterfall in the Cocorna Valley near Medellin, Colombia. We've been paragliding before, in Peru, but this was different: no motor, and SO CLOSE to the tree tops I swear I could have kicked them. AMAZING.⠀ ⠀ Would you do something li
mrjinki:
Flying over the Cocorná Valley near Medellin, Colombia. We had an *AMAZING* day out paragliding thanks to @freakncreekn, an adventure tour outfitter just outside of Medellin. ⠀ ⠀ Have you been paragliding? Where?⠀ ⠀ More pics & details here: https://buff.
mrjinki:
Curry shrimp, salad, coconut rice and patacones (plantain fritters). I wish I could say that I cooked this all by myself, but we had help from some locals. This was part of our market tour and cooking class with Duran Duran Tours in Cartagena Colombia. Gr
mrjinki:
Items for sale at the Bazurto Market in Cartagena Colombia.We toured the market to sample Colombian fruit and snacks and get ingredients to cook with. Then we went to a local home and made a traditional Colombian lunch. ⠀ ⠀ What have you seen in local mar
mrjinki:
Shredding the coconut for some traditional Colombian food. All part of our market tour and cooking class in Cartagena, Colombia.⠀ ⠀ Do you like coconut? I hated it as a kid, but now eat a lot of it, in different forms.⠀ ⠀ More info and pics from the marke
mrjinki:
Making some mango juice to wash down the lunch we just helped make: curry shrimp with patacones, coconut rice and salad. This was part of our cooking class in Cartagena, Colombia with Duran Duran Tours. The day started in teh Bazurto Market and ended at t
mrjinki:
The boy was HUNGRY after skydiving, so we ordered him a typical Colombian meal: Bandeja Paisa, a gut-busting platter heaving with rice, beans, plantains, fried egg and a variety of meats. The Aguila Beer and hot sauce at the top right are for me ;-). ⠀ ⠀
mrjinki:
Safe and sound on the ground. It was a wild ride, but the boy LOVED skydiving near Cartagena, Colombia. Everything went off without a hitch, and at 16 he’s already crossed off one of mis major bucket-list items. ⠀ ⠀ Big thanks for Guanabana Tours for arra
mrjinki:
The boy about to drop from 10,000 feet (well, more like 11,000 feet, but who’s counting?). From here he plummeted towards the Caribbean at speeds around 120 mph/200 kph. ⠀ ⠀ Spoiler alert: He lived…and he LOVED it!⠀ ⠀ What’s the highest you’ve jumped from
mrjinki:
Twenty minutes after this photo was taken, the boy jumped out of an airplane at 10,000+ feet. Yes, he was attached to a parachute, but he looks a lot calmer, cooler and more collected than I would have.⠀ ⠀ He jumped near the beach north of Cartagena, Colo
mrjinki:
Lunch at Agua Azul Beach is the usual Caribbean standard: fish (grilled or fried) patroness (plantain fritters) and coconut rice. Washed down with a beer or water⠀ ⠀ Read more about our Baru Island tour with @taroaadventures. Click the link in the bio or
mrjinki:
A quick dip on an unnamed beach near Cartagena, Colombia. After this, we would head to Aguas Azul, a popular local beach with seafood grills, pineapple sellers and fancy boats blasting region. But before that, our guide Oli brought us to one of the less d
mrjinki:
The mangroves parted, opening to the lagoon that stood between us and the beach. At point it almost felt like we were in a green tunnel, but when it opened up we could seeker ahead. ⠀ ⠀ Read more about our Baru Island tour with @taroaadventures. Click the
mrjinki:
Floating through the mangrove forests off Baru Island southwest on Cartagena, Colombia. After visiting the village for a snack, a ghost story and a drumming lesson, we climbed onto an outboarder and headed for a local beach. To get there you much ride thr
mrjinki:
The kids were tired and hungry after their kitesurfing lesson, so we found a restaurant on the beach with shade and ordered up. The girl and I shared an entree of grilled fish (i wanted the head), rice, seafood soup and patacones (plantain fritters).⠀ ⠀ W
mrjinki:
Up in the air. A large part of the kids’ kitesurfing lesson was just learning to control the kite and keep it in position. 12 o’clock to 1 o’clock. Back to 12 o’clock. Then to 11 o’clock.⠀ ⠀ Cartagena offers a near ideal climate for kitesurfing: warm year
mrjinki:
Kitesurfing lesson Phase 2: once you’ve learned to hold on properly, it’s time to raise the sail and keep it aloft. Here the boy’s instructor Israel hold on as he give instructions that will help him learn to steer using the wind. ⠀ ⠀ Read more about our
mrjinki:
Kitesurfing lessons in Cartagena, Colombia. Learning to control the kite takes some practice. Learning to steer comes after learning to properly hold on. Here the girl’s teacher Franklin gives the handle sudden strong pulls to see if she’s ready for the n
mrjinki:
A little taste of Peru in Colombia. This octopus ceviche causa was devoured in Cartagena, a short walk from the Caribbean. ⠀ ⠀ Colombians eat plenty of ceviche as well, but the causa — a dumpling or patty of yellow potato served a variety of ways — is of
mrjinki:
Head to the roof of the @Radisson Cartagena Ocean Pavillion Hotel and you’ll find three jacuzzis with fantastic views of the Caribbean. ⠀ ⠀ Just inside from the jacuzzis is the gym, which my son used daily. ⠀ ⠀ Read more about our stay at the @radissoncar
mrjinki:
Downhill cycling tour near Medellin, Colombia. This was a surprise hit with my daughter and I. Often called “gravity biking,” our guide drove us to up into the clouds (2700 feet), put us on bikes and we rode down together nearly 2000 feet, from alpine env
mrjinki:
Lunch before our whitewater rafting trip near Medellin, Colombia. Most meals come with rice. a grilled plantain (top left) and an arepa (top right). Often translated as “corn cakes,” arepas are a Colombian standard, made from corn meal and baked or grille
mrjinki:
A freak storm the night before our rafting trip raised the water level by nine (!!) feet. This changed the rapids themselves, and turned the color of the Caldera???? River from green tea to cappuccino. But wow: what an amazing ride? The swollen river swal
mrjinki:
Rafting safety instructions before we shove off into the Caldera?? River Cocorná, Colombia. Whether it’s your first time or 20th time rafting, the safety lecture beforehand is essential. If you go, make sure the kids pay attention. You too. It can save yo
mrjinki:
It didn’t take long to get he blood pumping during our rafting trip near Medellin Colombia. Rapids pummeled us as we dug our oars into the churning river.⠀ ⠀ Have you been whitewater rafting? Where?⠀ ⠀ Read more about rafting trip with Guanabana Tours. Cl
mrjinki:
As part of our Comuna 13 Tour with Medellin City Services, we stopped by a coffee museum for a taste of Colombia’s most delicious export. We learned about proper brewing techniques and saw the various stages of coffee bean production. ⠀ ⠀ Learn more about
mrjinki:
This may look cute and innocuous, but what lies inside is formidable. Behold: the typical Nasi Lemak. Rice, fish, peanuts, a boiled egg, and sambal, the region's most popular hot sauce. Sambal is Malaysia/Indonesia's ketchup: ubiquitous and spread across
mrjinki:
Our moment of Zen didn't last long here, but it was nice while it lasted. At the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, kimono rentals are easy and (relatively) cheap. Then you walk around a recreation of an Edo-era village, learning the old ways and looking
