As some of you may already know, Mr. Bingley and I have just returned from our FIRST INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE! (a.k.a. first vacay to Colombia, South America to meet the fam.) We were gone for two weeks, went to three different cities (Bucaramanga, Campo Alegre, and Cartagena), and took more than a dozen cold water showers!
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Today’s post is dedicated to the sharing of some of our adventures and enumerating the many different ways I encountered or was reminded of Jane Austen while in Colombia.
JANE AUSTEN IN COLOMBIA
~ JANE AUSTEN CONNECTION #1
Rafael Núñez International Airport
We literally just landed…got off the plane, got in line for customs. I notice a book in the lady’s hand in front of us. Of course I was curious to know what book she was reading…so I “discreetly” craned my neck to get a look at the cover. And when I did, I could not believe my eyes! It was an AUSTENESQUE NOVEL!
Because of my shyness, I didn’t immediate strike up a conversation with this young lady (initiating conversations with new people is not something I’m very comfortable with….kinda like Mr. Darcy!) I also wasn’t sure if I should try talking to her in Spanish or English. But after fifteen minutes of building up my courage and some kind encouragement from Mr. Bingley, I asked her if she liked Jane Austen and thus began our little chat. She was only about three chapters into Death Comes to Pemberley, and when I asked how she liked it so far, she said: “It is great to be revisit these characters again.”
~ JANE AUSTEN CONNECTION #2
Bucaramanga, Colombia
It wasn’t until our last day in Bucaramanga that I made my second Jane Austen Connection. While in Bucaramanga, we stayed with a family friend who was landlady to an eight apartment building. Everyday, after breakfast, she would open the door to her apartment and her neighbors would one by one stop in, sit on her couch, and stay for a short visit. These visits weren’t formal or planned…sometimes they took place when we were all still in their pajamas! These visitors were never turned away or made to feel unwelcome, they were offered coffee and other beverages. It very much felt like how neighbors paid social calls during Jane Austen’s era.
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| View from our apartment building |
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| Where Mr. Bingley’s aunt lives |
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| A PANADERIA! The apartment building was right next to a bread bakery! Guess who had fresh bread and coffee every morning? This girl! I love me some bread! 😉 |
Paying social calls and talking to one’s neighbors seemed to be a very important custom in Colombia. People didn’t spend a lot of time in front of a TV or computer, they spent time catching up on the latest gossip with their friends. Even the proprietors of a little grocery/convenience store near our apartment building was well prepared for the daily round of social calls with their large assortment of chairs and stools at the ready.
“The party at the Great House was sometimes increased by other company. The neighbourhood was not large, but the Musgroves were visited by everybody, and had more dinner-parties, and more callers, more visitors by invitation and by chance, than any other family.” – Persuasion
~ JANE AUSTEN CONNECTION #3
Campo Alegre
Our second stop in Colombia was to my in-laws home. They recently just retired to Colombia after moving to the United States over sixteen years ago. Mr. Bingley’s parents live on a farm! Not a mass-producing or a commercial farm, but small and easy to maintain farm that provides a little bit of profit.
With two cows, over 16 chickens, and dozens of fruit trees, Mr. Bingley’s parents were truly “living off the fruit of the land!” I loved how so much of our meals and needs came from their backyard and not a grocery store! It definitely put me in mind of Jane Austen and her characters and how they were fed and supported by their kitchen gardens and small estates.
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| Mr. Bingley! |
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| Gathering mangos |
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| Bananas |
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| Coffee Beans |
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| Avocados |
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| White Grapes |
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| Cacao Beans (Cocoa!) |
Mr. Bingley and I had a lot of fun taking on some of the “farm chores” while we were there. We fed the livestock, looked for eggs, and helped gather fruit that was ripe and ready. And we, of course, were more than happy to enjoy the “fruits” of our labor!
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| Feeding bananas to their one-year-old calf |
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| Getting ready to make some juice from these green tangerines we picked! |
“Delaford is a nice place, I can tell you; exactly what I call a nice old fashioned place, full of comforts and conveniences; quite shut in with great garden walls that are covered with the best fruit-trees in the country; and such a mulberry tree in one corner!” – Sense and Sensibility
~ JANE AUSTEN CONNECTION #4
Rivera, Colombia
While visiting with Mr. Bingley’s parents we took a day trip the Termales de Rivera, which is a place where people can come enjoy natural hot springs. Hot spring water often has a high content of minerals, and many people travel to hot springs to receive various medicinal or health benefits.
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| The “hot pool” which was around 42° C or 107° F. Patrons were only allowed to stay in this pool for ten minutes. I lasted barely five…it was too hot! |
I’m sure you can guess the Jane Austen Connection here! The whole time at the Termales de Rivera I was thinking of Bath, England and Jane Austen! Not only do Northanger Abbey and Persuasion take place in Bath, but several other Austenesque novels do too. I am happy to say that this water didn’t possess rank odors or patrons with infectious diseases like the scene in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler! Not at all! Instead, we found the pools to be comfortable, the ambiance full of natural beauty, and the water deliciously refreshing!
“For I assure you, Miss Woodhouse, where the waters do agree, it is quite wonderful the relief they give. In my Bath life, I have seen such instances of it!” – Emma
Throughout these Jane Austen Connections, Mr. Bingley and I spent our time visiting with his family and enjoying some extreme sports! 🙂
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Thank you to all of you who continuously sent words of encouragement and support during our travels! It meant a lot to us to here from all our friends and family back home!
I hope you enjoyed my little “vacation documentary!” Thank you again for all the kind words and wishes! – xoxo
Thank you for sharing this with us, Meredith! I just loved following your travels.
Thank you, Robin! I really appreciate all your kind words! As you can see the Austen/Austenesque community was never too far from my mind! 🙂
Beautiful photography. Wish I could have joined you!
Thank you for saying so, Evie! I was disappointed with many of my shots…I think I need to spend some time practicing with my camera. I took photography in high school and very much enjoy taking pictures as a hobby. You are very sweet!
Very interesting! Colombia seems to be invitingly picturesque and beautiful place to go. Thank you for sharing:)
Colombia is definitely that. So much beauty and unique things to see and do there…it kind of is like a hidden secret. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your family vacation with us. I was really looking forward to hearing all about your travels. Pretty cool that you can find Jane anywhere in the world if you look closely enough.
Was is strange visiting with the Bucaramanga neighbors in your pajamas? I would feel awkward around strangers if I was still in my PJs, especially if I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet. I do love the idea of casual social calls, though. A much more personal connection than what I see too often here: a group of people ignoring each other while they play on their smartphones.
I think I was most fascinated by all those fruit trees in your in-laws backyard. Obviously the climate has a lot to do with it, but it must be so wonderful to walk out in into the yard and find something to add to the meal.
Thank you, Meredith! I’m glad you’re back.
Thank you for stopping by and reading my post, Heather! I’m so happy I can share all the details of our trip with everyone!
It wasn’t too strange because our host was in her pajamas too, and our pajamas were pretty much comfy loungewear like soft tees and lounge pants. 🙂 I really loved how much time everyone spent with each other each day…sometimes a neighbor who visited in the morning would visit again in the evening. It definitely was different then what we see here!
I loved the fruit tress! They really didn’t require a lot of maintenance (not like a vegetable or herb garden) and were prevalent throughout the property. It was wonderful to harvest your own meal! What a wonderful way to exist!
Thanks for all the kind words, Heather! So happy to have great online friends like you!
Great pictures, especially the one of the cow. I’m not into extreme sports, so that would scare me.
Thank you, Michelle! We enjoyed the cows, it was so funny how the little calf could make such a loud and deep sounding “moo.” When she did that we knew she wanted more bananas!
The scuba diving was the most extreme sport for us…we aren’t too adventurous! 🙂
What an amazing trip! I cannot image how great it would be to walk in my backyard and pick mangoes and avocados – two of my favorite foods in the world. The pic that I have to ask about is the one of you feeding the calf. I noticed the giant boulders in the background. Were they pretty much everywhere you went. It really makes the scenery beautiful!
Looks like you had a blast! I’m so glad! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Candy! We did! We definitely got the travel bug!
Looks like you had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed all of the photos & the Austen “connections”! Sounds like everything was slow paced, relaxed & friendly! I loved hearing about the neighbors all coming by to say “HI” & visit… even in their pajamas! LOL Would be so nice to just walk out into your own gardens & pick fruits fresh off the vine – I bet it was all YUMMY! So glad you had such a fabulous trip & it’s good to know that you’re back at home 🙂
It was exactly that – the perfect blend of adventures and activities with rest and relaxation! We were only in that building six days, but because of the daily visits the day we left was filled with hugs and kisses as we said goodbye. I loved how friendly everyone was. The fruit was amazing and having it come from their own backyard was so awesome!
It looks like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you had such a memorable trip!!:)
I did! Thank you for stopping by and reading my post, Kelli!
Looks like you have a fantastic sojourn! I anxiously await spring and summer when I can once again live off the land and buy less groceries. Glad you had fun, love love the pics!
Oh that must be wonderful, Stephanie! I wish I could grow more in our backyard (we are very sandy here and need constant watering). I may try to do some tomatoes and peppers again this year. It is so nice to grow your own food! Thank you for all your kind words! 🙂
What a beautiful place! I’m happy you had a wonderful trip. The rafting would scare the heck out of me, for sure. And of course Iove the JA connections.
p.s. I haven’t read Death Comes to Pemberley but I recently saw online that the BBC is making it into a movie.