There are 498 blog posts for you to enjoy.
My South America Journey - A Brief Summary - Part 1
November 12, 2025
My travels are taking me from small town to small town, I'm not interested in tourist destinations, there are bazillions of photos of those online. I go into the small towns, the neighborhoods, the local restaurants, meet the people and talk to them. I explore the parks and plazas, the mercados, though in Argentina there are none, at least in the cities I have explored. I walk around the neighborhoods and see how they live. I think if you go to a city, snap photos of the tourist attractions, then run away to the next city, what was the point of traveling all that way? You learned nothing or next to nothing about the country and the people. Besides, there are bazillions of photos of the tourist attractions on the internet.
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What Does Your Pet Say About You? Unpacking the Psychology of Pet Personalities
November 5, 2025
We often feel an undeniable bond with our pets, treating them as extensions of our families. But have you ever considered that your furry, feathered, or scaled companion might also be an extension of you? Psychological research suggests that our choice of pet isn't random; it often reflects deep-seated aspects of our own personalities, lifestyles, and even our political leanings. References are at the bottom of this blog.
From the boisterous dog lover to the quiet reptile enthusiast, let's dive into what your pet might reveal about the real you.
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When “Adiós” Doesn’t Mean Goodbye
October 29, 2025
Today, as I walked down the street (here in Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia), an older woman stood in her doorway as she does every day. I walk this block almost every day as it is between where I live and downtown. She smiled, raised a hand, and said, ‘¡Adiós!’, same as she does every day. I waved, said, "buenas tardes," and then kept walking. This has happened in all seven countries I have visited in South America, not just once or twice, but consistently.
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Girardot, Colombia
October 18, 2025
Girardot, Colombia, lies about two hours southwest of Bogotá. It has a population of around 110,000, with the metro area reaching about 143,000. Founded in 1852 and named after General Atanasio Girardot, it began as a simple trading post. Wikipedia mentions that it’s a tourist destination for Bogotanos, mostly because of the warm climate. Frankly, I see little else to draw visitors here.
Reference: Wikipedia
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El Espinal, Colombia
October 16, 2025
El Espinal, or just Espinal as it’s usually called, sits in the south-central region of Colombia, about halfway between Bogotá and Cali. The town itself has around 60,000 residents, with about 77,000 in the greater metro area. To set the geography straight: the Río Coello flows a few kilometers west of town, and the Río Magdalena a few kilometers east. Some blogs and even Wikipedia like to suggest those rivers run right through town — they don’t. What Espinal does have are two smaller streams running through it, neither celebrated nor accessible. One is even boxed in with concrete like a drainage canal. On the cultural side, Espinal has a monument to the tambora drum and is “said” to be famous for them, though in my time here I haven’t seen a single tambora or tambora-maker in the town. The town's economy is bases on agriculture, mostly rice, cotton, corn, soybeans, and some lesser commodities.
References:
City Population
Wikipedia
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