MSIA travel staff is currently in South America, providing MSIA Services (Innerphasings, Polarity Balances & Aura Balances) as well as MSIA events. Staff member, Angel Gibson, provides this update from the trip:
DAY 4 — FROM CARACAS TO BOGOTA
Santos, our beloved commandant, and his able assistants — Vania, Armando and Ishmael — are with us early this morning, rounding us up at breakfast and moving us along so that we can stay on time to get to the airport for our flight to Bogota. We hug Santos, Armando and Ishmael goodbye — they have been the best, taking care of us each step of the way. Vania escorts us to the airport. Soon we find ourselves at the airport meeting up with Ani who has gone ahead to check us and the luggage in. She is masterful using her expertise as a retired flight attendant for Avianca leading us through immigration (where we say goodbye to Vania), security and to a little cafe where I score an espresso. Then we don’t have long to wait before we board our Avianca flight to Bogota. We spend our flight doing SE snoozing, as last night we were up to the wee hours doing email and packing.
It’s but a relatively short hop to Bogota and ta-da we arrive, immediately starting to adjust to the 6000 more feet of altitude — yep we’re now up at 9000 ft. It’s rainy and cool and a very different feel to this city than Caracas. Our wonderful friends are there to meet us as we get through customs — Leopoldo and Alberto soon have us and our luggage and equipment packed into cars. The drive takes us through the city. Alberto knows some great short cuts so that we don’t have to wait in what looks like some pretty heavy grid-locking on the main avenues. We arrive at our hotel — one we know well — and are grateful for seeing familiar faces of the personnel at the door and behind the front desk. Ilse Arango, our Bogota Services coordinator, welcomes us lovingly showing us right away our Services schedules, and then waves us off to our rooms. Soon we’re settled in our rooms, looking forward to getting an early dinner. Ani is taking good care of us too. She’s back in her home town now and wants to make sure we’re nestled in before she heads to be with her family and home. Vincent, Lesley, Celia and I venture out to the Usaquen plaza and one of our favorite restaurants, Amarti. We are not disappointed. Our waiter takes good care of us, making sure we know what to eat and what has onion/garlic and pork. We’re in a dazey kind of place, but it feels so good to have a good meal, and be out in the air for a little walk back to the hotel. Then emails, and a little look at this weekend’s workshop script, and then, finally, to sleep, perchance to dream.
DAY 5 — BOGOTA
And dream we did! Wow, I felt like I was at and in the movies all night — quite vivid were my dreams and those of my fellow travelers. Seems like some little doggie like creature made it to almost all of our dreams or light sleep state last night. The altitude has claimed my body this morning with my head feeling as if in a bit of a vice…but nothing a little double espresso won’t ease. All four of us make it down for a bit of breakfast and soon we’re joined by Ilse to get lined up for the day, and away we go.
The morning zips by and we have lunch downstairs, joined by John Marin, who will be our translator for all the events this weekend, and his beautiful wife, Virginia, Ana Maria Arango, Olga Elena Villegas — all of whom are translating for Services today. Saul Monard arrives to take over one of the translating shifts for us this afternoon. Then we’re back to Services this afternoon.
Now today is Halloween here in Bogota as well, and they really get into Halloween here. The entire hotel staff is costumed with this year’s theme being tropical islands, pirates, skeletons, and dancing senoritas. The hotel also arranges time for their staff to get pictures taken, to play games, and in general have a good time all day, which makes it fun to be around. Meanwhile, outside in the mall, we see all these little kids dressed in every kind of costume you can imagine. There is Baby Shrek, butterflies, lots of Ninja types, princesses, soldiers, a tiny miniature Catholic priest, elephants, tigers, werewolves and more. Young and old visit all the stores who happily give out candies to whoever comes in. Baby Shrek who is brought over to us by “her” mother reaches into her little skeleton shaped bag and hands to me a lollipop. I’m touched by her generosity. Whole families walk around with their children making the scene very festive. Celia and I enjoy a coffee and goodie in the midst of this scene and then retreat to our rooms for a little Oxiaco (traditional Colombian soup) for supper and studying our weekend workshop’s script. Lesley and Vincent take some precious free hours to have a little date night on their own. As our evening winds down, we reminisce over the fun moments of the day. Time to prepare for some sleep as this may be one of our last opportunities as things gear up for the weekend. Tomorrow is a full day and the Traveler, John Morton, will soon be on his way. Thanks for your Light as we travel along, and please keep it coming.
Click here to read Days 1 & 2 with Angel Gibson.
