Agua Bendita!

Dear readers,

Agua Bendita is a Colombian swimwear company created in 2003 by designers Catalina Àlvarez and Mariana Hinestroza. It's designs are very ethnical and catchy. I for one love it! That's why I could not not inform you :) Have a look at part of the 2012 collection and let me know what you think about this brand!

The 2012 collection is inspired by Cameroon. I especially love the bikini pictured in photo 2. What's your fave?

Love, Melissa

Semana Santa in Popayan!

Dear readers,

Remember my last post of Popayan, Colombia? If not, I promised I would write a post about Semana Santa in Popayan, also known as "holy week". The procession in Popayan is the biggest in Colombia and the second biggest of Latin America, so it is quite the experience. I thought it was so honourful of the people to walk the processions and aside from that I really found it beautiful, especially the music and the statues that are carried by the people. To have an impression of this festivity, here some photos:

My nephew hanging prominently on the wall in a hotel :) This picture was made the year before during the processions for the children.

Photo taken inside the church from where the statues are carried out

My brother-in-law carrying a statue!

As you can tell from the pictures, during the procession the story of Jesus Christ is told through the statues. The statues itself are by the way VERY heavy, but the people who carry them feel honoured to do so. That is why there is a long waiting list of people who want to carry the statues.

Since it is a holy week you can watch the processions every day starting from Tuesday until Sunday. Also, on Wednesday there is the children procession which is really nice to see. Unfortunately, since it was raining this year I could only see part of it.

That's it for today's post! Just wanted to give you an insight of what the processions during the holy week are all about! Oh and, if you ever have the chance to see a procession for yourself, DO SO...it is worth it! I know that the ones in Spain, in Colombia and in Guatemala are the nicest and the biggest ones :)

Love, Melissa

Popayan

Dear readers,

I am going to divide my post about Popayan, Colombia in two, because I first want to give you a look into all that I have been up to in Popayan and thereafter I want to give you a peek into celebrating Semana Santa, also known as "Holy Week", in Popayan, which is quite a happening!

The reason why I visited Popayan was because of the fact that my little nephew got baptized there and of all people they chose me to be his godmother, such an honour! So, that was the main reason. Second, because I wanted to experience Semana Santa, but this I will cover in another blog post.

The photos that I will show you now are my most treasurable, since my family and loved ones are in it. I hope you like it!

The first bunch are taken at Calibio. Calibio is this huge house of my brother-in-law's family. It has been in their possession since forever and I can definitely understand why. This place is magical! It is around 1000 hectares and its view is splendid. You can look all the way to Cali. Calibio is a place where his family can come together and enjoy their time off. Aside from that, this place is often rented for big events. For example, he and my sister got married here!

At Calibio, my brother-in-law's family house

Having breakfast

My boyfriend and my nephew LUCA :) Isn't he just BEAUTIFUL?!?!

My nephew Milo, Luca's little brother, the one that got baptized

Luca :)

At "Elejio", another of their event locations

Milo :)

Luca and Martina (his niece) riding a horse

Superman! :P

At Calibio, now for Milo's baptism

Godmother (me!) and Milo

From left to right: my mother, my brother-in-law with Milo, my sister and my dad!

Godparents baptizing Milo

Milo Thomas' cake

Milo's petit fours

Celebration dinner

My mom is so ready for easter ;)

I just love looking back at these pictures! :) Such a shame my sister lives so far away :( I wish they would live here, so I could see them more often, but hey, this is just the way it is!

What have you guys been up to lately?

Love, Melissa

Cali!

Dear readers,

The journey through Colombia continues today. This time I will tell you about our visit to Cali, the capital city of the Valley of Cauca, in southern Colombia. The Valley of Cauca is known for its plantations of rubber, sugar cane, coffee and among other things also cocaine.
The latter brings about problems for the city like high murder rates and a high addiction rate. Aside from the negative characteristics of Cali, this city is also known as the capital city of salsa! And don't I just love that... :)

Unfortunately, we were just 2 days in Cali, so we did not have a lot of time to see everything, but always time to take some shots of course! Here some for you to see!

Starting with breakfast in bed...always nice! :)

We stayed at the Ofi Hotel, a very nice boutique hotel in the Versailles neighbourhood.
We took advantage of their membership of the Executive Club of Cali. This club has everything you can wish for: a swimming pool, a restaurant, a cafe, a fitness area, a beauty salon, a hairdresser...you name it! Because of the high temperatures, we decided to take a plunge!

Swimming at the Executive Club of Cali, VERY cool!

Lovely view of Cali from the rooftop of the Executive Club of Cali

The swimming pool



Enjoying a Colombian beer in the pool

Cali is known for its exquisite restaurants, among them the famous restaurant "Platillos Voladores" which literally means "flying plates", but there it is more interpreted as ufo's. Anyway, it is a really nice restaurant, a bit pricey, but for Europeans like us still very much affordable. I had one of the nicest sauces I have ever tasted draped on my salmon :) YUM!

At the famous restaurant "Platillos Voladores" enjoying Asian food

My next post of our trip in Colombia will be about Popayan, a little city in the south of the Valley of Cauca!

What do you think of my Colombia posts thus far? I would love to hear!

Love, Melissa