Portland has a population of around 600,000 people, yet their food truck scene has made the national foodie blogs and travel sites. But there is more to Portland, also called City of Roses and Stumptown, and home to the largest wilderness park, Forest Park, within the city limits. Seattle even takes credit from Portland for Paul Revere and the Raiders, as well as The Kingsmen of “Louie, Louie” fame.

Of course, there have been a few other famous Portlanders. These include Gus Van Sant, Sally Struthers, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Beverly Cleary, James Beard, Richard Diebenkorn, Phil Knight, Linus Pauling, Peter Jacobsen, and Clark Gable.

But there must be more to Portland than food trucks, pale ale, roses, and rain. Portland straddles the Willamette River, which runs mostly north through the city center. The Willamette joins the Columbia River about ten miles north of the city. The Columbia forms a natural border between Oregon and Washington.

On average, Portland gets over 36 inches of annual rainfall. I have also been there numerous times when it snows. Summer heat waves can reach 90 degrees F due to its distance from the Pacific Ocean, about 70 miles. Though most of you have heard of nearby Mt. St. Helens erupting, there are actually four extinct volcanoes within the city limits of Portland.

Another significant landmark is Powell’s City of Books. It claims to be the largest independent new and used book store in the U.S. For starters, it is open 365 days a year. It was founded in 1971 in a derelict building that formerly housed a car dealership. I am guessing Edsel? Perhaps one of his keys to success was to mingle both new and used, as well as hardcover and paperback books. This made it easier for readers to find all of the works by their favorite author. Powell’s have 1.5 million books, covering 68,000 square feet, in nine rooms, on three floors.

The biggest festival for Portland runs in the summer, the Oregon Brewers Festival . The famous Portland Rose Festival takes place in June. The rest of the time, it either rains or shines.

But most importantly, and for purposes of this trip, Portland has over sixty, SIXTY, breweries, more than any city in the entire world. For this reason, Portland has been accused of having the best happy hour. The McMenamin Brothers alone, have over thirty brewpubs . Some experts even call Portland the beer capital of the world, though I am sure Munich, Germany would argue the point, especially during Oktoberfest.

Close behind are the food trucks, restaurants and cafes of Portland. It has been ranked as high as #5 by the travel experts at Travel and Leisure. The city also has over 600 licensed food carts. And the coffee scene is vibrant as well, though perhaps not to the level of Seattle or San Francisco.

One big advantage to Portland shopping is the total absence of sales tax. This can amount to quite a savings, compared to places like California, Vancouver, and even Nevada. I also plan to take the MAX transit from the Portland Airport to downtown. Who needs a rental car when you can walk to 600 food carts?

So, I have found out a little more about this Colombian city that may be of interest to you.

Due to city planning rules requiring that public art be part of any new construction, central Medellin has become a fantastic open-air art gallery.

The Metro here, also known as Metro de Medellin, links north and south, east and west, as well as rich and poor. We found that out today on our Metro ride. It is very reasonably priced, three of us rode round trip for less than $5 USD.

They say Medellin is the Paris of South America. To some extent, I agree, as the women are more stylish here than in Ecuador. The textile industry accounts for one-third of Medellin’s employment. Labels from Brooks Brothers to Oscar de la Renta are made here.

The most famous sculptor is Fernando Botero, known for voluptuous nude figures in many of Medellin’s plazas. Locals believe his sculptures bring good luck, particularly by touching the breasts of the “Reclining Nude.” And all the local citizenry was out doing just that. And the young girls were touching the golden penis while snapping photos!

Traffic is quite heavy here. To reduce congestion, Medellin bans private vehicles on certain days of the week, Monday through Friday, from 6:30am to 8:30am, and 5:30pm to 7:30pm. They use the last digit of the license plate, much like Quito. The weekend was much better.

One idiot on the plane yesterday decided to stand up, and retrieve his bags out of the overhead as soon as the plane hit the runway. If that was not enough, so did about fifty of his countrymen! Rules, particularly when driving, are not followed.

I am still in search of Juan Valdez. We are also in search of a good steak. We may have found a pretty decent steak in an area called Parque Llerus. It is also the busiest bight club area for young people. Many were still celebrating Halloween. But it was all good clean fun, with many under age youth mingling, as well as families, and the usual date night crew. It was so nice to see a busy area, about 6 to 8 blocks, some lines to the most popular clubs, and busy restaurants. We should be so fortunate back home. And thank yous to the young lady at the front desk who sent us there.

Cabs still try to do the old trick of leaving the meter off as they load you up, and take you to your destination. Do they think we are still that stupid? And every guidebook I have ever read tells tourists to beware of the scam. I had a cab driver today who could not read. When he went the wrong direction, I told him. He got upset, and I threatened to leave without paying. He finally corrected his course. Even then, I got out before he got there since he took the slowest route possible!

But I must tell you that our driver from the airport to the hotel, about a 30 mile drive, was most quick and efficient. We saw Jon again today, and can only hope he drives us to the airport on Wednesday. We also had a good driver yesterday to Santa Fe.

So far, Colombia has been the most pleasant surprise. We expected Ecuador to have more joy and frivolity, but it has been Medellin that steals the show. Perhaps our guide in Quito was not as keen on the latest and greatest that Quito offers. People there were certainly not as affectionate with each other, nor did they dress as stylishly, at least the women. The guys still do the funky jeans and T-shirts here.

The trip is getting better by the hour. Thank goodness, we came a long way to experience something good. And Barry the V came all the way from Cape Town to participate. He asked if Mike has an “off” button. Obviously not!!!

We did the Turibus Medellin hop on, hop off tour bus today. I have done these in most cities, just to learn the lay of the land. This was certainly not much more than just stopping at a few points of interest. However, they stayed too long at each place, thereby negating the “hop on, hop off” benefits of the typical tour bus.

Watching Dr. House speak Spanish is one thing. But then, watching our other beloved US television characters in Spanish is downright out-of-place. When Clint says “Make My Day” in Spanish, it just does not compute. Or Jack Bauer saving the world from total destruction. Sunday Night Football is even more strange. Michele Tafoya, the sideline reporter, sounds like a Spanish man. And now I see that Al Michaels is speaking Spanish, along with color commentator, Chris (Where Is My Wife Now?) Collingsworth.

Mike and I finally found the coldest beer in town, right near our hotel, at the huge new shopping mall behind us. Finally, someone knows how to serve beer! I ordered a bottle of champagne for our farewell dinner this evening. I hope they know how to chill it properly!

We need to get out of the city, perhaps visit one of their fabulous coffee farms, or go digging for some emeralds. Or both! And I am still searching for Juan Valdez. We actually went to Santa Fe, not the one in New Mexico!

We also drove down the street where notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was killed. I have always wanted to use the word kingpin in one of my emails!

We found some decent pasta Sunday evening for Barry the V. But the best part was the gelato. By the way, foreign wines, like the malbecs from Argentina, are priced at a premium here, though my bubbly is not so harshly priced.

The thunderstorms here are quite frightening. It sounds like bombs exploding! The rain consists of huge, wet drops. And it seems to last for more than just a few hours. Monday night was an all night rain and thunderstorm.

Today (Tuesday) is our last full day here in Medellin, as well as on this trip. We leave mid-day Wednesday, get into Quito in the early evening. We will have a farewell dinner with Barry the V, and head out around midnight to SFO via Houston. Barry will leave early the next morning for London, via Miami.

Sayonara for now, and bonsai!

Now that we have been in South America for a week, I have a few more well-formed thoughts about this wonderful continent. While Ecuador and Colombia are not many travelers’ first choice, they offer a genuine travel experience, without any pretense, or overhyped travel hyperboles.

Mainly, I noticed that people in both countries seem to be hard workers, and proud of their countries. And in Colombia, in particular, there is a joy and delight in the everyday lives of the citizens, particularly after some rather difficult years of drug cartels and violence.

That is not to say these places are perfect. Actually, far from it. While they have invested heavily in new airports and other infrastructure (their roads are superior to ours), it appears housing is still a big issue. Sewage and the environment are yet more challenges facing their leaders. Homelessness is perhaps as rampant or more so than in the United States.

They love their cakes and eat it too. But compared to ours, it is much heavier, and difficult to eat more than a bite or two, even with their best coffees.

I did not see a single golf course, and very few tennis courts. Soccer fields are also in short supply. What does this really mean? Perhaps their leisure time activities do not mirror ours or other developed countries. Certainly, the high carbohydrate diets do not help.

Police presence is everywhere. This can be both good and bad. It tells me there are still plenty of problems, drug violence notwithstanding. Personally, I find it a little strange to see thirty or forty police officers in a one block radius. Yes, I am comforted by their presence, but worried about why it is necessary.

It was nice being the only tourists in most places, realizing it is off-season for tourism. Invariably, I just get tired of seeing so many French and German tourists. It is really pleasant mingling only with local tourists, out for a day or weekend of leisure. And certainly, it was nice not having any American tourists around.

But yes, drugs were offered to us in many places. I realize that happens everywhere in the world, not just here. This is not a good place to discuss drugs in any manner. Yesterday, our driver was the first to mention Pablo Escobar, and show us where he was shot.

When it rains here, it really rains. This storm started yesterday, mid-afternoon, and has continued through the night into this morning. Of course, we saw the highland hillside farms that depend heavily on this water for their crops.

Families were out yesterday for some sort of Columbian holiday. A few were exercising on the main boulevard, whether walking, jogging, cycling, or just sweating.

The beer here is okay, but it must be served ice-cold to be palatable. We have tried all the top beers. My first choice is Club Colo

mbia, fairly inexpensive.

Wines, even those we can get back home for under $20 USD, are priced well over $40 here. No wonder the locals drink so much beer, and their home-brew with the anise flavor.

Today is our last full day in Columbia. I am certain we will celebrate tonight with another trip to Parque Llerus.

Ecuador has been a pleasant surprise, overall. It is very under rated, or “under the radar” as the experts like to say. But the food is just not up to any kind of world standard. As bad a cook as I am, I could be a master chef here!

We ventured into Old Town, to a rather quaint area called La Ronda. Normally, it is very quiet there at night, but it was The Day of the Dead. All the families were out in family style restaurants, enjoying an evening together, instead of collecting candy and making the town dentist wealthy.

My stomach was not feeling so good last night, so I retired to my room, while the two remaining Mouseketeers went to a local bars. Things were fine until an armada of Quito’s finest stormed the place. At least fifty of them, many with automatic weapons immediately had three locals against the wall in a matter of seconds. After a few minutes, all were released, but the bar stayed closed, with yellow tape. They probably lost thousands last night, as it was still only 11pm!

Then only two Musketeers showed up for breakfast this morning, as the Cape Town musketeer was moving rather slowly. Of course, we are told that “Barry does not drink!” So, we persevered with breakfast, and picked up our laundry from the local lava

nderia (is that a word?) across the street. They tried to keep two shirts, one of mine and one of Mike’s. But we retrieved them in gentlemanly fashion.

Check out time is not until 2pm, so we leave for the airport at 1:30pm, about an hour’s drive this time of day. We plan to go exploring for the remainder of our time here. Then, I plan to buy Mike the biggest and best burger money can buy!

Yesterday, all my troubles were so far away. Just kidding. We went to several well-known tourist sites, though we were the only tourists there. Mostly locals, since it is off-season, which made it rather nice for us.

The first stop was Pululahua, a long dormant volcano, now used for farming. The name sounds Hawaiian, does it not? The farms there look quite prolific, and there seems to be a ready water supply. But we have yet to taste the supposedly great produce from the area.

The second stop was the Teleferiqo, or cable car to the top of Quito, at 4050 meters. When the fog and clouds cleared, it was a fantastic view, perhaps rivaling any city view anywhere in the world. But I must tell you that we had to climb 4 or 5 sets of stairs, and this altitude makes it tough. But I look at it as saving one day of gym fees.

Our third stop was the famous El Panecillo, a 30 meter statue of the Virgin of Quito. And yes, one still exists. Her nickname is “Dancing Virgina.” or “Bailarana.” She is made of aluminum, and sits at the southern end of the city, helping many of us tourists to get our bearings.

But, it is time for a change of pace. We are fairly relaxed, but maybe no longer fully rested. I look forward to the unknown that Columbia will present to us. I told Mike to ditch the coca leaves we bought a few days ago in Old Town. I just do not think coca leaves and Columbia would be a good fit. What do you think?