A Soccer Mom’s Tournament Travels to
Colombia Amidst Protests and Pandemic
*Upper 90 is a term commonly used in soccer or futbol to describe the top left or top right corner of the goal, which is 90 degrees.
Barbequed Brakes and Chips of Many Flavors
All high drama was saved for the very end. On our last day in Manizales we acted like the tourists we were, purchasing soccer jerseys at the Palogrande Stadium sports shop for the boys, their brothers and friends, buying local chocolates and coffee for the grown-ups back home, and for ourselves, the ultimate souvenir—N95s and surgical masks. Avianca Airlines prohibits cute or cloth face coverings.
Group Travel: Vacation for Active Bodies and Busy Minds
Our day began with coffee and Covid tests. I’m relieved to report that everyone in our group tested negative. We will be let back into the States, should we choose to return.
The Hills Are Alive With Coffee + Comunidad
“Prepare for the coffee to be bad,” warns my husband before we leave. “They always export the best stuff.” I’m not sure whether his words are one last attempt to discourage our travel, or if there’s truth to his statement. I did once hear that there’s barely any quinoa left for Peruvians to eat. Anyway, I always bring my own coffee when I travel.
Safety and Nets
It was a rough game this morning. It started to rain. But hope came not in the form of a rainbow or a rainbow kick but a goal assist by Sy. I say assist because he “assisted” the other team in delivering the ball into their own net. In keeping with the previous two games, the final score is still irrelevant. Sy consumed his usual post-play snack: a bottle of Sportade, empanadas, a pre-packaged helado, and Cheetos.
Murizales: Caldas’s Capital of Color
Re: Blog post #2, I realized that I took a video of the hula hoop juggler, so here it is.
Turf, Tightropes and Tarantulas
The day started in the night with a 5:15AM wake-up for a 7AM game. We drove to a dramatically-situated turf field with a matching mountain back-drop. Our 2009/2010 orange team played a black and white jerseyed one, and since the boys travelled to South America to compete and have fun, the final score is irrelevant. Afterwards we watched the 2007/2008 orange team. Their final game score is also irrelevant. By 10AM, Sy had consumed six empanadas.
The Ethics of Oxygen
Re: Blog Post #1: Thanks to all who weighed in on my incorrect spelling of the country Colombia. Clearly this was not a typo as I misspelled it five times, including in the title of the blog itself. Not sure if I was thinking of the university that I didn’t attend, or the rugged clothing brand I don’t own, or I just simply never read a map closely. Que embarazada! That means “How embarrassing!” in Spanush. (I know it doesn’t, you fools. It means ‘how pregnant,’ which I am certainly not—see blog title: Upper 40.) OK, now that weave cleered that up, on two day to….
Until Payoff We Part
“I don’t pay ransom,” my husband states matter-of-factly a few days before my older son and I leave for Colombia. Crazy send-off for someone you legally care for. Even crazier is that I had a hunch this would be his position. He’s a women and children first kind of guy; he just doesn’t like to be had. So I factored in his stance when agreeing to join a group soccer tournament in Manizales, Colombia.
We are here…
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SY
The Defender
A 10-year old left back with ambitions to play pro. This is his first international tournament.
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RACHEL
The Mom
A 46-year old mom who will follow her son’s soccer ball wherever it goes and write about it.