Paseo to Paraiso (Paradise, Colombia)

 The Hacienda Paraiso.  We went on a paseo (short trip) on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Hermana Prince.  This is the home of Colombia's most famous 19th century writer, Jorge Isaacs.  It is also reminiscent of the life and values of the Cauca Valley of that era.


The whole group at the gate to the Hacienda.

Elder & Sister Oliver sitting on the root of huge tree.

Sisters Prince, Torgerson and Oliver under a beautiful bougainvillea at a gate.

Elder Oliver at the bougainvillea gate showing the roses and the garden.

The house and garden had a unique water system that came from a nearby canyon.   



The roses were beautiful.  In Isaac's novel, Maria (name of novel and heroine) picks fresh roses daily for Efrín (oldest son of the family & author of the autobiographical novel). 

In brief, Maria was "adopted" by the family after her parents died.  At 12 yrs Efrín is sent to Bogotá to school.  When he returns 6 years later, he falls in love with beautiful Maria.  At about this time, Maria has the first epilepsy seizure.  As we toured the house our guide told the story of Maria's life.  It was hard for me to keep the novel separate from the life of George Isaacs.  The parallels were not a coincidence.

The white and orange contrast was especially appealing.



Elder Oliver chose roses for our flowers this week.

September 15 is Día de Amor y Amisdad (Valentine's day) in Colombia.