Colombian mountains and how to get over them

So, today we got up early, had breakfast, and then piled into a bus with basses, celli, and other assorted instruments (and lots of baggage) to drive to the residency site. This is where we'll practice and learn all the music for the tour, as well as be mentored by some great musicians like Leone Buyse and Leon Spierer.
We heard that the drive to the site would take approximately three hours. We left at 10:30 am and got to the place at 6:30 pm. Hmmm...partly that was because we stopped for a long Colombian-style lunch, which meant that we were eating HUGE pieces of meat. I ordered a combination of some kind of sausage, beef, and what turned out to be fried pork skins (didn't eat those). Plus rice and beans. Plus half an avocado. Plus fruit salad. Plus empanadas. Plus mango juice. It was ridiculous.

Okay, so partly our trip took so long because we went over and through huge mountains. There were tunnels that were only big enough for one lane of traffic, so there was a lot of sitting there waiting for the tunnel to clear. The mountains were so beautiful - they look a little like the mountains in Kauai in Hawai'i. So green and very steep.
We finally arrived at our hotel/resort place, and now everyone is frantically practicing for placement auditions tomorrow. I'm sharing a room with a Chilean girl named Pauli who plays viola. It's really nice to see old YOA friends, and to meet new ones.

YOA Tour 2010 Commences Ahora

I left Chicago yesterday to join the Youth Orchestra of the Americas on their 2010 Latin American tour. The first stop: Bogotá, Colombia. Today we will all pile in a bus to go to our residency site in Villavicencio, which is about three hours away in the mountains of Colombia.
YOA will spend the next ten days rehearsing there and playing chamber music. Then we will start to travel around Colombia (you can see the dates on my calendar) mentoring members of the new national youth orchestra system that Colombia is implementing. After that, we will continue to play concerts in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. I won't be home until August 17th!
This is definitely the longest tour I've ever been on. I am still dealing with some remnants of a viral infection and I'm concerned about being sick the whole time, so lots of sleep is imperative. We have to pace ourselves and not burn out too early. But really, this orchestra is known for it's hyperactive energy. Playing with the YOA is an electric experience.
Last night, we experienced Colombian customs and immigration. Let's just say it's not too sophisticated and that rules are not applied to everyone in the same way. I was detained, along with a violist and a bassoonist, for not having an address for our hotel on our customs form. It was kind of scary, but in the end one of the officers took me outside to find our contact. I couldn't see him in the huge crowd, but I did see some other people with instruments. They had been allowed through without providing an address (no one knew it!). After about an hour of sitting there while they had confiscated our passports, we were freed and allowed to go outside. The violist, Javier from Chile, taught me a lot about being patient and not arguing your case too much. It seems like they really just make up the rules on the spot and all you can do is be nice and go with it.
I'm really excited to hear the orchestra, to see old friends, and to travel more of the country. More soon...