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South America

South America 1962-1967

Click here for South America 1997/1998 and photo album pages

1958 - 1961

My parents lived in Wisconsin.  I was born in 1960. And that is where my story starts. 

 

1962 - 1965  I lived in Colombia, South America

 

1962

 My family moved from Wisconsin, brief stay in Oklahoma, then to Bogota, Colombia. My brother was 8 weeks old and I was 2 years old.

My father worked for Rockefeller Foundation, Colombian Agricultural Program Communications/Economics specialist. He made $8,200 salary from Rockerfeller Foundation.  

1963

 Caribbean cruise trip

October 12, 1963 Fly from Bogota to Curacao and Bonaire - Netherland Antilles - we stayed at Hotel Curacao Intercontinental.

Boarded Grace Lines ship.  The cost was $1680 for our family of five.

Stop in Caracas Venezuela, Aruba (windstorm), Jamaica, Nassau Bahamas, Ft. Lauderdale.

Get off the ship in New York. Took train to Washington DC. Thanksgiving and Christmas in Oklahoma.

1964

 We took weekend trips to Giradot. Travel to Cali, Colombia.

In April we moved to the house on the mountain in Bogota. Movies cost $.40 cents. We attended Union Church of Bogota (Apartado Aereo 52615, Bogota, D.E. Tel. [57] (01) 248-5115)

 Shore leave trip, then return to Bogota in January via Central America, and 14 pieces of luggage.

Our route from Oklahoma: Mexico City, Mexico, to Guatemala City, Guatemala - Colonial Hotel or Maya Excelsior Hotel, visit TIKAL Maya Ruins, Antigua

San Salvador, El Salvador - Hotel Nuevo Mundo - Triple room US$15.00 - Hotel Astoria US$6.00 per person,  3 days

Tegucigalpa, Honduras 

Managua, Nicaragua - Hotel Estrella, founded 1892  $6.45 USD per person per night, meals included

San Jose, Costa Rica - Hotel Regis Volcano erupting, ash everywhere

Panama City, Panama - Airport VIP Lounge, Tina sick, rioting in the streets

Bogota, Colombia  

1965

 Trip to USA before we moved to Chile

From Bogota, Colombia, fly to Caracas Venezuela, then fly to Trinidad (stayed in the Hilton "upside-down" hotel - you descend from the grand lobby to the rooms)

Board boat: Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. 22,770 tons, 618 feet long

Barbados (hotel wash away with waves)

Antigua (Blue Waters Beach Hotel, visit Sugar Mills)

Virgin Islands - St. Thomas (we stay at "The Gate Hotel" five nights June 28 to July 3 for $18 USD per night)

St. Croix (rented a pink jeep)

Puerto Rico (July 4, toured the city & fort), Jamaica

Get off ship at New York.

New York Worlds Fair on June 29, 1965. Chris and Lydia drove dad's 56 Pontiac from Oklahoma to meet us at the New York fair!

We climbed up the Statue of Liberty to the head. An adult ticket was $.80 and children under 12 were $.40. Elevator was $.10 so we climbed up the steps 10 stories to the top of the pedestal. Then we climbed did the 12-story spiral stairway from the top of pedestal to the head of the statue.

Our family + Chris&Lydia (seven of us) went to Niagra Falls in the 56 Pontiac.

Then travel to Oklahoma, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and California Disney. 

We stayed in St.Paul MN for 3 months, before moving to Santiago, Chile.  In 1961 in the USA dad bought a 1962 Pontiac for $2700 and sold it in Colombia for $10,000.

 

1966-1967  I lived in Chile, South America

My family moved from Bogota, Colombia to Santiago, Chile in South America.

My father worked for Ford Foundation/University of Minnesota Chilean Agricultural Project, Associate Professor Agricultural Journalism.  

 

1966

 We moved to Santiago, Chile. 

We took these trips in the Greenbrier minivan (borrowed from Rockerfeller Foundation)

Trip 1: North to the Atamaca Desert - the driest desert in the world. Used as Mars experiment site since it is similar to the Martian environment. Camped on the beach where we felt an earthquake (that was very dangerous!)

Trip 2: South on Pan-American highway. Cruise on the Lake Todos los Santos from Chile to Argentina (600 miles from Santiago). To Laja waterfalls (the Niagara Falls of Chile) where we camped next to the falls.

Trip in Simca when we tried to drive to Portillo but we had to turn around because the car didn't have enough power.

Bought a station wagon, drove to Portillo. The ski resort was not open yet so Dad bribed them to let us stay there.  Drove to Christ the Redeemer of the Andes monument at 12,572 ft (3882 meters) on the border between Argentina and Chile. Celebrates the peaceful resolution of the border dispute between the two countries.

 

1967

 Trip with Chris and Lydia to move Mary Lou and Milt family back to USA.

Fly from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bus to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Board Moore-McCormack Lines, Mormacisle� freighter ship.

Cruise to Rio de Janeiro, Recife (NE Brazil), Barbados, Caribbean.

Got off the ship in Jacksonville Florida but could not find a car to buy.  Sailed on to Savannah, Georgia

Got off in Charleston South Carolina. Milt bought 1960 Pontiac Bonneville.

Drive to Oklahoma.  Fuel filter problem. Milt bought tools and a new filter at Sears, installed it in the parking lot. Then we continued driving to Oklahoma.

Drive to St. Paul Minnesota where we paid $35,000 cash for the Shorewood Drive house.

Cali, Colombia 1964
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1996
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  View of Rio - 1967
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View of Rio - 1996

 

 

 

 

 

Santiago, Chile. Inmaculada Concepcion Cerro San Cristobal and us kids. 1967
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Santiago, Chile.  Inmaculada Concepcion Cerro San Cristobal. 1996
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Colombia Carrera 1 Este 80-06  Carrera Primera Este, Numera Oehenta Zero Sels

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