Bogota, Day 4

Going around town with Nataly (3rd ex-roomate). OK. We never really talked in BA. We'd say hello, good-bye, and that's about it. She doesn't speak English and I didn't really speak Spanish. I have to say that I'm extremely proud of myself for talking to her the whole day in Spanish. We went hunting for a Central America guide book in English. I had been looking for this book the whole time I was in Bogota. No luck. She then met up with a friend of hers and we all went for beers. Colombian light beer tastes just about the same as all the other lights beers I've had. It was good, as in it wasn't gross but, I do prefer dark beers.

So, her friends would ask me a question,I'll look confused, Nataly would repeat the question and I would understand. Nataly knows to speak clearly and slowly wheras the guys kinda mumbled. It was kind of funny. And it was good that Nataly and I got to see each other's personality, really for the first time.

Bogota, Day 3

I went shopping in an outlet area with Milena, another one of my ex-roomates from BA. (Bib had something urgent come up). Ok here's the damage, completely justified by me losing so much weight and had thrown/given most of my clothes away.

1 x Chevingnon jean/velvet reversable jacket - approx. $30 CAD
1 x Naf Naf office pants - approx. $8 CAD
2 x Diesel jeans and 3 x Diesel shirts - approx. $150 CAD... PLUS 3 pairs of jeans and 3 shirts thrown in for free. So basically I got 11 itnems from Diesel for about $13.60 CAD each!!

The gift jeans didn't fit so I gave them away. Bibi's mom fit one and Bibi fit another. The 3rd pair is quite hideous but I think they will be able to find an owner for it. I also gave one of the shirts to Milena. She picked a stretch cotton 3/4 sleeve v-neck top with funky print which I think will look quite good on her.

That evening, I made a "thank-you" dinner of Thai-styled curry chicken for Bibi, her family and Mile. It went over quite well. Most people had seconds. Bibi and her mom were even picking pieces out of the fridge the next morning. I'm really glad they liked it.

Bogata, Day 2

Day 2 was spent with Bibi's parents (and herself). First, we drove to the Salt Cathedral. And it was great to see the green-covered mountains. The road winds this way and that so that a variety of views were able to be had.

The salt Cathedral is within an underground Salt mine/cave that you walk in and it's almost pitch black. The top of the cave towers above at, I think, about 20 feet or higher. There were about 10 or so alcoves where crosses are cut out of salt rock, ranging from four feet up to 20 feet high. From one area, you can see the main, still operating, worship hall.

Behind the alter is the world's largest underground cross carved out of salt. It seems to be suspended in mid-air. It wasn't elaborately detailed at all. A crisp cross with square corners. There was a bit of a feat conquered for the making of the Cathedral. The salt rock is strong and a lot of work was put into creating this.

After about 1.5 hours, Bibi and I emerged. I thought we were going back to the city but instead, her paretnts took me on a tour of the surrounding towns in the area. Quaint towns in various valleys where the mountain range looks like they're close enough to touch. You won't find any of this in the guide books and I felt so special that they did this for me.

In one of the towns, we bought this stuff from an old street vendor lady who was busily typing a text message into her cell phone. Two wafer disks about the size of a salad plate sandwiched a layer of dulce de leche (kinda like caramelized condensed milk), pureéd rasberries and cottage cheese. Not overly sweet and quite pleasant.

More on Bogota, Colombia - Day 1

As I said, this is one of the better cities I've been in in S.A. People are courteous and the place is clean. They also speak at thte speed of machine guns. No pun intended.

Day 1 was a trek to all the different museums and historical sites in town.

* Museum of art Botera(?). Pieces of art donated and diplayed by a famous Colombian artist. Pieces from Renoir, Picasso, and other artists I've never heard of are here. I'm not a fine art connoisseur, but it's good to see and appreciate the various pieces.

* Gondola up Monserrate. There's a church up there and a view of the city below. Somewhat touristy, but mainly tourists from Colombia.

* Senate building. The history behind this restored government office is quite violent. A few years back, guerillas took over this building, holding the people, a lot were high-ranking officials, hostage. The president at the time took a "no-negotiation" policy and ordered troops in to eliminate the terrorists, resulting in the deaths of many officials and terrorists. A notable pictures is of a tank rolling through the front doors.

* Gold museum. There was gold. Lots of it. Even though a huge chunk was gifted to the Spanish government shortly after Colombia gained its independence. This collection of gold art, jewellery and ceremonial items was quite impressive. There were basic flat circular pieces to highly intricate chain-linked fan-shaped earrings. The 3 stories of displays were topped off by an enclosed mini display show.

The doors enclose you in a circular pitch-black room. Pan flute music starts playing in the background. A cirle in the middle of the room lights up, shining light onto the ceiling. Inside are about 50 pieces of gold jewellery like the ones in the exhibit. The music changes. The walls start to glow. As it gets brighter, you see covering 15 feet long and 7 feet high wall, gold pieces arranged in a fish shaped pattern. If I was in an Indiana Jones movie, I'd be dead with greed.

* Clubbing. There's an area downtown that fills up after dark with beautiful people of all ages. Everyone is primped and pimped, ready to take on the night life. Bibi took me to this nightclub with her (young) friends and danced to everything from Latin Rock , cumbia, salsa to reggaeton. I was mostly amused by one of her friends. She was stick thin and spent most of her time being goofy, imitating other dancers with energy like if she had 5 cottton candies in a row. Good times.

Bogota! Colombia

So, I'm here and safe. Really, it's like any other Latin American country that I've been in, except it's clean and has, as much as I've seen, North American standards. Within the first hour of my being here, I gorged on a Dunkin' Donut.

My first day here was spent going to most of the museums and tourist attractions with Bibi, my Colombian ex-roomate, and then headed out dancing with a bunch of her friends.

Second day, which was a Sunday, her family took me on a sightseeing tour to some of the surrounding towns and villages. You won't find that in the guide books!

I'll write more details later. Tomorrow I go shopping for a guide in English for Central America and I should be flying out to Panama in a couple of days.

Crossing into Colombia today.

Just to let you worrywarts know, I'm going to Colombia today via Tulcan, Ecuador. Then I will try to make it to Cali, Colombia by tomorrow. If the schedule isn't right, then I'll go to Popayán for the night. I aim to be in Bogota in 2 days.