Saludos de Colombia!

Hola, amigos y familia! I am stuck in an airport in Colombia for three hours and think this is a better time to catch up on some blogging than ever. Apologies it has been more than ten months since my last post... No excuses, though this is partially a function of not traveling and of getting into the routine of everyday life. Also, apologies for any grammatical or formatting issues - this is coming to you via iPhone...

As you may or may not know, I came to Colombia to celebrate my 25th birthday by traveling with my good friend Alejandra. She is attending a wedding next weekend and was looking for a travel buddy (or I at least pretended that she was). I have been wanting and talking about a trip to South America since my return from Europe and thought that Thanksgiving (ie. my birthday) was the perfect time, especially considering my limited number of vacation days. Perhaps it was fate to have become friends with Ale and share her trip!

We left DC on Thursday on a direct flight to Bogota. Although I thought we were late (we really were) it seems that a certain airline was even later. We had no problem checking our bags, checking in, etc., but were less than thrilled to sit in the very last row. Minutes before taking off a stewardess offered a seat at the front of the plane, and we decided to take her up on the offer after the plane leveled off. As soon as we got to the seats, we learned why these seats were vacant: there was an unhappy baby in the same row.

You never can tell if babies will calm down - and stay calm - or not, but we decided to risk it. (Turns out one of my colleagues was traveling to Bogota to spend the holiday with his family. He was assigned the seat near the baby, but requested to be moved. He was obviously smarter than Ale and me.)

I assume I don't need to even finish the story. You can guess. The child screamed bloody murder for the better part of the five hour flight. By the end, we didn't know if we should laugh or cry. The problem was most likely the little girl's ears. Everyone on the flight realized this except the mom: different people kept offering candy, water, etc. to help, but the mom wasn't doing her part. I think even a toy would have helped the situation. Aaaah! What a long flight.

After finally landing, everything went smoothly: customs was not an issue and our bags arrived safely. Ale is super lucky to have a friend (and now me too!) Jesi who is living with her family in Bogota as she works on her masters. Jesi and her parents are also attending the wedding and have been nice enough to host us during our trip! Jesi and her dad were waiting patiently at the airport for our delayed flight. They picked us up right outside, and drove us to their beautiful home. We literally threw down our bags and headed out to Zona T for a snack and drink. Zona T (Jesi may have another name for it) is an area of the city with many restaurants and bars - I believe this is also a shopping area, as we walked by many store fronts. The restaurant we went to was super nice! We enjoyed an appetizer and a glass of wine while catching up and planning our time in the city. Also during this time, Jesi and I realized we had met before in DC (through Ale, of course!).

Friday morning, we awoke to a typical Colombian breakfast: papaya and arepas con jamón y queso - the closest thing I can compare it to is a tortilla with ham and cheese on top - with freshly squeezed mango juice and delicious Colombian coffee! Heaven. After breakfast Jesse dropped us at the base of Monserrate on her way to class. At 3152m, the peak of Monserrate is the home of a beautiful white church. Considered a mecca for pilgrims, the 1500 step hike leads to the church rebuilt in 1917, after an earthquake destroyed the original chapel from the 1650s. Since the trek up is now considered dangerous, more because of the poorly maintained pathway than the possible riffraff, we elected to take the quick cable car up the mountain. And good thing we did! The short(ish) walk from the cable car to the church was enough to tire us out - the altitude was rough! We really had to pace ourselves. The view from the top was worth it though! From the top of the mountain, we were able to see all of Bogota. And it is huge. Huge.

the view from the top.

you can see how high we are - look at the clouds!!

the church. 

market behind the church at Monserrate.

After enjoying the view, peaking in the church, and enjoying crafts at the market, we headed back down to meet Jesi. Her university is downtown and a perfect spot to continue our site seeing tour. While the weather was not cold at all when we arrived Thursday night, Friday was a bit cool and wet - nothing hat an umbrella and trench coat couldn't fix. With Jesi we visited the Botero museum. Botero is a famous Colombian artist known for his art of obese people. His paintings and sculptures are very controversial and poke fun. He creates "gordo" (literally "fat") pieces of famous and ordinary people, animals, and even fruit or other objects such as fruit. If it is hard to imagine what a "fat pear" looks like, google Botero.

courtyard of the Botero museum.

Ale and me. Monserrate is at the top of the mountain behind us.

a famous Botero. 

(from the back, it looks like the hand is flipping you off.)

Our next stop was for coffee at most likely the most popular coffe chain in Colombia, Juan Valdez. If you have doubts, don't. Coffee is simply better in Colombia.

Primary Cathedral of Bogotá in Simón Bolívar Park.

Jesi snapping a photo of Ale.

From there we headed to lunch at the Museo de Oro, the Gold Museum. As Bogota's most famous museum, it features more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from pre-Hispanic cultures (ie. before the Europeans arrived). The intricacies of these pieces are incredible. Each feature and design was so delicate that it is hard to imagine how much time and skill was required to develop this hundreds of years ago. Not only does the museum boast a great inventory, but the restaurant within is delicious as well. Wanting to try the local specialties, Ale had frijolada (black beans, fried plantains, avocado and rice), while I had ajiaco (a chicken stew with corn, potatoes, and other vegetables served with rice, capers, cream and avocado). [For my Colombian friends, I hope you approve of my descriptions, but know that you would be able to articulate this much better.] And to finish we shared a delicious tres leches - cake made with three milks. Yum.

Next stop, shopping! Jesi took us to a great market near the Museo de Oro. Here Ale and I both purchased new earrings - gold, of course! And this began our shopping excursion! :-) after he market, it was time to go home and rest for a bit before packing and catching a plane bound for Cartagena!