Bogotá

I arrived to Bogotá in the evening and decided I was gonna have an adventure and take to bus to the hostal. I have to say I was surprised that I pulled it off but I arrived safely with the help and a wonderful mother and daughter. When I arrived at the hostal I was pleasantly surprised to see some old friends from Cali. So I got right down to socializing.

Now Bogotá is a big city and though it does have its rough edges the people still shock you as being some of the nicest I have every met. I spent two long weeks in Bogotá visiting museums and walking the septima with wonderful friends until I found myself where I am today stuck at an airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia waiting to get a flight to La Paz.

Anyways back to Bogotá. I found myself primarily in La Candelaria and in Chapinero. I spent the first week at the hostal and then moved into a spare room at my friends house while he tried to rent it. I learned the vus system quite well on my own and becuase quite the little tour guide for my traveling friends at the hostal and an eager follower to my Colombian friends.

Of all my museum trips the best of the best was el museo de la policia and el museo de oro. The police give you quite the coverage on the hunt for Pablo Escobar and his eventual capture and execution. I got to see his guns and original blood stained roofing tiles. Very interesting. Not to mention every single possible police outfit known the the world.

The Other el museo de oro. Which other than it having a lot of gold there is not a lot there but being surrounded by that much gold I gotta say it quite a mysterious feeling. I made two friends who knew oregon very well. Jaime from Bend had gone to school at the U of O and we found out we must have met at some point considering the number of common friends we had and her travel partner Emily from Luisiana but a true oregonian at heart.

These two lovely women quickly became my partners on our cultural hunt of hte city. Another wonderful day was spent in a nearby town of Zipaquirá where we visited a Salt Cathedral. It is an underground cathedral built amongst the salt mines in this little town. The entired area is made of salt. Trust me I tasted it. The inside was incredible and the space was huge.

During my time in Bogotá I got to make two trips to the local cheap hospital. Nothing serious just had my knee checked out though to no avail. The first appointment I had five doctors and the second I had four. Each time they tried to pass me off to someone else so I gave up. However I had a great time talking to the doctors about Colombia and life and stuff.

Another wonderful thing about Bogotá is the markets. There is a little market about every other block full of wonderful little tempting things to buy. I somehow restrained myself pretty well.

Lets see... what else...Well I spend a day climbing the walls of the rock climbing gym with some colombian friends then we had a late night soccer game which I must say I havent lost my defending skills. I also got to spend some time with two very good friends Nelsón and Marcela from Bogotá. They are a very wonderful couple full of immense amounts of loving energy. Most of my friends from Bogotá that i spent time with I had met in Taganga becuase they had stayed at the Piro house as well.

My friend Jared and i had a day of adventure getting peircing. Very very very cheap.

I also got to spend some time with Lulu and friend who had worked at the hostal I had stayed at the first time I went to Taganga. She made for a wonderful companion.

Another fun day was ended with some Bowling. A huge group loaded up and headed down the block to an old bowling alley where a guy waits at the end of the lane to send back your ball and set up the pins. Now that was good fun. Not to mention I believe I won though it was a close call with Fabricio on my tale.

Overall Bogotá was filled with museums, relaxing, movies and friends. I loved it. Now I am here sitting in Santa Cruz Bolivia waiting for a flight to La Paz to meet my wonderful friend Rocio who I parted with over a month ago when she headed off to Ecuador. I have missed her dearly and am incredibly excited to see her. So if there are no more hold ups I should be arriving there late tonight.

Silent wandering

Traveling by yourself can teach you a lot of things if you let or atleast remind you the you are forever with yourself. So after Taganga I found myself in one of the most beautiful colonial towns, Barichara. Over the next few days I had very few conversations.

I spent two nights in Barichara. The day I arrived I spent wandering around the town. I set out to by all the groceries I needed for the next two days and went to almost every store collecting it all in order to really see the town. I toured the churches and made friends with a young boy, Luicito, and his little puppy.

The second day I got up bright and early to make the trek to Guane. It is one og the oldest and most preserved colonial towns remaining. So I began. First of all the view of mass green greatness from Barichara is spectacular. At the beginning of the trail I stopped to observe a large succulant that seemed to be contorting and reaching out like an untamed beast. At that moment I felt enveloped by magic. I dont know how else to explain it. I almost wanted to cry. There was a strange and very comforting pressure all around me.

I continued on moving along with the feeling. The path was bewautifully constructed specifically to cross form Barichara to Guane and back again. I was surrounded by green everywhere as I followed the cobbled path. There were tiny birds of the brightest yellow and brightest red. I passed by groups of feasting goats and cows.

After 1 1/2 hours I arrived in Guane a town truly captured in time. I doubt anything has changed in this place in the last 450yrs. The cobbled streets, the shingled roofs, the samples of the famous liquer Sabajon made of leche and arequipe really added a special touch.

I discovered that you could walk around the entire town in 20min. So I rested a bit and caught a ride back into town. Overall a well spent day.

Both my nights were spend drinking either a beer or tea on la mirador (look out) Where I would write or read. And on the second morning I loaded on a bus to the town of San Gil a 30min ride away.

In San Gil the highlight I had was spending 2 hours in the main plaza eating ice cream and discussing animals of the world with 9yr old Luis Alfredo LLanos Fuentes until 10pm. Any animal he could think of we talked about. It was the mosting talking I had done in a while and I loved it. I left the next morning and headed to Bogotá ready to mingle with some people my own age.

Back in Taganga

Well after I said Good-bye to Meredith for the second time as she continued to make her way to the Ecuador border I headed back up to my favorite little fishing town Taganga for some wonderful relaxation. There were no big adventures just a lot of love from a wonderful family.

I went to visit the family I had stayed with before where I was welcomed by a houseful of artisans currently staying there. It didnt take long for them to convince me to unload by backpack and stay a while. So I stayed for a week and a half.

Some highlights:

Spending time talking with Monica Piro, a magical women mother of 5 and head of the household.

Learning different styles of bracelet making from artisans from all over South America.

Hanging out with my adorable new neices Shaharty and Amber, 9 and 7, who always had something fun to share with me.

Making wonderful friends who I would meet up with later in Bogota and stay connected with for most likely a lifetime.

Burning dolls at midnight on New Years to let go of the past and embrace the future.

Spening many days on Playa Grande doing absolutely nothing.

Taking out the little boat to Cruise the vacant and immensly beautiful beaches.

Nights with a house full of people sharing stories and playing games while drinking hot cups of Agua de Panela.

Cooking dinners for my wonderful Colombian Family, guess what friends I can actually cook some decent meals.

Dancing Salsa at El Garage

Helping Bernardo take pictures of Taganga for his shirt making business.

Crying with the whole family when it was time to say good-bye knowing that once again I couldnever forget them.

After I said my good-byes I realized that I was on my own. The next five days gave me some good quality Meagan Time.