Historic Downtown

Greetings! Here are some pictures of downtown Bogotá taken on December 12th, 2011. And then some random pics of Bogotá.

El Chorro de Quevedo. This is where many historians say that Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founded Bogotá in 1583. It is located in the Candelaria district, downtown.

 I like donkeys. Here is a man with one.

Here is what the streets of the Candelaria look like. Neat place.

Beautiful day downtown. After a weeks and weeks of rain, it was nice to see the color blue in the sky again. However, a couple hours after this picture was taken it started to rain again.

Statue of a guy juggling on a unicycle. It seems to be a fairly popular thing to do. I've seen more unicycle jugglers in the last 8 months than I have in my entire life.

The birthday cake Didi got me! Yum!

Lot's of cool graffiti in the Candelaria. Exhibit A.

A picture of the statue of Simon Bolivar in the Plaza de Bolivar.

A view of downtown from Simon Bolivar Park. The mountains are big.

 Lourdes. A cool church and meeting place. Neat part of town.

 A cool looking bird in the park.

Well, that's all for now. I'm officially on vacation for the year. Gonna catch up on sleep.

Saludos desde Bogotá

Happy December!

Well it's been awhile, but Im back after a month absence.

Hormigas Culonas (Big-Butt Ants). Yes, you eat these. They are fried and salted. It seems to be the Colombian specialty not many Colombians like. I understand why. Someone told me they tasted like peanunts. He lied. They taste like ants. I ate one and gave the rest away.

Bogota from the west. The city climbs those mountains. It's pretty big.

Cummins advertising in the free daily newspaper.

?? Looks like a cross between Mickey Mouse and an elephant. Kneel before your god...

Flowers!

 Lechona! Pork with rice corn pease and maybe carrots. I don't remember. And of course pig skin.

It snowed!! Just kidding. Just a nasty hail storm.

Still doing fine in Bogota.
Saludos desde Bogotá.

Random Pics

Greetings from Bogotá, the city of eternal overcast 55 degree days! Here are some random pictures I have taken lately.

Bogota sunset!

Siamese banana. 2 bananas for 1.

The trout down here is delicious! But it does come with the head!

Mr T..ea? I pity the fool who didn't get my expressed written consent for this fruity, sugary beverage!
(Tutti Frutti is another brand of drink down here)

 View of northern Bogota from base of eastern mountains.

 Fruit salad! Higos, Uchuva (small grape-like things, evidently if boiled with milk and then placed on the scalp, it helps prevent hairloss...), Mango and Papaya. Delicious.

 Mango juice

My apologies for the profanity, but this has to be the weirdest (and funniest) concert advertisement I've ever seen. I've seen a few of them around town. Britney Spears is coming on November 26th.

And you thought Christmas started too early in the U.S. It's already Christmas time in Colombia! The radio stations have been reminding me that December is close ever since October 1st.

Still doing fine in Bogota. Elections are tomorrow. Saludos desde Bogotá!

Boyacá

Greetings! Just go back from Boyacá, a state located northeast of Bogota. It's beautiful. I had a good time. I went to two towns: Tunja and Villa de Leyva. Here are some pictures.

Villa de Leyva located on Google Maps

Popeye's restaurant in Tunja. Sadly, not so much spinach on the menu.

Our hotel in Villa de Leyva.

Me in the main square.

A lot of horseriding.

Dinner - Beef, sausage and plantains.

 How dinner was cooked.

Villa de Leyva at night

A Guava Tree was growing in the middle of the restaurant.

Sugar cane!

 Opening the sugar cane to get the juice!

Sugar cane juice. Delicious.

Thats's all for now. Still in Bogota. Saludos desde Bogotá

Nariño

Here are some pics of Didi's business trip to Pasto, Nariño, Colombia. Nariño is in southern Colombia, located relatively near the border with Ecuador. It's beautiful. I wish I could have gone! But here are some pictures.

A lot of green! And colder than Bogotá, even though it's fairly close (closer than Indiana) to the equator.

 Cocha Lake.

Cocha Lake.

Mountains.

Greetings from  Bogotá!

Guatavita Part 2

Greetings from Colombia!

Went back to Guatavita to check out the laguna, which we didn't have time to visit before. The laguna is a sacred site for the indigenous. Later the Spanish Conquistadors believed there to be A LOT of gold beneath the laguna. The laguna is located inside a mountain at an elevation of around 9,842 ft above sea level. It is surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen.

Up in the mountains on a misty day. (it felt like it was about 45 degrees)

A guide led us, a bunch of other Colombians, 2 Italians, 1 Swedish guy, 2 Isrealies, a couple Peruvians, and 2 Spaniards throught the forest to the laguna. The views were spectacular.

After about a 30 minute hike, we made it to the top.

The laguna. If you closely at the water on the left bank, you will notice it has been canaled. The Spaniards tried to blow up (historical approximation) the lake in search for gold. They failed.

Cool plant in the town.

Didi had fun, too.

Still having fun! Saludos desde Bogotá!