Guatavita Part. 1

 I like cows. I like milk.

After a couple months of urban life in Bogotá and my first work week, we decided to hop an incredibly Catholic bus (it had pictures of the Virgen Mary all over it) and experience a little rural Colombian life. At least there wouldn't be constant Avianca flights passing by overhead, random car alarms or car horn honking competitions held on every street interrupting the day.

Deidi suggested that we stop by a town called Guatavita. Sounded good to me. Guatavita, in the province of Guavio, is located about an 1.5 hour bus ride north of Bogotá and has a population of just under 6,000.

Random picture from Colombian countryside.

Approaching the town by bus.

Even though the town looks colonial, this is not where the original town was built. It was moved in 1967, where colonial looking buildings were constructed. Still is beautiful. The town also has a large indigenous influence.

Every building is white with red tile roofs. Must be pretty easy to give directions. Just right next to the white building....

According to the locals, grilled lamb ribs are a traditional dish here. Delicious.

The restaurant we ate at.

My favorite coffee shop so far in Colombia. Café Machete. It has some communist decorations and the owner is a cool guy that has a great collection of experimental music.

 Che Guevara with a Sombrero Costeño.

The inside of the cafe. 

 Beautiful mountains.

 Coffee from Cafe Machete. The strongest  I've had. I was wired for a few hours.

That's all for now. I have more on Guatavita, but not the time to post it now. I will post more next week!

Back in Bogotá. Doing great!

Saludos desde Bogotá!

Parking, Parrilladas and Whoppers

 Bogotá at night.

Just went to Santa Fe Shopping Center. The largest mall in Bogota as well as in all of Colombia. It's pretty big, but Colombians like to exagerate how big it is. Colombians will swear that it is the largest in Latin America. However, it is the 4th largest. Sorry Colombians. But it's still big.

I have also noticed the copyright infringment is not as important down here as in the US.

If you look at the menu, they do have a hamburger called a "Whopper." The interesting thing is that there is Burger King like five stores down from Whopper King. They both have Whoppers on the menu. In short, it's a crazy world down here.

Parrilliada! Delicious! Pork, Steak, Chicken, Morcilla (Blood Sausage), Sausage, with Tangerine Juice. In short, all of your major food groups. Can't complain about the food down here. 

Patacón with Chicken with Mushrooms and Guacamole. Patacon is fried plantain. Also delicious. But I prefer the Parillada. :) And yes, it is acceptable to pick it up and eat it like a giant potato chip.

Also noticed something crazy last night that I couldn't believe. Parking. In the U.S. it's normal to park any way you can. Actually, we just consider it a victory if you just get the vehicle between the two lines. Not here. They have standards.

I have learned that at driving school in Colombia, they teach drivers to only reverse park. In other words, put it reverse and back into the parking space. To them it is incorrect to park the other way around. I guess Colombians would rather do the hard part first than last. Cool.

That's all for now. Everything is fine in Bogotá. Enjoying the big city.

Saludos desde Bogotá!

Back in...

Games, Games, Games and Some Weird, but Cool Plants

In light of the Under-20 year old World Cup being held in Colombia next month (or maybe the month after, heck I don't know), I have noticed that Colombians are very fond of painting the sides of buildings with their favorite games. From soccer, to Jeff Gordon??? (I promise I will take a picture of it someday if you don't believe me) to just about anything you can ever imagine in your wildest dreams.

Here are my favorites:

My favorite game. Some people might even call it America's great pastime. Or is that baseball? Nothing like juggling revolvers and hand grenades. I got my money on the girl with the grenades...

My other favorite game.

Typical Bogota taxi. Little dinky Hyundais that fly around the city like bumble bee colored Kamikazes. Fasten your seat belts!  I should when a prize or something for this picture. This taxi driver is actually driving within his/her lane!!! A rare sight.

 Crazy but cool trees. I like them.



All is well in Bogota. Enjoying the weather that Colombians for some reason hate.

Saludos desde Bogotá

Graffiti, Old Cars and Hot Tamales

Greetings from Bogotá, the city of eternal 65 degree, overcast weather! While I hear it's getting hot in Indiana, we remain frozen in time at a comfortable , I-can't-complain-about-this-ever temperature mix somewhere between a rainy Spring day and the childhood joy of jumping in a pile of freshly raked leafs.

I've never seen a city like this before that is literally built on the side of a mountain. The mountains look stunning and overpowering from any point in the city.

My view (looking east) every morning before hopping on the Transmilenio. No picture or words and do the mountains justice. But that won't stop me from trying. :)

One of the coolest things in this city is the amazing examples of graffiti. It's incredible.

The other day, I went to the mall to grab a bite to eat and was pleasantly surprised by this: antique cars!

1928 Ford Speedster

 1931 Chevy Sport Coupe

 1946 Ford Woody Wagon.  Didn't these come standard with Tommy guns?

 1954 Ford Skyliner

1955 Chevy Bel Air

'55 Ford Customline

 '57 Bel Air

1966 Mustang!

 My favorite: 1928 Ford A Pick Up

Another 1928 Ford A Pick Up

'50 Chevy Convertible

 1953 Chevy Pick Up

 1955 Crown Vic

 1964 Mercedes Benz 220S

Another Ford A Pick Up.

Tamal. Typical breakfast food here. Chicken, sometimes pork as well, rice and some more stuff wrapped in plantain leafs. Delicious. Usually served with hot chocolate. Colombians drink a lot of hot chocolate. 

Colombian money! Yep, it looks like Monopoly money! And no, I have no clue who any of the people are, except for the guy on the 1000 peso bill. That is the guy I wrote about whose assassination provoked La Violencia. 

That's all for now! Everything is great in Colombia!

Saludos desde Bogotá!