The Nacional Museum

Greetings!

Bogotá this morning. 

Checked out The National Museum today. It's pretty cool. I still prefer The Smithsonian, but it had a lot of fascinating exhibits on Colombian history.

The Colombian Constitution (of 1991), or at least a nice looking copy. 

"An education from the cradle to the grave, unconforming and reflective that inspires in us a new way of thinking and encourages us to discover who we really are in a society that cares more about itself..."

 A compass used by a conquistador. Can you imagine crossing the Atlantic with that?

Cool masks

John Lennon circa Sgt. Peppers (if he wore George's suit)....I mean Simon Bolivar.

 

 The Colombian armada beating up on Spain.

The Battle of Boyacá.

Fat people dancing on Independence Day. Tomorrow's Independence Day, so I'll keep an eye out.

 Cartagena a long time ago.

 A former president's desk.

 Cool paintings.

Now that I'm going bald, this sculpture makes me nostalgic...

Going to the market.

Happy Colombian Independence Day! Saludos desde Bogotá!

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!