Playing Catch-Up

Now that I have caught you up on our trip to Cartagena (see the entry below) I am making up for time lost by writing another entry to cover the past few days! Since we got back to Bogota late Thursday night, we've been making the most of my last week in Colombia by discovering new places in Bogota.

Friday I went and had my nails done again (why not- at $4.50 with tip, it's such a cheap luxury and it gives income to people that need it) and Julian got his hair cut. Then we headed out to UniCentro (one of the best malls in the area) to do a little shopping. I am in love with Velez and needed a few souvenirs to take home. Thus, we took it easy because Friday night we had to go out para rumbiar (to dance and be merry).

Friday night we met up with Oswaldo and his girlfriend, and went first to a popular bar called the Rock Garden Pub. This place is known for having a great atmosphere and a large selection of beers, so we decided to check it out. We had one drink there, and decided we had to go dancing.

We ended up at a fantastic salsa club called Galeria Cafe Libro, on Milton's recommendation. It is, by far, my favorite club/bar/etc in Bogota thus far. The music is usually live, although the night we went it was not. It didn't matter, however, as the entire place was packed with people dancing to incredible salsa music. I am in awe of the dancing ability of the locals here! There were people from my parents' age to my sister's age crowded onto the dance floor to show off their skills and have fun. It was a total blast, and I am happy to say that Julian's salsa lessons paid off. I was far from the level of the real locals, but I could hold my ground. One of the locals even asked Julian where I had learned to dance so well (of course, he took all the credit)! I sincerely hope we get to do another salsa night before I leave. Sorry there are no photos, but Julian didn't want to be bothered with the camera (and we didn't know that the club would end up being so remarkable!).

Saturday Marco invited Maria Jose (Dario is in Ecuador for business), Sophia, Julian, Milton and I up to his finca (farm) in Suesca- a farming village a little over an hour north from Bogota. The finca belongs to the family of Marco's wife, Margarita, and her parents still live there. Her father, don Luis, is 95 years old and still is as lucid and capable as ever! He welcomed me with open arms, and told me to come back soon. On the farm, they don't raise any animals except chickens. Mostly, they grow vegetables and enjoy the space. Marco and his girls go there almost every weekend to relax.

The view of the mountains; it was gloomy when we arrived, but it cleared up beautifully

The view of the backyard- lots of trees, fruits, and vegetables

These green, oval fruits are called feijoa, a sweet/tart fruit that is very popular here.

More views of the backyard

Views of the courtyard dividing the backyard from the house

At the very back of the backyard, there is a cute patio with three hammocks!

Also outside, there is a little kitchen with a wood grill...this is Margarita cooking our lunch- in the pan are plantains

We had a great lunch of beef, plantains with cheese, yucca, potatoes, avocado and an unusual soda called Pony Malta (tasted like sweet beer without the alcohol...I'm not such a fan, I'll stick with Postobon Manzana)

Left to Right: Don Luis, Maria Jose, Marco, Margarita...I am sitting to the left of Don Luis

Julian and I- it was cold on the farm! And like most every house in Colombia, there was no heat!

The cow next door

More of the back yard

Julian feeding his bunny friend

An outdoors bathroom so that one does not have to walk all the way to the house to take care of business

The garden out front of the house

Shots of "Downtown"

A band that happened to be playing yesterday

Julian and Marco out front

Another view of the mountains, earlier in the day

After we got back to Bogota Saturday evening, we went out with Hugo and Maryori again. They took us to a beautiful little restaurant called Cafe & Crepes. It is set up like a Swiss chalet, and inside the lighting is low, the furniture is simple wood, there is a candle on every table and a cracking fire in the main room. Again, sorry there are no pictures, but it was lovely. We sat and chatted until late, and then returned home to sleep.

Today, as is the routine, we slept very very late and then ate a huge lunch that Edith cooked. We had a delicious tomato soup (which they eat with potato sticks dropped in the middle! What a great idea!), chicken and rice. With a yummy dessert of chopped mangos and peaches in a sauce made of sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche. The rest of the day/evening has been spent hanging out, napping, and updating this blog.

I am quite sad that my time in Colombia is coming to an end, but Julian has this week packed with plans so that I fit as much as I can into my last week. I am looking forward to it, and I will keep you updated!