Time for another Bogota blog.

Laura and I are quickly learning that Colombia and Canada have more in common than we could have ever imagined. Sometimes we forget where we are… and we often compare the city to Vancouver. That’s probably mostly due to the fact that it rains constantly… we feel so at home. But seriously, they have everything that we have at home plus more. If the embassy is hiring… I’m applying.

So the past few days have been eventful. Yesterday we woke up very early by our standards so that we could beat the morning traffic. Unfortunately mother nature had different plans. Many people in Bogota take the taxi to work and apparently they are not difficult to get. However, when it rains, EVERYONE in the city suddenly jumps in a cab. And in a city of 6 million people you can imagine how that worked out for us. We called a taxi company… but they hung up on us… and then we called them back… and then they put us on hold for a long time. So we decided to try our luck on the streets. After another half hour of waving our arms in the air, a nice lady told us to cross the street instead.

Sidenote: Cars DO NOT STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS EVER in Bogota. There are multiple stars traced on the streets to mark the deaths.

So… with trepidation we ran at the only available break in the flow. Literally seconds later, we were in a taxi. We took an hour ride to the old historic part of the city called the Candelaria. We still arrived before the crowds so we were left pretty much alone in a square with thousands of the fattest pigeons we had ever seen. I decided to buy some food so that Laura could get some good photos. It was actually really fun to get attacked by birds… and they didn’t even poop on us.

We spent the rest of the morning wandering around the old part. We visited some churches, the library, the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) and Juan Valdez… of course.

We planned to go out again after lunch but Beatrice wasn’t feeling the best (she is almost 7 months pregnant) so Laura called her friend Anne who also lives in Bogota… small world. She is still in high school but magically didn’t have classes that day so we took a taxi to her apartment. Anne lives in a gorgeous place in a very nice part of Bogota. We picked up her friend Santiago and then drove up the mountain to Monserrate, which has beautiful views of the whole city. We took the funicular up to the peak where we wandered around until sunset. There’s a gorgeous cathedral and a unbelievable restaurant that is apparently extremely expensive. I’ve decided that I want to be proposed to in that restaurant… I guess I better start gold-digging.

We are definitely starting to feel the altitude these days. Any incline pretty much does us in… so that 3 day hike in Peru is going to be interesting. Laura is finally experiencing the tingling limbs that have been plaguing me since the flight here… I’m secretly enjoying her discomfort.

We are both a little concerned about leaving our translator tomorrow. Last night when we walked back to Beatrice’s apartment we accidently got out at complex 9 instead of 9A (they look identical). The guards turned us away and pointed in the opposite direction so we walked around the block to find nothing familiar. We wandered back looking clueless and begged for help. The guard was super nice though and escorted us to the right building. Oh dear… these next few weeks are going to be an adventure. That A in Spanish 101 doesn’t mean much in Colombia.

Enjoying a traditional breakfast of Tamals at Pan Pa Ya.

Today we went to the Colombian equivalent of Tim Horton’s called Pan Pa Ya. We had Tamals, coffee, and Mandarin Juice… delish. We spent most of the day shopping in some of the gorgeous malls that put ours to shame. They have all the stores we have and more. We went into about a dozen jewellery stores looking for an emerald ring for me to add to my collection. We finally found THE ONE so I have a gorgeous ring to show off at home.

Shopping till we drop

I’ve also been christened the Taxi Queen. At least three times now, I’ve separated from the group and immediately got a taxi after we had been trying unsuccessfully for quite a while. It must be my good looks and business skills.

Now… mi favorita nuevo amigo… Paco. This dog just LOVES me. And, I do NOT love him back. I will say that he has been much nicer these past couple of days. Unfortunately, Paco has now learned how to get on the couch and has eaten the carpet, the chair, the plants, the toilet paper roll, Beatrice’s shirt, as well as actual food. Well, he paid the price for his disobedience today. This evening he puked at least six times… probably one for each banana he stole from the kitchen. I almost feel bad for him as he whimpers outside my door… but then I remember Mika’s scar… and the hole in Beatrice’s pants, and the empty living room and the feeling goes away. I will miss Mika, and Beatrice, and Joaquin, and Anne, and Bogota, but I will not miss Paco.

Don’t be fooled by his innocent face… this dog is vicious!

Sidenote: Laura enjoys Paco and finds this whole situation very amusing. What can I say? I am not an animal person. I prefer to appreciate them from a far. Only a very small, select group of exceptional animals work their way into my heart (Stefi… you can tell Wilson that I miss him).

Anyways, we have loved Bogota immensely. Our flight to Cartagena tomorrow is bittersweet. We are excited for heat and a new city but we will miss our friends here very much. I guess we will just have to visit again soon.