Before heading south, we went to a small city called Zipaquira, just north of Bogota. We visited a church here that is in a salt mine. The church was huge and dim. It was unique in that the floors, roof and walls are all salt. It also had the largest cross in the world that is located within a church.
Now we are south of Bogota, in a town called Plata. Yesterday we went to a hot springs that was very remote and natural. Our cab driver had to take a few runs at some of the hills to climb the loose gravel. The drive and the walk were ideal. It reminded me of going to Lussier hot springs but much less people. It really felt special to be in a place so seldom visited. It´s possible that I was the first foreigner.
Next we will be going to San Augastin and Popayan.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Colombian Observations
Bogota sure has been fun this time around. I went to a rock concert yesterday with about 6 different bands and maybe about 30000 people. We went with someone we met near Tyrona Park who lives here and Jenny´s Aunt who is just a year older than her. It´s a good thing I didn´t wear a belt because the police made people take them off and throw them in a pile. The bonus was when you leave, you can jump into a pile of people looking for a belt that fits. It looked like a big pack of wolves feasting on a carcas.
This country is a lot different than most people think. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a great deal of national pride. There are lots of flag waving citizens and a lot of shirts and hats with national colours. I´ve had a couple of Colombians tell me that Colombia is paradise.
The word Gringo is used more liberaly here. Not that peopel call me gringo, but in Nicaragua only Americans are called gringos. Jenny told me that to her mom, a gringo is someone who doesn´t speak spanish. To her, a gringo could come from China, Africa or Pakistan.
One thing that has surprised me as well is how often I see a Canadian movie or TV program here. "The Terry Fox Story" gets played over and over. There are also a lot of YTV programs and a couple of kids cartoons. There are way more programs for children here as there are a lot more children.
One cultural difference that one must be aware of here is that if you ask somene something, they will give you an answer even if they don´t know. This is true in central america too.
A lot of people from Canada would think that the service here is bad. I used to think that but now that I know how to use it I have found it to be better in some ways. If you want something, give the waiter a shout - he isn´t going to check on you. If you want somehting that isn´t in on the menu or a pack of smokes they will go to a store or other resturant and get it for you most of the time. If you want service out of the resturant such as on the beach, that can always be done.
The sevice in stores can be a little pushy. I went shoe shopping a couple of days ago. First, there were people on the street getting in my face, telling me which store to go in. One guy had a mic and amp and was right in my face, talking into the mic and his voice was coming form somewhere else. When I would pick out a show I like and tell them my size, most of the time they would come back with 3 pairs of shoes in my size but none were like the one I wanted. Some of them would almost cry when I left the store without buting anything.
Having made these generalizations, you must realise that this is a huge and diverse country. Because in the past, it was dangerous to travel, the diversity is greater than that of other countries. The diversity of Colombia is one key thing that makes it such a great country to travel. It´s not just the people - Colombia has more different kinds of plants and animals for it´s size than any other country in the world.
This country is a lot different than most people think. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a great deal of national pride. There are lots of flag waving citizens and a lot of shirts and hats with national colours. I´ve had a couple of Colombians tell me that Colombia is paradise.
The word Gringo is used more liberaly here. Not that peopel call me gringo, but in Nicaragua only Americans are called gringos. Jenny told me that to her mom, a gringo is someone who doesn´t speak spanish. To her, a gringo could come from China, Africa or Pakistan.
One thing that has surprised me as well is how often I see a Canadian movie or TV program here. "The Terry Fox Story" gets played over and over. There are also a lot of YTV programs and a couple of kids cartoons. There are way more programs for children here as there are a lot more children.
One cultural difference that one must be aware of here is that if you ask somene something, they will give you an answer even if they don´t know. This is true in central america too.
A lot of people from Canada would think that the service here is bad. I used to think that but now that I know how to use it I have found it to be better in some ways. If you want something, give the waiter a shout - he isn´t going to check on you. If you want somehting that isn´t in on the menu or a pack of smokes they will go to a store or other resturant and get it for you most of the time. If you want service out of the resturant such as on the beach, that can always be done.
The sevice in stores can be a little pushy. I went shoe shopping a couple of days ago. First, there were people on the street getting in my face, telling me which store to go in. One guy had a mic and amp and was right in my face, talking into the mic and his voice was coming form somewhere else. When I would pick out a show I like and tell them my size, most of the time they would come back with 3 pairs of shoes in my size but none were like the one I wanted. Some of them would almost cry when I left the store without buting anything.
Having made these generalizations, you must realise that this is a huge and diverse country. Because in the past, it was dangerous to travel, the diversity is greater than that of other countries. The diversity of Colombia is one key thing that makes it such a great country to travel. It´s not just the people - Colombia has more different kinds of plants and animals for it´s size than any other country in the world.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Villa de Leyva to Bogota
After Villa de Leyva, we went to a hotel about 1 hour away recomended to us. It was in a really remote area. We took a collectivo for about 45 min and then had to walk a while. There weren´t even any cars on the roads to hitch a ride. It sure was a peacful place with lots of waterfalls and beautiful veiws of the valley.
After that, we went to Tunja. Tunja is a universtity town and they are usually pretty fun but we couldn´t think of a good reason to stay so we continued on to Bogota.
I needed to return to Bogota to get an extension on my visa. It was pretty easy to get an extra 60 days. I got fingerprinted by a computer that I had never seen before. You put your hands on glasss and it takes detailed pictures of your prints.
After taking care of the visa, we went to a soccer game between Colombia and Paraguay. The security was like nothing I had ever seen. There were two extra perimiter fences around the stadium. We had to show our tickets and get searched at both and a 3rd time to enter. Each time we got a lecture about how we aren´t to take pictures with my camera. There must have been more than 250 police in and out of the stadium. The international games are much safer than the league games because everybody favours the same team. I don´t know if they step up security for league games. In the news on TV, after showing the hightlights of a League game, they always say,"And it´s always the same stary after", and then show people thowing bottles at each other and fighting.
The fans were lounder an hour before the game started with the stadium about 1/5 full than Ihave heard at any sporting event in Canada. Colombia won with a little luck.
I´ve been enjoying Bogota. The first time I had some bad luck picking resturants and explored the same area. I´ve found some fantastic resturants and can get a stellar meal for under $10. One place that I like to go for lunch really has top notch food for $3.50 including salad, fruit, soup, drink, and 4-5 things for the main course. There is also a area in the north called Zona Rosa. It´s very much like Old Strathcona in Edmonton but it´s at least 20 times the size. It has endless trendy bars, nice resturants and a couple of malls that are more than a little too pricey for me.
Next we are headed south. I´m not sure where. No time to spell check!
After that, we went to Tunja. Tunja is a universtity town and they are usually pretty fun but we couldn´t think of a good reason to stay so we continued on to Bogota.
I needed to return to Bogota to get an extension on my visa. It was pretty easy to get an extra 60 days. I got fingerprinted by a computer that I had never seen before. You put your hands on glasss and it takes detailed pictures of your prints.
After taking care of the visa, we went to a soccer game between Colombia and Paraguay. The security was like nothing I had ever seen. There were two extra perimiter fences around the stadium. We had to show our tickets and get searched at both and a 3rd time to enter. Each time we got a lecture about how we aren´t to take pictures with my camera. There must have been more than 250 police in and out of the stadium. The international games are much safer than the league games because everybody favours the same team. I don´t know if they step up security for league games. In the news on TV, after showing the hightlights of a League game, they always say,"And it´s always the same stary after", and then show people thowing bottles at each other and fighting.
The fans were lounder an hour before the game started with the stadium about 1/5 full than Ihave heard at any sporting event in Canada. Colombia won with a little luck.
I´ve been enjoying Bogota. The first time I had some bad luck picking resturants and explored the same area. I´ve found some fantastic resturants and can get a stellar meal for under $10. One place that I like to go for lunch really has top notch food for $3.50 including salad, fruit, soup, drink, and 4-5 things for the main course. There is also a area in the north called Zona Rosa. It´s very much like Old Strathcona in Edmonton but it´s at least 20 times the size. It has endless trendy bars, nice resturants and a couple of malls that are more than a little too pricey for me.
Next we are headed south. I´m not sure where. No time to spell check!
Friday, September 07, 2007
Trouble with photos
If anyone wants to see more photos, they are on facebook. I´m having trouble uploading photos on blogger. www.facebook.com
Search for me by name.
Search for me by name.
Towns North of Bogota
The mountains north of Bogota couldn´t be much better for me. The bus rides can be a little scary but if you tune that out, the views are amazing. The mountains are all lush and green with vegetation, but they are much bigger than the rockies in Canada.
San Gill was a real highlight. Rafting was really fun for me although I lost my hat that I have had for over ten years. I was also deep in river water than I have ever been. Jeniffer had a wilder ride. I didn´t think much of it at first when she told me she was under for a while but then I remembered that she was about 150 feet up river when I finally surfaced. She made 3 or 4 revolutions in a hole that knocked everyone out of the raft. It was a really nice trip because the waves were huge but always were followed by calm water.
We also went rappelling. My guide was about 6 or 7 years old. The decent wasn´t as much of a highlight as the simple beauty of the area. After that, we went spelunking. Not far into the cave, we had to go under water for about 3 meters to get to the next chamber. It was really scary because the guide went first and there was no way to know if he was trapped or not. We also had to crawl on our bellies for about 10 meters which was difficult.
Once really cool thing about these day trips is that they all cost about $12. I can´t take my own canoe down a river for that in Canada.
The towns we have visited since San Gill have been really amazing. They haven´t changed much for hundreds of years. They remind me of the Sergio Leone westerns. There is no such thing as building here, only restoring.
I have about 10 days to get to Bogota to buy an extension on my visa. I should have asked for more time when I entered but after my ordeal returning to Canada last time, I just wanted to put my head down and get in the country. In reality entering Colombia is easier than getting into a bar in Canada.
I´m really surprised at how safe I feel here. This part of Colombia feels every bit as safe as Canada. In this town, Villa de Leyva many of the locals will will say,¨Good afternoon, welcome to Villa de Leyva¨ I would say that it is safer than Banff.
San Gill was a real highlight. Rafting was really fun for me although I lost my hat that I have had for over ten years. I was also deep in river water than I have ever been. Jeniffer had a wilder ride. I didn´t think much of it at first when she told me she was under for a while but then I remembered that she was about 150 feet up river when I finally surfaced. She made 3 or 4 revolutions in a hole that knocked everyone out of the raft. It was a really nice trip because the waves were huge but always were followed by calm water.
We also went rappelling. My guide was about 6 or 7 years old. The decent wasn´t as much of a highlight as the simple beauty of the area. After that, we went spelunking. Not far into the cave, we had to go under water for about 3 meters to get to the next chamber. It was really scary because the guide went first and there was no way to know if he was trapped or not. We also had to crawl on our bellies for about 10 meters which was difficult.
Once really cool thing about these day trips is that they all cost about $12. I can´t take my own canoe down a river for that in Canada.
The towns we have visited since San Gill have been really amazing. They haven´t changed much for hundreds of years. They remind me of the Sergio Leone westerns. There is no such thing as building here, only restoring.
I have about 10 days to get to Bogota to buy an extension on my visa. I should have asked for more time when I entered but after my ordeal returning to Canada last time, I just wanted to put my head down and get in the country. In reality entering Colombia is easier than getting into a bar in Canada.
I´m really surprised at how safe I feel here. This part of Colombia feels every bit as safe as Canada. In this town, Villa de Leyva many of the locals will will say,¨Good afternoon, welcome to Villa de Leyva¨ I would say that it is safer than Banff.
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