Fiesta en la Calle!!!

So I guess I´m 26. But I had forgotten for most of the morning until someone asked how old I was and I looked at my watch to confirm that it was indeed the 27th of January. Aside from the celebration in Bogota, I was taken out for dinner to a really horrible Mexican restaurant in Villa de Leyva last night. But that doesn´t matter. The party that followed was the important part.
I´m staying in the hostel of a nice Austrian man along with 2 guy musicians from France, an American girl, and a Colombian girl. Yesterday I went on a 7 hour long hike to Laguna Iguaque- it was incredible! Super strenous though, as the path was muddy and slippery as well as steep. The altidude at the top was 3600metres, so of course I could really feel the difference in air quality up there. The weather was fantastic though, sunny and warm but not hot. My shoes were shit however, and I kept slipping. Yes dad, I know you told me so... The view of the country side was amazing, and that flora at that altitude was comprised of plants that I´ve never seen before in my life- really interesting stuff. I was in pain by the time we got back to the hostel and I´m in even more pain today, but it was worth it. It was even worth the nearly $20.00 it cost for the entrance fee- quite outrageous for Colombia!
Back to the party... We decided that the most economical way to celebrate would be to buy beers and rum at a store in the main plaza and drink them on the steps outside in the street. We were joined by some dogs followed by a group of other street-drinkers, one of which brought a guitar, a harmonica, a maraca, and some other instrument. Needless to say that with the French musicians and our new Colombian musician we now had enough to make a band. We spent a couple hours in the street then decided to pack it in.
On the way home, we were enticed by some 80´s rock music in a bar on the other side of plaza and decided to go in and dance like idiots. And have some more beers. Upon returning to the hostal, the Colombian girl Diana decided it was not time for the party to be over, but the trouble was we had no more to drink. So she made us all take shots of hot sauce. This did not go over well with Julian, who decided to swish it around in his mouth like a sip of wine, and his already sunburned face turned 3 shades redder as he downed a couple swigs of olive oil to soothe his throat. The rest of us tired not to pee our pants. As revenge, Julian carried Diana outside where the other French guy, Floran, dumped a bucket of laundry water on her head.
And today we hiked along the farm roads to some ruin sight that turned out to be nothing but some phallic stone figures. I also got to pet a sheep at an old ladies´house along the road who invited us in for sodas and tried to sell us a fossil of an indigenous persons´ jawbone.

Separation Anxiety

Well I´m about to leave Bogota this morning but I´ll be really sad to go. As I mentioned, I have been staying with a couchsurfer, Diana, in her apartment in the north of the city. From the moment I arrived to her place after a gruelling bus ride on the packed Transmilenio (a bus system similar to a metro), I was welcomed as though I were family. Diana lives with her older sister and niece in the apartment, but her brother and his girlfriend from England were staying here over the weekend as well. We all got along great, my grand welcome on Thurday evening being sitting around drinking beers and Aguardiente (a Colombian liquor with a taste similar to Sambuca, usually taken straight up) and dancing to reggae in the living room.
The following day after Diana went to work, Andres and Aimee were nice enough to take me downtown to stroll around and see the street entertainment and check out the Botero gallery. I tried Ajiaco, a soup typical in Bogota, which included chicken, beans, rice, avocado, onion, etc.- super delicious. I´ve also been enjoying all the street snacks- empanadas, arepas, pizza, fresh squeezed juices and prepared fruit like mango and pineapple- usually for a price ranging between $0.50-$1.50.
Friday night we went to 3 bars, the first one a pub, the second a really bright barn-type bar called La Finca, and the third a reggae bar. I got to meet a bunch of Diana´s friends and also other couchsurfers and danced like mad until we got kind of rowdy and pissed some people off in the reggae bar. But by that time it was after 2am- time to go home anyways.
Saturday was another great day- went to Parque Simon Bolivar but got rained out there so we hopped the bus downtown for some coffee and food, then off to another bar where Diana´s friend was DJíng. Unfortunately after the previous night I wasn´t able to give my 100% to the party, a shame because the music was awesome.
Yesterday was a beautiful day spent in Parque de los Novios (park of the couples), where there was a couchsurfing barbeque with a turnout of probably over 60 people. The group in Bogota is huge and really active, they have frequent meetings and get together wednesdays to hand out food to the homeless, among other things. After the park, we piled into Diana´s brother´s car- 9 of us in total, including Diana´s adorable nephew. When we got to her brother´s place, we all piled into he and his wife´s bedroom and sprawled out all over to watch a movie. In Diana´s family there are 8 siblings, and they are all really close, as I´ve noticed that many families here and in Latin America are. And, as you can see, they even treat strangers like family.
After the movie, 3 other friends that I met over the weekend showed up at the house and Diana surprised me with a birthday cake! I couldn´t believe it, but now you can see why I´m having separation anxiety. They told me it was tradition to bite the cake, and of course I believed it. So I guess I deserved it when I had my face pressed into it.
Today I leave for Villa de Leyva, a small town a few hours south of here.

BOGOTA!!!!!!!!

Just a quick note that I´m still in Bogota, currently staying at a couchsurfer´s place. Things are fantastic!!

Salty Church and Gold

I´m posting again already because despite all the positive things I wrote yesterday, I have a feeling that certain people´s nerves are yet to be settled about this trip...
I absolutely love Colombia so far, and even the mildly polluted, crowded, and cold capital has it´s appeal. As I´m sure I mentioned, it´s cold here. And with yesterday´s rain I couldn´t shake the chill until I went to bed under ten pounds of blankets. I slept like a baby and woke up today feeling great and better adjusted to the altitude. The day´s activities included a lengthy bustrip outside the city to a cathedral located inside a salt mine. It was a pricier trip than anticipated, but it was really inpressive to see all the altars, crosses, nativity scene, etc. formed and sculpted entirely out of salt. The bus trip itself was amazing- getting to see the city as well as the beautiful countryside surrounding Bogota.
Upon arriving back in the capital, myself and my new British friend Daniel visited the Museum of Gold, home to some 34,000 gold artifacts. It was quite impressive and well worth the $1.50 entrance fee. Afterwards, we re-visited the same local restaurant as last night. There, we enjoyed the set menu meal for $2.50 which included a fresh juice, a hearty soup and a full meal with meat, rice, potatoes, veggies, etc. Quite satisfying portion-wise but it could do with a little more spice, which I understand is something I´ll have to learn to live without in South America. All in all a day well spent.

Beat in Bogota

I have arrived safely in Bogota. Everyone can relax and breathe easy, even though I´m not (the 2600m elevation makes even a little stroll slightly tiring). I´m sure the last 24 exhausting hours of travel aren´t helping matters much either.
I started by leaving the island at 330pm yesterday. After crossing, I decided to sit and have one more Mexican beer before departing the country. I also wanted to ensure that I didn´t have a single peso left when I got on the plane either. After the beer I hopped a cab to the bus station and took the shuttle to the Cancun airport- which happens to cost a lot less than taking a cab solo. The one and a half hour flight to Miami was a breeze, but trying to catch some sleep was not. Unlike the Minneapolis airport, there is no area in the Miami airport that isn´t lit up with super high voltage fluorescent lights. The benches are also all separated with armrests, so it´s impossible to stretch out. After failing to get comfortable on the benches I said screw it and curled up on the floor. Sleep however did not come, it was way too cold with the AC pumping, even though I had many layers of clothes on and covered myself with my towel.
At 4am I went to check into my flight to Bogota. I caught a bit of sleep on that flight, and I´m actually really impressed with LAN airlines- much better service than any US flight I´ve been on lately. We arrived on time at 10am. The attendant announced the weather to be 14c and cloudy. Good thing I was already bundled up.
I cleared customs no problem and exchanged a bit of cash into Colombian pesos- about 2100pesos to one USD. This currency will be difficult to get used to. I was determined to use the bus to get downtown and to the hostel- it´s all part of the adventure after all. Why pay $7 for the door to door service of a cab and miss all the fun and excitement?
So far my impression of Colombian people has far exceeded any expectation. A man from the tourist booth walked me 3 streets outside the airport over to the bus stop and asked the driver to tell me where to get off when it was time. When I got on the bus however, I was quickly befriended by a girl and guy my age who offered to help me out. We spent the bus ride chatting, the guy explaining that he wants to practice his English so he can travel to Australia in the summer. They both played tour guides, pointing out buildings, parks, important streets, etc. After 45mins or so, we arrived in the neighborhood of the hostel. My new friends both got off with me, the guy carrying my heavy backpack. We wandered around the confusing streets awhile until they found the address of the hostel and they waited while I made sure there was a room. They left me their contact information and offered to show me around whenever I like. What an awesome welcome to the country!! So I wasn´t greeted by guerilla fighters, cocaine dealers, and street hustlers like everyone thought after all!
My brief impression of Bogota is that it is a typical, big and bustling capital city. There is a bit of pollution that you can see and feel in the air, but not quite like that of Mexico City or Bangkok, as there seems to be a lot of parks and green space. Despite the smog and that it´s a cloudy day, you can still see the mountains looming in the North. I´m staying in the central part of the city where I hear there are many other foreigners and lots to do and see. I think I´m really going to like it here.

Update

I'm still on isla at the moment...only 4 more full days until I depart here for the next great adventure. My flight to Bogota goes out to Miami on Monday at 735pm and I don't arrive in Colombia until January 2oth at 10am. So all those anxiously awaiting to hear from me....give me a bit of time to get settled and get to the internet before I can post an entry. Hopefully I can post on the 20th, but don't start contacting the foreign embassy until the following day if you still haven't heard from me (kidding). Hasta Pronto!!