Bogota, Colombia

Bogota Part II

January 2, 2008

- Red Hot Chili Peppers

On New Years day I headed back to Zipaquira to finally see the salt cathedral, assured that it would be open by the posted schedule that I had seen. The streets of Bogota were eerily deserted in the late holiday morning as I made my way to the Transmillenio, followed by an hour on the bus, and a fifteen minute walk. I entered the underground labyrinth of the salt cathedral and there was a series of crosses carved into the stone in various forms as I continuously made my way further underground. I didn´t really understand much of what the tour guide was saying as it was difficult to understand the Spanish echoing off the cavernous walls of stone.

Eventually we reached the overlook for the main cathedral, an immense room with wooden benches and a huge cross that was carved into the stone wall at the back with various lighting effects creating a stunning scene. Soon the room filled up with people attending the service and I began to wander back up to the surface. Many of the pictures that I had scene of the salt cathedral were of the old version, which was ornately decorated to the point where it made the cave unstable and the area has since been sealed off. That was in 1985 and since then this new salt cathedral had been constructed, though it is much less elaborate, its shear size was impressive.

When I surfaced to the bright mid-day sun I sat down to look at the map of Bogota and decide what I was going to do next. While sitting there, a Colombian family approached me and asked if I needed help. The man, Gernan, spoke English rather well and so we talked for a while and I spoke with his children and his wife´s parents a little in Spanish. They asked if I wanted to come back to Bogota with them to a New Year´s Day party. I agreed, not knowing exactly what to expect but figuring it would be an interesting experience.

We arrived at their friend´s apartment in Bogota and I walked in with the family to everyone suddenly staring at me. We proceed to go up to the rooftop where they were busy grilling all sorts of meats and vegetables, talking, and enjoying the nice weather. Gernan introduced me to everyone and we waited for the food to finish cooking. When the food came his wife´s mother made sure that I tried everything; there was lots of steak, various sausages, potatoes, and other things that I couldn´t identify. When I enquired about one particular sausage, it had rice and peas and a red paste in it, he said it didn´t really translate but said that I should try it. I tasted it and I found it to be very good. Then I asked him what the red stuff was inside it and he said, “Oh that´s the blood of the pig.”

After eating we played a traditional Colombian game called Tejo, which involves throwing a metal disk that weighs about 2 pounds towards a sloped board covered in clay. At the center of the board there is a metal ring and at the top and bottom two explosive triangles are placed as targets. Normally you throw from very far distances like 30 meters or so, but since we were on a rooftop it was only possible to throw from about 20 feet. The object is to hit the explosives, causing them to explode, but you can also score points for hitting the center of the ring and by landing your disk closest to the center. It was pretty fun and the loud bang that happens when you hit the explosive was startling. We played several rounds and I was able to hit the explosive a few times, so not a bad effort for my first time.

As it began to get dark everyone started to leave so they took me to the bus station so I could buy a bus ticket to San Agustin, my next destination. I thought that they would merely drop me off there but they were so nice that they parked the car and came inside with me and helped me buy the ticket. It was quite an ordeal because the bus terminal in Bogota very large with separate terminals for each direction of travel. After finding the south terminal there were about 20-30 different bus companies there. I asked how one is supposed to know which company goes where and apparently you have to go up and ask each one or look for some small signs; quite the system they have developed. Fortunately, I was able to get a ticket and then the Colombians were nice enough to drive me back to where I was staying. They even offered to let me stay with them the next time I was in Bogota.

So far on my trip, brief as it has been, I have met some great people who have definitely made my trip much more enjoyable. While traveling has much to offer, such as the opportunity to see and experience a wealth of different things, the problem with traveling is that you are doing just that, traveling. When you travel, it seems that you are always leaving something behind, whether it be a unique place or interesting people, the only consolation is the hope that your next destination holds more of the same.