Colombia - Santander/Bogotá

Once my time in Cartagena was done, after extending the trip a few days to enjoy the relaxing beach weather, and work on that tan, I hopped on another overnite bus toward Santander, the region to the Northeast of Bogotá known for outdoor adventure activities. Specifically, I had been told to check out a city called Bucaramanga, which is also in Santander, but after extending my visit in Cartagena, I opted for the directness of Santander, specifically, the town of San Gil, which is an outpost/weekend destination for Bogotá-ans, and, considering it was the Wednesday before Good Friday, the town was sure to be filled with both people, and things to do. I arrived around mid-day, having secured accommodations with a hostel owned by an Australian guy named Shawn (he got to town 5 years ago, and never left) - luckily, there was an extra bed, so I got paired with a Swedish guy who had spent a few years in Colombia, a good shit. Once I got in, I met a handful of guys, some of whom were living in Bogotá (Americans), and some who were visiting (a brother, and some friends) - we were all heading to paraglide - an activity that my roommate, Laura the Great, had done during a trip in the south of Argentina. So, within about 30 minutes, my stuff was in a room, and I was off to be attached to a pilot (more on this) and a giant parachute, only to be launched off the top of a mountain... Sounds sweet!

We got to the site, where I was the last of our group to be strapped in and launched... My pilot, a 17 year old kid from Bogotá has, apparently, been flying parachutes like this one since he was 12 - what?! So, I certainly didn't object, as I was clearly unfit to to fly myself, but I was damn sure to be in a position to take pictures/video of the experience, which I happily obliged to do. The flight, which only lasted about 12 minutes, was pretty sweet! If only the day had been a little warmer, and with a few less clouds, but alas, I complain (una queja)... The vista over the Colombian countryside was amazing (have I mentioned how pretty the country is yet?!), rolling hills, mountains, farm land, the colors, the sky, wow! When we all got back in to town, the weather had turned a bit, and it was now drizzling, so we dashed to a local favorite of one of the guys living in Bogotá for a dinner. Nothing fancy, a few hot dogs, burgers, and fries (comida criolla - local fare), some licuados (smoothies) and we were set, each for about USD $3.

That nite, I went back to the hostel to document my travels and ended up running in to another guy with whom we shared a common interest, so we endeavored and made our way to the main square, where the party was just getting started to kick in the rebirth of little baby jesus - woo hoo! We met up with a slew of people our age who were going to a boliche later that nite, so, we tagged along, naturally, after putting down a handful of beers and making several toasts with the locals' fire-water (aguardiente). The nite ended when i climbed up to the top bunk at about 6a, having made the decision to sleep in (that meant until about 1030a), clean up, pack, and head to the bus station to head to Bogotá, where I would spend the nite in another Sheraton...

Once I got to Bogotá, it was about 9p, so I didn't have many options for dinner/going out, as it was now the nite before Good Friday, when people would turn out en-masse to pray to LBJ (not LeBron) for all that he has done for their lives. So, I hopped on to ASW to figure out the places to go, and found a seafood restaurant in a part of town called Parque 93 (on 93rd Street, amazing) to indulge, and that I did. I must have looked like a bum, and was certainly the youngest person dining, not to mention the only person dining solo, so I did what anyone in my shoes would do - I ordered escargot, a dozen oysters, a bottle of viognier, and the white tuna tasting menu, followed by a cup of espresso... That left me high and dry, specifically, kinda wasted, having put everything that was placed in front of me in to my body, so I hightailed it through what would have ordinarily been the 'Zona Rosa' of Bogotá, only to see that the entire city appeared to be somewhere else, and went to back to the hotel. I'd only have a few hours the next day to see the capital, so I wanted to get up bright and early...

My day started like any other, rolling over at 9a, jumping in the shower, putting on jeans, sneakers, and a hoody, and heading down to the lobby... This is where the normalcy of the day stopped, as I needed a taxi to get me to where I thought I'd get dropped off and waltz around... Instead, I got a 'private' taxi driver, who very quickly became my 'private tour guide for the 4-ish hours I'd have before having to make it to the airport for my flight to Lima... The tour was incredible - my private driver should have been the Minister of Tourism for the City of Bogotá. In my 4 hours, I saw so much more than I expected when I rolled out of bed, and learned a tremendous amount about the city - he took me to where the equivalent of the Declaration of Independence was signed, and where the forefathers of Colombia ratified their Constitution; the former being in a church, the latter being in a little plaza in the barrio of La Candelaría (the old part of town, with narrow streets, colorful buildings, and, obviously, incredible history).

My first few stops were around the house of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Gran Colombia, which is at the base of the mountains where two church/monastery combinations were built to stand guard over the city, each north of 2000 meters and looking over Bogotá. The only two ways up/down, to Monserrati (the lower of the two), are by funicular or gondola (called a 'metrocable' but pronounced differently than you just said it in your head as you read). After touring this area, we went to the house itself, and then on to La Candelaría, before heading to the Plaza de Bolivar, the mother of all Plaza de Bolivars in Colombia. Three giant cathedrals stood on one side, with the other three sides of the Plaza surrounded by the Palacio de Justicia (this has been newly rebuilt, as M-19 burned the previous one to the ground in a terrorist attack in 1985), the Capitolio Nacional, and the Edificio Llevanó (City Hall). When I say, there were about 500,000 people out on this day, I am not kidding, as Colombia is one of the most devoutly faithful Roman Catholic countries in the world, and Good Friday of Semana Santa is relatively important to them... The masses were incredible, and even my newfound buddy said he thought the majority of the people out on this day to enter a church in the center of town were a little bit 'off'... Now, coming from a guy who told me he was religious, I found it to be somewhat comical...

At the end of the tour, I was both exhausted, and relieved, as my time in Colombia could not have been more amazing... I am looking forward to my next chance to go back, and with any luck, that time will be sooner than I expect, but, we'll see, as there are a lot of other countries in South America to check off...