Bogota!!!

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Hey everyone!!

Landed in Bogota on Friday afternoon! Flight was OK apart from a long queue for security as the Xray mashine wasnt working so they were checking everyones bags by hand.... not very well i might add! Paula boarded the plane with a Swiss Army knife, a lighter, matches and goodness what else! And goodness knows what was in the deep depths of my bag.... havent emptied it out in a looong time and you know what my bags are like... Mary Poppins bags!! :o) Flight was OK, only took 2 hours, but managed to have the luck of sitting next to 3 people instead of 2 as a woman had her toddler on her lap who kept trying to lean back to whack me despite the womans best efforts to keep her squashed against the window so she couldnt reach me!!

Paulas parents picked us up from the airport!! They were really really lovely and absolutely hilarious!! Typical Colombians..... very loud and animated, all talking at once!! Hehe! They couldnt really speak English so Paula spent a lot of the time translating! But they were so lovely to us, very welcoming and spoilt us lots! :o) Their house was really lovely too and had an amazing view of Bogota! We spent the evening just chatting and drinking tea, whilst waiting for her brother to come home, who was also visiting, from Miami where he lives! Before going out to dinner Paulas brother, Manuel, showed us his latest music video - he is a big pop star in Latin America and quite famous! He is really good and i loved his songs, despite not quite understanding the lyrics as he sings in Spanish! :o) We all went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant which was really nice! Manuels friend who came with us was wearing a Discovery Channel Tshirt and when the waiter saw that and then saw Seimai and me, got quite excited and starting telling everyone that a television crew was here! We didnt bother correcting him hehe! Paula and her brother (whose English isnt quite as good as hers!) translated every now and again but it was quite frustrating not being able to understand much especially as they are all so hilarious and were in hysterics most of the time!! Its always tricky to decide whether not to laugh and risk looking a bit boring and miserable, or laughing too and running the risk that they think youve understood and ask you a question! :o) Afterwards we were supposed to go clubbing (without her parents) but in the end we decided we were too tired and wanted to make the most of the next day so her brother and friend just went on their own!! Paula had also said it wouldnt be safe for us 3 girls to come home on our own so we would have to wait for her brother and she knew he would be clubbing until at least 4am, which turned out to be true so lucky we didnt go too as we definately wouldnt have lasted that long! :o)

The next day Paulas parents took the 3 of us to the shopping mall as we all needed clothes! The shopping mall is i think the biggest i have ever seen... it felt like we were in America! Later on we met up with Manuel and went for a Wok lunch which was very yummy! Then we did some more shopping and went back to their house! Later on 2 of Paulas/Manuels friends came over, one of whom, they called him Fish and couldnt remember where the nickname came from hehe, is a lawyer and works with the government trying to destroy all the cocaine fields and get rid of the FARC! He showed us loads of photos and videos (luckily he spoke amazing English) which was so unbelievably interesting but also really sad as most of the cocaine fields are surrounded by landmines which warn the FARC that people have come! Two of the videos showed the helicopter ride back with a guy who had lost his leg, as he had trodden on a landmine, and the second of a helicopter arriving back at base who had been shot and killed (after his friend had trodden on the landmine - signalling to the FARC that people were trespassing!). Fish said they have made loads of progress in destroying the cocaine fields and reducing the FARC to the deep depths of the jungle, but they still have so much to do and he said although his job is very rewarding he works about 70hours a week and it can be very upsetting! He was going to a dangerous area this week and said he had a bad feeling about it.... really hope he is OK! I would love to do a job like that... so worthwhile but very risky!!

That evening Paula had her school reunion and Seimai and I had decided that we wouldnt go out with Manuel and his friends as we were too tired! But after that afternoon was so interesting and realising how nice the friends were (and that they could speak English), that changed our mind and we went out for dinner with them and then to a few bars! Had a Martini for the first time as it was apparantly the typical drink for that bar.... oh my goodness... i nearly choked with every tiny sip! It was disgusting and also turned out to be insanely expensive... luckily the guys paid for everything that night, including dinner! Bless! Later on that evening we met up with Paula and some of her friends and went clubbing which was soooo much fun!! Needless to say we didnt feel too amazing the next day though!!

It was Paulas 30th birthday (really hope i look like that when im 30 because i honestly thought she was my age!!) on the Monday so Sunday afternoon some of her aunts, uncles and cousins came round for a late lunch and cake etc! That morning Manuel took Seimai and I to an old colonial town in Bogota, where there was a big crafts market, including a street corner where they were selling puppies!! Sooooooo cute..... and they had Golden Retreiver puppies, spent ages cuddling them and reminding myself of reasons not to by them (there are actually quite a few when you are travelling hehe), they were so cute though and soooo soft and smelt so delicously puppy-ish!! By the time we got back, Paulas family were there and lunch was being served... local food which was very yummy!! A family friend, an old German man, was also there who seemed delighted to be able to talk German to someone! Wow.... i thought i talked a lot.... by the end of the afternoon I knew EVERYTHING about him.... when his passport expires, when he thinks he is going to die... everything!! Felt quite sorry for him though as his Colombian wife died a few months ago and apparantly his children never go and see him or phone him, which is i think why Paulas family make such an effort to include him, which is nice!!

The next day Seimai and I saw the sights of Bogota while Paula spent her birthday with her family! We got the venicular up the Monseratte mountain, which was really lovely! At the top there were 12 statues representing the stages of Jesus´crucifixion, leading to a little church at the top of the mountain! It was really interesting and the view of Bogota was amazing! Didnt realise Bogota was so huge! After that we got a Taxi into the centre of Bogota (getting Taxis is a pain in Colombia though because some arent safe so you either have to find an official Taxi stand where they take your details or you have to find a policeman to stop one for you and take the Taxis details... still better to be safe than sorry though!) where we wandered around, i finally bought a Spanish dictioniary, went to the Plaza Boliviar where we saw the House of Congress, the Palace of Justice and a big Catherdral! After that we went to the Gold Museum which was really interesting but unfortunately it was only a snippet of the muesum and was in a temporary building as the official musuem is being renovated!

That evening we went out to dinner again with Paulas family which was really nice and funny!! Then on Tuesday, Manuel and Paula took Seimai and I to the bus terminal, where we got a bus to the salt mines in Zipaquira! The bus took about an hour and a half so i was quite looking forward to stretching out and having a nap (Seimai and I had deliberately not sat next to eachother as the bus was empty) but then a middle-aged man got on and insisted on me moving my bag so he could sit next to me! He then got out a book, which i think was the Bible, and either he hadnt yet learnt how to read in his head or he decided he would like to tell me a story (or he thought i looked a bit sinful if it was the Bible!) because he read aloud for the entire journey!! Luckily i had my Ipod with me so i could drown him out! :o)

The salt mines were amazing! We waited for an English tour because we really wanted to be able to understand especially as the tour took an hour! They also used the same story of the Crucifixion of Christ, as you walked around, but in a more abstract way using different stones and positionings of the cross! Eventually you got the Cathedral, which was 180m below the top of the mountain, which was amazing! The big cross at the front of the Catherdral looked like it was made out of Saltstone or Marble from a distance but when we actaully got into the cathedral the shape of the cross had actaully just been cut into the sandstone and lit up! Then the last part of the tour was a 3D film in a little cinema (in the saltmines as well) which wasnt actaully 3D! After that we looked around the shop and a few of the museums outside before getting the bus back to Bogota! It was really worth it though.... and was nominated for one of the World Seven Wonders... I now understand why! A huge Cathedral built underground in the salt mines of a mountain is quite impressive!! :o)

That evening Seimai (with my help hehe!) was making a Chinese meal for Paulas family to say thank you for having us! So when we got back we went to the supermarket to buy everything we needed, which ended up taking absolutely ages as Paulas parents always want to be included in every conversation and decision and are very excitable, bless them! And also turned out to be quite expensive as Paulas friend, his mum, and the German guy were also coming! We made Sweet and Sour Pork, with pork and beef dumplings and rice!! We severely underestimated the cooking time though and didnt end up eating until after 10pm by which time we were all nearly falling asleep hehe! But it was very very yummy!! I made the sauce (with a teeny bit of guidance!!) and it was scrumptious!! :o) I tried to memorise the whole cooking process so i can try and cook it one day.... although if it took an expert that long to make then whoever i make it for we probably wont be eating until about 2am .. just to warn you! :o) As Paulas dad is such a child and enjoys playing pranks on people we decided to make a special dumpling for him, in the shape of a fish (i made it.... and i didnt actually intend it to look like a fish before hand, i just wasnt very good at shaping the dumplings hehe! but after i pointed out it looked like a fish, we decided to make that the one especially as his star sign is Picses!) and filled it with hot chili sauce!! hehe! :o)

The next day we just had a relaxing day, went shopping, went for lunch with Paulas mum, tried to send a package to Germany and England (which i ended up not sending as it would have cost 100 pounds!!!! ridiculous but apparantly you cant send things with the normal post system here as it will never arrive so you need to send it FedEx!)! So dont expect any presents people as it turns out im going to have to carry everything around with me for a year and am already regretting buying the things i already have bought for people hehe!! :o) In the evening we packed, downloaded photos and I did my blog for the Amazon! :o)

The next morning we had to get up at 5am to get the bus from Bogota to Aremania, where we would get the bus to Quimbaya, in the coffee growers region! We spent 3 days there which was really nice and are now in Medellin (which used to be the most dangerous city in the world... but is apparantly safer ever since Pablo Escobar, the largest drug barron ever, was shot!)! We are staying just outside Medellin, in Santa Elena at the top of the mountains with Paulas uncle and his girlfriend! The house is amazing and the view is beautiful!

Right ill have to do a serpate blog for Quimbaya though as we have been in this internet cafe for ages and Seimai is waiting for me! (going sightseeing in Medellin today!)!

Will quickly try and upload some photos from Bogota!!

Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxx

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