Our Final Destination: Bogota

---

---

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." -- Mark Twain

The above is one of my favorite quotes because I have always believed in its sentiment wholeheartedly. And while I believe in it just as much, if not more so, since spending time here in Colombia, I was surprised to also feel that my corner of the earth isn't so bad, and in fact, can be pretty great.

Perhaps these longing thoughts of home were occuring, not coincidently, this morning when we awoke, ate another hearty, warming breakfast, and prepared to hit the road for Bogota, only to be delayed by a bicycle race. That's certainly not something I'd ever say in my hometown, but there we were, car packed and ready to go, only to be told, "Well, we can't leave quite yet. We have to wait for this random cycling race to clear out because the police have closed all the streets that lead out of town."

Monte and I were in disbelief, but no one else seemed to think this was an extraordinary situation. We take for granted the organization of our normal, daily lives in the States. If a bicycle race were to roll through town one day, it would have been announced at least a month in advance. Instructions to follow alternate street routes would be posted. No one's life would be interrupted to any great degree.

And at the risk of going off on too many tangents, I feel compelled to mention another realization. Another reason no one complained about the delay, is that no one complains here. It really made us recognize how whiney we are, when we actually have it so good. This awareness has made us check our grievances at the door. Colombians' acceptance of circumstances in everyday life is a model of behavior for the world, and certainly a mindset I hope to practice more at home.

Ok, enough with the preaching. Of course as everything works out in the end, the bike race cleared out, we stuffed ourselves in the car, and hit the long road towards Bogota. We had one tourist attraction to visit since it was on the way Zipaquira Salt Cathedral . I'm glad we had the opportunity to tour something that the country considers as culturally important, but as impressive as a cathedral in a salt mine sounds, the tour itself was just ok. The trek through the dark tunnels, stopping at carved cross after carved cross got a bit monotonous. I wouldn't ever have to do that again.

The meal we had after the tour was worth remembering though, and the Ajiaco Santafereno I had for dinner was one of my favorite meals in Colombia. This is the official dish of the capital city, and one I'll try to make at home for sure.

Night fell on Bogota as we were arriving by way of heavy traffic into the city. Having only seen the area around the airport, our first night in the country, we were looking forward to exploring the various neighborhoods and sites. For tonight though, tired from the long car ride and mine touring, we settled for a late night treat before bed.

Something of a phenomenon in chain restaurants, Crepes and Waffles is rated as tripadvisor's #1 restaurant in Bogota. It's a very unique cafe of savory and sweet dishes all made from crepes and waffles. It has also received tons of local support as its policy is to only employ single mothers. What an idea. I had read so much about this popular eatery before the trip, that I knew I couldn't leave without checking it out. This wasn't going to be difficult as the cafes are everywhere.

So, after dropping off our bags and resting for a minute in Pilar's apartment, we walked a few blocks to the nearest Crepes and Waffles location. I could have ordered everything on the massive menu. Pictures accompanied almost every item, and it was all so beautiful, like food art. I know Monte liked it since he could order without even being able to understand the Spanish; the pictures told you what you needed to know. We pigged out on crepes filled with dulce de leche, rum flambeed bananas, guava puree. Monte tried a chocolate chip waffle. What a fun night it was.

We've traded the sounds of the country for the sounds of the city streets as we fall asleep tonight. In the morning we'll wake to know this is our last day in Colombia. We've got a full schedule to get through. Let's see if we can do it all in one day, the final day...

---

Photos

Zipaquira Cathedral
One of the many crosses carved from the salt mine

Zipaquira Cathedral
On tour of the salt mine

Zipaquira Cathedral
The main hall of the cathedral, where mass is held every Sunday

Zipaquira Cathedral
A carving replica of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting