We got to see family! After more than 3 months away from home, it was a joy to meet up with family in Bogota. My parents and my brother and his wife and child came to join us for part of our journey in Colombia. My brother was born in Colombia so it seemed like a good spot for them to come visit us and for him to have some time with his biological family as well.
Annika loved the cousin time!
We had a few good laughs along the way. The girls were really craving salt and vinegar chips so Grandma brought a bunch for them, even though she wasn’t a fan! Grandpa and I found some of the doorway clearances in the hotel to be a bit questionable!
YA Fellowship
I’ve had the privilege of meeting a number of World Visions Youth Ambassadors over the past couple of years and it amazes me the connection and fellowship that still exists between YAs, even 25 years later. It was no different here in Colombia where we had a chance to go out for dinner with the YA of Colombia from the year before Julia. However, she was part of Julia’s year as a staff member. There was misunderstanding on our part in that we thought they had recently moved to Bogota from Medellin which was good for us since we were in Bogota. But no, we found out that night when they met us that they had just flown into Bogota to take us out for dinner and that they still lived just outside of Medellin. What amazing hospitality and we had a wonderful time with them, with the additional bonus of enjoying great Colombian food!
Before we left, many people asked us and our kids what we are most looking forward to on the trip. We each had various things that we expected to be highlights (but have now also learned along the way that each place is special in its own way). Annika struggled with this question but finally answered that trying desserts from each country would be a good experience. This restaurant had some pretty cool plating and even included some dry ice fog with one dish, but the dessert that Annika got was pretty impressive and her reaction pretty much sums up the evening.
Guided Tour
While my brother and his family visited his biological family for a day, my parents and our family took a tour of Bogota. First stop was Monserrate; a hill/mountain with a church on top that overlooked Bogota.
During our dinner the night before, our YA friends were talking about different things to experience in Colombia and one of them was eating ants! As we were waiting in line to go up the funicular to the top of Monserrate, an English speaking guy next to us pulled out a bag of ants and handed some out to his friends. He also turned around and offered some to us. They are huge! This was not on same page as the dessert for Annika, but she still bravely tried one! They were salty and crunchy and not terrible, but a bit of an acquired taste.
It was quite the ride to the top. A much bigger, longer, and newer funicular ride than what we had experienced in Valparaiso.
It was a great view from the top, both of the surrounding hills and mountains, but also of the city of Bogota. We learned from our guide that this mountain and the next one over were considered sacred by the indigenous people and so when the Spanish arrived, they built churches on them.
Next we went into the oldest part of Bogota and toured some of the markets and alley ways.
One of our stops was at a fruiteria or fruit store where our guide explained some of the different types of fruits common in Colombia and let us try some. We also could buy some different fruit juice mixes from the fruiteria, all of which were excellent. Maracuya (passion fruit) and lulo (totally new to us) have become favourites.
We also had a short visit to the gold museum in downtown Bogota. Gold and emeralds were plentiful in Colombia and an important part of indigenous culture but more for religious and practical uses than for monetary purposes. This spurred the legend of El Dorado in the Spanish mind. The museum was large enough to spend a lot of time there, but we got the Reader’s Digest version from our guide.
Our last stop of the tour was to visit a cafe where we got a lesson on coffee in Colombia. Thankfully they also made hot chocolate, which the girls enjoyed, while I was pleased that the demo included coffee for everyone so I got to enjoy more than one sample!
Speaking of coffee, I never knew that such a product even existed nor had I ever thought of combining Coke and coffee, but there it was on the convivence store shelf, just calling out to be experienced. Needless to say, I could get used to having those around.
Casa Loco and Guatavita
The next day, between my family and some of my brother’s biological family, a whole gang of us took a day trip out of Bogota to a cute little town called Guatavita. Along the way was a stop at Casa Loco (the crazy house) which unfortunately was closed but we could see the outside.
We ate at a traditional Colombian restaurant, walked around the town, did some shopping and visited a museum before heading back to Bogota.