This morning, Michael and I opted to have a European style breakfast and enjoyed bread with butter, sliced cheese and fruit…..the first of my “bread and cheese meals”.

Michael headed off to the University for his second day of classes and I walked across the street to the Museo Nacional de Colombia (the National Museum of Colombia).

As I walked in, I glanced at a list of rules and thought that it said that I couldn’t take photos…..boo!!!   Then I started watching other people taking photos and the guards weren’t yelling at them so I decided that I could take photos, but just couldn’t use the flash……Much better!!!

I had read that there was an English guide somewhere, but I couldn’t find it and couldn’t find anyone who spoke enough English to ask for it, so I did what I always do in this situation….I started looking at the exhibits with an eye for designs and lines and color that I liked.

I don’t know why, but I liked this little guy…..

….and these three sort of reminded me of the 3 Evil monkeys…..

One of the first exhibits that I entered was housed in this large room and was devoted to Memories.  It was an impressive display using digital technologies mixed in with historical works.

The wall at the end of the hall is called the “Wall of Diversity”.  It contained many oil paintings, but then there were digital “photos” interspersed as well.  The digital photos changed every few minutes.  It was interesting to stand and watch it although I felt like I was looking at the portraits in Hogwarts!!

After the wall, I (of course) noticed this applique work of art.   I really don’t have any idea what it was or when it was made, but it seemed to show various aspects of Colombian history.

There was a video showing many different people working on the piece and it was captivating to look at all of the different figures represented…..

There was another well-done use of technology where a printing press was on display, and a video was playing on the wall behind it showing someone using the press, however it was all done in silhouette……very effective.

There were several groups of high school students being guided thru the museum.  It was fun to listen to the interactions even though I wasn’t sure exactly what they were saying.   At one point the guide asked a question and one boy responded with an obvious stupid answer.  Everyone laughed and tittered.  Then the guide answered the question and everyone said “ooooohhhh”.  I guess that they were impressed with the answer….to whatever the question had been!!!!

These masks caught my attention….mostly because of the bead work.  I love the mixture of shells, beads and feathers….

I kept coming back to this statue.  The woman looks perfectly normal but the child and the way she is being held just seemed weird!!

Now I entered a gallery with lots of portraits of people that I didn’t know!! So naturally, I went into detail mode and started noticing interesting things….like this set of portraits, four to be exact, of Antonio Narina (one of the heroes of Colombia)  in exactly the same costume…..

If I was having my portrait painted more than once, I would certainly wear different clothes!!!

At the end of the long hall of portraits, I came to a set of glass doors with a sign reading “Reserva de  colecciones” (Reserve collection).  Inside this room were 6 walls, about 4 feet apart and each wall was filled with paintings.   Evidently this is where they keep the collection that is not currently on display.  I had never really thought about what went on behind the walls of the displays.

I would have loved to be able to get up-close-and-personal with the colorful painting at the very end!!

I spent a lot of time looking at this painting.  I read a bit about it and it was depicting the surrender of someone and the inauguration of someone else….obviously I didn’t read it too well!!!

But what I really enjoyed was looking at all of the detail in the painting.  I found it intriguing that these two women were dressed as soldiers and holding swords.  The note that I read said that they were sisters of one of the dignitaries….

This little boy appears to be blowing on the incense…..if you blow up this picture, you can actually see the embers glowing and smoke blowing outward….

This was a beautiful sculpture but what I will always remember is one of the teenage boys pointing and having a good laugh at her mostly bare bottom….

This piece, entitled “La Parca” is dedicated to all of my knitting friends….you know who you are!!!

And, at last, here is the much searched for English information…..

Unfortunately, I had already been to each of these galleries…..sigh.

I loved seeing a class of VERY young kids come thru the galleries.  When they walked, they each had to hold onto the shirt of the person in front of them….SO cute.  The Museum employee used puppets to tell them about the exhibits.  I was surprised that they were bringing children at such a young age but I think that it was wonderful!!!

 

I stepped into this gallery and wanted to take a photo of the architecture.  The guard dressed in blue quickly tried to get out of my way, but I wanted that little splash of color so was very glad that I was faster!!!   It was very nice of him to be so observant!!!

This photo was shown in one of the sculpture galleries.  From what I could read, it seems that this was a sculpture class for very young people.  Look at the talent that they are already displaying!!!  

This painting caught my eye….

Especially the look on the cows face…..

I entered into yet another gallery….this time of more modern art, and found many pieces by Fernando Botero. On the surface his paintings seem whimsical, depicting larger than life characters.

But, in reading more about him many of his paintings are political criticisms as well.  Apparently this style is called “Boterismo” and I learned to recognize it immediately!!

Every aspect of his work is larger-than-life…..

Especially this wall sized orange entitled “Naranja”…..

However, if you look closely, you see a small worm emerging from the fruit…

As I left the museum, I gave the Juan Valdez café a miss and headed out onto the street to see what I could find to eat for lunch…..

I was drawn to a street vendor who sold pizza but decided to watch him for a while before I bought anything. As I watched he pulled out a cardboard circle and dusted it with flour.  Then he pulled out a bag of dough and and proceeded to stretch and twirl it to the proper size.   Out came a bottle of thin tomato sauce which was sprinkled on the crust.  He added chicken, mushrooms, pineapple and lots of cheese, being VERY careful that the cheese was properly apportioned across the pizza.

Then he cut it into slices and set it aside.   At this point I was confused as I expected him to slide it into one of the two small ovens at the top of his cart. 

My confusion was removed when someone went up to buy a slice and he took the uncooked slice off of the cardboard and set it into the oven by itself.  About 5 minutes later the pizza was cooked.

OK….now I know what I am doing so I boldly approached and purchased a slice.  When I held out my money to pay, he opened the pocket of his apron and motioned for me to put the money in there so that he wouldn’t touch it.   All in all, I was very impressed with his attention to cleanliness!!

The slice was wonderful…..

 

….and I enjoyed sitting on the Museum steps and watching the world as I ate.

Speaking of food vendors, I finally took a good look at some of the carts and found that they were actually strollers that had been crafted into a cart or grocery carts that had been re-designed.

Speaking of strollers, I have noticed that most people do not use strollers for their very young children (maybe it is because all of the strollers are being used for street vendors???).  Instead, they wrap them up in multiple blankets and carry them in their arms.  Having said this, I have never actually SEEN a baby in the layers of blankets but that is my assumption!!

One of my tasks for the day was to buy some washrags since the hotel doesn’t have them.  We had foreseen this problem and had brought two rags, but felt like we could use a few more. 

I found a store that sold clothes and bath items and picked up four washrags to purchase.  The process of actually buying these items was very different…..one worker calls out the item, number purchased and price, another writes a handwritten receipt and takes your money.  Then a copy of the receipt is stapled to the bag and you have to show it to leave the store!!!

This afternoon I was meeting Michael at the University at 4:00 so didn’t have a lot of plans for my two hours out, so mostly I just walked around and did some people watching.

Crossing the streets can be troublesome but fortunately most of the streets are one way so at least I only have to worry about traffic coming from one direction.   There are MANY motorcycles who zip around and lots of small buses that move at full tilt as well.   If you happen to step out in front of someone, they happily toot their horns to tell you to move and even if you simply  appear to be stepping out, they will sound off to let you know of potential danger.

I was trying to head to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) but had trouble finding it.  Once I did finally find it I realized that I didn’t have time to look so just kept on walking, after writing copious notes about how to find it next time!!!

There are a huge number of people on the street selling minutes for pre-paid cell phones but I passed one vendor who had a pole set up with several cell phones attached to it with cords.  I had wondered if he also sold phones but that idea was crushed when I passed him again with three people standing around him and making calls on his cell phones.  I guess that this is the modern version of a pay phone…..

There is one thing that I have seen several days now and I am very confused by it.   On one particular corner, there is always a huge group of men standing around.  I cant see anything special about the corner or the stores that inhabit that area but it is interesting!!

As I was wandering around I started seeing  lots of shops that sold religious icons so I excitedly figured that I was close to another big church.  Unfortunately it was one that I had already seen so I kept on walking.

It was now time for me to make my way to the University and I knew that I needed to go in a diagonal direction so I started down one street, would turn left at the next cross street, right at the next cross street….etc….until I found the University and Edificio Robert Franco which is the building that Michael is in.  The plan worked perfectly and I got to see some cross streets that I hadn’t been down before. 

I loved this house with an entire garden of flowers growing out of the roof…..

 

Henry and Juliana had a special treat planned for us this afternoon…..we were allowed to tour the Teatro Colon (Colon Theater) which is currently being renovated.  Juliana’s aunt (Claudia) works at the theater and she arranged for us to be allowed inside.  She was not able to be there but her friend, Monica, acted as our tour guide.

This theater was built in 1885 and is the oldest theater in Colombia.  The outside is inauspicious….

but the interior is breath taking…..

 

 

It was hard to get a good photo, but the dome ceiling is a fresco of six of the nine muses.  The plan had been to include all of  them but it was soon realized that the space would not hold them all.

The attention to detail was evident, and everywhere I looked there was some cherub, angel or animal looking down on me…..

The theater boxes (which I learned from crossword puzzles are called loges) are opulent…..

They have done a marvelous job of renovating this beautiful theater which is supposed to open in two weeks.

We said goodbye to Monica and headed out to find something “small” to eat.  Often the students get something small around 5:00 and then eat their big meal later in the evening….WAY too much food for me!!

We passed one beautiful garden and Henry pointed out that there was a hummingbird flitting around one of the yellow bushes.  He was much larger than the ones in our yard….maybe 1-1/2 to 2 times bigger.  He was a gorgeous green and blended well into the foliage.

I tried desperately to capture him on film and finally got a somewhat blurry shot of him.

As we walked along, we were followed by a colorful rainbow….

…that was even more stunning when viewed behind these historical buildings….

This photo is in the Plaza de Bolivar…..

We continued on to a small restaurant where we enjoyed our “small” meal of the evening.   Michael devoured this Tamal, which is a form of tamale.  In this case it was a  mixture of ground corn, meat and other spices, steamed in a Plantain leaf.   The white cake on top was a plain Areapa

Since I am female and love chocolate, it was suggested that I order the “Chacolate Plato” and this is what I received….

….a steaming mug of hot chocolate made with water instead of milk.  It was not as rich but was an excellent accompaniment to the buttered bread and cheese.  They told me that people often put the cheese into the chocolate and let it melt there.  I was given a small spoon (barely visible at the back of the plate) to dip the molten cheese out.  I chose not to do this, but did enjoy dipping the round pastry into the chocolate and luxuriate in the deep chocolate flavor.

Michael and I chose to walk back to the hotel (about 1-1/2 miles) and crashed for the rest of the evening.  I went to sleep remembering my THREE meals of  tasty bread and cheese!!

Before I start on today’s journey, let me say a thing or two about the weather in Bogota.  We were originally told that it was COLD, COLD, COLD, but when we checked it out, we found that the daytime temperatures were in the 60’s and lower 70’s.  Now that seems pleasant to me and not cold at all.

Each of the days I have started out in long pants and a short sleeve or sleeveless shirt with a jacket over it.  After I had walked for a while, I was hot and would take off my jacket.  However, the people around me have on down jackets, knit scarves and wooly hats. 

It is an interesting phenomenon to realize how our bodies seem to adapt to whatever we are used to.

This morning (Tuesday), we were to meet Juliana and Henry (Michael’s host) at the Universidad de Los Andes at 11:30.  We were told to meet at Las Banderas (the flags), so that is exactly what we did….

We walked across the street to a small café for lunch and they had a sandwich called the “Frances” so naturally I had to try it!!!  The filing included ham, blue cheese, mushrooms, onions, lettuce and mayonnaise, and while that may not sound appetizing, the flavors melded beautifully!!!

As the three scientists talked, I found my feet tapping and realized that I was itching to get out and start my first day of solo sight-seeing.  We said goodbye at the flags and I headed to my first destination….the Museo de Arte Moderno (Modern Art Museum).

Unfortunately it was off of the map that I had but I had written myself directions of how to get there and remember that the streets are all numbered so I felt fairly confident.  I confidently arrived at the street and block that I needed and walked down the street looking for the building.  But, when I reached the next cross street, I knew that I had missed it…..but WHERE?  I started to ask for directions but instead decided that I would find it myself!!!   I went back down the street and didn’t see anything that looked like a museum but finally found an entrance that didn’t have any markings.  It did, however, have three large trucks blocking the entrance…..

Yes, that was the Museum!!   I threaded my way between the trucks and entered the building.  There was only one exhibit  open to the public and it was of a Venezuelan artist named Oswaldo Vigas.  There were no English placards so I didn’t really know what I was looking at, but as I have googled his name today, I found that I was looking at a perspective of his 70 years of painting. 

That makes sense, because the paintings that I liked best were all created in certain time periods.    I really enjoyed his early works, particularly in the 1950’s, although I cant find a photo of any of the works that I saw. They were simple shapes and worked in a small color pallet.

There were also a series of three works from the 1970’s that I appreciated.  They were all done in earth tones with large designs.  This one was called Gayadora…..

His newer pieces had lots of color, but there weren’t clearly defined spaces and I felt like I got lost in them.   Here is an example…….

Before leaving, I wanted to visit the Banyos and found several more pieces of art on that level.   In the bathroom, there were two stalls and a hefty roll of toilet paper and a sign that said to take the paper from this roll and put it in the trashcan after use rather than flushing….at least that is what I think it said!!!  This was very reminiscent of our days in China!!!

As I left the gallery, I watched as the workers unloaded the last few paintings…

As you can see, they were very large works and from what I could see thru the protective covering, they were very minimalist in nature.

The final piece was a large sculpture that must have been VERY heavy.  They started with 4 men struggling to carry it and then quickly added two more….

As I left the gallery, a small vendor selling ice cream called to me so I made a quick stop.  I enjoyed watching a little boy (probably 2) holding a cone of bright green ice cream and smiling happily between licks!!

I thought that the process of ordering the ice cream would be easy since there was a sign that I could point to and then also point to the flavor that I wanted.  Unfortunately, there was another question asked and I looked blankly at her.  She picked up a squeeze bottle of a blue gel and started putting it on my ice cream.  I quickly motioned that it was plenty!!!

All in all, it was quite tasty.  The ice cream was not super sweet and the gel had a citrus flavor to it.  The only issue that I had was that there was another napkin in the bottom of the cone (to keep it from dripping) and I was quite startled when I bit into it!!!

I had decided to head toward a church that was located on Carrera 7 so I found the pedestrian street and started walking.  I quickly learned that there is a lane marked for non-motorized vehicles…..ie bikes, skates and skateboards.  This bit of information came by almost being run over by a skateboarder!!!

Now this church wasn’t that far away, but I started looking in shops and it took me forever to walk about 1/2 a mile.   Now comes the explanation for the title of this post.   I walked into several “market” type of areas where lots of vendors had their stalls.  As I would walk past each one, the proprietor would say “Bueno Tardes” (good afternoon) and I would reply the same.   Then they would launch into their sales spiel and I would look at them blankly and say “No Hablo Espanol” (I don’t speak Spanish).   We would then move into “Smile & Point” mode, but several purchases were accomplished anyway!!!

I came to this beautiful church and went in for a look……

There was a Mass in progress but it ended soon after I entered.  The interior of the church is awe inspiring….

I truly love the red and beige brick mixture!!

There were several apses along the sides, one containing this interesting sculpture of Jesus…..

It is very different from anything that I have ever seen before.

I have had a hard time finding out the name of this church, but finally decided that it is Templo Nuestra Senora de Las Nieves.

As I walked along the pedestrian street, my ears were bombarded with a cacophony of sounds, each coming from speakers attached to the street vendor carts.  They would say the same thing, over and over, in a VERY loud voice.  The problem is that there were so many of them and you couldn’t really understand any of them.   I do know that one man was selling American Chocolate bars and he kept saying “American Chocolate” over and over again!!

I enjoyed a few street artists and especially loved watching one man weave name bracelets.  You would write the name out and he would weave it in just a matter of a few minutes.   It was astounding to watch him work…..

I continued walking down the street and ended up at the Plaza de Bolivar which is a huge blank area filed with pigeons….

As I stood watching them, I was reminded of Juliana’s statement that “city pigeons are aggressive!!!”.  They were certainly aggressive around this statue of Simon Bolivar, one of Colombia’s heroes…..

More about this plaza tomorrow, but today I visited the Church located on the Eastern edge of the Plaza…..

The interior was very simple but worshipful…..

….and the altar was beautiful….

There was an older couple standing here trying to take a selfie with the alter in the background and I asked if I could take it for them.   They smiled and said yes and then offered to take one of me.  Unfortunately, he didn’t hold down the button long enough for the photo to take but I didn’t know enough Spanish to tell him and he didn’t know that they didn’t work, so I just said Gracias and kept going!.

I also loved the organ with the keyboard on the first floor and a STEEP ladder leading up to the pipes on the second floor…..

But the thing that really caught my eye was this painting in the corner of the Cupola…

….yes, the woman’s leg is three dimensional and comes out of the painting!!   I am sure that I would never be able to worship in that church as I would spend all of my time looking that this phenomenon!!!

I slowly wandered my way back to the hotel and was joined by Michael about an hour later.  We needed food so I got onto Google Maps and found a restaurant that was just a few blocks away.  We found it easily and went in to order.  At this point I am so grateful that Michael knows a fair amount of Spanish because there were MANY questions asked in the ordering process.  We started out with wine and beer to drink….

…and then the magnificent food arrived.   Michael had a chicken dish….

…while I opted for Pork…..

Those mushroom looking things were actually fried Plantains and were delicious, however they did need a little bit of salt!!

I ordered a brownie for dessert (actually Michael ordered it because our waiter spoke NO English), and a cup of Hot Tea….at least that is what he thought that he ordered!!   When the tea arrived it looked like this….

It was beautiful but it was NOT tea!!!  It had a sweet, fruity flavor to it.  When we got back home I looked up the menu and realized that it was called Aromatica, which is a fruit tea made with a sugar water infused with tea and fruit.   Oh well, the rest of the meal was fantastic!!!

We arrived in our room once again, exhausted but loving our day!!!

After we came down off of Mount Monserrate, Juliana suggested that we walk thru the city with the idea of finding someplace to eat lunch around 1:00.  But first, Michael found his favorite type of vendor….espresso…..

We wondered if we could hire this guy to follow us around the city!!!

As we walked, I started trying to get myself acclimated to the streets of Bogota so that I would feel more comfortable when I am by myself tomorrow.  It is actually quite easy as all of the streets are numbered….the ones named Carrera run from North to South and the streets name Calle run from East to West.  SO….if I am looking for Calle 7 #9, I know that it is on Calle 7, between Carerra 9 and Carrera 10!!! 

As we walked, I enjoyed the delightful street art….

Juliana told me that when Justin Bieber was visiting, he made headlines by painting graffiti and now he is not allowed in Bogota again!!!

In the middle of the street art I found this sign asking that someone “Find me”!!

I hope that he is home by now!!!

We continued looking for a place to eat but many restaurants were closed for the holiday.  We tried to get to one particular restaurant that Juliana knew about but the way was blocked by security forces and we were NOT allowed to pass.  There was a congress of some sort going on in the area and you had to be “on the list” and apparently dressed in a 3-piece suit before you were allowed in!

We finally found one restaurant that had good photos of their food in the windows so we decided to give it a try.  We have recently watched an Anthony Bourdain program on Colombia and he enjoyed a dish called “Bandeja Paisa” and Michael was DETERMINED to try it.  It is a platter consisting of Fijoles (beans), Arroz (Rice), Carne Polida (Ground Beef), Chicarron (Fried Pork Rinds), Chorizo (Sausage), Huevos (Egg), Arepas, Avocado and Fried Plantain.   He loved every  bite….

I had a dish called Sancocho which is a soup that has chicken, potato, Plantain, Yucca and Corn on the Cob.   It is served with a side dish of rice and Avocado.

It was also very tasty, but a little hard to eat as most of the pieces were large and had to be cut up and that is not easy to do in a soup!!!

The restaurant was built on several different levels.  Our table was on the second level but the Banyos (bathrooms) were up another floor.  There were more tables there and another set of stairs that led to a small balcony with two more tables.  Then there was yet another set of stairs leading up at least one more level.  These stairs were blocked off but I would love to know exactly HOW many seating levels they had.  And remember that the kitchen was on the first floor.  I cant imagine being a server and having to climb multiple flights of stairs while balancing a big bowl of soup!!

We passed one statute that I found intriguing.  It is in tribute to Policarpa Salavarrieta (c. 1795 – 14 November 1817), also known as “La Pola,”.  Accoreding to Wikipedia, she  was a  seamstress who spied for the Revolutionary Forces during the Spanish Conquest of New Granada.  She was captured by Spanish and ultimately executed for high treason.  She is now considered a heroine of the independence of Colombia.

This statue depicts her as she is waiting to be executed….

I especially appreciated the hands tied behind her back……

As we walked back to the hotel, we strolled down Carrera 7 which is a pedestrian street with no motorized cars being allowed.  Since today was a holiday, the street was crammed with holiday revelers, most standing in tight circles watching the street performers. 

The sides of the street were covered with vendors selling everything from household supplies….

…..to colorful tennis shoes….

….to telephone chargers…..

to remedies for everything from varicose veins, to acne…..

By the way his remedy is made from snail slime…..

We arrived happily and wearily back at the hotel, very pleased with our first day in Bogota.

Today was our first full day in Bogota and we made the most of it, starting with breakfast in our hotel and meeting Juliana at 9:00am to go exploring.

Today is Colombia’s Independence Day and many of the attractions (Museums and such) were closed, so she suggested one of two things…..a military parade or climbing Monserrate, a mountain in the center of the city.

We had read about Mount Monserrate and were looking forward to seeing the broad, sweeping views of the city of Bogota.  Fortunately, the mountain was only about 2 miles from our hotel, so we started walking that way.  There was intermittent rain but fortunately it never got very heavy.

There are three ways to get to the top of the mountain…..a funicular (train on a cable), an aerial tramway (cable car) or by climbing the 750 steps to the top.  We had originally thought we would make the climb, but as we walked we started to realize that we were not yet accustomed to the elevation (about 8,000 feet), so we decided to postpone that adventure until later in the week.   Instead, we rode the funicular…..

The ride was fast and smooth and we were quickly at the top of the mountain…..why were we EVER thinking about climbing!!!!  As promised the views were astounding….

The property is beautifully landscaped and we enjoyed seeing various native and introduced plants….

 

There is a church at the pinnacle of the mountain and we wound our way around an appealingly landscaped path that lead to the church.  There were  inspiring statues along the path, each depicting a scene from the day of Jesus’ Crucifixion……

Apparently not everyone was inspired in the same way as one young couple were enjoying a little PDA in front of Jesus being nailed to the cross.

There were many people with physical disabilities who were being helped along the path.  The church is a pilgrimage site and many people go there for healing.  Many of them choose to climb/crawl up the 750 steps as part of their pilgrimage.

When we arrived at the church there was a service in progress so we went along the side and arrived at a market of sorts…..

This area was filled with endless merchants selling souvenirs and religious icons, but as we walked further along the shops changed to small restaurants, each containing the wonderful delights of “street food”!!!

The first thing that caught my eye was a refrigerated case containing plates of something that looked like cheesecake with a fruit topping.  

Juliana told us that it is actually a soft cheese named “Cuajada” that is nestled on a thin spread of caramelized milk and is topped with a Raspberry sauce.  Naturally, we HAD to have one and it was worth EVERY penny!!!

We kept walking, enjoying the displays of fried meats, breads and sweets…..  Some of the meats were unknown to us, but the gender of some of the meats was obvious…..

The next thing that caught our eye was roasted corn on the cob.  Michael ordered one and the proprietor happily warmed it, buttered it and salted it like crazy….Michael was SO happy!!  

 

The corn was different from what we are used to as it had very large kernels that were tough on the teeth, but had a great flavor…..

 

While at the same vendor, I asked about a stack of thick pancake looking items and Juliana told me that they were Arepas and that they were delicious.  Of course I couldn’t resist!!  Arepas are made from corn flour and many different varieties can be found.  This one had a cheese filling that made my day!!!

We continued out the end of the market and found a natural area that was filled with people….most taking pictures of themselves and the view.  Naturally, we had to join in.  This is myself and Juliana…..

We wandered back up to the Church and were able to go inside and see this simple and worshipful church……

At the back of the church there is a smaller chapel that holds the Holy Relics.  This semi-circular room was flanked by two dazzling stained glass windows…..

The scenes show the history of Bogota.   It was built in 1989 by Mario Mosquera.

I was also enamored with the ceiling in the chapel.   You can see a bit of it in the previous photo.  However, when I sat in the middle of the chapel and took photos of it, the design was stunning.

I am definitely thinking about a quilt using these designs!!!

After leaving the church, we fought our way onto a small walkway so that we could have a better look at the cityscape…..

I commented that I could get a better photo if I climbed up on the fence.  Juliana immediately said “go ahead….I’ll watch for the guards!!!”.   I did NOT try it, however I shouldn’t have worried as the guards were enjoying an ice cream bar….

 

The Cable Car started running at noon, so we rode it down and enjoyed the changing altitude. 

At one point, the car started rocking and there were many laughs, titters and outright screams of terror!!!

Once on the ground, we started the second part of our day in Bogota….stay tuned…..

Yesterday we left on our journey to Colombia, but not without a few rough spots!!  On Saturday night our air conditioner quit cooling properly so we had to have a technician come in on Sunday morning and look at it before we left.  There is work to be done but hopefully it will all be finished long before we get back home!!!

We drove to Atlanta and met Brian and Amber at their apartment and they drove us to the airport.  After a short wait and a small meal, we boarded our Delta flight to Bogota. 

I had a wonderful time watching the Safety Video before the flight.  It is obvious that the realization has dawned  that most people don’t watch the video so they have added lots of cute things to make it more fun, including a cat riding on a Roomba!!!   If you have absolutely nothing else to do, check it out here….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vttuonfu2BM

There was a young man sitting next to us who was from Germany but loved traveling to South American countries and tried to make a trip each year.  He is a physician and we had an interesting time talking to him about the differences in medical care in the US and Germany.

As usual, Michael worked on a review article that he is writing and I spent some time perusing the videos on the entertainment screen.  I watched two Ted Talks that were really interesting.

The first was about a man who takes old books (mostly encyclopedias) and turns them into art.  He first opens the book and folds some of the pages back.  Then he covers the outside pages with a resin to make them hard but leaves the internal pages loose.  Finally, he cuts a hole in the resin and uses the pages below as the basis for his work.  You should check it out…..

https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_dettmer_old_books_reborn_as_intricate_art?language=en

The next Ted Talk was about “How to make Toast”…..well not really, but that was the first example.  This was about how we think thru processes and what is the best way to plan and organize your work and to solve problems as they occur.  I am not a particularly spontaneous quilter as I like to think thru the process before I start so I think that some of his ideas could work for me too.   Here is the link to this talk….

https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast?language=en

There were a lot of thunderstorms in our path so there was a fair amount of turbulence.  Fortunately that doesn’t both either of us but it did make typing a bit hard for Michael……his fingers kept missing the keys!!  He will need to proof read carefully!!

We arrived at the airport and got thru immigration quickly.  Unfortunately it took a LONG time for our bags to get out.  They were having some trouble with the luggage belt and it kept stopping.  But at least they both arrived!

We were met at the front door by Juliana, one of the students that will be in Michael’s classes.  She was accompanied by her Aunt Claudia who was our driver for the evening.  Juliana had fallen and had her wrist in a cast and couldn’t drive so her Aunt brought her…..it was so kind of them!!!

We arrived at the hotel about 11:30 and started the process of checking in.  We asked if the café was still open and the young attendant said yes and RAN over to get a menu for us so that we would be ready to order quickly.   We shared a turkey sandwich and small piece of cheesecake and then dragged our bodies upstairs to our room, arriving about 12:30am. 

We were soon snoring, marking the end of our first day of travel!!