I new that I couldn't get back to Bogota in December due to work..so I took off the week before Thanksgiving to go south and see L again. Nine days..starting on Saturday night...L met me at the airport, she had arranged for me to rent an apartment in Alhambra, a very nice barrio, $300 for 8 nights, very nice, clean, 6 blocks south of the Autopisa off Pepe Sierra, and a 10 minute ride to Unicentro. This was excellent, no fees for overnight stays, had a microwave and refrigerator, that L had stocked with lulo and guanambina(sp?) for lulo con leche, and a nice bottle of wine. Damn it was great to see her again.
Sunday, her bosses brother was getting married in a small pueblito named Cajica 10 miles North of Bogota, in an old church there. We got there a little early for the 1:30 wedding and walked around the little town a little, this was my first colombian wedding..very nice. The reception was to be at a nearby ranch that evening, we skipped that..and headed a little further north to visit a park in Sopo, this little town has a big amuesment park there, and nearby, the company Alpina has a big plant making dairy products with a nice park next door..a dairy bar selling those products. This was a nice park in the valley with mountains on both sides..a pretty place, and very crowded. The traffic was horrible here, backed up everywhere, we asked why, the american alternative rock band "the Killers" was having a concert at the amuesment park..the crowd was for them.
Monday was a holiday..we hung out at the apartment and planned a trip north to Parque de Chicamocha in estadio Santander. So Tuesday morning we got on a big greyhound type bus and headed north. The countryside north of Bogota is beautiful, driving through the valley with big green mountains on both sides. This trip would take 6 hours, the next estadio would be Boyaca, higher up, it was colder here, the mountains more spectacular..L slept on my shoulder..I looked at the scenery...I had flashbacks of the Simon and Garfunkle song "Look for America"...
Leaving Boyaca..next was Santander...the temperatures warmed..along the side of the road the farms grew sugar cane, potatoes, and coffee. We saw banana trees, papaya trees, small houses with blankets spread out in front drying coffee beans..this was the real Colombia...cows tethered on the side of the road everywhere...eating grass..burros carrying cut sugar cane stalks..I thought I had gone back in time 100 years.
We rolled into San Gil (pronounced San Heel)..just before dinner..stayed at Belle Isle hotel..it was clean..but had definitly seen its better days...it had a nice view of San Gil from our balcony,,air to take off the heat.. After some rest and relaxation we headed into town for dinner and walk around the town..nice place big church on a plaza
meyor..I never felt threatened walking around here..we had a nice dinner and got a cab back to the hotel. After a nice breakfast..we caught a bus to Bucaramanga so we could go to Parque de Chicamocha. When you reach the park, you just get off at the park..and to return to San Gil..you wait on the side of the road and flag down a bus going back to San Gil. I liked this park better than Parque del Cafe. This park is at the top of a mountain giving you a 360 view of the mountains around it. There is also a cable car ride down the mountain, across a river and back up the mountain on the other side of the gorge.. This took about 30 minutes each way..very nice. We got back at the hotel about 4pm, packed up and caught a bus to a small colonial town Barichara. We found our hotel that a friend of L recommended Casa del Marques de Bahiachala, and looked for a restaurant..it was 7 pm, and everything was closed..we finally found a little mom and pop place..no menu..I had chicken, L had carne..2 aguila beers, an excellent dinner all for 16 mil pesos..about $8..and this is a tourist town! Barichara is a pretty place, all the streets had 1 foot square stone pavers..a beautiful cathedral...beautiful weather. I highly recommend this town to visit. We found out the restaurants stay open later on the weekends. We headed back to Bogota Thursday..the long bus ride wore us out...Friday we recovered in Bogota..hit crepes and waffles for lunch..and enjoyed our time together.
My last day was Saturday...L likes to get out of the city..so we drove north again out of the city, exited at Chia and drove to Tabio..another quaint little colonial pueblito...had a late lunch and walked around the town. Smaller than Barichara..it had cobble stone streets, the usual plaza meyor and iglesia..a nice place to spend the day.. I guess the main take away from this trip was to get out of the city..there is so much more to Colombia, from Cali take a bus to Armenia and see Parque del Cafe, from Medellin, ride out to Sante Fe de Antioquia..see Colombia!
Leaving Sunday was difficult for both of us...we are definitly becoming attached to each other...she is a sweet little woman..she came into the terminal at El Dorado with me to say goodbye ..we had a taza de cafe while I waited to go to the gate....not much talk ..just holding hands, hugs and kisses..I knew it would be hard leaving this time..just not this hard.
