After the hearty breakfast I mentioned in my previous post, JP and I were treated to a lovely lunch of bandeja paisa with some of his immediate and extended family. It was wonderful to meet JP´s uncle H and his family who had flown down from Mexico the same day as I. H and I bonded by sharing bouts of jetlag/tiredness/mountain sickness in between coffee and dessert. We then took the transmilenio, a speedy bus down to the centre of Bogotá, where it was drizzling down with rain. We had a walk around near one of the universities, went to one of JP´s favourite bakeries for a little bite to eat, walked around la Candelaria, a more traditional part of town with lots of colourful little houses and entered one of the not-so-traditional hard rock bars for a sip of chicha, which, much to my surprise, I really liked. By this time it was getting dark, so we wandered town to the Centro Cultural Gabriel García Marquez where they have among other cultural amenities a beautiful bookshop. As you can imagine we spent a good amount of time there...Then onto Plaza Bolivar where they had a Christmas tree in the middle of the square, and on to La Septima street where we had corn and fruit called mamoncillo (vahan kuin lokaatti). The street was packed and full of Christmas lights and vendors. I think we were all pretty tired by that point and decided to take a buseta home. The good thing about busetas is that you can get on and off pretty much anywhere. The bad thing is...well, the same. :) It was great to come home to some ajiaco...mmm...
As you can see food has been pretty much the most important part of my trip so far. I have to make a list of all the food and drink I have tried...but before that I need to consult my ominscient tour guide, just to check I have it right. But some of the things I´ve noticed is that the corn kernels are much bigger here than anywhere else I´ve been. :) A very important fact...
About the architecture - they use red brick here. A lot.
And about tiredness - either jetlag or mountain sickness is getting to me a bit. Bogotá is at 2600 m above sea level and although I lived at 2000 m in Pakistan and have been to 6000 m, I feel a bit of a pressure on my chest, especially when going up hill (and it´s VERY hilly here!) or racing down the street with JP´s 5-year old cousin (she let me win a couple of times, otherwise I wouldn´t have stood a chance). I´m surprised it´s affecting me as much as it is. Hmm...
I´ll try and post some photos here soon. Coming up soon...hopefully later today...Day 2. Because as I write this it´s actually Day 3 already.
