Emily is coming:)

Well the countdown is t-3 days until Emily gets here (my Canadian girlfriend for those of you who haven't met her). Thers is going to be a music sharing party going on that evening so it will be nice and convinient for introducing her to everyone. She's here for two weeks while I'm teaching and then we are going with another couple for the Semana Santa break (spring break) to fly up to Santa Martha on the North Coast and then for a five day hike into Ciudad Perdida (literally 'lost city'). It's a 2000 year old ruined city that was found in the 1970's by tomb robbers and has been since protected by the government. It will be three days hike in through the jungle, one day at the site and then two days hike back out (downhill) and the tour company does most of the lugging and cooking for us. If you look this place up on the internet, probably the first thing you'll find is something about people getting kidnapped but the region is very VERY safe these days (the school hires a security cheif who has army connections who checks all these things out for us and he says it is very safe there).

I'm so exited!!!! YAY! If I don't post for the next three weeks you know why. I'll try and update sometime but phone and email are probably the best way if you need to know how I'm doing at any given time.

Parapenting

On sunday I went parapenting (paragliding) and (to use my new favourite word) it was RAD!! It felt a little like ballooning but with a lot more movement, less fixtures, and the wind constantly whipping by. It was tandem so I didn't really need to know how to do it; just hang on and enjoy. I went with a few other teachers to a place about an hour outside of the city at the top of a big hill. We lay in the sun, parapented, watched others parapent, played with the worlds friendliest chocolate lab puppy called Choco and ate out of our excellently stocked cooler. A nice day. I put on the 30spf sunscreen three times but still managed to get a little burnt, however I was the LEAST burnt. I guess being up that high isn't good for my skin.

Bogota 5

Yet another beautiful cathedral. You'd think they would get tiring but they don't.
Sonia and I feeding pidgeons in the main square of Bogota. It's right out of a south american post card.

Bogota 4

Random street in Bogota
One of the staple beautiful cathedrals in Colombia.
I'm around the back of this tree. We couldn't touch hands. Lots of Eucaliptis in Colombia.

Bogota 3

This fellah was just hangout out, outside the salt mines. Pictures inside didn't turn out so well so this the best that you get.
MMM... Dinner at this crazy, trippy restaurant that we stopped at on the way back from the Salt Cathedral. Check out the Jesus on my napkin.

3) The Salt Cathedral
This place was an old salt mine that has been converted into a giant cathedral. It’s not really for services but just for tourism and the occasional concert. Can you get the catholic theme to the weekend yet. I learned more about Catholicism in those three days than in the rest of my life combined. The tour guide spoke English and I tried to keep his tour from being a ‘living dead tour’ (my fort friends can appreciate this) but he was kinda new and didn’t like it when I would ask questions that were off the ‘official tour speech’. Oh well. I tried guys.

So what else was fun? Lots of cool restaurants. Lots of cool bars. Regan and I went dancing for a little while at this one fun (and packed) bar. It was weird being out of Cali and having places play things OTHER than salsa. I finally felt cool again.

I do love Bogota. If only I could move my school there. Oh well. Can’t have it all.

Bogota 2

1) Gold Museum:
This place was totally RAD! So much gold everywhere and who knows how much gold was melted down and sent back to Spain. It was laid out kind of geographically and chronologically. A great chance to learn about the history of a bunch of the regions that I’ve already been to in Colombia. There was one room where you go in when it’s all dark and then the lights come up and show TONS and TONS of gold nose rings, medallions and things displayed in these huge patterns along the walls.

Church on top of 'Monserate'
Regan and Matt with a view of Bogota spead out behind.


Ok, I think I’ve taken about a month off of Blogging (ok… probably more) so maybe I should post something up here before people totally ignore me.

Ummm…. Where did I leave off. Bogota I think. That’s the last place I traveled for a long weekend anyway. I went there with Regan, Scott, and Sonia and we had a blast. It’s a very different feel than Cali. Very metropolitan… big city. It’s a lot colder too. I just loved the cool weather.

The main hightlights:

1) Monserate!

On one of the mountains right on the edge of Bogota there is this church perched on the edge looking over the city. You need to take a cable car up (or hike it, but scott’s knee and the general laziness of the rest of us steered us towards the cable car) and then you get a great view of the city laid out below. It’s a really peaceful place. I just loved it up there. On the way up to the cable car I got my camera stolen as I mentioned before, so at least I was in a mindset to just enjoy the view and could leave the picture snapping up to Scott. Does anyone else just love that, now that digital cameras a everywhere you don’t need to constantly say, “Oh, you need to get doubles”.