Salt Mine Cathedral

On route to Villa de Leiva we visited a salt mine that has been turned into an underground Cathedral for people to worship in and to impress tourists. It was impressive by any standards.

You can see pews at the bottom of this picture- the chambers are massive.

They actually let you hit the wall as hard as you like. There was salt crystal flying all over the place. A health and safety no-no in the UK. I have a nice big piece of crystal as a souvenir.

We had a lovely time

Comida glorious comida

During our time in Colombia we found lots of fantastic new food to try. We haven't held back and have indulged in many tasty pleasures. Here are pictures and descriptions of some of the highlights and new discoveries.

Fruit salad (usually banana, papaya, melon and mango) in Colombia often comes covered in cream and a mild grated cheese

An hallaca - a mini tamal - our Colombian friends will be able to tell us the difference. A delicious and nutritious street snack cooked in a banana leaf, costing about 40p. It is ground maize with chicken and vegetables within. Yum.

Our fancy engagement meal. This is a mouth-watering fillet of fish with a red wine reduction on a bed of leek and something else that we have forgotten. Oh dear!  One of the nicest dishes we have ever eaten.

Our other engagement meal dish. This tuna was cooked perfectly and was very exciting although it came in second place to the delectable dish above.

Our first ceviche in South America, a specialty of Peru, raw fish marinated in lime juice. Very tasty.

It's not all about eating out. In our hotel room in Cartagena we had this table picnic (on a plastic bag) for a couple of nights.

Look how many limes you get for 30p. Good with rum and coke.

We found no ice cream in Venezuela, the infamous icecream parlour with the most flavours in the world in Merida had closed.  We were delighted then to find this luxurious Italian style icecream in Cartagena.  The chocolate was rich and bitter, the physillis tangy and refreshing and the other flavours were yummy too.

The main course of a great value lunch time meal deal - a menu ejecutivo or a corriente.  For £2 you can eat if not like a king, then at least like some kind of vaguely royal person.

Fruit stalls in so many streets in Cartagena selling so many tropical fruits, many of which we have never seen before.

Delicious papaya, no trace of the sickly smell it often has picked up by the time they reach the UK.

Cazuelo de mariscos - a rich, seafood soup made with fresh coconut milk. Absolutely fantastic and made fresh and especially for us on our island retreat.

Standard supermarket fare - a giant papaya and a spiky green guanabana - mild, milky and refreshing in a milkshake.

Angela and her mum enjoying a delicous soup - Angela will have to remind us of the name. Made with large, more savoury sweetcorn (mazorca), maize, milk and sweetened with panela (unrefined brown sugar, bought in blocks or bags and used as much if not more than sugar here).

We think this is called chicharron - a sort of grissly, tasty piece of pork crackling which accompanied a thick bean soup/stew, along with rice and avocado.

Colombian Aguila beer on tap at the table

Beef oreado - a steak that has been hung and partially dried in the sun, half way between fresh steak and beef jerky. A bit chewy but full of flavour.

Mojarra - fried local fish. Extra bonus points for eating the eyes and sucking the bones.

An interesting mix of beer and an irn bru type soft drink (called Kola, of which there are many varieties and brands in South America, either yellow or orange).

Barbecued, giant savoury sweetcorn or mazorca on Christmas Day with a plate of barbecued potatoes and a sort of black pudding which Simon ate and Rachel spat out. Something like morcilgo.

Christmas morning soup - Angela what is it called pleased?  Thick soup with potatoes, vegetables, mazorca and chicken stock. Very delicious and a good, if alternative start to Christmas Day.

Obleas - available on most street corners. A sandwich of two large, thin, circular wafers filled with arequipe, which is like caramelised condensed milk, crema de leche (sweet cream), grated cheese and sometimes with a blackberry source.

 

Our first salad in South America. So good that we went back the next night and had it again. This could be made at home - since it is more Italian than South America. Shredded chicken, mozzarella, grated carrot, sliced tomato, lettuce, sweetcorn and finely chopped red peppers, onion, mushroom, green olives, pinenuts and seeds.  Dressed and topped with basil pesto.

Colombians are passionate about their food and there is so much regional variation. Rather than asking us where were the best places we had visited, many people would ask us about our favourite food in Colombia. They were also very interested in typical English food, we found we were soon running out of things to say after roast dinners, crumbles, pies, cheese and shepherd's pie. Any more suggestions gratefully received.

Me gusta, me gusta

We have heard this song so many times we recognise it by the first note and can sing along. We have heard it in shops, buses, clubs, in fact any public space including up a mountain. The music style is vallenato and is always cheesy, upbeat and featuring an accordion. Sadly we could not find a video but it would definitely involve the singer and accordion player jigging about with some sexy honeys in the background. Enjoy.

El Ano Viejo

El Ano Viejo, or 'The Old Year' is the name of this scarecrow like figure and many others that we have seen along the roadsides in Colombia in the run up to New Year. The tradition is to create a life size model of yourself and stuff it with straw and minor explosives. At midnight the effigy is burned with the intention of banishing your bad self from 2008 and starting the new year afresh. An alternative approach to the New Year's Resolution. We have even seen a whole family of 'ano viejos', complete with a mock-up baby in cot, which we thought was taking it a bit far!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

After an evening and a morning in Bogota, we were off again, this time to the family apartment about 2 hours down the mountains (actually only about 50kms away but traffic is bad here, lots of mountains and perilous overtaking of massive lorries). The original plan of spending New Year with the Christmas Eve posse was abandoned when all 50 of them took the last minute decision to hire a coach and decamp to Cartagena. It took them around 18 hours with a puncture stop so we were pleased to have missed that particular trip.

We really enjoyed our time at the apartment relaxing by the swimming pools and having a quick game of tennis with 30 year-old rackets on a bumpy court. The view you can see in the photo is from the balcony kitchen. The apartments aren’t fancy but there’s a lovely sociable feel to the place – large groups of families and friends in the pool until late and singing on their balconies.

For New Year’s Eve, we descended the mountain by a further 1000 metres to the infamously sweltering town of Girardot, the home of Angela’s sister-in-law’s parents. En route, we screeched to a halt and pulled onto a grassy verge at 7pm, or midnight in the UK, and cracked open a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate our usual New Year. We then went on to Girardot where we spent a sweaty few hours before everyone was finally rounded up and ready to set off for our evening out.

About 20 of us went to an organised do at a swanky military club. Expectations of a military occasion were not met. Instead, there were around 500 people, yummy food, fireworks and 12 grapes to swallow at midnight with wishes and lots of dancing. Like Christmas, New Year is largely a family occasion, and generations of families were out together, from grandparents to babies. We’re getting into the partner dancing now and although it can get a bit much after a while, we’re not treading on one another’s feet as much as before.Angela & family in photo

Happy New Year and hope we all have a great 2009.

San Gil

No sooner was the excitement of Christmas over than we were packed into a car for a six hour drive to San Gil, a lovely town in the mountains to the north of Bogota. We stayed for three nights in a nice hotel with big rooms, a pool and a decent breakfast thrown in.

On the afternoon of our arrival we jumped unenthusiastically back in to the car but were rewarded with a visit to a lovely village called Barichara where all the roads are paved in local stone which is also used in all the buildings. The plaza had great Christmas lights and a giant flamingo.Angela's family

San Gil is a base for adventure sports and this was a main reason for the trip.

Sport number one was rafting down a local river. The valley was beautiful, the water cool and clear. The instructor boy at the back of the boat was clearly used to the Colombian tendency to chat and ignore instructions and so we progressed down river, through a number of rapids, in a relaxed and disorganised manner. For the record, Kike and Xavier were thrown from the boat twice, Rachel once, while Angela and I held on tight. But we all jumped in for an enjoyable float down stream and through some milder rapids.

Next up was abseiling. Not down a climbing wall but down a rather tall waterfall. Luckily the instructors were far keener on safety than some of the other guides we have encountered in Colombia. It wasn’t scary really but it was great fun moving down the rock face with water splashing on our heads. We jumped into a pool at the bottom of the waterfall and actually managed to feel chilly despite the daily temperatures in the 30s.

For our final dose of adventure sport we travelled in a jeep to the top of a hill with spectacular views all round. We took it in turns to be strapped up to a man and a parachute, lifted by the wind and guided, surprisingly peacefully, through the air. Parasailing was quite special. The setting was breathtaking and we set off just before sunset when the light was at its best, soaring with the birds and gazing at the mountains and valleys below.

Rachel taking off

Simon in the air

Thoroughly relaxed and satisfied we attempted the journey back. Firstly however, it took over an hour to check out (typical Colombian service in a state run hotel- the state often takes control of hotels confiscated from convicted drugs barons or disgraced politicians involved in bribery scandals). Not long after setting off the car started making funny noises. This led to a number of stops along the way including one opposite a village bullfighting stadium. There was lots of music and commotion so we went over to see what was going on. We wandered in to the wooden circular stands without a ticket and sat in the nearest free seats we could see. It didn’t take us too long to realise the reason everyone was there to watch a Mariachi band and that we were sat in the middle of said Mariachi band. We acted casually for a few minutes, ignoring the odd confused look from a trumpeter or a drummer, before finding more sensible seats and enjoying the show.

A decision was made to have the car towed back so we decamped to a small, old Japanese vehicle laid on by the insurance company. This eventually got us back to Bogota despite the driver preferring the safe side of 30mph and a puncture thrown in too, which I was happy to help sort out.

La Noche Buena & Christmas Day

Angela and her nephew Martin 

The night of Christmas Eve or ‘La Noche Buena’ in Latin America is the big occasion. Christmas Day is comparable to Boxing Day (minus the football) and is spent relaxing and in recovery.

Christmas Eve is the last night of the Novenas, so we all took a turn to read the prayers then we exchanged presents. Angela’s little nephew, Martin, cut a fun figure on his new toy motorbike dressed as Santa.Beatrice & Alvaro (Angela's mum & dad)

We then headed out to a party in a hall hired out by all of Angela’s mum’s family for the night (the chiva posse), comparable to an 18^th in a social club. After a slow start sitting around the edge of the hall sipping rum and cokes, things got going around 11pm when we were served massive plates of beef and rice, followed by the traditional Christmas natilla – smooth, set milk pudding. Blaring music was interrupted for the countdown to midnight, followed by hugging and kissing everyone in the room (about 70 or 80 people) and wishing them a happy Christmas. Our cheeks ached.  Presents from various family members to the children (who were still going strong at 4am) were then dispersed by the dj, calling them up to the front to collect them. This was followed by an apparently terrible local band. We had a good go at dancing anyway.

After this and approaching 2am, it all became quite hilarious.  Angela’s mum is one of 6 and each family was required to perform an ‘act’ to the rest. A food hamper was at stake and Angela’s granny the judge. We had been forewarned and all families were well prepared with costumes and music. We performed a salsa tragic comedy, Pedro Navajas or Pedro Daggers. A policeman (Simon) is patrolling the red light district and stops and searches a prostitute (Angela’s brother dressed in drag). A bit later, Pedro (the other brother) approaches the prostitute and tries to steal her bag. There is a kafuffle. He pulls a knife on her and she pulls out a gun. He ends up dead and she’s stabbed on the floor. A drunk approaches (Angela’s dad) and steals all their stuff.  While this is all going on, there is a chorus of prostitutes in wigs and false eyelashes (me, Angela, her mum and sister in law), hanging around. The song ends by concluding that life is full of surprises.

We seemed to go down well but the winning family (who had a professional dancer in their midst) were the ‘Chavo de Ocho’ (see below)– a Mexican cult comedy series with lots of bizarre characters.

We eventually went to bed at about 5am and spent a good part of Christmas Day on Skype. We spoke to people, opened a few presents from home and ate chocolate; all of which all helped to make us feel a little closer to the Engish Christmas we were missing.

Later on, after heading up to a vantage point over Bogota with Angela and her brother, we made apple and blackberry crumble with real custard.With Kike, Angela's brother

Christmas has definitely been completely different for us this year and we’ve missed home, but in Colombia with Angela and her family, we’ve really enjoyed an alternative Christmas.