Well I messed up again. I got my days all wrong and rather than the cooking class, we wound up going on a tour of Guatavita. Our guide, Patricia, and driver Andres, were right on time to pick us up this morning. Before we left the hotel, I happen to ask what market we were going to -- this started a series of queries as to who, what, where and when!! Once we got everything sorted, Geoff & I headed back upstairs to change into some warmer clothes. We were headed to higher elevations.
The ride out of the city took forever. Apparently, the have this ingenuous system which involves odd and even license plates and odd and even days -- which dictate who come drive in the city on that day. Something like our water restrictions. However, it is not all day long, just during rush hours. So what it basically does is stretch out rush hour to all day, since everyone tries to stagger their driving during available hours. It makes for quite a mess.
Tried to get a shot of the Taj Mahal which is part of the Jaime Duque Park but no luck.This park houses smaller replicas of the seven wonders -- only the Taj Mahal is a 1:1 scale. Did manage to get a shot of the soccer stadium as we were crawling by. We passed several cyclists -- lots of spandex in this town. Biking is quite popular in Bogota and as you will see throughout the photo albums, bikes are displayed in all sorts of ways.
Lake Guatavita was reputedly one of the sacred lakes of the Muisca, and a ritual conducted there is widely thought to be the basis for the legend of El Dorado, "the golden one". The legend says the lake is where the Muisca celebrated a ritual in which the zipa (named "El Dorado" by the conquistadors) was covered in gold dust, then venturing out into the water on a ceremonial raft made of rushes, he dived into the waters, washing off the gold. Afterward, trinkets, jewelry, and other precious offerings were thrown into the waters by worshipers. A few artifacts of gold and silver found at bottom hold proof to this claim; however, to date, attempts to drain the lake or salvage the gold have yielded not much, with most of it now in the gold museum.In 1965, the Colombian government designated the lake as a protected area. Private salvage operations, including attempts to drain the lake, are now illegal.
We were again lucky with the weather. Sunshine on and off, not too hot or too cold. Patricia said it is usually very cold at the top -- we found it quite pleasant. After the tour, I asked Patricia if it was OK to stop somewhere local for lunch. Andres was down with that idea as well. We found the perfect spot with the most delicious fresh trout. Good thing we ate because we did not make it back to the city till 4:00.
Resting up in our room. Spoke with Paula and have changed our plans in Medellin to include the graffiti tour. She is a wonder. he plan for dinner is to walk down the street to a small local restaurant. Tomorrow we do the cooking class and market. I should also mention that Daniel from Impulse Travel is coming along with us to shoot a video for a new promotion for the agency. Make-Up!!!!
Walked down to the False Door for dinner. Shared a traditional Colombian dish, ajiaco, basically chicken and potato soup. Yes we broke the veggie thing for traditional. Very tasty and very filling. Plus the whole dinner cost about $12 for the two of us. After we ate, we took a leisurely stroll down through Bolivar Square and captured some of the street food vendors. I also could not help trying another local favorite, canalazo. Canelazo is a popular and strong Colombian drink that is a perfect end to any meal. It’s made from agua de panela, cinnamon and aguardiente, an anise flavored liquor which translates to “fire water” in English and lime juice.
Settling in for an early night. Buenos noches.
Next time... Tropical Abundance Tour (I promise)
The Lagoon does look pristine..does your soul feel cleansed?
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of cable car lights