Colombia II – Bogotá and surroundings

Welcome to our second post about Colombia, officially, the happiest country in the world! …but also the biggest we have visited so far (more than Portugal, Spain and France put together!). This meant looong distances and overnight buses, the first of which took us to Barichara, “el pueblecito más lindo de Colombia” according to everyone.

According to us, one of the most alcoholic too, as they ferment almost everything: rice (millo), corn (chicha) – both have an interesting beer taste, creamy texture – and where they also mix goat’s milk with aguardiente (sabajón). Ok, other than sampling alcoholic drinks we also fell in love with the relaxed atmosphere, beautiful streets and hiked El Camino Real, a stone path connecting Barichara with Guane with magnificient views of the Valle del Río Juárez.

Valle del Río Juárez

To make Sabajón you’ll need: goat’s milk, sugar, brandy, eggs and cinnamon

Barichara is also very famous for its “hormigas culonas” (yes, fat-bottomed ants). They love them so much that they have dedicated sculptures and poems around the town. You can also buy them or, lucky us, sample them in the hostel where we stayed.

They sell nicely toasted fat-bottomed ants :)

Mmmmm… crunchy!

From a cosy town we moved to a vibrant city, Bogotá, where Nico and Diana Carolina were waiting for us (thanks guys & María Eugenia again!). With over 7 million people, Bogotá is one of the biggest cities we’ve ever been to. Safety is a concern but everyone finds ways to reduce risks. For example, no one would stop to give me directions (I think the beard scared the old ladies)…so Sal was in charge for directions this time. Also, taxis are rarely waved in the street but booked through smart phone apps. When jumping into the cab you have to make sure that the number plate matches the one from the booking and that you give your secret pin to the driver (safety works both ways).

Cathedral in Plaza Bolívar – La Candelaria

In Bogotá we really enjoyed the old colonial town called La Candelaria, filled with poems from Colombia’s best writer Gabriel García Márquez (100 Years of Solitude, Love in the time of cholera among others); Monserrate, a peak overlooking the vast city extension reached by cable cars and the Museo del Oro… shame on Spain and all the other countries that stole local patrimony from colonies!

It’s impossible to fit the entire city in one shot

Beautifully hand crafted gold ornaments from the pre-colonial town – Museo del Oro, Bogotá

Another highlight was Colombian food, where to start? I think we recovered all the weight we had lost in the previous 6 months in 1 week. The typical morning snack consists of a cocoa drink where you dip cheese…

Soups are hearty and fulfilling, like ajiaco, and chunchullo is the best crackling snack… just don’t think about the fact you’re eating deep fried intestines…

Ajiaco soup and refajo to drink (beer+colombiana soft drink)

Chunchullo

The national dish is Bandeja paisa (originally from Medellín area), a massive platter with avocado, banana, potatoes, corn, beans, rice, fried egg, chorizo and pork crackling, which made us laugh at the eating challenges from back home.

A great place to try all these dishes is Andrés Carnes de Res, a very popular restaurant divided into the 7 dantes levels of hell and heaven and continuously animated with live music and performances, so much fun!

Nico and Diana Carolina organised an awesome evening!

While in Bogotá we visited the neighbouring town of Zipaquirá (Sipa for the locals), home to the biggest underground salt cathedral – to be contrasted with our Polish friends -, a humongous salt mine where miners started by building a little chapel to ask for protection, but now homes a truly astonishing combination of arquitecture, light and salt, tonnes of salt.

Where’s Sally?

Finally, Nico & Diana Carolina took us for a weekend to Guasca, where Nico’s family has a dairy farm. We were the only travellers there and we couldn’t be happier to become farmhands for a weekend. Our duties consisted of potato picking to prepare tortilla española, dog hairdressing, cow feeding and milking.

Despite the potential indigestion, I fulfilled my long awaited desire to try freshly milked milk.

I could have drunk the entire day’s production

We spent the rest of the weekend remembering good old times, playing cards and putting up with Nico’s horrible imitation of the Spanish accent (vamozzzz tio, joderrr que pasha?). And when we couldn’t ask for more, we indulged ourselves into Nico’s signature dish, Lomo al trapo. Recipe in the photo captions below.

Lay an eye fillet on a kitchen cloth you don’t mind burning and a bed of thick salt. Cover it with more salt

Wrap it in the cloth and inject beer or red wine, at your taste

Toss it into the flames. 15min on one side, 5min on the other (adjust depending on the size of the eye fillet)

Crack the salt crust, carve and enjoy!

To sum up, the last 10 days in Bogotá recharged our batteries and let us enjoy the company of great friends who are like family. We sadly had to depart but were feeling excited as the next long bus would take us to the famous Eje Cafetero and for a catch up with more friends.

Until then, big hugs, Sal & Xavi.