Semana Santa, Part 1

This week held all sorts of excitement.  There's no way I'll get to it all tonight, but there's so much to tell and so many pretty pictures to show that I figured I should get rolling asap.

It all started last Saturday when I hopped on a plane and sailed above the rolling green carpet of Colombia to arrive in the capital city, Bogota.  Since I wasn't entirely sure how to get from the airport to the hostel where we'd be staying for the next 2.5 days, I watched a good number of buses zoom by before getting a general gist of which ones were headed in my direction.  Flagging down one, I asked the driver if he passed anywhere near where I wanted to go and got a perfunctory nod.  Well, this was bound to get me closer at least, and at 1400 pesos, rather than the 22,000 a taxi would run, I figured I couldn't go too wrong.

I was very excited to see what Bogota had to offer, but must admit I was rather turned off at first.  All the major city streets are entirely torn up at the moment, as the city is currently in the process of installing a bus system that more closely resembles a metro, with separate lanes running down then center of the highways and raised platforms with sliding glass doors sheltering the passengers.  Unfortunately, at the moment, this leaves a rather dusty and not so appealing first impression upon the eager traveler.  When we had to turn off the main road due to the construction, I began to get a little nervous as the streets narrowed, the graffiti got uglier and more pronounced, and we rolled through what was clearly not the best neighborhood in town.  Luckily none of that lasted very long, and we were soon cruising down bustling streets lined with wide walkways and markets of all varieties. 

As we turned in what I was sure was the wrong direction for where I wanted to be going, I looked around and realized I was the only person left on the bus.  Whoops.  I asked for directions again, got a slightly more articulate answer, and jumped off.  I was only about 15 blocks from my destination, according to my very rough calculations and rather hazy memory of google maps.  However, the city's laid out on a numerical grid, so it's pretty hard to get really lost, and the streets were full of people, so I decided I could handle a nice meandering stroll on the way to my destination.  This choice was well rewarded.

The hostel we had chosen is situated in the heart of the Candelaria district, which is also the historic core of the city.  As I wandered through the streets, I stumbled upon a book fair overflowing across a cobblestone, pedestrian only street.  Not long after I found myself amidst a jumble of stalls selling everything from toys to showers.  As a rounded another corner and picked up a snack of fresh mango, I was greeted by a magnificent square framed on all sides by spectacular buildings.  I later learned that this was the governmental and judicial square, but at the time I simply wandered into a beautiful plaza and watched the clouds pour down the mountain as children fed the birds and begged for llama rides.

Since the rain was clearly imminent, and I couldn't be more than 4 blocks from my destination, I slurped up the last of my mango and headed off.  I ended up taking the long way around, but was once again rewarded for my meanderings, this time by an impressive candy-striped church.

When I finally came upon the hostel, I was already in a state of awe.  This area of the city held so many beautiful buildings it was hard to take it all in at once.  On top of which, the streets rose steeply on these blocks, providing breathtaking vistas of the city below.

Once I'd checked into my hostel and dropped of my bag, I headed back out to see what other lovely surprises this new city might have to offer.

As I wandered about, awestruck by the tightly packed, but intensely individualized structures around me, I thought I heard the low beat of drums in the distance.  Not entirely sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, I weaved back and forth through the streets occasionally thinking I heard strange sounds, only to have them disappear around the next corner.  Suddenly, the sound was unmistakable, and a break in the street showed the edge of a large crowd.  As I stumbled closer, I was surprised to see men and women dressed in red and black leather, leaping about on stilts and doing their best to inspire devilish imaginings.

Apparently I had found my way into the theater district.  Once the performance was over, and the crowd dispersed, I discovered that the square where I was standing was also hosting an arts fair and happened to be the entrance to the 2 main cafe/bar streets, both of which were narrow cobblestone pathways, tightly jammed with revelers.

There is much, much more to tell, but alas, work begins again tomorrow morning, so that will have to be all for tonight.