Nemocon

Some friends suggested we visit the salt mines around Bogota. There is the famous “Salt Cathedral” which we are saving for when one of you comes to visit but for this trip we planned to go North of the Cathedral to another lesser know mine. Nemocon. This large mine is less touristy and as we found out, no English spoken there!

Fortunately our friends have a driver so none of us had to think about how to get there. Good thing as we turned off the main road and drove, and drove into the country on a beautiful, sunny day. The grassy fields were dotted with cows, the Sierra Nevada mountains rising in the background.

We drove into the little town of Nemocon and decided it was time to stretch our legs, explore a bit and find some lunch! A true colonial Colombian town, we were the only Gringos in sight. A grandpa walked up the cobble stone street holding the hand of his grandson. A peep in a window found an old woman with braids over her shoulders and a hat on her head, eating ajiaco (Colombian potato soup). We soaked it in, had a traditional lunch and walked up to the entrance of the mine.

Playing the “no hablo espanol” card (despite that the men in our group really are good speakers) we created a lot of clutter and purchased our tickets. We sorted out that we didn't want a Spanish speaking tour and no English guide was available. We waited a minute then decided to go in. No one stopped us. Later we realized we were supposed to wait for a tour, but “no hablo espanol”!

Having the mine to ourselves was quiet the adventure. This mine is the second largest in the country and has been in production for 400 years. It is still in use today.

Wandering in we suddenly came upon the “Magic Mirrors Chamber”. Long pools of water with antique street lamps bordering it looked like black glass reflecting the salt crystals above. Twenty-eight tanks of fresh water were used to dissolve the rock salt. I expected the Phantom with his ½ mask to come floating down the canal, his black cape billowing as he poled his gondola through the forgotten mine.

A small cathedral like area held a statue of Mary, and another area had a large heart carved out of salt.

Chad and the kids tasted the walls to verify that it was indeed salt!

We wandered the halls, seeing everything. Coming out into the sunlight we felt satisfied with the adventure of the day.

- Kris

USA vrs. Japan

It's early in the game. USA gains control of the ball. They work it up the field dribbling past the Japanese. The ball is center field. A fake to the right and quick pass to the left. Perfect set-up and the ball goes straight into the net. The crowd goes wild!

OK, the crowd consists of myself and my friend Karen. The team includes our husbands and Damon. The first game of the season for the embassy soccer league yields a 4-1 win over Japan.

The team is comprised of us Americans working in Bogota for the embassy and local hire Colombians.

Spanish words are being yelled around me. It's a great atmosphere and everyone is having fun. A great way to spend a Saturday morning!

- Kris

Tamale

I hear the cry in the distance coming closer. Peeking over the balcony I see the Tamale Woman walking down the street pulling her cart of goods. It's Sunday morning and the city is quiet except for her voice echoing between the buildings. Her voice is strong and clear. With a kind of musical intonation she cries “tamale, tamale, tamale” pauses then cries it again. In Hispanic countries this is a traditional way to announce your goods. In Spanish it's called “pregon” or “to hawk”.

She pauses, and looks around to see if anyone will come buy her tamales. Sometimes her little girl is walking with her, up and down the streets shouting out. On Sunday it is traditional for the man to take care of breakfast and sure enough, a man hustles out of a building and up to her. They barter for a moment then she reaches into her bag and pulls out a steaming bundle wrapped in green banana leaves. He tosses the tamale from hand to hand while he hustles away.

Each country seems to have a different formula for making their tamales. My favorite is a Mexican tamale. Colombian tamales are really not that good in my opinion. Inside the banana leaves a bland corn meal mush holds part of a chicken and some carrots. You never know if you will get the leg or thigh or if you are lucky a small breast. Like most Colombian food, the blandness just doesn't excite me. But hearing her voice call out every Sunday morning has become an expected nuance to my morning. She is faithful, she does not change, she is there.

- Kris

Maravillas del Mundo en Arena

Again, looking for “tastes from home”, I took the kids to see the Wonders of the World built out of sand. To be honest I was a bit skeptical. There isn't a beach around here so how good can these sand builders really be?

Over 40 sand artists from around the world came to Bogota for several months to carve blocks of sand into incredible art. The sand was brought from the River Sumapz in Colombia where the grains where determined to be the right consistency for carving. The sand was compacted with water under high pressure to create a block that would not fall apart. No chemicals or glue were used to hold the sand together. Some of the carvings are 26' high. In a few months when the exhibit is over the sand will be returned to the river from which it was taken.

4 large tents house the various carvings. They are divided by region of the world. Sights such as the Great Wall of China, Buda, the Great Barrier Reef, New York City Skyline and the Big Five animals of Africa are exhibited. It really is a wonder in and of itself to see these great sculptures brought to life in sand!

Nativity Scene

Taj Mahal

Great Barrier Reef

New York Sky Line

Great Barrier Reef

Walled Colombian city of Cartegena

Another city in Colombia

- Kris

A Day on the Ice

Sitting here at the computer warmed by the sun streaming through the window, I tend to forget that it is winter back home. Every year over Christmas break I come up with a list of things to keep us busy during the break. It was no different here, especially considering the kids got a full month off school.

One of the malls in town set-up an ice skating rink. Maddie especially loves ice skating. So one morning we hopped in a taxi and found the mall. After jumping through the hoops of “spend $50.00 in the mall and get your tickets for 1/8^th the price” the girls laced up their skates and headed onto the ice.

I loved sitting there for their hour watching them skate around passing neon-lit trees. Most of the kids out there didn't have a clue how to skate. What brought memories of a fun past-time from home is a new adventure for the kids around here.

- Kris

WARNING: horses are not as comfortable as they may look.

Yes, We rode horses. We were in Mexico, and riding horses on the beach sounded enjoyable. Mom, Maddie and Elena had already gone once and they could not seem to talk of anything else. The next time Elena and I went. I thought that I would try it, you never know, it could be fun. When we started we only walked, and that was fine, but when we began to trot, I realized why people sometimes complain about riding horses. It felt like your back was going to be broken into a thousand small pieces. Elena tried to give me some helpful horse insight, telling me I had to go up and down, and get the feel for the rhythm of the horse. This did not help. To avoid this pain I only galloped and walked. This was not the best first experience I have ever had. The second time I did not want to go, but mom thought I should go. You see, I do not enjoy intentionally inflicting pain on myself. Never the less I went. This time I had more fun. I stuck to my strategy of not trotting and that helped a lot. We galloped most of the time. I liked my horse, it was fast. When we turned around and started down the beach back towards where we began. My horse suddenly grew wings and began to fly. Not really, but he did start galloping a lot faster. Maddie and Elena who have been taking horse riding lessons, were left in the dust. My horse was so fast that I had to stop frequently to let them catch up. When we all arrived back at the tent they gave me a new horse, and told us to continue riding in the direction we were going. My new horse was slow and required a whip, which at first made him jump when I used it. Soon I got use to the whip and I could use it while galloping. My horse was again faster than the girls. Despite the blisters on my hands that are still healing, it was a lot of fun. I still don't like trotting though.

Waterfall

Another day spent in Panama brought us new experiences and more stories to tell. This time we headed out for a day with a Panamanian tribe that was still living like they did 100 years ago. We were picked up from a river bank by two men dressed in traditional clothes. They were both standing in a canoe, one at the back by a small motor, and the other in the front with a large stick. After we all got in they started up the motor and we went off at a surprising speed. The first place they took us off to was a waterfall, the canoe wound through a river, over rapids, rocks and more. Sometimes we had to get out of the boat and walk while the two men pulled the boat along. Finally we got to the waterfall and changed into our swimsuits. Dad and Damon headed straight for the waterfall, while Maddie and I were slower in the ice cold water. Mom sat on the side and watched. When we got to the waterfall it was blasting down on us making it hard to hear and see, but there were a couple places that we could sit under the constant flow of water! Maddie soon went back to dry off but Dad, Damon and I climbed up some rocks towards the top of the waterfall to see the small river leading to it. Slowly more tourists coming with different tribes started to arrive and crowd the place. After that we saw some guides from the tribes jumping off a huge rock down into the river. It looked like fun so Dad, Damon, and I went to go try it out also. After a couple times of doing it Dad decided to stay down while Damon and I took one last jump before leaving. While climbing up the rock it was slippery in some places and I took a wrong step. I fell down the side of the rock and caught myself just before it could get worse. I was lucky and only ended up with a few scratches and bruises. (I AMLOST DIED!) Luckily we had lots more fun in that day and I soon forgot about it.

-Elena