Ezequiel left in a hurry. I ended up staying that night at a hostel, the Platypus in an older part of Bogota called, El Candelario. After meeting tons of amazing travelers from all over the world, once again, we hit the town. We walked through the winding narrow streets of El Calendario, drank some chicha, a traditional beer made of corn, strolled along the streets taking with 'hippies' who were selling their artesanias.
Next stop, Vily de Leyva. The bus from Bogota landed me in and the driver literally dropped me off on the side of the highway. From there I found a bus heading to the small town of V de L. Weird thing, on the bus there were 2 Argentina guys who I met in Northern Peru. We exchanged stories about of trips as we rode the bumpy small but to V de L. It is an amazingly quaint town known for its kite flying festival, and is also known as a hot getaway spot for Bogotanos.
I spent the next 4 days in this tiny quiet town getting to know some of the locals.
The German Wine Guy:
I found a map of the city and found the 'to-do-list'. I realized that I could walk to 3 of the places on this list, however it would take me a while. I began my walk, and didn't really trust the map, so I stopped and asked many people if I was going the right way. I ended up stopping at a 'Bodega' a Vineyard, and asked for directions. The old man with a peculiar Spanish accent, who looked like Santa, ended up inviting me for some wine and a little snack; I think he felt bad for me. He then offered to give me a tour of the 'hot spots' and we ended up spending the entire day together. HE took me to view dinosaur fossils, statues from the indigenous, a convent, and an ostrich farm. The ostrich farm was super interesting! The birds were so tall, big-eyed, and bizarre looking. I had never seen one up close. I did do a report in 3rd grade about them, and now I finally got to see them up close and personal! strange
The facts I learned..
-run at speeds of about 74 km/h
-Ostriches usually weigh from 200 to 285 lb
-bird has just two toes on each foot, resembling dinosaurs
-they are farmed for leather, meat, dusters, jewelry, and are also used for racing.
What a fact filled day! The German man, Don Paulino, ended up inviting me back to his home the next day for some more wine, a wine tour, and traditional German food. The bodega was huge, his family was kind, and the others on the tour were teachers from Bogotá, needless to say, it made for some great conversation!
The Sisters:
After trying to use the ATM with no success I asked two women near by if they could help. They ended up inquiring about my journey, and when they found out I was traveling alone, they invited me to stay with them at their cabin in the hills. To find out it would be a safe situation, I chatted with them for a while, and found out the reason they invited me into their home is because their other sister was warmly welcomed into the unites states a while back. What goes around comes around, right? The next two days the sisters introduced me to their 95 year old mother, who fascinated me with the stories of her life, introduced me to traditional foods, arepas, pamela, leche chocoatada. It was a great few days spent with 3 amazing women.
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