At the US Embassy

While visiting friends in Bogota in August, another friend who was coming from Medellin for a long weekend said she was going to the U.S. Embassy while in Bogota to renew her visa. That triggered me to think about my situation & the close proximity to the US Embassy and its services. 

My US passport was due to expire in June 2013, which, yes, was nearly a year away, but I was also living in Cartagena. I was planning to leave Colombia for the December holidays and return via Peru; I would need to have a passport that was valid for at least 6 months upon entering Peru and I would not have that. Yes, I'd be in the U.S., near the nation's capital, for Christmas, but you need 8 weeks to get a passport processed; 2 weeks if you pay the expedited fee. I wasn't sure I was going to have that much time!

So...I went to the US Embassy in Bogota with Martha. For the past I don't know how many years, Colombians have needed tourist visas to travel to almost every country in the world (from what I understand it's because of the history of drug lords, etc; Colombians need special vetting as I'm sure other countries do too for other reasons). A lot of countries require visas, but few require them of U.S. citizens who are coming as tourists. We are lucky. For Colombians going to the U.S., they have to apply in person for their visa at the Embassy in Bogota (no matter where they live) and pay about $200 just for the application. If they are denied, they don't get that money back (& of course have already spent money to travel to Bogota if they don't live there). This is similar for people from other countries who have to apply for a U.S. tourist visa. For Colombians, the visas used to be valid for 5 years, but with the passage of the US-Colombian Free Trade Agreement in May, the tourist visas are now valid for 10 years (multiple entries allowed). A big boon for a lot of Colombians! 

Got myself a new one, with extra pages even!

At the embassy, Martha and I each went our separate ways, to different entrances of the complex. I had a 10:30 appt & was out by 11:15. When I finished, I asked for the rest room, and was led through a secured area and then out to the waiting area where the Colombians are waiting to talk to someone about their tourist visa. Wow, the U.S. citizens don't even have direct access to bathrooms at the U.S. Embassy while Colombians do? I thought we were so inconvenienced! And look, the Colombians get a nice cafe, a little restaurant, ice cream shop (Crepes & Waffles!). Nice! Little did I know....

Martha had an 11:00 appointment, for which she was told to get there by 10:30. When I finished, I went to find her and she hadn't even entered the security gate. I was in & out (& used the bathroom!! :) before she even got in. The Colombians were all lined up outside waiting ("Wait by the black fence")--had it been raining, which happens a lot in Bogota, they would have been soaked. Martha was finally done at 1 pm, 2.5 hours later. They all deserve that cafe and ice cream shop, and more!!

Happy Holidays!

In the depths of the Salt Cathedral

I am back in the U.S. for a brief holiday visit but was able to enjoy a few sunny days in Bogotá before leaving!

I visited the Catedral de Sal (yes--salt!) in Zipaquirá, a 40 minute bus ride north of Bogotá. The town is kind of a smaller version of Villa de Leyva with a nice main plaza. Salt has been mined here since the 5th century BC and early miners had carved out a sanctuary as a place to pray before starting work. That developed into a larger "cathedral" in the latter half of the 20th century which ultimately was closed for structural reasons in 1990. A new "cathedral" (it is a functioning church but not an official cathedral) was built 200 feet below the old one, is 200 meters underground, and opened in 1995.

TransMilenio buses bypassing traffic!

To get to the bus station for the bus to Zipaquirá and to get around Bogotá (on the rare occasion I wasn't walking!), I took the TransMilenio, a bus system that opened in 2000 with dedicated lanes allowing buses to zoom by the traffic-packed roads. Even with these dedicated lanes, it can take 45 minutes to go from northern Bogotá to the old part downtown, so you can imagine what it's like in a taxi or car to get around with traffic.

Bogota's Plaza de Bolivar with Montserrate in the background

The Cathedral of Bogotá and several government buildings surround the Plaza de Bolivar in the old part of the city; just south of the Plaza is the Presidential Palace, or the Casa de Nariño. When I was there, there was a group displaying photos of people who had been detained and or killed, the woman I spoke to said by the government for suspicious reasons, although I don't know anything else about this. There were also of course many Christmas displays, a large banner protesting the FARC (likely leftover from the previous week's peace march), and on a couple of the government buildings there was still graffiti and paint ball marks from student protests that had been held in October and November. It's a Plaza that tells a lot of stories!

Top of Montserrate with Nativity lights & view of the city.

I took the funicular up to the top of Montserrate, 3100m/10,000 ft above sea level, where there's a church as well as great views of Bogotá. It's well worth it and I was glad to have a clear day to finally take advantage, although I've been told it's impressive no matter what the weather. With more time, I'd take the hiking trail next time. Once at the top, not only is there the church but also various restaurants (some looking more dubious than others as you can see in some of my photos), shops and for Christmas, a great light display of huge Nativity figures.

Bogotá: Jorge, from Madrid, & I met in NYC in 1990!

Although not a fan of the traffic and (in general) weather of Bogotá, one of the great things about the city is that I have some good friends who live there (& then am getting to know their friends too!). Not just my Colombian friends Olga & Gustavo & their families, but several friends from Madrid who live there--some I have known since I studied there in 1982 and one who I know from my time at CIEE NY. Funny how you can travel to different countries and continents and find friends you've known for a long time and met in other parts of the world! (All of my Bogota photos are here.)

Now getting ready for Christmas with family...I'll be returning to Colombia to celebrate New Year's with friends in the "Coffee Triangle" (an area in the middle of the country where--guess what? they grow coffee!--and which has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site) where we'll be for a week. Then I'll be heading back to Cartagena--I've been offered an English teaching job at the "Centro Colombo Americano" & will start observing classes in early January before teaching my own starting in early February. Stay tuned for those adventures!

Happy Holidays!

Written in rainy Bogotá

Wandering the streets of Villa de Leyva

I've (temporarily!) left Cartagena and am currently in the capital city of Bogotá, an hour+ flight from Cartagena but by bus it would have been ~18 hours (yes, I flew). I spent a great weekend in a small colonial town about 3 hours north of here called Villa de Leyva where a friend's mother lives (she has a cute little house that's available for rent if anyone wants to spend a few restful days here; see photos of the place here among my photos of Villa de Leyva). This area was always very desert-like but, as in the rest of the country, for the past couple of years it's been raining more than usual and so is greener, wetter, & not as warm as it used to be, but, as you can see in these photos, still beautiful and relaxing!

Holding a sign with photos of kidnap victims at the March for Peace

As you may know, there's a rebel army in Colombia called the "FARC" (a Spanish acronym for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) which has been around for years, in theory fighting for the poor in Colombia. I won't get in to the politics or the history--way too complicated and I don't (yet?) understand it all--but in the past several years the FARC has been on the decline. One of the main ways they finance their efforts has been to kidnap wealthy citizens and hold them for ransom; they've also captured many police and soldiers to use them as a bargaining chip. In late November, four of the police/armed forces being held hostage were killed by the FARC when the army came across them. In response to the hostages being killed, social organizations here called for a country-wide (& later international) march for peace and freedom for hostages for December 6. I was able to participate in the march here in Bogota on Tuesday; there were many signs and banners showing photos and brief histories of those who have been kidnapped and are either still held or were killed. My photos are here and a good read with photos from another blog is here. People I've met here have had family members kidnapped; some were held for a few days, others for many months. I've read a couple of books written by hostages (3 US contractors and Ingrid Betancourt, former politician) who were held for 6 years in the Colombian jungles. It is difficult to imagine to say the least.

Noche de Velitas with Laura, Olga, Gustavo (via Skype!), Norell, me (& our photographer Angie!)

On a lighter note, last night the Christmas season officially started in Colombia with the "Noche de Velitas" or "Night of the Little Candles" on December 7 (the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8). Everyone lights little candles and carries them around, "plants" them in parks, in doorways, on the sidewalks, wherever. We wandered around the streets of Bogota admiring the candlelight and holiday lights on the streets and in the various parks, returning "home" to light our own candles!

My friend Olga has been making sure I get to taste all of the traditional Colombian foods, from the various types of arepas (a bread-like thick pancake stuffed with egg, cheese, or meat, etc) to the delicious main meals of stews, meats, rice, etc. The type of food served varies from region to region and there are often various versions of the same dishes. And yes, all have to be tried!

Eating well with Olga in Bogota!