Just a few days after an attack on a police academy that killed over 20 people, we arrived in Bogota. Shortly after checking into our hotel, Julis's cousin picked us up for lunch. In the evening, I met her grandma, uncle, and their family. Juli's siblings were also there, so grandma was able to enjoy having all her grandchildren at the same table. By the way, the Colombians were very relaxed about the attack. They are used to it and simply ignore it, being happy. 🤷🏼♂️
So, yes, our stay was once again all about family. But mainly, I continued with my Spanish lessons in the mornings and explored the city in the afternoons. The graffiti tour was particularly interesting, especially because the guide personally knew most of the artists and had a lot to say about the motifs and techniques. The anecdotes about graffiti evolving from a crime to tolerance are dramatic and incredible.
In 2011, a 16-year-old was shot by the police while fleeing, weapons were planted on him, and the perpetrators were never held accountable. And then in 2013, a certain Canadian pop star (let's call him Justin B.) came to the city, considering himself a street artist, and he was allowed to spray a wall under police protection (!). 🙈 He quickly gained an audience, and the scene organized themselves to spray over the questionable graffiti the next day. Since then, the relationship has relaxed and laws have been loosened.
In addition, we visited the Gold Museum and the small mountain of Monserrate, but even from there, we could only imagine the extent of this gigantic 10-million city and not oversee it. On the last day, we took a trip to the nearby Zipaquirá, where we visited La Catedral De Sal (Salt Cathedral) in a salt mine. Well... nice architecture and pretty cool lighting, you can get an idea of hell there. 😃
It is also worth mentioning my favorite Colombian food, "Ajiaco", a yellow soup with 3 different types of potatoes, chicken, capers, avocado, and rice. Yammi Yammi!!!
