Treasures of Colombia – epilogue

Well, we made it there and back unscathed. Colombia has certainly moved on from the dangerous days of the past. The country’s biggest difficulty is getting this message across to the outside world. At no time did we feel under threat. We found all the people we came into contact with were really friendly and helpful. On one occasion when we were looking at a street map of Getsemani someone came up to us offering help. Between his Spanish and our English we managed to demonstrate that we were looking for ‘umbrella’ street. It was rather like a game of charades.

Concerns about altitude sickness were unwarranted. Despite our highest point being Bogotá at 8660ft and higher than Peru where we had suffered previously, we did not have any symptoms apart from slight shortness of breath on my part.

Speaking of high points, the mountainous landscapes and rolling hills were spectacular, as were the brightly painted houses along the way. The artwork on the outside of some of the buildings added to the ambiance (although the graffiti did not).

If I had to choose just one highlight I think it would be the terracotta house, the life’s work of Octavio Mendoza. This was not on the itinerary but was a change made because of a public holiday closure elsewhere. To think this house was built from clay and ‘fired’ in situ as the building developed, requiring specially built ovens covering each part, is incredible. The artist still lives there today and to open the house to the public is most generous.

But perhaps my most memorable experience was my decision to try out some Spanish. I have never studied Spanish, but after a few days had picked up buenos dias, si, no, por favor and muchas gracias. A week into the holiday we were in a hotel bar supping a glass of wine. I felt a little hungry and fancied some peanuts. The waiter was such a nice, mild mannered chap of about 60 years, always with a smile and keen to help.

Having mobile to hand I decided to search for the Spanish equivalent of ‘nuts’. I was just about to ask ‘Do you have… liendres’ when I realised I had written a typo meaning ‘Do you have nits?’ John and I were in fits of laughter and I tried again. ‘Do you have nuts?’ Up came the translation… I was just about to brave it for the second time when I scrolled down the screen a little further to find the offered term also meant ‘Do you have… balls or b*ll*cks?’ I shall let you work that one out.

My Spanish speaking quickly came to an end and I reverted to my charades interpretations. So here endeth another brilliant trip. Next will be a few days in New York. Until then, thank you all for joining us along the way. We will be back soon.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019