Finally...a honeymoon!

I am so far behind on updates, I don't even know where to begin. Since the wedding, Matt's baseball league was canceled due to the terrible weather the country has been having. Lots of landslides had doubled travel time for teams and rain delays were a regular occurrence. So, the last game was on December 7th, and we've been traveling around since (finally together!).

We actually took our real honeymoon. The house in Villa de Leyva was our destination, but this time it was just the two of us for 5 days and couldn't have been better. We spent a lot of time in town shopping in the plaza, eating in tasty restaurants, and people watching. Occasional rain stopped us from going back to the waterfalls to repel, so we rented a couple of bikes and rode over 20 km in one day...the last 3 of 4 hours Matt spent riding on a flat on hilly dirt roads. Ouch!

 

Despite the flat tire and sore bodies, the day was worth it. An ostrich farm was our first destination where Matt was able to feed an ostrich, and  we were able to eat one! Ostrich chorizo = YUM! 

After eating some ostrich we headed to El Fosil. The area in which Villa de Leyva is located was once in the ocean, so there are several fossils to be found in the valley. In the VERY TINY museum, you can see a VERY LARGE fossil of a sea creature, the Kronosaurus. Even though it took 5-10 min to go through the entire museum, it was worth the 4,000 pesos to catch a glimpse of this guy.

After seeing ancient sea creatures, we headed to Infiernito, an archaeological site of the pre-columbian Muisca with upright standing stones and burial grounds. In one area, there are 2 lines of stones believed to be used for astronomical observation. Throughout the rest of the park are phallic stones.

Who knows what Matt and I were thinking after our sore butts from bike riding all day, but the next morning we got up and went for a 2 1/2 hour horseback ride. It was amazing, and my horse was much calmer this time. We even had some fun galloping. Our guide took us up into the hills to see views of the city, and we stopped at a small restaurant (aka some lady's house) for a beer while the horses took a little break. The morning was gorgeous, and we even have a little souvenir from Matt's horse. He kicked off his shoe at the end of the ride!

I miss Villa de Leyva so much more now and can't wait to go back!

Waterfalls, Horses, & Weddings...OH MY!

It's been a BUSY week, and probably one of the best I've had here so far. I don't even know where to begin. Last week, I spent 3 glorious days at Matt's aunt's house in Villa de Leyva. She's currently living in Lebanon but is so nice to let the family use the house. Thanks, Pilar! I spent my time there with much of the family. I knew the minute we drove over the mountain and saw the valley below that I would love this small town. It's pretty enough for a postcard, laid back, and the most relaxing place I've been in a long time.

I left Bogota at 5am by bus with Tia Ligia and Tia Myriam. I was exhausted, but it was worth it when we got there. We arrived with breakfast already made by the couple who takes care of the house. Mmmm...what a start. Not only was the food amazing all week, but every place I turned in the house and the town evoked a "WOW" from my lips. I want to live here!

The second day there, the family went on a very long and beautiful hike full of amazing views, steep trails, waterfalls, and crossing rivers. This was intense! Dean & I rappelled down one of the waterfalls. The height didn't bother me, but the full force of the waterfall was frightening. The rocks were so slippery. However, it was exciting! I was so proud of myself when I finally made it to the bottom. I don't have pics of my rappelling on my camera, so I'll post more about that experience when I get pics from the family. In the meantime, here are some images from our hike.

The last day we were in town, we started our with a 9am horseback ride for 2 hours to a beautiful spot with pools of salt water. I haven't ridden a horse in 26 years, and even then someone was walking the horse for me being as I was 5 yrs old! I chose my horse, and little did I know what I was in for. I had the Type A horse for sure. His name was Tornado, and he just HAD to be in the front of the pack...which meant more galloping than I was prepared for. I laughed the whole time though. He also had to eat every 5 min, so there were abrupt stops when he eyed a delicious weed or tall sprig of grass. He jumped down a hill, and I almost thought I was going to fall off the side. Despite all of this and the sore body the next day, I loved it! Let's do it again!

After Villa de Leyva, I came back to get ready for none other than wedding # 2! (on a side note, I also came back to a beautiful bouquet of white roses on my night stand...big smooches to my amazing husband!). The morning of the wedding there was a ton of rain. Surprise! I thought it would clear up, the wedding wasn't until 7pm. Well, it got worse. Matt had a game that morning that ended up being canceled. At 2pm I left to go to Matt's cousin's house where she was in charge of getting me ready. 4 hours in a Colombian hair salon was quite the experience. I pretty much had no clue what was being done to me in this tiny room full of people, but I had a lot of fun with the family while there! After hair, nails, and makeup were done, Sonia rushed me to her house where I threw on my dress, veil, shoes, and jewelry in about 5 min. Bad news: the dress was too tight! I've eaten way too much good food since being here. I didn't even eat lunch that day because I was afraid that would happen! Let's just say 5-7 arepas each time I have them probably isn't the best idea. It made for a very uncomfortable dress that left red marks on my rib cage later. However, after a 20 min speed race across this giant city to get to the church on time and seeing how happy everyone was, I forgot about that tight dress pretty quickly. Matt had it easy that day. After his canceled game all he had to do was get a haircut and then be at his aunt's house by 5pm. Lucky! The wedding was beautiful, fun, and it really meant a lot to be able to share it with Matt's family (especially Adriana and Dean, our co-novios).

This night was a blast! We were partying until 3am, danced the night away with everyone, and constantly laughed. I even learned a song in Spanish to sing along with as a surprise to Matt. Thanks to Iony for teaching me! I was also told the family was impressed with how much I danced that night. They say I am now Colombiana and definitely an Ariza! No mas gringa!

La Cena de Accion de Gracias

So, many of you know that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. In fact, any holiday involving food is one of my favorites. So, the thought had crossed my mind that coming to Colombia for 3 months would mean no Thanksgiving this year...well, I was wrong! I was pleasantly surprised to find out Matt's family was going to host a Thanksgiving dinner for us and for Adriana and her husband as there would be 4 American visitors that day. YAY!!!

When they first told me about this, I agreed to make a pecan pie. Well, that was a flop. Not only could I not find all of the ingredients, pecans were $24 a pint! TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS!! WHAT?! I know they are imported, but that is craziness. So, I thought maybe I would make a cake (Keep in mind that I would need to borrow a kitchen and had very little time, so a cake from scratch was not possible). I finally found cake mix, but there was no icing anywhere...nada. Chocolate cake without icing? I'm going to say no.

My next thought was to head to the bakery section and buy something already made. I saw one pie. I had no idea what it was. I hadn't yet learned the translation of pie agraz. Whatever, it looked fruity on top...probably a safe bet. So, I bought it. It hadn't occurred to me that it might not taste very good until I brought it home to Matt and he asked me if I even knew what I had purchased. I laughed it off, but he was right. What if it was terrible? We looked up the translation for agraz, and it is the juice of unripe grapes. Hmmm....unripe grapes? We weren't so sure about this.

We finally made it to dinner, which was great! The turkey was perfect, the sides were delicious, and the company was so much fun. Most of Matt's family in Colombia were there. The house was full of laughter, singing, and dancing. Adriana explained to the family why Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US, and then we enjoyed our feast.

Then came the pie. For some reason, I was given the first piece. Matt looked at me with this "let's hope it's good" face as I took a bite. You can see my surprise when I discovered it wasn't bad at all...in fact, it was delicious! Whew...potential embarrassment averted.

So, what am I thankful for this year? A husband who makes me laugh everyday, all of the old and new members of my amazing family, the best friends a girl could ask for, the love of trying new things (like living in another country) that Matt and I share, AND that Pie Agraz is so tasty! THANK YOU!

What a Weekend!

Well, this past weekend was probably one of the busiest I've had in Bogota yet...and it was so much fun! Matt was away on another road trip, so I spent the weekend with his family again. It started off with a great surprise: Matt's cousin, Paola, and her husband and daughter came to visit from Florida! I always love hanging out with them and really enjoyed getting to spend more time with them. Friday night, we went out with several other cousins to a Mexican Mariachi bar. This was by far the best mariachi I've seen yet. Check out the video.

After a long night and sleeping in Felipe's living room floor (something I haven't done in ages and am way too old for), I had to get ready for another fiesta. Most of the family met up at Sonia's house for Felipe's birthday party. It was loud, full of food, and amazing fun!

Some of the Ariza ladies

Sunday was a good lazy day after church at Ligia's house, and then back to the hotel I went to await Matt's return. You would think 8 days would be nothing for us since he's gone for entire US baseball seasons, but it's funny how quickly I get used to seeing him everyday. When he arrived Monday we made a long awaited trip to Monserrate! We've been waiting for a day clear enough to go there for the entire month we've been here. The view was amazing, and it was definitely worth the wait.

Not even half of our home away from home

We had a VERY steep ride up the cable car.

 

 

 

Monserrate with some Christmas decorations

Our Latest Adventure

Matt and I recently had a fun few days. Aside from a few wins for the Aguilas and my designation as the official "chaperone" for visiting American wives and girlfriends, we did get a whole day of exploring without interruption! We slept in a bit, then headed to a soup restaurant for lunch which I've been dying to try for almost a month...only to find it didn't serve lunch for another 1/2 hour. No worries, we'll just head to our destination and find something to eat close by.

So, we headed to the area of town where Museo Nacional is located. In our search for food, we realized it was a holiday. Restaurant after restaurant was closed. We finally found a little cafe where we had coffee and some cheesy bread. Not quite lunch...fail. Then we go to Museo Nacional to find it was closed! EPIC FAIL. I didn't bother checking the schedule before heading out there. At least we got a pic.

 

Have no fear! We'll find our adventure yet. So, we wandered around and finally found Mercado de las Pulgas, a market Matt's mom suggested we visit where you can find anything from ethnic crafts to antiques. Aside from the rain and no umbrella, it rocked! We zigzagged through booths more than once before finally deciding on a treasure that wouldn't be too much trouble to bring back to the states: a 50-60 year old Bavaria Bogota beer crate. This thing could be used for a lot, but I think we'll plant herbs or something in it.

After the treasure hunt, we decided to keep strolling and actually made it to the old part of the city again. We decided to try this restaurant which had a sign outside that translated to "Best Ajiaco in the World"....well, if it's the best we had to try it! We went inside the crowded tiny restaurant, mouths watering over the pictures of food on the wall, and finally sat down to eat. We go to order and get this: NO AJIACO LEFT! WHAT?! None? Well, what else did they have? They were out of everything but spaghetti, tamales, and sancocho (another typical soup of the area). Well, we settled for the sancocho, which really was pretty delicious as well. I love how the soups here all come with a plate of rice and avocado. So, I guess it wasn't a failed dinner. You better believe I am going back later to try the ajiaco though!

Next we decide to go visit a church/museum nearby...guess what...CLOSED. Then, we decide to check out another market we passed on our way to dinner...only to find it was nothing but used books. The entire market was used books. Not what we had in mind. 

I have to admit that despite continuous obstacles to our plans, the day was a lot of fun. I love just walking around with Matt and seeing what might happen. That's just like us...no plans and things always seem to work out no matter what. Oh, and we finally bought an umbrella!

Free Exhibits Rock!

Matt hunting for a treasure

Yesterday, Matt and I had another great day of sightseeing. We headed to the old part of the city again to hunt down some treasures at Pasaje Rivas, one of the oldest markets in the city, and then see some of Fernando Botero's works at Museo Botero. The market was full of baskets, kitchenware, bags, hammocks, jewlery, and all things kitchy for the tourists. All in all, it was interesting. We did find a treasure...some bowls for all the ajiaco we plan to make when we return home.

After dodging the rain by ducking into some more shops and getting coffee from a guy on the sidewalk dressed like an exterminator, we headed over to Museo Botero. The building was beautiful and so was the art. I am more a fan of Botero's sculptures than his paintings, but all of it was definitely interesting to see. Part of the museum was also full of pieces donated by Botero himself: pieces by Picasso, Degas, Matisse, the list goes on and on. His collection was quite impressive.

Botero - Caminando Cerca al Rio

Botero - La Pareja

Cloudy view of the mountain from the courtyard of the museum

Looking into the museum's courtyard

After the Botero exhibits we walked through the building and discovered it was connected to another museum with more FREE exhibits! We saw a coin collection with various machines used to make Colombian pesos throughout the centuries. Then we headed into a general collection with several Colombian artists I had not heard of but enjoyed discovering. Then, we saw two temporary exhibits: Mexican Pop Art and works by Man Ray! The Mexican pop art might have been my favorite of the day.