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Back at altitude with attitude again but I must be getting acclimatised. Great Bogota. Home to Bolivar’s greatest and lowest moments and still alive with a sense of history, passionate, proud and over populated with beggars.
A little scene setting, this morning I took off the damaged panier, you might remember from the dog crash ep, I took it over the road to a small ferreteria (hardware) and told them I needed to fix it….did they have drill, hinges, rivets etc, within 5 mins the boy, the boss and 2 passing bike riders had accumulated tools, bits and pieces, sent the boy off to buy bits, pushed me, gently, aside, after 3 hours, all panel beaten, new hinge and back on bike…we chatted for a while about the bike, the trip, life, the universe and everything…then I asked how much and they all backed off saying nada nada, I couldn’t even buy them a 6 pack and I’m still wondering how to repay this extraordinary generosity…and it’s everywhere in Colombia, people go out of their way to ask if I need help or directions just walking down the street, amazing…however, not far from my friendly ferreteria a few months ago, one
Fred and Sandy's Appartmentof the teachers caught a cab home from the shopping centre, the cab stops out on the road and 2 guys get in, stick a gun in his guts, work him over and he sits like this for a couple of hours as one takes his card and cleans out his bank account, then he’s dumped out on the autopista….others have been robbed, assaulted and etc, public and private security everywhere, armoured cars pull up and serious guys with pump action shotties, side arms, RPGs probably, dash into even very small stores to take the daily or weekly cash to the bank…all serves to remind that in this over friendly, sophisticated, modern city, really bad things are …how close?..just a shot away?

BOGOTA, BLOGOTA, BLOG TA TA

Bill Shum
2006-08-21 17:19:29

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how much I missed BA, this was a huge nostalgia trip, reminded again how much I miss BA when the bill came…about twice the cost here!

Well, it’s a few days later, Monday in fact, easter’s over here but a few of you will still be enjoying the break, sort of weird here, no chocolate eggs, or rabbits, and no freaking hot X buns….but, last night, something out of the deep, inscrutable nostalgia-homesick department, home cooked roast leg of lamb, gravy, all the roast veges, I even made the mint sauce, how could this be? I have stumbled onto an ex-pat teaching crowd courtesy of mutual friends in far off frogland,

Another lapse, disculpeme, it’s back to the start and I’ve just booked a tic to Panama for next Thursday 27th? So I’ll take the bike to the airport Wed and the gorgeous Carolina will do the paperwork and have it in Panama Thurs morning…hehehe…yeah right! But I’m conf it will work out.

So, back a couple of steps, friends of friends, I’m staying out in the burbs with Sandy and Fred, teachers here in Boggers, as the locals call it, 4th floor, split level apartment, huge, Oz garden on the balcony, heath, kangaroo paws, wattle and much more, soo fantastic to be in a “home” after nearly 10 months, the aforementioned roast lamb with everything, a 3kg leg was about 20USD but steak meat is cheap and excellent, Monday I went out and rounded up the ‘gredients and made a lasagna, fark, over baked the top but hey, it was real!….beer gets delivered, and quite frequently, 15USD for 30 stubby crate, nice red for 5 USD and upwards. Sandy is from Melbourne, Fred from Canadia, he teaches IT and Sandy Maths, and I’ve been introduced to several of their friends, quite a fantastic little ex-pat community, aussies, poms, seppos but all such long-time OS workers that they are the true internationalists, but the topics of conversation, deteriorating rapidly with the mojitos, beers and wines, are the same as teachers everywhere!

OK, enough for now, this is a wonderful country, I’m getting to like it very much, don’t ask me about the rest, more for the sealed section…whoo hoo…

OK, a quick updato...went away for the weekend with S&F and a few other teachers,, well Sat/Sun to
an old spanish farm/fort about 200 kms away, fabulous old building, massive gates for coaches and people on horseback to enter, log beam ceilings, fireplaces and a swimming pool of thermal heated water...far out!...altho' the tucker was disappointing in the restaurant we had a relax, lolling in the pool and drinking red wines...the bike loved the outing, the new tyres holding well and all the seals holding, in fact, it was like a new bike!!...talking of which, she goes in to the freight company tomorrow and I fly Thursday for Panama...more from there...