This gallery contains 33 photos.
One of the (undoubtedly many) reasons I tend to drive my friends slightly crazy is that I am maybe the world’s least reliable photographer. I’m not necessarily saying that I’m bad at taking pictures (although I certainly didn’t get the … Continue reading
Days: 13
Different airports: 4
Co-travelers: 4 — always 3 other people, but two switched off mid-vacation
Number of times I had to unpack my entire backpack so an unfriendly customs official could rummage through my undergarments and judge the number of earrings I bring on vacation: 1
Meals eaten at Mexican restaurants: 3
Meals eaten at pizza places: 2
Total number of avocados consumed: at least 7
Hikes: 4
Hikes on volcanoes: 1
Times I thought I might pass out for various reasons: 3
Times I actually did pass out: 0. Yay me!
Ziplines conquered: 13
Micheladas consumed: 5. More, if you want to count the 1-liter one as more than one beer (it was $5! I love Quito)
Buses taken: 11
Dollars spent at Otavalo market in Ecuador: UGH.
Steps climbed at La Piedra near Guatapé, Colombia: 670
2×1 happy hour cocktails purchased: 12
Cocktails that were actually good: 4
Unsuccessful attempts to find Pablo Escobar’s grave: 2
Cats at hostels: 4
Motochiva rides: 1
Number of eggs eaten: I can’t count this high
Fourth of July parties attended: 1
Success: total
More coherent, complete sentences and photos to follow!
Bright hammocks in Ráquira. I think it’s just about nap o’clock now…
Piggy banks in Ráquira, a town famous for its pottery and handcrafts, located a few hours outside of Bogotá
This gallery contains 42 photos.
You didn’t really think those were the only good photos I took all week, did you?
Nobody warned me the apocalypse was scheduled for today
So, it’s the beginning/end of yet another week here in sunny hailing Bogotá. Oh yeah. There are massive, intense hailstones smashing against my windows at this very moment. It’s only vaguely terrifying, really.
Hailstorms aside, though, it’s been a pretty good week. I still absolutely love the kids and (almost all) the teachers at my school. I feel like such a nerd, because I wake up in the morning and I’m actually excited to go to school, just because it’s so much fun being with all the kids. I don’t even mind waking up before 6 a.m. to do this, which is just as shocking to me as it undoubtedly is to those of you who have known me for more than a week. The thing about getting up early here, though, is that it’s not nearly as hard as it is at home. Since it’s so close to the equator, Bogotá gets about 12 hours of daylight pretty much year-round, which is glorious. It also means that the sun rises by 6 every day, so I get to walk to school in sunlight, rather than in horrible cold darkness, as it would be this time of year at home. So a point to Bogotá, there.
Which leads us to the chicken-or-egg issue of how early everything starts here. I don’t know whether it’s a result of the lovely constant daylight schedule or that it just happens to be convenient that the sidewalks are visible when everyone’s walking to work, but people get up outrageously early. The public transportation systems start running before 5 a.m., and they’re PACKED by 6:30. Like I said, my school starts at 7, but most teachers are there by 6:30 — this retroactively gives high-school me nightmares. And not only do people have to get up early just to get to work, but they need to give themselves extra time to get ready, because most Bogotanos don’t leave their houses unless they look perfect. One of the other volunteers lives with a woman who’s a cosmetologist, and she gets up at like 3 a.m. to go to women’s houses to get them ready for work. That’s right, ladies. Here in Bogotá, you’re supposed to get a blowout and your makeup done before you even head to the office. Guess I’m never going to fit in here.
