Parents and Administration

Colombia is an enigmatic country; it finds itself on the cusp of newly acquired affluence, a growing middle class, increased security and yet struggles with a violent reputation around the world, a reduced but continuing and ever present guerilla insurgency, and interregional conflicts with neighbors - then there is the drug trade which is like a parasitic tumor on Colombian society. All this, along with amazing natural beauty and diversity and an almost-too-nice populace combines to make Colombia a place unequalled (for better or worse) in South America.

Fortunately, I was able to share a small part of the enigma with my parents. Unfortunately, with the time limits and distances between places of interest we didn’t make it that far a field. Still, after Bogotá we found ourselves in Villa de Leyva – a classic colonial town – and happened to arrive in the middle of a large local week-long festival followed by the 200th anniversary of Colombian independence. Both turned out to be semi-bizarre celebrations. Probably the highlight for me was fossicking in the arid regions around town and scoring a handful of ammonite fossils. We ended our little family reunion with a visit to a massive Catholic cathedral carved out of a gigantic salt mine – bloody thing even included all the Stations of the Cross.

In Villa de Leyva with a Colombian couple we met

So, here I am ensconced in this enigmatic country…and I have to say that I am fully enjoying it at the moment. Still abiding in Bogotá, I have begun a somewhat administrative period of my travels. I’m in the process of half-heartingly applying for English language teaching jobs (I wouldn’t mind staying here to work, but not sure I want to commit to a year…plus I’m inherently lazy) while also (more seriously) putting some applications together for jobs in the States. When all is said and done I guess I’m not crazy about living in Bogotá, so I reckon I’ll find myself on a bus to Medellin sometime this week, hopefully traveling with a Peruvian girl that I met here in Bogotá. Maybe the city of ‘eternal spring’ will show me another side to this enigma.