On Top of The World

Our last day in Bogota before jetting off to our host communities was spent admiring the city atop Monserrate, the 10,000-foot mountain near Bogota. The sweeping views were simply amazing! It was a joy to take in the panoramic views 3,152 meters above sea level!

*The church at the top of the mountain with a shrine devoted to El Señor Caído*

*The Stations of The Cross led the way to the church*

There were many people on the mountain. In addition to the church, there was a French-Colombian restaurant and a shopping area with souvenirs, food, and drinks.

The locals had told us about coca tea to help with altitude sickness. Luckily, I had not experienced any symptoms of altitude sickness, but I still bought some tea to try! The proprietor of the coca product shop gave us a free sample of another famous drink…aguardiente!

After our exploration/souvenir shopping time, we made our way to the French-Colombian restaurant. The food was absolutely divine! I also discovered that I really, really, really love limon de coco!

*I didn’t think I could love guava more until Colombia!*

After a hefty lunch, we went down the mountain back to Bogota for our last workshop before parting ways for our week at our host communities: Armenia, Bucaramanga, Dibulla, Monteria, Piedecuesta, and Villavicencio.

The session was a continuation of the first overview of Colombia. In this session, we deepened our learning on the history and political system of Colombia. We also learned about arts, music, and culture.

Just when we thought we were done, Yanilis surprised us (and Amelia who was celebrating her birthday) with a live band and dancers to make sure that we really understood the lesson on music and dance!

*Rebecca and I representing Los Angeles, CA*

After a vibrant last session with Yanilis, we received our flight schedules for the next day. Guess which group was the first one to fly out at 3:45 am? If you guessed my group, you guessed right

Bienvenidos a Villavicencio!

The School Visits Commence