Make no mistake, Halloween is huge in Colombia and 31st October means only one thing... 'disfraz' (costume) time! The streets are absolutely jam packed full of people dressed up, drinking, dancing and generally being nuts. Plenty of vampires, cheerleaders, brides, angels, witches and pirates... but that is just the tip of the iceberg. I went for the surgeon option, largely because scrubs are deliberately low maintenance and easy to move around in - not to mention the natural excuse to talk to the many 'nurses' around town. It is also a long weekend - one of around 18 per year in this party country - so Sunday was another opportunity to have a beer or ten and explore. I visited a couple of towns to the north of Bogota amidst beautiful scenery, with one of my students (in his bullet proof car, with driver and bodyguard). In the small quaint village of Tabio, amongst the artesan stores and organic food shops, is a little gem of a bar/restaurant, built around the theme of tango dancing. The venue is even decorated to mimmick the dockland brothel district of Buenos Airies, the birthplace of tango, with various couples performing for the crowd. Apparently sailors who couldn't master the key moves were denied the chance to, ahem, use the services of the local ladies of the night.
To top off a great day, I went back to my student's family home for a lengthy game of Risk with his cousins, nephews and brothers. Beer and pizza was in good supply. By 3am I was pretty done for, but managed to lead the green armies to a triumphant victory. The British always had a knack for conquering the world.
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