Bogota (Colombia) - back for Xmas

In Colombia, the big Xmas event happens on Christmas Eve, where families get together to eat, drink and dance. I was lucky to spend the night with my friend's folks, all crammed into a small room in grandma's house. I was less lucky, or perhaps just stupid, to spend the night drinking a scary mix of beer, wine, rum, whisky and, of course, aguardiente. Before passing out, literally, I did show off my salsa skills, dancing with just about every female attendee, from a 2 year old to grannie herself. Who strangely was dressed as a man. Odd.

On my last day in Bogota, I did manage to tick off one attraction that had eluded me in my previous 3 months: the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, a huge complex of libraries, theatres, museums and other cultural institutions and I do not know how I missed it first time around. Yet more fantastic works from Botero himself, along with a smattering of minor works from European masters, displays on the history of money in Colombia and a collection of Latin American contemperory works, make for a good few hours of wandering. More amazingly my Colombian girl had not even heard of it, after living in Bogota for 25 years.

Pereira (Colombia) - coffee zone

Nestled in the centre of Colombia is the zona cafetera, a rich landscape of rolling hills, green pastures and, of course, coffee plantations. I spent a couple of nights in Pereira, a city in the centre of this region, although it offered little more than another parque central and more riverside lights. That said, the streets themselves were entertainment. Being one day before Xmas, they were full of people, vendors, musicians, lights and frantic last minute present buyers, of which I was one.

As in Medellin, I found the people here remarkably friendly. The owner of the hotel where I was staying took me on an afternoon trip to his farm in the countryside, where we drank coffee, met the locals and enjoyed the view. On the way, we stopped off at his mum's house for a seasonal lunch with his family of 20 or more. After just two nights, it was time to take another long bus ride to Bogota for my own family Xmas.

Medellin (Colombia) - city of eternal spring

Famed during the 90's for drug trafficking (it was the centre of action for Pablo Escobar's crew), the kidnapping of foreigners and violent clashes between rebels and paramilitaries, I can't think of a global city less fitting its reputation. Then again, I have never visited Tehran which is supposed to be beautiful.

Medellin has a perfect climate (always around 27 degrees and sunny), is nestled in a beautiful green valley and is a bustling, cosmopolitan city with cultural institutions everywhere. It is served by an excellent metro and is surrounded by quaint villages and exquisite countryside. Yet, most people would think you are mad coming here for a holiday.

On the only day I have really explored extensively, I took a cable car ride up the side of the valley. The ride is part of the metro system - so only costs 70c - and the view is excellent. It culminates in a 'library park' (to translate it directly) which are all around the city. This one feature an intriguing looking building housing a great modern libary in the heart of a pretty poor neighbourhood. Worthy stuff. I also found time for the art-deco styled Museo de Antioquia, which devotes a whole floor the their local hero, Fernando Botero. At first I wasn't keen on his style (basically caricatures of people made to look chubby), but after viewing them close up, in their 12 or 14 foot glory, I came away quite impressed.

The local antioquians are proud of their region and are embarassingly friendly and helpful. I have been lucky enough to live with a paisa couple for a week, meet their friends and try the local dishes. Bandeja Paisa is arguably the least healthy plate of food I have ever seen, but the perfect hangover cure. An assortment of meats (including a rib of chicharron - pork crackling - as long as my arm), fried eggs, fried platano, fried rice and refried beans. A heart-attack on one plate.

Villa de Leyva (Colombia) - step back in time

Heading to Villa de Leyva soon became a 'must do' after being told by everyone in Bogota not to miss this nearby treasure. Indeed it is a beautiful place. Almost all the buildings in the old centre are 400 years old or more and are surrounded by rolling hills. The huge main plaza is difficult to appreciate in photos and is particularly exquisite, in a mysteriously dark way, at night. It defies belief why a village of this size has such a massive central square, easily the same size as its equivalent in Bogota. I guess 500 years ago no one knew that one would become a bustling capital of 10 million people and the other would be frozen in time - to the benefit of the weekenders like me. We also managed to fit in a trip to Raquira, a tiny local artesan and craft centre. Here, perhaps foolishly, I bought a set of traditional dessert bowls, in a classically Colombian yellow. How I will get them home, I do not know.

All in all, it is only a shame I did not have longer in this tranquil part Colombia. Promises of a journey time of two hours did not materialise. More like double that, each way, in the end. Will I ever return? Well, who knows.

Zipaquira (Colombia) - salt and the lord

In a small town, only 30 minutes north of Bogota, lies the self-proclaimed 'number one marvel' in Colombia: the salt cathedral of Zipaquira. Not wanting to miss out, I took a weekend trip there and stayed one night, although it could easily be done as a day trip.

The cathedral itself is built in the already worked section of a collosal salt mine, the fourth biggest in the world if my understanding of the Spanish speaking guide was correct. After an hour queue to get in and wait for the tour (it was Sunday afterall), we walked along a dark tunnel down into the depths of the old mine. Religious statues and sculptures adorned the walls and eventually you arrive at the bottom on the mine where there are a serious of huge cathedral style caverns and seating for religious services. It was all pretty impressive stuff and it is a revered site for locals. But overall I was more interested in the engineering feat than the catholic iconography.

What else is there to see in Zipaquira? Well, not a lot. The usual Parque Central complete with a regular cathedral - though not one of the best examples - and a string of little shops. Otherwise, the big successes of the weekend were finding an excellent bbq meat restaurant and managing to teach my totally non-English speaking companion to play canasta. Not an easy feat.

Bogota (Colombia) - halloween, tango and risk

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.

Bogota (Colombia) - enterprise culture

After a few weeks wandering the streets of Bogota, you realise that enterprise culture is alive and well in this city, helped by a lack of overly-stringent rules and regulations.

Perhaps the most marked example is when you take a local bus journey (cramped, little mini-buses with drivers who handle the fares and their mobiles, whilst navigating the crazy streets) and are confronted by a myriad of entrepreneurs - a half dozen per trip. First they board, find a good place to stand and then they start their pitch: selling pens, books, sweets, tissues, cakes, bread and just about anything else. A common trick is to hand out a sample of product - to try or just to hold - and then to return to make the sale. Another is to offer no price, but rather ask for whatever you think is right. Both are pretty clever strategies when you think about it.

Everpresent in the streets are vendors selling all the day's necessities from their laps, pockets and bags. It is not uncommon to see someone stroll up and have a coffee (from a large thermos flask), make a mobile call, buy and smoke one cigarette and finish off with a couple of sweets. These stalls are even present on random, residential walls in the poshest of suburbs. I would love to try setting one up in Hampstead or Point Piper and see what happens. The thing is, they are bloody useful and do no harm at all.

Further evidence in my case was provided when, on a first date with a local, she described herself quite passionately as a 'capitalista'. She has grown up in a very working-class suburb, now has her own little jewellery stall and works 12 hours a day, six days a week. Impressive stuff.

Finally, you would be hard pushed to find a fan of Hugo Chavez in Colombia. He is universally hated and especially so when he popped over the Russia to buy a stack of medium range missiles. Go Hugo.

(Dedicated to Adam Meltz, capitalist extraordinaire and one of only three readers of this blog)