06.25.03

Museums and Ajiaco

Posted in Travels at 1:05 pm by Leopoldo

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Tuesday night we spent at Himelda’s apartment in Bogotá. The hide-a-bed was very uncomfortable but larger than Nicolas’ bed in Maite’s apartment and for the first time since we got here we had a chance to sleep in. There were no screaming kids at 5:30 AM, no drunks coming out of the bars at 2:00 AM, no dogs barking through the night. What is even better, once we got up the maid had fresh orange juice, scrambled eggs and coffee (and with coffee I mean real Coffee with a capital C, not that brown water stuff you get around Portland that most people confuse with coffee) ready for us. We enjoyed a lazy morning after which we went out for a day in the city.

Sara, my dad and I took a taxi to my sister’s were we had lunch with Maite, Herman, Luz Clarisa [1], Laura Camila[2], Maria Elvira[3], Nicolas and Catalina. It was a madhouse of people coming, going, answering the telephone, receiving deliveries and at times eating.

After lunch Laura Camila walked my Dad, Sara and I most of the way to the Botero collection in downtown Bogotá. The exhibit was truly impressive. I honestly do not like the art of Botero (though I am not sure I should say that out loud or they might kick me out off the country) though he did have some sculpture that appealed to me (specially one of a cat). What was truly impressive is the other art that Botero has collected and put up on exhibit. There were a number of Picasso, Degas, Monet, Dali and other recognized names in high art. It seems dangerous to keep so many classic pieces together in a country that is in the middle of a civil war, but cest la vie. The museum is located in a gorgeous colonial style house in the middle off the city. After walking through the exhibit we all shared a tinto in one of the house’s plazas then my father went back to my sister’s house for a siesta while Sara and I headed across the street for more art.

Across from the Botero exhibit is one of Bogotá’s largest libraries the Biblioteca Luis Angel Arrango, a huge public library with many interesting rooms full of books, music, diplay halls and three art galleries. On this day there was a photo exhibit, a modern art exhibit and an exhibit of Colombian classical painters. For some reason there was a heavy compliment of military outside the library including some special forces that patrolled the front with heavy bullet proof vests and an interesting assortment of weapons ranging from small shot guns to heavy machine guns. The contrast of so many students and scholars in the library doing research and enjoying Colombia’s cultural heritage to the ever present reminder of the ongoing war seemed oddly poetic.

From the library Sara and I walked down to Seventh Avenue and as Mavira[4] would say ‘hechamos un Septimazo’. La carrera septima (seventh avenue) is a very busy main drag in downtown Bogotá full of stores, street sellers and a lot of people. En route we stopped by a huge used book fair, watched the emerald sellers sell their wares on the black market at the corner of the seventh and Caracas avenue, found some awesome music collections at good prizes and browsed dozens of stores selling crafts of all sorts. Sara was able to buy a new leather wallet as a gift for her brother as well as some nice jewelry. We barely noticed in time that it was time to stop shopping and catch a taxi for the Ministry of Education.

At the ministry we met up with my dad and Himelda and I was able to browse the online Apple store for a new computer for Himelda. The store had exactly what she wants and at a good price, the trouble is with shipping it down to Bogotá. Apple has a number of stores that sell Macs in the city, but all at much higher prices than what you would pay in the USA. If you buy the computer in the US and bring it in you have to contend with the limits in luggage enforced by the airlines.

From the ministry we picked Nicolas up at home and then went on to the house of my cousin Clemencia who hosted us and most of the family of my aunt Maria Teresa for an Ajiaco[5] dinner. It was great to see the whole family again, especially in a more relaxed setting. One very frustrating thing about the dinner though was the desire to join in the various conversations taking place but not being able to due to the holes in my Spanish vocabulary. I could understand everything around me and was able to speak but had to constantly stop and think of words or occasionally ask for translation from one of the bilinguals in the crowd.

[1] = German’s niece
[2] = German’s daughter
[3] = A good friend of my mom and dad for many years. Her daughter Beatriz was almost the third child in our family for all the time she spent with us.
[4] = Mavira is short for Maria Elvira
[5] = Ajiaco is a traditional stew made with chicken and potatoes that is absolutely delicious and had definitely been missing from my sampling of Colombian food during the trip.

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