Anyone that tells you not to go to Colombia has probably never been there themself. Unfortunately, due to it's somewhat dicey reputation and history, Colombia does not see too many US tourists. But, the drug war and guerrilla side of Colombia you may have heard about is no longer prevalent and Adam and I are happy to report that after three weeks here, we are safe and healthy and have been pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this country. In fact, I might even go out on a ledge and say it ranks as one of our favorite countries thus far. We spent the last week in the capital city of Bogota, where we meandered through some excellent museums, took a cable car to a city overlook, and toured an underground salt cathedral (yes, I did lick the walls when no one was looking). But one of the best tours we did had to be a bicycle tour around the city. Even though this was a true offroad and life appreciating experience, we found the history and sites of the city to be fascinating. So much so, that we'd like to share some of the stops along the way.

The Market:
As a major "foodie" this was one of my favorite stops on the tour. Here our guide pulled out a knife and began chopping open unfamiliar fruits for us to try. Although many of the fruits were somewhat mucusy with had hard seeds to crunch through (Adam described them as "sunflower seed boogers"), their sweet tastes often made up for their strange consistency.

Natural Viagra:
We're not sure if there's something about us, but our tour guide decided to make an impromtu stop at a hole-in-the-wall place that boasts the best drink for your brain and your love life. If you were to create a drink for both of these things, what would you put in it? Fruit? Perhaps. Milk? Sure. Liquor? That often helps people with their love lives. How about live river crabs? Well, we're not really sure if this helps with the brain or love life part, but one definitely went into the blendor with the above ingredients and was blended into the mixture. In my opinion, besides the graniness of the mixture (undoubtebly due to our former crab friend), the drink wasn't half bad and and had a chocalatey aftertaste. Adam on the other hand thought it tasted like "stinky cheese" or "feet."

Cemetery:
Perhaps you wouldn't put a cemetary as the highlight of a city tour, but our stop at the Bogota cemetary was quite interesting. This was a cemetary where plots are rented, rather than owned. Each newcomer has four years to be buried in the city limits before they are dug up and transferred elsewhere. That is, with the exception of presidents and public servants who receive prime real estate in the gated area of the cemetary and are allowed to stay. The constant flux in tenants keeps gravestone engravers and grave transferers busy. If I were to pick between the two as my next career move, I'd pick the former, rather than the latter.

University Life:
Students in Colombia are aware, active and passionate about political issues. This was made clear simply by riding around campus. The University has become the students' canvas, as graffitti decorated most buildings. Prominent figures included the Latin American icon Che Guevara and Uncle Sam. Although graffitti is not condoned on campus, little is done to stop it, as was evident by students on scaffolding painting new art during our afternoon visit. In fact, we were informed that the University does not paint over existing graffitti because the students would simply be thankful for the new canvas.

Lessons learned from the tour

*Don't be afraid to try new foods, even if they taste like mucus or have legs.
*Run for government, it may not only allow you to permanently reside within the city limits, but also on the walls of university buildings.