This & That Around Town

Yesterday we went to a neighborhood of artesian shops. James felt ill and shopping is at the BOTTOM of things he likes to do anyway... but I still need to pick up a couple of things for friends before I return home, and we have yet to shop at all. So, the good news is that he is feeling much better today, and I did not spend all the money he took yesterday. The bad news is that I am right back where we started...needing to pick up a couple things. I did however, pick up something that I don't need and that was not on the list. Yes, some things never change.

Today, dia de la madre... was nice. The Stake presidency came to the ward and the president counseled the men to care for and bless their wives and families, reminding them the work of mothers is hard and eternally important. He also counseled the youth to obey and help their mothers. He mentioned not only the mothers of the 2000 stripling warriors, but the fathers and the covenants they had made.  We came home and suffered through beans & rice (one of my favorites) for Sunday dinner. (Yes, lamb was on sale last week!) Today is not much like I remember the 'Mother's Day' celebrations as a young mother-- very quiet.

We have such a variety of photos of happenings as we wander around town. This will definitely be a mixture... We'll start at our apartment in Chapinero.

It was so fun to have Carolina (the girl next door in our last apartment of 2010) come 

over for waffles. Her English is getting so good since she has a trilingual

sweetheart...we can only wish our Spanish was so improved.

It's always tempting to try something new... and the latest and greatest are cubillos. They look a little like carrots only white with purple indentations. I 'sort of' followed a recipe on the internet and they were great. We also learned that they stay crisp in soups. However it is unlikely I will be able to make it through customs with cubillos or papa criollas to plant, so we will just enjoy them here. 

Several birds visit us on the balcony... the eurasian doves frequent here often reminding us of Dad's patio in Logan. It is lovely to be able to step outside for breakfast or a sunset or just enjoy the fabulous flowers!

                

These workers are not doves.  They are preparing for a little painting on the apartment next door. This is the scenic view from our study window.

Benjamin (husband of our apartment manager) ended up staying for a long time waiting for the plumber to finish resetting the 2 toilets and 'fixing' the leaky sink... He came back the next day, fixed the 'even more leaky' sink himself, and waited for the plumber to come to redo one of the toilets. Workers are inexpensive and work hard, but not always smart. He was here long enough to talk religion and lament that many 'say' they are religious, but never go to church or live their religion and of course, learn a little more of the Book of Mormon. We enjoyed him very much... he has a telescope and introduced James to an internet star program.  He also invited us to come to the country to see his telescope in his house in Melgar, but we couldn't find a date that would work. The plan is for 'next time we come.' 

We were invited to dinner at the mission president's home.. so fun and delicious. She is a fabulous cook. Afterward Kay Lynn played and we all sang. That was our first realization that we had some 'real' singers in the group... 2 former members of the Tabernacle choir. We considered inviting them to help with a redo of the 'blog birthday songs'.

Joseph Smith was recently spotted in Primary at the Nogal ward. The sideburns were outstanding. I was amazed at how simply this costume was put together, being a old 'costume maven'. 












This 'Hollywood' star was performing on a bus. James said the performance was well worth a movie, but he didn't know in time to take one. One never knows about the bus performers. Some are very good. Most are just interesting.

James easily got permission to take a photo of this frequent sight directly across from a downtown university. We were nearby once before when bricks were being thrown, armored vehicles brought in, and tear gas bombs set off. ...And all we were trying to do was buy a few corbatas to liven up the wardrobe.  I lovingly refer to these outfits as stylin  'ninja turtle' skins.










Below are a couple of 'bus' photos without me in them, but thought you might like to see the nice wide sidewalks. Not wide for the crowds that walk there, but for the venders that take up half the space... You will see the walkways are not in perfect shape, although these are not the worst. The man standing next to us thought these photos were 'ridiculo' because he could just tell us which bus to take.

This last great photo was taken from the taxi window when returning from the airport. Pretty taco to see those awesome lighted wheels, eh?

What a lovely evening this has been...few medical calls for T. and sitting on the balcony typing... much quieter than the Mother's day for most of you I suspect.


I have succeeded in taking yet again the ultimate sunset photo from our balcony.  

Wednesday Market

We make the trek to 'Wednesday Market' many days for exercise.. but on most Wednesdays the Placita Movil is there and we can stock up on fresh produce for a good price. This is only after James returns from his weekly trip to Clinica Santa Fe de Bogota passing rounds, so sometimes the fruit is rather picked over--pitayas or avocados are frequently gone.  But the walk is lovely, so I shall take you along. 

We haven't gone far..we are just out the front door of our apartment ...

some men are working on the poles, luckily we still had electricity.

We pass this restaurant on the way up... Yes, they use pigs on menus,

and name restaurants "El Gordo" (the fat one) and "Pizza Vomito"

and pack 'em in...people are very frank here.

Flowers (digitalis) are great, poisonous, 
non-poisonous,
no problem.

These wooden steps are pretty regular
and very durable, even in rainy weather.

We are almost to the top, steps are brick now.

This is a first class market..even takes charge cards, although ours doesn't function.

We bought at the top end, because it was closer to the flowers, and the taxis...couldn't pass up this blue truck
that reminds james of Maria...a sight we don't see every day.

They have a great selection of nuts, including peanuts,
so we've never had the nerve to buy any.

avocados and all sorts of frozen seafood...the beef is on the far left-- a different shop. It rains often enough here that stands must be covered; red tarps make great overhead lighting!

The cheeses are great, but a little too open air for me, I still buy them in the stores... If we don't have bags full of fruit we head back down the trail we just walked up and this is what we see...

Some young workers were having fun moving a stump.  

They probably had no idea they were becoming movie stars!

Beautiful, isn't it??

This young lady is picking up cherries that have fallen to the ground
and putting them in a bag conveniently held on a long pole by her companion.



This is the end (beginning) of the path...we are back where we started.

Rainy day in Bogota

Rainy day in Bogota 28Apr2013

Another amazing day in Colombia began a bit after 0600 with the usual car alarms, street noise, and an unusual clear blue sunrise.  By 0830 it was time to ‘missionary up’ and head for our 0900 meeting at barrio Nogal, a  brisk 15 minute walk from our casa.  Cyclovia was in full force with pedestrians, all flavors of bicycle riders from near-pro to bimbo-seated retros, and Sunday morning traffic. The dog walkers were of similar variety, and  the casual pace of life was evident on the streets.  There were more people on the pedestrian side of the Septima than in the traffic lanes and near-empty busetas. 

       We arrived at the chapel with two minutes to spare.  Of note is the attendance MO in Latin wards:  meetings are usually started punctually at the published time, but attendance is sparse until ten or fifteen minutes later, maxing out by 30 minutes.  In other words, almost all the seats are available until 10 minutes or so after the meeting gets started, and if we arrive close to the start time it looks like we are courteously early.

       The translation radios were in the shop so the meeting was presented in Spanish and ‘car ad’ speedy English so those needing translation could get a handle on the meeting.  No pianist was available so the assigned music leader passed to another who could lead the singing without accompaniment.  Then it was on to the remaining meetings in the block.  The visiting stake officer (who recognized me from our last mission here) tried to get me introduced as a newbie in priesthood meeting, but was overruled since I had been there more and more recently than he.

       As we were departing the chapel at noon the first few gentle drops of rain began to fall.  After a hundred yards walking the umbrella was deployed, and by another hundred yards it was shedding water like a shower.  The pedestrian traffic cleared almost immediately.  An occasional cyclist demonstrated remarkable tenacity by forging ahead thru the downpour.  Adjusting the umbrella optimally to keep our top half dry put the excess water into the wind at our backs and then onto our legs, thence overflowing from our shoes.  Everyone else on the street was hunkered down in a doorway or under an eve as we ‘swam’ along the Septima.  Rainwash from driveways was a one to two inch river the width of the driveway gates, and overflow spouts from walls and flower beds filled the three and four inch drain tiles. 

       The walk from the chapel to casa is a fat kilometer.  Dona and I enjoyed the least-crowded stroll along the walkways ever. No dogs, and hardly any traffic. The other walkers had left for shelter or boarded buses or taxis…and on we walked, the water gushing from our shoes and the umbrella inverting only twice during our rain bath.  We enjoyed it immensely because we knew it would only last a few minutes, but thought empathetically of the youth missionaries out there in the rest of our area who perhaps didn’t have the option of a nearby apartment where dry clothes awaited.

       Our portero grinned at our condition when we arrived home.  No need to check our shoes, as they had already been thoroughly washed.  The elevator was still not working so we arrived breathless to the 6^th floor.  Off came our soaked shoes, then we wrung out our socks and went for a change of dry clothes.  Our predecessor had made a pvc shoe dryer motored with a computer fan which was quickly mounted with our soaked shoes.

 

       Dry again, we smiled about the weather and watched as the rain pounded the windows, the roof and overflowed the planter boxes on the patio.  It was nice to be inside, and even nicer that our wet roof did not leak a single drop in the course of the ‘water test’ provided by others.

       Then it was on to our first attempt at ajiaco.  Dona allowed me to peel 7 pounds or so of potatoes, the largest of which was tennis ball size and the smallest golf ball size.  No, this is not a sports event, but the peeler presented its own challenges, so it was nevertheless a competition of sorts.  As it turns out, we have a nice soup pot to use and a wonderful gourmet soup chef who actually lives in the same apartment, so the ajiaco turned out good enough that our portero offered liberal compliments and a thumbs up for the ‘gringo’ version of the local famous soup, a bowl of which was taken down to him six floors below. 

       The rest of the afternoon involved emails, photo reviews, skype calls, and computering sufficient to drive us out of the apartment for a short walk in the now-clear weather just before dark.  The sunset was beautiful and then onto more computer work and Colombian hot chocolate and homemade sourdough for our evening meal. 

The shoes should be dry by morning.