Colombia - Week Two!

Well, I said it would be difficult to leave Bogotá and it was! Ana and her family made me feel so welcome, that it was a wrench to finally say goodbye! Last Saturday, Ana's father, Ernesto, returned from working in Cartagena and was due to be back in Bogotá by the early afternoon. Ana and I were having yet another lazy morning in the house again, when she received a phone call. It was all systems go after that as Ernesto had organised a surprise birthday party for Nelly (Ana's mother). So, the plan was for me and Ana to go around to Marie-Clara's house to meet up with everyone there, under the pretext of us all going ten-pin bowling, while Nelly and Ernesto would drive to an uncle's house. Off we waved them, only to leave the apartment just moments later, to drive to the party ahead of them!

Once at Ana's uncle's apartment, I was then introduced to yet more of her family and the wait began for Nelly and Ernesto to arrive. There was one false alarm as another of Ana's uncles arrived (and unfortunately, I can't remember all their names). Soon though, silence fell as the birthday girl arrived and, much to her great surprise, we all sang Happy Birthday! It was great fun and out came the guitars for much singing and merriment. Nelly took centre stage and then began an afternoon and evening of music and singing. Soon, a tamborine appeared from somewhere, then some maracas and by the end of the evening, there were at least 8 different instruments all around the room. Ana kept apologising to me, saying that it must be so boring for me to be there, but on the contrary, it was absolutely fantastic to watch such a great group of family and friends singing traditional songs, and a few contemporary numbers as well. At one point, Yellow Submarine struck up, which I think was for my benefit! One of the uncles told me that he was really pleased and honoured that I was enjoying myself so much and that it meant a lot to him. It was such a great evening, and to my great regret, I had forgotten to take my camera!

On Sunday, myself and the family visited the Salt Cathedral, just a short drive north of the city. It has been created deep inside old salt mines and was quite impressive. The guide had recommended that we save taking pictures until the end of the tour, as the salt can make camera batteries run dead very quickly. Of course, no one tells me when to take pictures and I thought it best to take them as I went along, whenever there was a chance, as the mine was so busy; there may not have been good opportunities later on. Strangely, I became very tired in the mines and all my energy felt drained away. Just as we made it to the centre of the cathedral, (which is only a church really as it has no bishop), my camera displayed "Change the battery pack" - damn it, the guide was right and I didn't get any pictures of the main altar. Ana was quite upset for me, but I reassured her that it was OK as it was difficult to get good photos in the darkness anyway.

Once out of the mines again, I felt much better - we didn't bother to watch the info video down there, as I just had to get out. The salt seemed to wipe my energy, just like my battery (which back at the surface was working again!) As we waited for Marie-Clara and Alfonso to return, Ernesto treated us to a Coke and some empanadas, which were the best ones I have had so far. They are different in every South American country, and in Colombia, they are made from corn. Then it was time for lunch and Ernesto took us all to a really nice restaurant, I felt so lucky! I had a delicious steak, followed by an arequipe and pastry dessert that was just divine. After yet more delicious food, I just had to rest for the remainder of the day back at the house!

On Monday, it was Colombian Independence Day, and much to my huge disappointment, the grand parade was NOT held in Bogotá... for the first time in 199 years! I swear, someone must have informed the president about my visit and they promptly moved it, just to spite me! We did watch it on the television though, and Ana explained all the different groups. We had arepas for breakfast with melted cheese on top. Arepas are kind of like potato cakes, but made with corn instead and I love them! I just wish I had discovered them on my first day in Colombia! As it was a national holiday, Nelly and Ernesto invited the family around for lunch, and yet again, I was truly looked after in the food department. Nelly had prepared pasta, which I love, but unfortunately with a tuna, mushroom and cream sauce - three things that I just don't like! Not to worry, there were two steaks left over from the restaurant the day before and I was more than happy with leftovers! Then followed a delicious ice-cream cake for dessert, that Ana and Alfonso couldn't finish, so I had 3 portions! Whoops!

That evening, I was a little bit sad I as knew that I needed to get moving if I was to have enough time on the Caribbean coast. Nelly and Ernesto told me that I was now part of the family and I was welcome to return there at any time - "You must bring your husband and children here!" he told me! I wasn't ready to go, but I knew that if I left on Tuesday, I would only arrive in Santa Marta on Wednesday, after a 20 hour bus ride! By that point, as I had spent longer than planned in Bogotá, I had already decided to miss out the Coffee Zone, Medellin and Villa de Leyva... but not to worry, as I will definitely be back in Colombia in the future to stay with my new family again! Anyway, Ana received a call later that evening and it was Jose. He too needed to get to Santa Marta this week and he had found some really cheap flights online. We then looked into it, and sure enough, it was 10,000 pesos cheaper to fly than take the bus I had planned! Excellent, I could save money and time AND have an extra day with the family, without arriving in Santa Marta any later!

Ana had to return to university on Tuesday, so I spent the day with Jose. We had to go to the travel agency as soon as it opened to pay for our flights, but once that was done, we had the rest of the day to chill out, so we had breakfast and then returned to the house. We spent most of the day chatting in Spanish, and at one point, I tried to explain the difference between second cousins, and first cousins once removed, which isn't a particularly straightforward concept even in English! I got there in the end though, with the aid of a few diagrams! I bought a few bits and pieces in the afternoon, and then spent the evening packing my bag whilst chatting to Ana and listening to Colombian music.

On Wednesday, I had to get up at 5.30am, so Jose and I could get to the airport on time for our flight. Check-in was easy and the flight left right on time. It was really funny as Jose tried to clip his seatbeat on with the buckle pointing backwards and then insisted on reclining his chair before take-off, which of course is not permitted. I had insisted on the window seat, as always, and Jose seemed to want to swap with me, even though he had turned down the offer to have one for himself on a different row. It then dawned on me - he had never flown before, which explained why he had muttered "Sh*t!" under his breath as we boarded the plane! Now, I would like it to be duly noted that I very magnanimously gave my precious window seat to Jose, for the entire flight. I would also like it to be noted that it was an exceptional circumstance and not something I am intending to repeat in the future!

The flight was great and although it was a small plane, the seats were very comfortable and I swear the windows were 20% bigger than normal. Once in Santa Marta, we were met by Jose's father and we took a taxi to his uncle's house. From there, Jose and his cousin helped me to take a taxi straight to Taganga, so that I could organise a diving course as soon as possible. Once I was checked in to a hostel on the beach, I said goodbye to the boys and went out to check out the diving schools. After a while, I had decided on one and was on my way to book a Rescue Diver course when I bumped into Craig and Megan from my Galápagos trip! They had just completed their Open Water and Advanced diving courses with Octopus Dive Center, and highly recommended them. I hadn't visited them, so I decided I would check them out first. As it turned out, the owners, Andres and Natalia, were absolutely lovely AND the course was significantly cheaper, so I immediately signed on the dotted line! Once that was organised, I then chilled out on the beach for the rest of the afternoon, and met up with Craig, Megan, Florean (France) and Rory & Faye (UK) for drinks in the evening.

Yesterday, it was back to class for me again, as I had a lot of work ahead of me - an Emergency First Response video at 9am, one for Rescue Diver at 1pm, and then back to the dive centre at 8pm to do my first aid practical test. Andres was impressed with my first aid skills, so I mentioned that I had taken a first aid course just last April. It then turned out that I didn't need to take EFR after all, and I could save money - all I would need to do is send a scanned copy of my certificate to PADI. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember where my certificate was and my mum couldn't find it, and I had a feeling that PADI wouldn't have accepted it anyway: even though it was a legitimate St John's Ambulance course that covered all aspects of first aid, from what I remember, the name of the course made it look like it was only for children, which wouldn't have been acceptable. Oh well!

Today, I began the practical part of the Rescue course and was out in the sea with Andres and Matt, and Dive Master trainee from Dublin, who would be the victim I would have to rescue, and could translate for me. Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned that although Andres spoke a little English, I actually did a lot of the tasks today in Spanish, something that worried me a lot at first, but I actually had no problems with. I learned how to deal with tired and panicked divers at the surface, how to tow them to safety and how to rescue people with a rope (although it took about 7 attempts for me to throw it in the right place)! Anyway, Andres was really impressed with my progress, although he did warn me that tomorrow will be much more challenging!

So, I'm now back at the hostel with a lot of work ahead of me! All being well, I will be a qualified Rescue Diver by tomorrow evening, but first I have to complete all my PADI knowledge reviews in my book this afternoon, then finish my EFR practical test this evening. Tomorrow, I will be back in the sea to complete the Rescue skills and scenarios and then take both exams in the afternoon! Phew! I don't quite know how I get myself into situations like this, where I am studying and revising on a Caribbean beach, but there you go... it will be worth it and once it's all complete, a week of relaxing lies ahead!