Mi Dia con Gloria

4 de agosto

The scariest moment of my life was getting kicked by a horse in the water.  Well, that was true, until I rode in a car with Gloria.  Gloria is a friend of Carlos, the husband of Jeanette.  She have been so accommodating and enthusiastic, but WOW is she a crazy driver.  According to Jeanette, all Colombian drivers are like this, and so now I understand why she gave me motion sickness medicine.  Loca!  

This morning, one of the workers on the farm drove me down the mountain where Gloria was waiting.  Along the way, the following slowed us down a bit:

Once we arrived at the main road, Gloria greeted me with an enthusiastic hug and beso.  I’ve talked to Gloria on facebook many times before coming to Colombia, and so I already felt like I knew her well.  My first stop with Gloria was to a cafe for some empanadas y un cafe:

This machine is called "La Greca," and it makes very strong black coffee, which they call "un cafe tinto," or simply "un tinto."

. . .

Our first visit of the day was to La Laguna de Guatavita. Originally, the city of Guatavita was in a valley, but in 1967, the people flooded it and rebuilt the city next to their new lake (Laguna de Guatavita).  When the water level is low enough, you can still see the top of the original city’s church steeple.  

Our next stop was the Laguna de Dorado.  In this lake, which is about 10,000 feet above sea level, the chief would cover his body in gold dust and submerge himself in the lake while the indigenous people threw gold objects in the water as an offering to the gods.

Before la cena, Gloria took me to El Catedral del Sal, which is an underground cathedral built in a large salt mine.  Each station is equipped with a massive cross carved in or outside of the stone and salt wall, and each station is lit by bright colored lights.  As we walked through the stations, you could even see the salt mixed with stone on the walls.  It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  After the final station of the cross is what appears to be a stationary waterfall of salt.  At the conclusion of the tour, we came across the cathedral decorated by the biggest cross in the salt mine.  This cathedral, like all others, holds mass every Sunday.

Gloria and I finished the day with a fantastic meal at El Andres Carne de Res in Chia, Colombia.  This restaurant was fantastic.  Words cannot describe it, but the conclusion of the following video will give you an idea of what one can expect.

Adios!

~Quique