Gonna cut out some of the social networks here soon… more changes coming.

I typed the last post so fast I didn’t even have time to spell check, haha… Fixed now.  Anyway, see what I did there?  With the title, haha?  Actually, there’s very little evidence of the violence most gringos seem to think happens here.  Only the army guys with machine guns out in the countryside…

I took the above photo while riding on the back of a horse who was freaking out about how to avoid the truck.  To the Colombians, I must have looked like one of those jackass tourists on the Golden Gate Bridge, taking pictures while riding a bike!

Here’s some more stuff I’ve noted so far:

• Stop signs are pretty much just a suggestion here, in fact it can be downright foolhardy to obey some of them!
• Colombian beer (Aguila) is pretty good!
• There really are frequent instances of people with horse-drawn wagons in heavy traffic!  That and people carrying 50 gallon milk urns on a bicycle!
• The mountains around Bogotá are incredible.
• Most cops in the small towns are teenagers.
• Milk in Colombia is sold in a plastic bag and isn’t refrigerated until opened.
• There’s no way I’m going to try road biking here.  It would be suicidal.
• The weather in Colombia changes very quickly
• The sun sets around 5:45 to 6:15 PM year-round.
• It took about a day for my sea-level lungs to get used to the thin air.
• Even though the beef kicks ass and I found guacamole I like, there’s no way I’m eating lengua (cow tongue).
• People here don’t drink nearly as much coffee as a gringo would think.  Mostly they drink juices.
• The servings of coffee in Colombia are quite tiny compared to the US.  I bought a large mocha at a chain coffee stand (ie – kinda like a Starbucks but not) and it came in an 8oz cup!  For comparison “tall” (small) at Starbucks in the US is 12oz.
• Cañelazo pretty much almost killed me in the states (thanks Andrés!).  Even though it’s delicious, I can’t bear the thought of drinking it.  Seems to have minimal effect on Mr. Molano though.
• Colombia is in need of an interstate-type highway system.  The highways get closed to outbound traffic at the end of weekends for a period of time to allow inbound traffic to the city more space.  Cars line up and park on the side of the road for hours waiting for the highway to reopen!
• There’s a whole mall dedicated to just computers and electronics in Bogotá.  I was surprised to find prices pretty much comparable to US prices (I was warned they’d be higher).  Replaced the Molanos’ ancient 802.11b router that wouldn’t configure correctly with a new 802.11n router.  I did this all on a computer that’s in Spanish running Windows Vista (AY! Mierda! Haha!) mind you!
• Chevy is a hugely popular car brand here, but the cars aren’t actual Chevys.  They’re rebadged Isuzu, Toyota, Suzuki, Daiwoo, Opel, Saab, and Suzuki models.  Ironically most are better cars than most of the current “actual Chevys” in the brand’s native country.

OK… My “quick bullet points” are becoming long-winded and they’re coming less quickly.  It’s time for lunch anyway.  More later.

Too many photos to sort right now and I haven’t even seen much of Bogotá yet… Just a quick long-weekend roadtrip to Villa de Leyva.  So, as they come to my head:

• A huge cathedral built inside a mountain of salt
• Army guys with machine guns gaurding the smaller highways from guerillas (give em the “thumbs up” as you pass)
• Small towns with cobblestone or dirt streets, each with multiple stores selling wares.  Each town has it’s own thing, music, pottery, textiles, etc.
• Monte Negro
• Two lane highways with no shoulder and no guardrail winding through The Andes
• Bunk beds are fun
• People in Colombia drive like they’re trying to kill you… seriously!
• There are several types of arepas, and they’re all pretty much awesome
• Cheese factories are hugely popular roadside attractions in Colombia
• An arepa, a beef patty, and queso fresco makes for an awesome cheeseburger
• A sixteen-stringed instrument is very hard to tune (can’t remember what it’s called, but I bought one)
• Who knew the skinny-ass cow grazing on weeds by the side of the road could taste SO DAMNED GOOD?
• A maid?  Wow.  I was set to do my own laundry, but OK.
• A huge field in the desert by Monte Negro filled with huge, ancient South American Indian penis statues… seriously!
• Busses covered with flashy disco lights
• Tiny old Renaults
• I CAN actually like guacamole, if its made the way they make it here (whipped)… seriously, I tried this stuff, ate it, and THEN they told me it was guacamole!
• I’m bringing home some of these wheat crackers, man!

That’s it for now… gotta get going. 
More when I sort my photos and videos and stuff.