Categral de Sal.

Farewell Lunch for Magdalena (top, center)

I ended my four day work-week by going to lunch at Sopita Del Carajo with a large group of Opportunity International coworkers. Sopita Del Carajo is famous for its traditional Colombian soups, fish, and meat plates. During this lunch, we acknowledged the last day of Magdalena, the office helper, who was leaving to open a store closer to her home (she lives over two hours from Bogota and commuted four hours everyday). We had a great time at lunch and it was the perfect end to the week. Magdalena was glowing during the lunch and sat proudly at the head of the table. One of my favorite observations of the day came when Enrique, the CEO of Opportunity International Colombia, kissed her on the head and wished her good luck on her endeavors. 

Dinner at Sebas', the infamous soup, and grandpa!

After work on Friday, I went home and spoke to some family members, worked out, and packed my things for a night over at Ana's house. Ana lives with Seba's, his mom, and his adorable grandparents. Being at their house full of warm welcomes, great conversation, and life-changing food made me feel right at home. Seba's mother, Patricia, made us the best soup I have ever had in my entire live. I am still not sure if this family recipe had a name, but it's main ingredients were definitely spinach and cilantro. It was creamy savory, and addicting. She also gave us a side of rice and fried plantains. It was delicious. 

On Saturday morning, I woke up early to consume homemade chorizo with eggs, arepas, and juice before being picked up by my coworker, Carlos, for a day of site-seeing around Bogota. From there, Carlos and I drove to get another coworker, Bryan, who is Carlos's manager. I was very excited to have these two new friends to take me around the city for two reasons: 1) both of them are very proud Colombians who have lived in Bogota for most of their lives, and 2) Bryan previously lived in the U.S. for twenty years. Aside from the convenient translation and cultural/historical context he provided in times of need, Bryan shares and understands my American sense of humor, something I can not live without. I didn't realize it prior, but Saturday was the first time I could joke openly and hear someone laugh. It is hard to joke in Spanish and have someone understand your tone/punch lines when you are still learning the language. Not to mention, we have a bit of a twisted sense of humor here in the states. Bryan understood me and we shared a few large laughs throughout the day. One of these came when we happened to run into Juan Carlos, my savior and transportation to/from the office. When I saw him, I attempted to be polite and introduce my co-workers (Bryan and Carlos) but instead referred to them as "mi trabajadores", which ever so incorrectly translates to "my workers". Bryan retorted cleverly by pretending to clean my shoes (A.K.A. the best boots that ever existed, or at least they should be based on how much I paid for them) and large laughs ensued. This is just one example of the many moments that were lost in translation...I also walked into a men's bathroom yesterday. Blonde moment!

Myself and Carlos in Categral de Sal

Bryan near the 2nd cross

Our first stop was the Categral de Sal (the "Salt Cathedral"), which is an underground Catholic Cathedral, built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground in a Halite mountain near the town of Zipaquirá, in Cundinamarca, Colombia. The town is also recognized for being near one of the oldest human settlements in the Americas, El Abra archaeological place. Categral de Sal was initially a salt mine, as the mountain is full of large deposits of salt from more than 250 million years ago when the mountain was under the ocean. Miners began extracting the salt in the 19th century but it wasn't until 1932 when miners actually began carving a sanctuary for their daily prayers. In the 1950's, a larger church was built with of three naves and a monumental cross. However, as the cathedral was carved inside an active mine, structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down the sanctuary in 1990. In 1991, the construction of a new Cathedral was undertaken, under the older one. This new Cathedral was inaugurated in 1995. Its various corridors and sanctuaries were achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations. This construction cost over $285 million (USD). Today, there are over 12 enormous crosses which are either carved into rock walls, or free standing and carved out of rock. These gigantic crosses each have their own name and are contained within the tunnels, leading to the largest of them all at the bottom of the tunnel. 

 

I was surprised to see that the site was not packed with tourists, as this is what I am accustom to being a California native. Categral de Sal is a thriving location, but it is not overdone with corny marketing, packages, and tourists with large cameras around their necks. In fact, I might have been the only American among hundreds of visitors. I could tell Colombians were very proud of this amazing site, as they should be. In the main church, there were people praying and utilizing the church for its actual purpose. In the mining corridors, there were actual miners extracting salt. To this day, Categral de Sal is a functioning salt mine, church, and proud site for Colombians and out-of-towners around the world. 

After we saw the twleve crosses contained within the cathedral, we ended in a large hallway about 200 meters underground. This hallway housed small shops, as well as a large body of water that served as a mirror, and ultimately leads to a gigantic room (the ceiling must have been 200 feet long). This room was by far the largest, is used for a light show which is held on the ceiling of the room, and inspired the location of my future wedding. Seriously, I can visualize my wedding in front of the gigantic 40 foot cross in the giant cathedral, followed by the largest party that ever existed in the room with the 200 foot light show on its ceiling. I also imagine cirque du soleil dancers falling from the ceiling, trapeze artists swinging to and fro, and gigantic subwoofers ascending from the ceiling. A girl can dream. Now, I just need to find a husband crazy enough to go with this. I have a potential candidate in mind. 

The ceiling of my future wedding reception.

By late afternoon, after hours wedding planning and perusing the corridors of Categral de Sal, we built up a healthy appetite. We decided to head back toward Bogota (about 20 minutes away) and find something on the way. What we stumbled upon for lunch will go down in the history as The Largest Meal Ever Eaten by a Young Woman from Californian in Colombia. The restaurant we found was in a small town outside of Bogota and it had about ten cars parked out from. We went inside and observed a pleasant fire burning, and waiters that were as well-dressed as welcoming. I am going to blame this on language barriers and ignorance in order to hide my shame, but we got more food than I eat in a month. We started with plantains covered in cheese, bake potatoes, blood sausages (told you I love all meat), warm pieces of bread (that I obviously drenched in spicy sauce), and empanadas covered in fresh lime juice. We ended with three entrees that could feed a small village. I got a steak that was no less than five pounds, topped with chorizo (pictured). It got real. 

Plantains with cheese and empanadas



Our lunch

After a food induced blackout-like coma, we loaded ourselves in the car, me in front with the seat fully reclined, Bryan horizontal on the back seat, and our kind, trusting driver, Carlos, steering the ship. Once we got on the road we ran into a significant amount of traffic. We began talking about politics. I am sure the person I was talking about (I am not naming names) is the reason we experienced the events that ensued. Right when I said this American politician's name, we got rear-ended by a service truck. Do not worry my friends and family, we were literally dead stopped and the traffic was moving so slowly that no one was injured. However, as I mentioned, there are many things we take for granted in the states. Right after the car was bumped, Carlos and Bryan got out of the car. I just kind of hung out and drew pictures for the next four hours while the events went something like this:

I scare myself. 

The other driver tried to convince Carlos to move his car to the side of the road. However, I have learned that this is a major no-no. If you move your car after an accident in Colombia, the police think the evidence is tampered with, and you are likely to lose the case. Therefore, we sat in the middle of the freeway and the men took manual pictures of each other. Carlos called his insurance. I felt so bad! Not to mention, he was with his American coworker and boss! Also, since the other driver was driving a work car, he had to get a lawyer there on behalf of his company. They negotiated the price of the bumper for another two hours. Finally, I decided to call my savior, Juan Carlos, to pick me up. I was home by nine at night. It was another amazing adventure! Tranquila!

Yesterday, I got to catch the end of the Steelers game on ESPN! It was in Spanish and hilarious. I loved hearing "GOALLLLLLLLLLLL" to American football and it cracked me up when the announcers would say, "ahora, los Steelers estan ganado!". They won and it is my theory that my team needs me. I won't miss any more games. Si se puede! With that, I am going to watch the Giants win Game 7! Until next time....

View of large/final cross