Thursday 8/16

Today we finally got to sleep in, and after a (relatively) light breakfast, we were out again to the hills outside Bogota called La Calera. Alejandro’s uncle (dad’s side) Nelson took us out for a parrillada out there which was delicious. We ended up ordering WAY too much food but that’s never a bad thing. The lunch consisted of Cuchuco as a starter (bean/potato based soup with a side of pork vertebrae meat called espinazo) and then a mixed grill which had maduro, yellow potatoes, chorizo, morcilla, pork, beef, and chicharron.

After lunch we had enough time to make it back to Amparo’s house and relax before the main event for the day, Alejandro’s parent’s birthday dinner at Leo Cocina y Cava, one of the top restaurants in South America.

Alejandro’s parents had never sat down to a tasting menu before and didn’t know what to expect. The menu had several exotic ingredients which made both of them somewhat uneasy, these included 2 types of ants, the world’s largest rodent, 2nd largest fresh water fish, and alligator. Who wouldn’t want to dig right in? We were very scared to see how this would turn out but at the end of the night they loved it! The meal involved 15 different courses, with several pairings (we got both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings which was wonderful, even the drinks were top notch) and they all met and exceeded expectations. Here are some of our favorites:

After the long experience we were all exhausted again and headed to bed.

Friday 8/17

Today we got up and (finally) skipped breakfast because we were headed to Bogota’s largest mercado called Paloquemao. It was awesome! There were so many different fresh fruits and vegetables, many which Alejandro’s parent’s hadn’t eated for many many years, and some that they had never even seen before! Here are some of what we had to try out:

After we had our fill at the market, we went back to the area around where we were staying and walked around for a while, looking at some of the different shops. Cassie bought a couple of Spanish books to keep practicing.

We returned home for a little bit of down time before spending the evening with Amparo’s daughter, Carolina. We went over to see her beautiful house, and she took us out to an Italian restaurant.

Saturday 8/18

We headed out north early this morning after a breakfast of a Colombian cheese sampler and some leftover fruits from Paloquemao. The plan was to go paragliding, but, as we were approaching the area, everything got foggy and rainy. Instead, we went to go get some ice cream at Lolita’s favorite ice cream place in Bogota, and we hung out there for a while.

At 1 PM, we went over to Amparo’s son’s, Jorge’s, house. We had some chorizo, arepas, and grilled cheese for appetizers and then steak, potatoes, and salad for lunch later. It was great to spend more time with their family and meet their little girls.

We stayed there until about 6, then drove the 1.5 hours home. Upon arriving home, we pretty much packed up and headed to bed. Leaving Bogota tomorrow morning.