Giovanni S.

     Aaahh, the sweet sensation of summer break. This year I decided to go to Colombia in South America. When I got there my first destination was the Gold Museum in Bogotá. It was absolutely amazing, it was a three story building with around 34,000 pieces of gold! Not only was there gold, but there was also more than 20,000 bone, stone, ceramic, and textile items too. I even asked one of the tour guides if I could have one of them, he gave me a lollipop. The gold items varied from nose ornaments to knife grinders that belonged to 13 pre-Hispanic societies. Just the sight of the beautiful history and gold was stunning. While there I lost track of time and decided I should get some food at the nearby town of Cartagena.

     The town of Cartagena is a very old town, almost 500 years old! I ate at a place called La Guacha. They serve the BEST steak you will ever taste, I promise you that. When I was done eating I decided it was time to go sight seeing. The first thing I saw was Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which was a Spanish fort commissioned in 1630. It is huge, it takes up an entire hill that is a 20-minute walk from the "old town" of Cartagena which was a bit tiring for me. After having enough to see for military buildings, I decided to see a religious building. I went to Convento de la Popa which is a chapel on top of a 150m-high hill. Even though it's only about a 30 minute walk I didn't dare try to walk up that because it is about the equivalent of a walk through the desert. So I haggled with a taxi driver and got a ride for COP 34594.42 ($16) to the top and it was worth it, the view up there was breathtaking. After that I went back to the hotel and fell asleep to be ready for the next day.

     I woke up, ate some breakfast at the hotel, and grabbed a taxi to go to a town near the Amazon known as Leticia. This jungle town is near the border of Brazil and Peru. Although the town itself isn't the best looking, it was still a very peaceful place. In the Amazon it's very humid as you would expect and it's full of wildlife. While I was walking on a path, some monkeys came out of nowhere and started to jump on my shoulders. The only thing you have to watch out for when you're in town are the Caiman, which is a creature related to the alligator and the crocodiles. I explored the Jungle for most of the day, but when I was done I headed back to my hotel for the night. The next day I wandered the streets of Cartagena for a few hours before I went to the airport so I could get back here. Now I'm back in Idaho writing this blog for Spanish. This trip to Colombia was one I will not soon forget.

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