ByeBye Bogota

To start with, YEY my picture of Rudolf was one of the favorites for the Paper Mama Pet Photo Challenge..although for some darn reason I can't seem to get the button to work, all I get is this: 

<div align="center"><a href="http://thepapermama.com/" title="The Paper Mama Photo Challenge" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6973777489_f5b60d9504_o.jpg" alt="The Paper Mama Photo Challenge" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Clearly I'm a newbie in the blogging world.

Yey! I did it! After many attempts and apparently I wasn't the only one having problems.

So, it happened...I said goodbye to Bogota and it was a lot harder than I thought. I mean, I know I’m going back in a month and I'll see everyone again but still...it was tough. It's closing a whole cycle of my life, four years of my life were spent there...I met friends, I traveled, I lived! Still, it didn't hit me until I was saying goodbye at the airport to some of my friends and Mr. P's family who has taken me in with so much love. 

Saying bye to Mr. P was definitely much, much harder than I expected, I think harder than we both thought it would be. I can't imagine what it must have felt for him...not saying bye to me but saying goodbye to his home city, to his family and friends, and going to a whole new country where he doesn't know anyone at all to start a new life! Heck, I'm nervous for him! 

I know I will see Mr. P in a month for a few days, I know it was me who made the decision not to go with him, to venture on my own for this self-exploration that I need to do…but still, there were a couple of times when we were waiting for my plane to beard that I doubted myself, I doubted my decision, there were a few seconds where I said to myself “are you really sure about what you’re doing?” but then I knew, I know, it is the right thing.

I am aware that things might not be the same with Mr. P after I get back, that I might stay in Panama or find somewhere else to go in life, but it is a risk I feel I have to take. I cannot go through life wondering what could have been, and then find myself in five years regretting decisions I did or didn’t take. Many people asked him if he wasn’t nervous, why he would “let” me do such a thing and his response and his support towards me just shows what a wonderful man he is…he understands me, he knows what I mean and I know that he needs his space to. He needs to be on his own as well, figure things out, what it’s like to be alone not in Moms house or with his girlfriend but really “out there”.

Truth is right now I miss him a lot…I know he’s alone in a hotel room and Im just very nostalgic about those last moments of the day, when we would cuddle in bed and tell each other everything about our day, being silly and petting Martina. Those little moments are the ones I miss the most and would love to have for just a few minutes daily…

                                                                                                                 
Goodnight for today, start working tomorrow morning and I’m sure it’s going to be  a long first day (aren't they always?)
             

Last week

So, haven't been on the blogsphere recently...it's been crazy! Moving is awful...well, packing is awful! I  have been very late on my homework for my online course so I had to work hard on that for a few days but it was great, I had the opportunity to go to a dermatology center which treats patients with Hansen disease (Lepra). On the other hand, I've been busy trying to pack my whole damn apartment. In the course of 3.5 years the amount of STUFF i've accumulated is ridiculous. Thankfully my aunts came over today and saved me, in like an hour and a half they were able to do what I couldn't do in 2 days, im gonna say its because of experience.
I still haven't sold everything, my bed, table stand, washing machine, microwave, and green cupboard are still all for sale. I have NO idea where I'll put my bed if I can't sell it in the next...2 days.


Mr. P and I are finally realizing that the day is very close...so every day is more filled with hugs and pauses where we just hold each other and tell each other how much we'll miss this. I love the hugs...lots and lots of hugs each day :) Every night we cuddle closer (Marti included) and just hold each other long and tight, taking in every possible moment...I know i'm gonna miss that the most.




On saturday we had a goodbye lunch/party, it was lots of fun and it was great seeing my college friends and hanging out. Mr. P got amazingly drunk thanks to his friends mischievous plan. I realized that men dont change much..at 15 or 30 they have just as much fun trying to shave someones leg. In this case, after a lot of struggling and fighting they shaved a bit of Mr. P's leg, but it didn't happen easily, it came with a bloody lip and everything! I'll post pics sometime soon.


Time to say goodnight for now, Mr. P has to get up in like 5 hours to do some errands and the light won't let him sleep, plus I'm incredibly tired as well...packing is exhausting!

Monday, FUN DAY!

From now on I'm gonna be mixing things up a little here in the language department, sometimes spanish sometimes english, depending on the mood a little (sorry, blame multiculturalism, bilingualism, etc). 

Cousins

Today was my first day back in Bogotá after spending some time in Lima. Martina was left at a dog daycare/hotel so instead of having them drive her over I decided to make a little trip and get her. So, left Mr. P at the office, went to pick up my cousins and we were off! We picked up Marti who went insane when she saw me, jumping to and from the car like a crazy flying squirrel (seriously, I just love my dogs so much, no one can give you so much unconditional love). After that we decided to go see the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. It's a very touristy must-go when you come to Bogotá and I had never been so it was a pretty fun plan. The cathedral is located underground, it was also a salt mine (obviously), and its 2km long. Yea, when I heard "2km, and we've only done 300m" I almost had a mini panic attack, I really don't like closed underground spaces such as caves, crypts and such... Luckily this place was big and had very high ceilings and there was no sensation of stuffiness. Because Martina was in the car, and we were startvign and really not catholic enough for the whole thing, we skipped the tour guy and walked around on our own. Its really beautiful specially because of the lighting they have which are constantly changing and give everything just a greater dimension.
After the Salt Cathedral we went to look for lunch. I have heard about a great place in Chia called "Galapagos" but apparently no one knows how to get there so after a LOT of driving around almost in circles we ended up at a restaurant we had seen on the way to get Marti. It was perfect, had a big indoor patio for Marti to run around and it was empty so service was super fast, we had "bandeja paisa" which is basically a plate full of yummy delicious fattening stuff (beans, rice, powder beef, avocado, chicarron, chorizo, arepa and a fried egg). It was very, very good and after eating we headed out towards Sopó (again we got lost getting there and went in circles) to have dessert at the Cabaña Alpina. We were so full and the desserts were so big we didn't even finish them but packed our stuff and headed back to the city. We went through the small route which has such a beautiful scenery, I love it. Got into the city at 5 sharp, when traffic just decides to go insane, so quickly picked up Mr. P at the office, stopped by to get some anti-flea stuff for Marti and headed home to wait for traffic to cool down before taking my cousins back to their place.
All around it was a fun day, a different one, and thankfully a BEAUTIFUL one! The sun was out, the sky was blue, a perfect day to be outside Bogota. If you ever happen to come to the city, rent a car and drive towards the outside of the city, the scenery is great and there are many little town you can see (not so much fun if you ask me) and lagoons or river dams that offer a great view and a fun camping experience!


Alright, after like 2 hours of blogging (adding some info on my Lima Day 3 post and writing up my Lima Day 4 post) its finally time to go to sleep! I have LOTS of studying to do tommorow because I didn't read anything for my class during Lima and Mr. P has been trying to get some sleep but I won't let him with the light on. So, goodnighty everyone! I wish all Mondays were always Fun Days!

Before getting to the main cathedral you go through 12 "chapels" (not sure what to call them exactly),
which represent the 12 steps that Jesus went through during "the passion"
(again, my spanish..not sure how to call all this in english)

Catedral de Sal, Zipaquira

Being silly with the short ceiling
 

The lights made everything look magnificent

Sisterly love

Climbing the wall of salt

When we left the mine the sun had decided to come out,
it was a beautiful day!

Mmmm...yummy food!

The first one to finish her plate

Great place for dessert

My cutie 

Couldn't believe how beautiful the day was!

Driving and photographing, not very safe 

Only posting this one because Marti looks so cute in it

Girls day out

Maria Jose and Marti

The outsides of Bogota are so beautiful

The road and us