There are many things we've found to like about Bogotá. The first is that everywhere you look, something is blooming! It rains at some point every day, and the temperature justifies its nickname as "The City of Eternal Springtime."
Paula has always said that she knows when she's in a good place, because there's bougainvillea blooming. Our apartment building must be a good place!
Despite the rain and the cool temperatures, Bogotá has some of the nicest, shiniest, rust-free razor wire I've ever seen.
And in a collision of two worlds, there's even bougainvillea growing through razor wire!
The wise 'Rolos' (slang for natives of Bogotá) put drains in opportune places. Opportune, considering the fact that our 'Rolo' washing machine leaks on the rinse cycle.
Speaking of other wash-day bright spots, Paula appreciates her 'Rolo' drying rack, which conveniently cranks up and out of the way.
No wimpy towel racks here! No Siree, these are real-life ceramic numbers, impervious to curling irons.
We like our dryer. We are told by the other tenants that we lucked out in having one. They at least get some of the benefit, however, as that great wash-day dryer-sheet fragrance wafts out of our dryer vent-window mash up and in to the shared air well.
Did I mention the flowers blooming everywhere?
We really like our Samurai 1500-watt Sprinto Silencio heater on those cool evenings working in the apartment office.
We appreciate the kindness of others in giving us the occasional ride, even if they failed to tell Paula her seat belt didn't unlock. We told her to keep at it, but that church would be over in a couple of hours if she couldn't get loose.
We like all the weird things you can put in a blender to make interesting juice. That's a maracujá moustache, thank you.
We really like the plumber, who came on a Saturday morning on a motorcycle and fixed the toilet. If you're ever in Bogotá and a pipe blows, call Alexander Sánchez, at 57-310-305-5658 and I'm not kidding about the length of that phone number.
Oh, and things don't care about what month it is; they just bloom.
The little parks are nice, especially in our hillside part of town, where streams course through.
We really like the Wednesday and Saturday markets that set up on the sidewalks nearby. It's no surprise, but the produce is just plain great.
This is called "Still Life On Washing Machine Beneath Drying Rack."
There's a lot to like about two dozen gorgeous roses for $3.15, if I did my exchange rate correctly. We're still kind of sore about the whole 'millionaire' thing.
As I write, it's just after dusk, and the thunder is announcing the third rainstorm of the day. Luckily, another great thing about Bogotá is that within about 30 seconds, if you've forgotten yours, there will be someone on the street willing to sell you an umbrella. Except that, of course, the prices go up when it's actually raining. No dumb 'Rolos' here.
We hope that you are doing well!
Dave & Paula Henderson
2 comments:
Paula (and Dave), great that you are in a place with humidity. So good for the complexion! Looks wonderful. BTW - you can purchase those drying racks at Ikea!
Dave and Paula - Thanks for sharing all of your mission on the blog!! As I read all of your stories, it makes me miss Brazil and my mission so much!!
Maracuja is my favorite drink!! Shame it's so expensive here - but you can pick them up in South America like oranges... (careful though, they are a serious aphrodisiac, hence the american name - Passion fruit).
I noticed in your still shot on the washing machine you have those little bananas - in Brazil they were called "Bananas de ouro" - or bananas of gold - there were so good in "vitaminas" - basically, milk, sugar, raw oats, and whatever else you wanted in a blender...
Does the fabric softener smell better to you??
Look forward to reading more in the future.
Robert and Teresa
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