Thanks, everyone. It's great to feel so welcome when returning after so long. Now I know I was actually missed
Sorry, about the delay in getting the photos up. I'm sure some of you are interested in seeing them. Some have been scanned already, but they were scanned in really dark and I need to fix that.
The famous Bolivar Plaza in Bogota is in one of the photos. My dad and I are standing in front of a rather statuesque statue of Simon Bolivar himself holding a sword up. We were also accompanied by a rather large a mount of pigeons flocking around the ground because the guy with the polaroid camera who was selling photos kept giving us pigeon feed to throw on the ground
This was his way of trying to get us to buy more pictures.
For anybody who's interested in some political history about this place we visited:
If you are old enough you may remember seeing something on the news about this particular place where you saw a tank driving right into a building Waco-style. That was a stand-off that goes back to the mid-80's where a drug cartel had stormed the senate and literally took everybody hostage. The military, unlike they would here, did not handle the situation delicately and sent the tank right in and killed all of the cartel members.
There is also a very beautiful cathedral right in the plaza. It would have been to the right of us in that photo. I, myself, am not catholic, but I went in the cathedral and stayed quite a while because it's archatecture and beauty were so mesmorizing. So, knowing that so many people prayed there and had faith when they went there and so much sadness and joy had occurred in that place in a spiritual way for millions of people, I felt very emotional being there and I figured all the faith having been shared in that place shared by fellow human beings might very well have been a very positive thing in it's powerfulness so I prayed while I was there about a lot of things. It felt good when I was done even though I did not know if they had been listened to by anyone in particular or not. But to be able to admit one does not know that is also just as wise as having faith. I felt very good afterwards.
So yeah, my Uncle's farm in just outside a small town in the mountains called Norcasia, was one of the most peaceful places I have spent time in my whole life. Norcasia itself was incredible along with the people. I yearn to go back already. But I will probably have to wait atleast 6 months until this is possible again. It was such a peaceful place. I can't describe to you how at home I felt there, but in a lot of the places I visited in my father's home country I felt more at home there then I do where I live in the United States. And some of the places I saw almost looked familiar to me on a level that was impossible, because I was not born there and had never seen the country before and I had know way of knowing or being prepared for the beauty I was going to behold. Perhaps in a past life I was there? I do not know. But, it was something I will never forget.
I rant too much, sorry. Pictures will be up soon. Look out for them. Later on I hope to run a video stream onto the computer. Short clips from all the footage my aunt took while she has been down there. She will be back up in a month.
I learned many important things people, but the first and foremost I should share with all you is that no matter who you are, you should travel in your life. Try to always find time every now and then to travel to different places in the world. Most importantly, visit the countries your ancestors came from. I t goes a long way towards helping you find yourself as well as learn about the world.
PAZ
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