Small Smaller Smallest.

This is called a diminutive, which is used to convey the "smallness" of something. In Spanish this is done by adding -ito or -itito to the end of the word. Thus a small tree becomes "arbolito" and a small dog is a "perrito".

But the thing that I find so funny is when it is used to indicate smallness for something where smallness is already implied. Here in Colombia they do this ALL the time. Except here they use -itico instead of -itito to denote the "smallest". The two funniest examples for me are:

Poco (little): Poquito and Poquitico

Chico (small): Chiquito and Chiquitico

No suprise here

It's finally official. Juan Manuel Santos will be the next president of Colombia.

On what was a cold and rainy Father's Day during the World Cup, a little over 13 million people made it to the polls...

Santos took 69% of the votes and Mockus took 27.5%.

Rainbows!

A beautiful rainbow seen in the center of Bogota this afternoon...


...and then there were two!

"Que Pena" y "Vale la Pena"

"Que Pena" is an expression used to convey embarrasment, but in Colombia you can also use it to say "I'm sorry", or "that's too bad".

"Vale la Pena" is an expression used to mean "worthwhile". So if "pena" means ebarrasment or pain, "vale la pena" could be translated to mean "bring on the pain"

Colombia Rescues Two More Prisoners From FARC

General Luis Mendieta and Colonel Enrique Murillo, the two highest ranking officials held prisoner by the FARC, were rescued today after 12 years!

He's just too cute...

...I can't NOT post pictures!

Spice Boy

I will never get over the fact that every time David Beckham is mentioned on the local news here, he is referred to as Spice Boy....so funny!

Mundial!

So the World Cup officially started with the first game today. Last night however, thy had a prett awesome kick off concert which included performances by The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Juanes, Alicia Keys, Shakira and various African musicians.

I leave you with a song to get you in the spirit

Plaza de los Toros

Some pictures for you to enjoy of the bullfighting ring in Bogota.

Zipaquira!

Zipaquira prides itself on being the number one tourist attraction in Colombia. And I have to give it to them, they have something pretty cool to show.

Zipaquira is a small mining town a little over an hour outside of Bogota. They mine SALT. I don't know how many miles of salt mines they have underground because it was all said to me in Spanish - and, well, they don't measure in miles here...but I know it's a lot!

The actual "tourist attraction" is made up of four parts:


1. The Salt Cathedral is the most impressionable. A guide leads you underground through the stations of the cross. Each station is unique and different, depicting the artists rendition of the station. At the end is the "church" where mass is actually held every sunday.


2. After the Salt Cathedral, you end up at the Mine Route. On the mine tour you learn how the tunnels are made to extract the salt. The guide also has you walk through tunnels in complete darkness, using only your sense of touch and hearing to get through to the other side.


3. Third is the Museum. I'm not exactly sure what I was supposed to learn...maybe how the salt was extracted long, long ago before TNT.


4. The last attraction is the rock climbing wall, which unfortunately I was not aware of, so I didn't have the right type of shoes with me...

Final verdict is Zipaquira is a MUST SEE for anyone visiting the Bogota area.