Saturday started off as a low key day. We had breakfast and then headed to the market to do our grocery shopping. It was game day here, so the streets were busy and filled with people selling jersey's and really loud horns. After buying our groceries, we stopped and bought some jersey's for the kids. We headed home and let Diego play outside for awhile. Our friend Sarah said she wanted to head to La Candelaria again and check some more things out. We walked to the market and tried to get a taxi. It was hard to get a ride because the game was on and no one was around. When Colombia plays it's like a ghost town. There wasn't any traffic so we made it to the historic center pretty fast. We walked to the Souvenir market across from the gold museum. It was a fun market to look around and shop. We spent over an hour shopping and spent plenty of money. Ben really enjoyed haggling with the vendors. Because the game was on, we were the only ones shopping. The vendors were in the back of the market watching the game and if we looked at their items too long, they would come running to see if we wanted to buy anything. We found all of the things that I wanted to take home which was great because it was my last day to get out and shop. While we were finishing up the game ended and Colombia won. The cheering was really loud, but then it calmed down and all of the vendors returned to their booths. We ventured outside and the crowd was unbelievable. There were people in the colors of the Colombian flag everywhere. The cheering and horns were so loud and the streets were packed. Ben got us some arepas and we sat in the rain and ate them trying to figure out how to get home. The crowds were so thick it was crazy. All of the taxis were full and when we requested one through Ben's app on his phone, it kept telling us that there weren't any available. We walked with the crowds for a while trying to find a better place to catch a taxi. It was dark and we were really starting to feel unsafe. We finally found a shoe store that was open and kind of hung out there trying to stay safe. There were drunk people everywhere and people partying it up. Sarah even saw a guy waving a knife at a man on one of the bad buses while a man kicked him off. Ben finally suggested that we take the Milenio bus home,
we were right near the bus stop. The bus system here scares me to death. They are so crowded and after the game they were crazy. After an hour and a half of trying to get a taxi, we bit the bullet and bought bus tickets. We tried to figure out which bus we should take. Ben used his Spanglish/Portugese to ask for help. We jumped on a bus and just as the bus accelerated and we were all leaning forward, the bus driver slammed on the brakes. We went flying. I flew into the pole and hand rail and have some nice bruises and soreness to show for it. Ben went flying into me and the stroller, his glasses and hat were knocked off and we're pretty sure that he has whiplash. He has numbness and tingling down both of his arms and pain in his hands. Diego got flipped out of his stroller, but thankfully he caught himself with his arms and didn't get hurt. Sarah got thrown around a bit and is sore today, but thankfully she and Majo are okay. We got off the bus and then had a police officer help us to know which stop to get off at. We took his advice and got on the right bus. Thankfully the bus wasn't as crowded the rest of the way home, but it was bumpy and felt like riding a rollercoaster. We made it to the stop the officer told us to get off at and we were still a ways from home. We crossed the highway on the pedestrian bridge and luckily there was a taxi that had just dropped someone off. He agreed to take us home. Hallelujah! We finally made it home, hungry, tired and sore. I am so thankful that we were able to make it home safely. Prayers were definitely answered last night. Lessons learned: don't go out during the soccer game and never ride the bus in Bogota.
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| truck full of people cheering and blowing horns |
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| Ben and Diego hanging on for dear life |
