12-18 September

I have stayed with Elizabeth and Victor Eduardo in San Gil for the past week. I was going to leave on Monday, then Thursday and ended up staying for the week! I've really enjoyed being here, it's been lovely to be in a home and be part of the family and they really made me feel at home :-) I have had time to relax quite a lot this week too which has also been nice!

Things I have done this week:

-Tried more typical Colombian food, such as tamal, molido and a soup called "sancocho"

-Had some lovely home cooked meals

-Cooked a couple of meals- I really enjoyed cooking, have missed it!

-Made a typical English breakfast

-Been taught some salsa and merengue by Victor Eduardo who is a great dancer and also a good teacher. It was really good fun and at least now if I go out dancing I will be able to attempt to dance! :-)

-Eaten a (tiny) bit of a buffalo burger! (And avoided eating goat!)

-Tried the local spirit called Aguardiente- drunk as shots, similar to the original Sambuca. It is nice apart from I found it had a strange aftertaste! I think it should be drunk once you've had some other drinks, then you wouldn't notice!

- Tried my first 'tinto', very popular/typical here- a small black coffee. Colombia produces great coffee. I don't like coffee but this was ok, was sweetened though and without the sugar I think I'd find it too strong.

-Watched a couple of Colombian soaps with dodgy acting and too fast Spanish!

-Watched some American TV with subtitling, good for my Spanish as I can read and understand most of the subtitles

-Spoken lots of English with Victor Eduardo- good practice for him :-)

-Spoken lots of Spanish with everyone- good practice for me :-)

Overall I have just really enjoyed the unexpected opportunity to live with this lovely family for a week. A big thanks to them :-) But I better continue my travels…..It's a month since I left England (though it feels like much longer!) and there is still lots more to see here in Colombia!