This is Haley holding a giant, fried ant. Known as "hormigas culonas" (which literally translates to "big a-- ant") these ants are common in the Santander region where we've been traveling. Colombians will harvest the ants by the bag full, pluck off their wings, then fry them in butter. Haley is only holding the ant's butt. We had considered going to Gringo Mike's again (see yesterday's post), but we decided to go cheap today. We are too poor.
Before our adventures with the bugs we headed to Barichara, a beautiful little village about an hour away from San Gil. Barichara was founded back in the 1700's when a farmer in the region had a vision of the virgin Mary, leading to a rush of Catholics to the region. A large church was constructed, and the village prospered. Colombia now maintains the village as a national heritage site. Every house has red tile roofs, whitewashed walls, and green doors and windows. This, combined with the cobblestone streets, makes Barichara look like a village lost in time.
There are two really old churches in Barichara--a cathedral and a smaller chapel. Both are constructed out of reddish-orange stone, and both have wooden roofs. They were really pretty.
We wandered the streets for several hours, admiring the houses, and stopping to try some local food. We enjoyed pineapple turnovers, bagged water (a Colombian specialty), and even green mango served with lime juice, salt, and pepper.
All seemed to be going well. Haley was quickly becoming enamored with the place, even going so far as to propose living here permanently.
That is, until we stumbled across the shrine to the local delicacy.
We then returned to San Gil, stopping by the local mall for some more fresh fruit and then heading back to the hostel for a quick nap. Haley was a good sport, and agreed to eat an ant for the camera. Enjoy:
Oh yeah, remember how I said that the ants were for dinner? Well, I lied. We went to Gringo Mike's again. I had a BLT with a Lulo and Basil juice, and Haley had a Philly cheese steak with a coconut limeade. We'll be back on rice and beans tomorrow I'm sure!
Tomorrow we'll be coming at you from Villa de Leyba, another beautiful little colonial town a few hours outside Bogota. Be sure to come back for more!
Konner & Haley
I was addicted to bagged water! Seriously, 10 cents of near frozen goodness. An green mangoes, not really addicted.
ReplyDeleteYeah, not our favorite either. But I'm sure Haley would eat 10 green mangos before eating another ant!
DeleteThese narratives are priceless. Being able to travel though the beautiful country like a local. Awesome.
ReplyDelete