Guatavita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It has an altitude of 2688 m.s.l and the temperature is of 14 °C. Guatavita in Chibcha tongue means end of farming or mountain range point. Guatavita is an architectonic heritage with 17 small squares and the mythical lovers bridge, which was constructed in 1990 to replace the old one that lies at the bottom of the Tominé dam. It is located 75 km away from Bogota on the way to Tunja. At kilometer 35 you have to take the way to Sesquile and Guatavita. In Guatavita you can find wool products, baskets, cooper, gold, and silver items, hammocks and beautiful handcrafts.
The Tomine dam is also located there. It was constructed over the religious city of the Muiscas, and it is important because it generates energy for the area. In Tominé it is possible to practice sailing, water ski and taking walks around the dam.
Guatavita lagoon. It was the sacred lake and the central point for the Muisca (Chibchas) ceremonies. In this place, the Muiscas adored the CHIE goddess, or goddess of water. Guatavita lagoon is located at the “peñas blancas” mountain near the Guatavita town, and was discovered by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in the year 1.537.
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit this small and beautiful place with my students in Second Grade. It was truly an unforgettable experience since it was their first trip to the countryside that lasted two days. They were really excited, anxious, and nervous.
The trip started on Thursday when they arrived to school with their huge camping bags. They had brought their thermos, sleeping bags, clothes, sunblock, flashlight, towel, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. It was funny to see those small kids carrying those enormous bags!
DAY 1: Teachers and guides were ready. We were in total 10 adults that were going to take care of them. We got on the bus at 8:30 am and arrived at the Portillo Club at 10:00 am. We picked up our bags and organized them in a room. Then, we had a delicious and nutritious snack. Later on, the guides explained to us the plans for the trip. We were going to start with some activities to integrate both grades (2A and 2B). Kids were taken to the camping zone to learn how to set up the tent in which they were going to sleep. All were paying attention and following the guides’ instructions. It was a challenge for them to do exactly what they were told to do. Once the tents were ready, we went to the town to have The Amazing Race. It was an activity in which students were divided in groups to look for the answers of some established questions. Students were like crazy running all over the town trying to find places, people, and answers. At the end, two groups won the race. One of them was mineJ.
Our next activity was to create an object that represented a chosen legend using clay. Kids were very creative. Their inventions were awesome and they were very happy. After it, they went to some shops to buy handcrafts. Everyone spent their 15.000 pesos in presents for their families.
At night, the tents were ready for the kids to go to sleep. Kids were tired after the long day full of activities and fun. They put on their pajamas and slept until the next day.
They arrived to the park and walked long meters until they finally saw the beauty of the lake surrounded by all kinds of green colors. Students asked for a wish and sang a song which they previously rehearsed with the guides. At the end of the journey, Zambo gave us a nice t-shirt that we all wore.
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