Panaca Sabana

Approximately one hour north of Bogota there is a town nestled in the eastern Andes Mountains. This town is not only home to the Cathedral of Salt but also to a unique haven where kids imaginations can literally run wild. This was our second visit to Zipaquira but our first time to Panaca Sabana. Panaca Sabana is cleaner, nicer smelling, and much fancier than any petting farm or zoo that we have ever visited.

Bienvenido to Panaca Sabana!

Of course, before our adventure can begin the kids need to be introduced. Here sits Santi Tanner and Jacob near the water fountain at the entrance to the park. Those not pictured include Sebastian, Gabriela, Josiah, Gerrit, Henry, Maria, Luciana, and Carlos.

Some other amigos that you might occasionally see in the photos: Tony, Pat, Kevin, Jeff, and Dave.




And of course the amigas include: Connie, Rachel, Adriana, Stephanie, and Tammy.

It was an overcast day and the ride seemed like it took forever from Jacob's perspective. Once again he needed to be horizontal for the van ride but when his feet hit the ground at Panaca there was no stopping him. The first venue was to ride on a llama. Fortunate for Jacob this llama had no drama.

The next opportunity was to feed hay from a feeding trough to a dairy cow.

I have heard many dog owners comment on how their dogs can smile. Well I am here to tell you that this cow had a big grin after Jacob fed him. Can't you see it?

For only 1,000 pesos you could purchase a bottle of milk to feed to the calves. Dave opted not to buy a bottle but to use his finger. Oh what fond memories of the farm this brought back to Dave.

Jacob on the other hand wanted to use a bottle and enjoyed petting the calves on the head.

Once the bottles were gone and Dave's finger was wrinkled from the suckling calf a miniature white goat appeared from who knows where. It caught the attention of Jacob and Carlos and they encouraged it to sample the day lilies. They continued to follow the goat wherever it went but the leader of the pack was quickly carried away by a Panaca employee after it jumped up onto a table.

Then a man swaggered toward us with a very large horned bull in tow. Jacob exhibited some authority and grabbed the bull by the nose. The horns were to high to reach otherwise I think that he would have grabbed the bull by the horns.

We were still in dairy land when we saw that you could milk a cow. Jacob informed me that this was not the first cow that he ever milked but he was willing to do it again. He sat on the left side of the cow and Carlos and his Dad were on the right side.

You really need to concentrate when milking a cow. It isn't as easy as it looks.

The reward for your hard work in milking the cow is either to drink the milk or have a Panaca employee pour it into a bottle to feed it to a calf. We contemplated drinking it but then quickly reconsidered after remembering Dave's two bouts of intestinal distress. Jacob, however sampled the milk that had spilled out of the cup and onto his hand. He was reminded by his mother of all the things that he had touched prior to milking the cow and that licking his hand was not the best idea.

Right outside of the stall where Jacob milked the cow was tethered a massive bull. Earlier in our visit I believe that all of the families that we were at Panaca with sat on the bull and got their picture taken. At that time Jacob was not interested in getting his picture taken on the bull with Dave. I think that deep down inside Dave really wanted to sit on the bull. So as Jacob and I stepped out of the stall I turned to my right and I saw Dave sizing up the bull.

Before I knew it Dave was astride this large creature and waving his arm around as if he had conquered the beast.

Like Father, like son, Jacob was caught up in the adrenaline rush of sitting a top all this beef. When was the last time that you sat on a bull of this size?

We had a ticket for a one o'clock show so we needed to mosey on toward the arena. On our way we passed through the pig town. I can honestly say that I have never in my life seen any pig quite like this. His pen mates didn't look much better either.

Luciana was not quite sure what to think of these squealing, snorting, stinky, slobbering piglets.

Jacob enjoyed trying to feed the crowd.

We made our way into the pig stadium and found a place to sit. Jacob and Carlos were ready for the show to begin.

It was a good show. The two Colombian announcers spoke and sang little jingles in Spanish. The crowd seemed to enjoy the songs as there were many smiles and much laughter. I am not sure if we were the butt of some of the songs but we smiled, nodded, and laughed too.

There were two sets of races and each contestant had a name. These pigs reminded us of the show pigs that we saw at Spartan Store's family picnic.

After the pigs raced, six kids were invited to run the track with the pigs. Jacob, Santi, Gerrit, Josiah, and two other kids eagerly ran down to the track.

We sat in the stands and cheered Jacob on. His biggest fan by far was Luciana.

If you are wondering who won the race, you will have to come over some time to watch the video. One hint it was pink with black spots and wore a purple jersey.

There was one ticket left in our pocket and that was a pass to ride the ponies.

Two amigos riding off........

The day at Panaca Sabana went too quickly. Before we knew it there was a rumbling in our stomachs. There was only one restaurant that could satisfy our hunger. It was Andres Carne de Res.

This restaurant is a favorite for many locals and tourists. It is known for the quality and large portions of meat that they serve, it's night life, and it's uniquely decorated interior and exterior. The cow below is life size and made out of wine bottle corks.

The inside is filled with one man's treasures from around the world. There wasn't a bare spot on the wall!

While we waited for our dinner to be served, Jacob and Santi enjoyed dancing on one of the dance floors in the restaurant. They returned to the table just in time to see a three man band serenade the patrons and throw confetti as they passed by. Dinner was spectacular and soothed the deep rumble from within. Feeling satisfied and feeling the need to move, Jacob and Santi returned to the dance floor as the staff threw more confetti. Soon Gerrit, Josiah, and Carlos caught the salsa fever and were drawn from their table to the dance floor too.

Before we knew it the time had come for us to pile back into the van and head south to Bogota. Thank you Thompsons, Tanners, Kammeraads, and Pat and Connie for a good day out!

As I sit here and reflect on this day, I realized that there was one thing that could have made this day better than it already was....Joel, Marc, Giselle, Gabe, Aana, Caleb, Emma, Mason, Charlie, and Beau. Maybe the next time we are in Colombia you can join us in our adventures! We miss you guys!