Capital Excursion

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Knowing that we want to fit in many activities today, we wake up bright and early at Pilar's apartment in downtown Bogota. It's overcast and slightly chilly as usual, so we dress in layers for the long day out and about.

Our first stop was the impressive Montserrate. A monastery and sanctuary, this mountain top site has actually served as a site of pilgrimage for religious followers. On most Sundays, lines of people trek to the top by stairway to visit the holy church and surroundings. Other days, Monserrat serves as a serene destination for those wishing a spectacular view of Bogota. The sprawling city of 8 million people is unbelievably impressive from this scenic overlook.

A cablecar or funicular takes you to the top, and the well manicured gardens and ancient architecture complement the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. It was so beautiful. We spent a good deal of time here just gazing, and walking the grounds of the church.

Coming back down to street level, we rounded the corner from Montserrat to visit the house of Simon Bolivar, Colombia's George Washington. Having grown up just miles from Williamsburg and Jamestown, we found it interesting to compare the similarities and differences between the two Colonial sites. And after the house, we drove by the Parque Simon Bolivar, the plaza named for the great liberator. I later found out that Coldplay would be playing a massive concert here in this plaza during the Latin America leg of their tour (and on my birthday weekend!). Too bad we couldn't plan a trip around that.

One thing we definitely had planned to see in Bogota was the very highly recommended Museo del Oro (Gold Museum). For around $1 US, we spent the greater part of an afternoon touring the completely renovated museum. Being so new, it was very modern, and we were excited to see everything written in both Spanish and English. Of course seeing hall after hall of rich, orangey gold, mostly ancient artifacts, was very interesting for someone with my jewelry background. I liked how the exhibits were divided into categories hilighting the precious metal's importance to Colombian history, and ties to tribal beliefs in its divine properties. It was great for a super-nerd like me, but anyone would have enjoyed a stroll through that place. The museum also offered a fantastic restaurant, like all the best museums in the world do, so we had a great lunch of more upscale versions of Colombian dishes.

Even though we had a typical large lunch, we avoided a usual mid-afternnoon snack since we were officially going out on the town tonight and actually eating dinner. Without the kids for this last day of the trip, we decided to check out the Zona Rosa. Lovely cobblestone streets snaked around bars and the most prestigious restaurants in the city. We had a good time just walking around, and on my next visit to Bogota, I definitely want to spend some more time around here, shopping, drinking, and eating.

We fit in as much as we could in a few hours, picking up last minute buys at the mall there, drinking a few actually good beers at a brewing station, and settling down for a very fancy dinner at H. Sasson, a restaurant from a native celebrity chef, Harry Sasson. After all of our wonderful, wholesome but rustic meals the past 2 weeks, it was quite different to be served Asian-Colombian fusion dishes at what the chef describes as his Wok and Satay Bar. We shared a couple of great bottles of wine and finished the meal off with desserts and coffee. It really was a wonderful last meal.

Since this is the last entry of the last day of this trip, I could easily drone on and on about how much we learned, how much fun we had, how many amazing things we saw. However, I feel it much more approriate to end this journal of sorts on more of a cliffhanger. Afterall, this is merely the end of this trip, and can also be considered the beginning of a continuous series of visits to Colombia. So in signing off on this trip's blog entries, I'll just say... until next time.

On a more somber but nonetheless important note, since the writing of this list of blog entries, my much beloved great aunt Maruja passed away not quite a year after the time of our visit. As I had stated in earlier entries, her warmth and generosity really made our experience in Medellin what it was. Hers was the first face I saw at the airport, waiting to welcome us. She pushed treats between meals, and aguardiente shots in between treats. Without having exchanged many words, I still feel closest to her of anybody in Colombia, and it is with great sadness that I realize no one will have the privilage of encountering that kindness again.

It is no coincidence that so many of my favorite memories of this trip also involve Maruja's three children, and the generous spirit she so obviously imparted upon them. I will continue to feel lucky to have spent so much time with her in Medellin, and to have a small token, a necklace given as a gift our last night in town, by which to remember her.

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Photos

Monserratte
A zoomed-in view of the city

Colonial home of Simon Bolivar
estate entrance