Bogota: Arriving in the D.C. of Colombia

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I have always enjoyed the slogan of the Montreal Gazette, which states that ¨bigger is better,¨ but after visiting Bogota, I am not quite sure that I stll believe in this mantra. Bogota is the capital of Colombia, it has around 7 million inhabitants and spans approx. 22 kms. and is a sea of buildings. Therefore, it is easy to understand that it is a little hard not to feel a little lost in this concrete jungle....

When we arrived in Bogota on Sunday, most things were closed.....so we decided to visit a museum. One of the best museums in Colombia is their Gold Museum, and it is quite an impressive sight. It had a number of exhibits including the origins of gold, its uses as well as its symbolism, so it was quite educational. Another bonus was that the musuem is free on Sundays!

On Monday, we were lucky to get to see the Salt Cathedral, which is approximatly 45 minutes outside of Bogota in Zipaquirá. It was a little odd to see an underground Cathedral that was within a salt mine, but I guess a part of travelling is seeing new things one never knew existed. There were a lot of chapels with the stages of the cross inside the cathedral, and each one had carvings of the cross, so it was quite impressive. After this we heading back to the city as we were going to Andre D.C. for dinner, which is one of the city´s best known restaurants. The atmosphere was really festive and there was even a jazz singer, however the restaurant has way too much staff....I think there were two waiters per client. However, the food was great, and I really loved my Bistec de Caballero!

On our last day in Bogota, I thought it would be relaxing to go to Parque Simon Bolivar and just walk around. However, it was a little out of the city so we asked for directions, and the lady at the hostel told us the buses we should take, so I was confident that we could go and get back for 1, as we were meeting a friend for lunch. After and hour and a half we arrived at the park, and it was beautiful. There was a lake in the center, tons of playgrounds etc., so we walked around and read on a park bench. Then it was time to head back, so we found the buses and asked for Germania, but the bus driver didn´t seem to know the area, so I said it was near the Candeleria, and he said ¨si si,¨ and we got onto the bus. Unfortunately, there are two Candelerias in Bogota and we were going to the wrong area! Luckily, our passengers helped us find our way back, and after another bus and two metro rides we were back at the hostel!

That afternoon we went for a really nice lunch and I had Ajiaco which is a Bogotan specialty, which is a soup wth corn, cream, capers, chicken and much more! However, I think the highlight of our stay in Bogota was our final night when we went for dinner with a friend of a friends. It was at a restaurant owned by friends of hers that had jut opened a week earlier. The food and wine were amazing and we go to sit and chat with the chefs who were really friendly. It was also really nice because we got to meet people who were actually from Colombia....which was a nice way to end our adventures in the country.

Tomorrow Amanda goes back to Canada.....and I leave for Ecuador!

Hasta pronto,
Caitlin

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