Bustling Bogota

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Bogota. Population 7.8 million. Colombia’s capital and a city that conjures up images of adventure. The final stop on our four-city, whirlwind, two-week tour.

Bogota was unlike any of the other cities we visited, a place that marches to its own beat. After settling in, the first order of business was to adjust to the altitude as the city sits right in the Andes; at 2,625 metres, it’s third highest in South America. For the first day or two this meant drinking lots of water as we were constantly parched, though cervezas or vino tinto (red wine) were largely out of the question. To have any more was to invite a 12-hour headache.

We stayed in an area of the city known as La Candelaria, an older part of the city where the Congress, City Hall, Justice Building and Presidential Palace are all located — an area that, until recent years, was deemed more rough and tumble.

In Bogota, we indulged in some of the typical Colombian dishes including ajiaco (a delicious chicken stew with potatoes and a hunk of corn), tamales (chicken and pork with rice, carrots and corn steamed in banana leaf), and chocolate caliente con queso (hot chocolate with cheese — yes, cheese) — something warm and comforting for the chillier Bogota nights. In Bogota the air was fresh and it was the first time in two weeks we really needed jackets or long pants, though I was unwilling to give up my flip-flops.

On the sightseeing front, we wandered the narrow streets of the Candelaria and took a four-hour bike tour with an enterprising US-journalist-turned-bike-tour-operator (look up Mike and Bogota Bike Tours), a great way to get some exercise and a sense of the overall city. Mike took us to the square where Bogota was first founded, the mercado (market), and some neighbourhoods we may not have seen otherwise.

Another sightseeing highlight? Our Christmas-morning visit to Monserrate, accessible by cable car and funicular, offering stunning views of the city sprawled out below. As it was Christmas Day and there was a church atop the mountain, Monserrate was abuzz while the air rang warmly with the sound of Spanish renditions of familiar Christmas carols. There was also a busy market filled with eats and souvenirs which we wandered after enjoying a couple of café con leches (coffees with milk) and some pastries.

The next day we wrapped our trip, saying Hasta luego to Colombia and the enjoyable two weeks we spent in this fascinating and evolving South American gem where, according to the country's tourism slogan, the only risk is wanting to stay.

Colombia, el riesgo es que te quieras quedar.

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