Blogs from Bogota, Colombia, South America - page 48

Hi all, WOW, the first week here has been quite the adventure already. After going through customs at the airport and waiting about 45 minutes for our bags, finally we had arrived and received a warm welcome from my family members here in Bogota. Upon arriving at Abuelita’s we were pretty exhausted and overwhelmed. After some small chit chat with family we decided to call it a night as soon as they left. We woke up Friday morning to the aroma of uncle Ivan’s home made muffins which he makes daily and sells them in the street. He has created quite the clientele, typically selling out of muffins within his first hour. Needless to say, his little business has become quite a hit with the locals. We unpacked, exchanged some dollars for Pesos, walked around the ... read more

It's noon on a friday afternoon and out the window of my room I see about ten highrise apartments and three more being built. This is a growing city, as the population pushes higher than eight million people the growth pushes north and west away from the mountains. Small towns are absorbed into the metropolis and they become historic neighbourhoods with expensive restaraunts and trendy stores. In the centre there is alot to interest a person curious of Colombia's deep history; museums, galleries and historic buildings. Also there are six universites churning out a well educated generation of young Bogotans. In the past two weeks I think I've met more chemical, civil, and stuctural engineers than I have in the rest of my life not to mention the architects, dentists, and translators who speak four fluent ... read more

We stepped across the border - no machete-wielding drug lords. Got our passports stamped - nobody trying to force us to carry 20 bags of white powder of unknown content to some foreign destination. So far so good. First impressions? Bit like home really - grey, drab and drizzly! But it wasn't long before we'd left the border town and were winding slowly down one side of a steep valley with lush green hills all around and a river flowing along the bottom far below us. Beautiful. We had a very high quality movie on the bus, 'Looking for Miguel', (I highly recommend it if you ever come across it) full of violence, sex, drugs and transvestites, perfect for a lazy afternoon on a bus, with passengers of all ages. Bogota We'd met some people who'd ... read more

BOGOTA Bogota has plenty to offer. The city center is beautiful, and walking throughout is easy and relatively safe--just "no de papaya" and you will be fine (in other words use common sense). The Plaza Bolivar is a beautiful spot for travellers and tourists alike: the Prima Catedral, el Palacio Narino, the Bolivar Monument, the Palacio de Justicia, and other government buildings can be found here. Around the area, one can find a number of museums. I visited some of them last year--Casa de Botero, Casa de la Moneda. Others, like the Police Museum, are close by. Transmilenio is a great service, though most of the time you will have to fight your way just to be able to climb on. With a recent hike in price--now at 1500 Colombian pesos--most people are not happy with ... read more

Hello Everyone I'm in the heart of Columbia now. Visiting the capital city Bogotá. With me now is Meagan. She flew in on Tuesday and will be traveling with me for the next 6 weeks. I'm hoping after 6 weeks of traveling with me she will still like me !?! Only time will tell! We spent the last couple of days Checking out Bogotá. Lots of museums here, some amazing lookout points and some strange things too (salt cathedral). Salt Cathedral - this is a cathedral in a old salt mine under a mountain. the mine is full of caverns that are 18m wide, 75m long, and 18m high. The cathedral can accommodate 8400 people. Its a maze of caverns and tunnels also includes a 3D movie theater. We had a great time in Bogota and ... read more