Brilliantly Bogota

a new follower
just got our first notification. i had never thought about going to south America. sounds interesting. loved the comment about being closer to Bogota than Seattle. we can get to Europe faster than we can get to Newfoundland!.

Elevation so close by!
Your point about how close Bogota is to Florida has me thinking. I wonder how far we would have to fly to reach 1000 feet in the US from Miami Florida? . It takes three hours to fly to New York!

A fascinating place!
Like I said before "MJ and Dave stole my dream"...Once I got a similar deal like yours...the airlines cancelled the flights and stopped their service. But I kept my eyes open. Indeed, the aerial, foggy view of Bogota as clicked in your camera is a true Bogota signature. You are so right about the SIM card cost...I also found them so cheap in other countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam....I don't know why they are so expensive in North America. Anyway, enjoy to the fullest. Where to next? Will wait for your next blog and images in fb.

Viva Colombia!
I’ve been to Medellin, Cali, and Cartagena, but not Bogota. It’s high on my list, and you’ve kicked it up a few notches. The Gold Museum sounds amazing. I hope to make my way there soon!

Off to a great start
Ugh, flight changes, Air Force One delays, and ill prepared travelers. I am glad it seems you have the bad mojo out of the way and are off to a great start. The tour with Sebastian sounds like it was not just fun but filled with good info. I like those tours. Keep on having a great time.

Yum!
I totally agree that you can never have enough empanadas, hope the other food has been good too. Bogota looks amazing, and the misty views you describe reminded me of a book called Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (based in Bogota). We saw an episode of Anthony Bourdain's in Colombia where he flew into the heart of the jungle. We miss him too :(

Beautiful Bogata
I'm so glad that you've finally made it to Bogata, Colombia. Our first visit there was to attend the wedding of our beautiful Colombian homestay Marianne who lived with us in Sydney, Australia while she studied at Macquarie University. Since then we've spent time travelling around Colombia, Mexico and Peru with Marianne and her husband Juan David who have since migrated to Australia. We call Marianne and Juan David our Colombian kids and, their two children are now our Colombian grandkids. It's such a pleasure to have a multi-cultural mixture of friends.

Colombian politics
A few years ago I attended a reception at the NSW Parliament House for Ingrid Betancourt - a former Colombian senator and anti-corruption activist who was kidnapped by FARC members and held for six years before being rescued - at which she was talking about all that and was publicising her book. When I discussed this with my Colombian friends, Marianne & Juan David, they had a completely different idea about Ingrid Betancourt's behaviour which led to her capture by members of FARC as they said she'd been warned not to go into the area where she was captured and she was no hero to them. Different perspectives are definitely food for thought!!

Hi there 😊
Hi Dave and MJ! I'm so happy you've made it to Colombia, which is our family's native country. I've never actually been to Bogota but I can tell you that the rest of the major cities there are so great, are you visiting any other cities? We were in Colombia last year and our daughters keep insisting we go back soon, specifically to Medellin and Armenia. Its funny you mentioned Anthony Bourdain, because when we were in China we went on a crazy mission to find the restaurant he highlighted on his show, which didn't end up being bad or great, just so-so! Anthony just makes everything seem so interesting doesn't he?

Botoga
Wow, you guys are travelling again! Bogota looks very interesting, and beautiful. Wonderful photos. Thanks for taking us along on your Columbian adventures!

Bogota
We'd planned to go to South America when COVID hit, and you're making me think about it again. One thing that puts us off is how hard it is to get to from Oz - very few direct flights, so generally you've got to go via LA or Houston, which makes it worse for us than getting to Europe. .... and we thought it was probably not all that safe when COVID was on. But now...?

So many good things!
Wow - that was great reading and gave me the sense you checked all the boxes of what makes travel so fulfilling!

On the to-do list
Colombia is still on our to-do list. We'd love to go there, because we have many fond memories from our visits in other countries in Latin America. I am sure a visit to Colombia would also be very rewarding. /Ake

Coca tea
Hello my friends! So interesting, I'll add bogata to my list and kept Sebastian's number. There were baby mentions of chewing on coca leaves and sipping coca tea but no further details on Ayahuasca -like shamanic experiences. Is it like the CBD -THC you can get in every corner here in Seattle or more like Earl Grey infused with coca cola or none of the above? 😂 Staying tuned for Medellin.

Brilliantly Bogota
I remember Bogota having very friendly people and a really good vibe. Glad to see you were able to experience it too. I didn't get to go up Monserrate when I was there, I seem to remember it being a bit dodgy and unsafe at the time. Great to read about it in your travels though. The hummingbirds must have been delightful, and I'm afraid I don't know the name of those flowers either - trumpet flowers sounds good, lol! Good to see you travelling and enjoying great food again 😊👍

Coca Leaf Ice Cream
What did the coca leaf ice cream taste like? I remember drink the coca tea in Peru, it wasn't too bad with a little sugar.