Bogota

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Friday, Oct 6

The flight from Cartagena is just over 1 hour and we are quickly in an Uber to the Tequandama Suites Hotel in downtown Bogota. Unfortunately, check in isn’t until 3pm and we are there at 10.45am, however there is an option to pay half price and get a room now. And it is a suite, sitting area and closed off bedroom, our most spacious to-date.

A quick walk around our immediate area is on the cards, unfortunately the altitude is giving Dick some problems, but he perseveres. As Bogota sits at around 8500ft we spend the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and don’t venture out until dinner time.

The restaurant Republique is our choice and it’s an Asian fusion menu makes for a very pleasant evening meal for me, however I don’t think Dick was quite as enthusiastic.



Saturday, Oct 7

Our target for the morning is the Paloquemao Fruit Market. This place was mostly under cover and enormous. Meat and Fish were in refrigerated display cabinets, so much different to our Cartagena experience. The fruit and vegetable section seems to go on and on, also there is a section for orchids. And then as I walk past a plant shop some quite healthy marijuana plants for sale as well. In fact the smell of weed is very frequent on the streets of Bogota.

Lunch consists of Crepes filled with mozerella cheese and a soft drink.



In the afternoon we visit the National Museum which is directly across the street from our hotel. The museum contains pre conquest exhibits as well as many paintings from Colombian artists. And no self respecting museum in Colombia would be caught with out a number of paintings from the favourite son, Botero. Personally, I don’t think he sold any paintings or sculptures as there are so many dotted around the museums and art museums in Colombia.

Dinner in the hotel was probably the worst we have had on the trip; I started with 3 types of ceviche followed by a seafood risotto and no sooner had I completed my starter than my main was thrust under my nose. The risotto was obviously heated up and had a hint of carnation milk in it. Not good at all… I did make it known to our waiter, but “no habla englaise” .

Sunday, Oct 8

Visit to Museo del Oro, the gold museum and wow, there’s 3 floors of gold artefacts from various periods of Colombian History and different provinces of Colombia. As we are over 60, entrance to museums is free. The Banco del La Republica started the collection in 1939 and has over 59,000 pieces of gold, ceramic and textiles In the Museum. It’s a must for anyone visiting Bogota. The area surrounding the museum has all kinds of vendors and hawkers wanting you to pose with llamas.

After the museum our goal is to walk around the historic district to check out the buildings and street art. Along the way, we head into what must be the largest street market in South America and I’m sure we could have purchased just about anything. Finally we found the wall art, however being a Sunday the streets are full of people. Still, we manage to get some pretty decent photos, I think.

No fine dining tonight, so our dinner is at a nearby restaurant Sushi Wok as everything else seems to close early on Sundays.

Monday, Oct 9

It’s time to catch up on laundry and Dick triumphantly tells me there is a Lavendaria approximately one mile away. What he doesn’t know is it is situated on one of the roughest neighbourhoods in Bogota. It’s 10am as I push my laundry through an iron gate, pay and set pickup time for 3pm. Yes, 10am and already the Prostitutes are on the street plying their ware’s; it seems US 20$ is the going rate for Gringos. I politely decline and jump back in our Uber, Dick is about 2 minutes behind me. Our next stop we assume is going to a church on top of the mountain, however we have given the wrong address and our driver drops us in La Candelaria, a neighbourhood of Bogota at a different Church. “Oh well, let’s have coffee and regroup” is Dicks suggestion, I wholeheartedly agree! Attempt two, takes us to the Monseratte funicular, wrong again! On our third attempt we make it and do get to the Church, on top of the church is a Mary with outstretched arms looking down over the city of Bogota. A virgin on the hill overlooking the city and reminiscent of the Christ in Rio. Our taxi drops us back in La Candelaria and we walk many of the same streets as yesterday taking photos.

Time for the laundry pickup and yes, many of the same prostitutes are still working hard. Our taxi driver locks all the doors and puts up the windows as we make our way through this Barrio and eventually we are back at our hotel unscathed and with clean laundry.



Dinner is at a restaurant called Armadillo which is highly rated. Again an Uber to our destination. And it is well worth the effort. Excellent service and a varied menu with dishes that are named after California cities And towns. Definitely worth a visit.

Tuesday, Oct 10

Our adventure today is to get to the top of the mountain, Sanctuary of Monserrate, The Uber picks us up at 11.30 and we head to the cable car station. Being “mayor” and over 62 we get a slight discount on our tickets and also are fastracked, so it’s up by funicular and back down by cable car. The Sanctuary of Monserratte sits 3172 meters above sea level, to the uninitiated that’s almost 10,500ft. Also, the history of the sanctuary dates back before the Colombia’s conquest when the mountain was sacred to the indigenous Muisca. In the 1600‘s it became a place of worship for the conquering Spanish…. Today the mountain is crowned with a basilica and various religious icons along with gardens and several restaurants where tourists can eat and overlook the city of Bogota. I’m sure it must be wonderful at night however we are here at 12.40pm, so of course we are going to have fine dining in the best restaurant. To sit on the enclosed terrace with views of the city there is a table cover charge of 80,000 pesos, it sound a lot, but converts to approx $20USD. I take the pre-fix menu, while Dick goes Al a Carte. Both the service and the food are excellent…. And around 2.30 we are descending in the cable car.

Having had a wonderful lunch its time to relax at our hotel and in the evening go to a restaurant called Tapas Macarena, again I can highly recommend this restaurant.



Wednesday, Oct 11.

Today, it a private car and driver to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira. The town of Zipaquira is about 31 miles north of Bogota and the Church is located in the salt mines around 660ft underground. However, on walking to the place of pickup there is an SUV with tinted no see through windows, I knock on the window and get no reaction, but I can see there is someone inside, so knock again, and I am impolitely waved away. Twenty seconds later a security guy appears with a hand gun and a bag from the Casino next to our hotel, immediately followed by a second guard with a shotgun….. Ok, back to the church, an underground place of religious worship where Catholic mass is still performed. On getting entry tickets and an audio guide we both go to the entrance to the mine and after listening to the Do’s and Dont’s Dick decides he had better sit this one out. I proceed alone and make my way through the tunnels and caverns of the Cathedral and yes it’s an engineering feat. However, at the very bottom there are religious icons for sale along with jewelry, clothes and a coffee bar. The sellers in the temple……



Thursday, Oct 12

My plan is to hang around the hotel all day and relax before my flight to La Paz, Bolivia at 9.15pm. as this blog goes out I am still at the hotel contemplating where I should have lunch and dreading my Avianca flight to La Paz.



Final thoughts on Bogota and Colombia

We’ve definitely met some nice and friendly people and the natural beauty of the country is something to behold. All taxi drivers are mad and drive around at excessive speed. Road users are not courteous and “might is right” is the only way to describe road etiquette. However taxis and Uber are inexpensive. There are many quality restaurants at very reasonable prices that stand up anywhere in the world on service, food and top quality chefs. However, if you want to eat cheap then cheap eateries abound. We have always felt safe but we have taken heed of advice as to which of areas we should not venture into, except Dick’s laundrette. Getting money from ATM’s is often limited to 400,000 - 600,000 pesos and the bank hits you with a tidy fee for using their ATM. I have totally enjoyed my trip to date.

As for Bogota, I personally think 3-4 days is sufficient to see what the city has to offer. It’s a big city of 8-10 million people with major traffic issues. And having been to three urban areas in Colombia I personally like Medellin best.

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most enjoyable & interesting