Bogota

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After another day in Medellin spent with Elliot from London we made our way by another night bus to Bogota. Unfortunately on this bus our seats would not recline very much so we were stuck in an upright position for 9 straight hours but I think I managed a few minutes sleep, at least our bus wasn´t leaking!!!
We arrived to "Hostel Platypus" at around 7am and was told our room would not ready until 12! Shortley after while we were trying to wake up in the lounge area we met to New Zealanders, Matt and Melissa. The of us then went out for a quick wander to get some breakfast and some lovely Columbian coffee! We ended up seeing a cable car going up a mountain and thought it could be a good idea. We just walked in the general area across the city towards the mountain and after 30-40mins walking found ourselves at the base. There was also a train going up to the top so we jumped on that and headed for the top. The view of the city from the peak was amazing, it is such a huge city and spans so far out into the suburbs. On the way down we opted for the cable car which was nice.
We then made our way back to the hostel and had a quick shower and settled into our room before heading back out to see the sights. We went to Plaza Bolivar first where we found ourselves in what I think is Columbia´s version of the House of Commons as all the politicions were inside having a debate. One of the kind police officers outside decided he would take us in to have a look which was interesting. I think they are really trying to make Columbia more tourist friendly.
After this we found our way to a famous Chocolate cafe and we all had hot chocolates and different cookies! This was then followed by a trip to the Museo Del Oro (Gold Museum). This was beautiful, well the first floow anyway, after that all the gold was a bit repetitive.
That evening we went for dinner in a trendy little restaurant called Yumi Yumi and proceeded then onto the city centre for a few more beers. We ended up sitting beside two locals who were absolutely hammered and insisted on buying us drinks all night. Not sure what time we left but the streets seemed a whole lot drunker when we went back towards the hostel.
The next day we decided to check out of the hostel and get another night bus to our next destination. During the day we just went to city sights that we missed the day before including a museum which was housing some paintings by Picasso, Renoir and a few other famous painters which was really interesting.
The 4 of us headed towards the bus station around 5pm and got a bus at 7 for Cali which is where we are now. So far it seems like a fairly quiet city but is one of the biggest places in the world for Salsa. Our hostel offers free Salsa lessons in the evening so I think I will definately have to give it a go. The Hostel is called "Hostel Jovita" and is run by a really friendly lady named Aura. We seem to have digital so I am hoping we will get the match tomorrow, otherwise I will just have to try and find an Irish bar somewhere here!!

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