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June 29th 2012

Published: July 2nd 2012

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michelleandkev

Michelle atop Monserrate

At 3152 metres above sea level

Our Colombian holiday is over. We flew from Cartagena to Bogota after enjoying one last lunch with the love-birds Angelica & Juan. They were great company and although it was sad to leave them we met up with them again on our last night in Bogota.

We spent our one full day in Bogota sightseeing, staring with a trip to Monserrate which is the mountain dominating the city centre of Bogota and which is 3152 metres above sea level. As well as many cafes, restaurants, shops and the like there is also a church there built in the 17th century. Taking the funicular to the top we spent about 90 minutes exploring the place; since all downtown Bogota can be seen from Monserrate it is a great tourist attraction. From there we headed off to the Museo del Ora - the Gold Museum - a fascinating place to explore and which told us much Pre-Hispanic history about the various indigenous tribes in South America prior to colonisation plus lots about their beliefs, customs and goldsmithing over the centuries.

Then it was off for a walking tour of some of the touristy areas in downtown Bogota, the main attraction of

Finger licking' chicken & other culinary delights

For sale at one of the Monserrate cafes

which was Bolivar Square, the Cathedral and other municipal buildings. Bogota is noisy and dirty - everyone seems to just throw their rubbish on the streets - and there are buskers, hawkers, police and military everywhere. We even saw a street fight taking place however we hightailed it away from there as soon as we realised what was going on. Some of the holes in the roads have to be seen to be believed; a baby elephant could get lost in one without too much trouble! Slight exaggeration there but you get the picture. I certainly wouldn't want to live in Bogota but it has been fantastic to spend some time exploring the place.

On our last evening Angelica's mum Gloria - with her granddaughter Sofia asleep in her car seat - picked us up from our apartment from where we went to pick up Juan's mum. Then it was off to Gloria's apartment (Alvaro was in Villa de Leyva) where we chatted until Angelica & Juan arrived back from Cartagena. Then Angelica, Juan, Juan's mother, Catalina, Kev & I went out for dinner enjoying a typical Colombian meal. Since Gloria had to stay home babysitting Sofia she couldn't

My first arrest!

But they were very nice to me.

join us so we said our goodbyes. After tasting some delicious Colombian food followed by a wander around to see the various bars in the area where we'd eaten we were driven to our apartment. More goodbyes.

Parting is such sweet sorrow but hopefully it won't be too long until we meet again. We had a wonderful time in Colombia; we were treated like royalty by the family and welcomed by everyone we met. Thank you to all our Colombian friends for helping to make our visit so special. Please don't leave it too long before you come to visit us in Sydney so that we return the hospitality!!

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