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Published: February 19th 2015
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Bogota
We really didn’t have very high expectations for Bogota. As a capital city, we were prepared for crowds, traffic, lots of tourists and of course museums and churches! We loved it. While there was all of the above, it wasn’t overwhelming and the tourists that we met, seemed to be fun and adventurous (a little like ourselves I suppose!). Like so many places that one can visit, the people that we met played a large part in our great experience here.
Thanks to another stellar hostel find from Sarah, we arrived in Bogota from Pereira (bit of a haul by bus) and got setup in a hostel in La Candelaria. In fact I think it was called La Candelaria Hostel. We met loads of other people on travels and arranged to do the city tour / pub crawl that night. A bus load of us took off around Bogota, visiting landmarks, viewpoints and many bars and nightclubs. The bus journey itself was brilliant as about twenty of us backpackers went big. You'll notice a night photo with a great view around Bogota, a massive city with a population of approximately 7,000,000. The culmination of a fun night of
partying with our friends, was an exclusive penthouse nightclub overlooking the city with extraordinary views and great DJs.
The next day, we had a slightly more relaxing one and decided to walk the city, soak up some sun and see what was going on on the streets....which included Guinea Pig races! Now I've been known to have a flutter from time to time, but this was brilliant! The Guinea Pig (Cuy) handler rounded up five at a time and us spectators had the option of betting on which trap they would run into. For 50c a pop it was great value for money! To keep a balance, Sarah pried me away from the Rodent Races to visit the Museo del Oro (Museum of Gold). The Museo houses a vast array of Pre-Colombian gold, artifacts, and provides a look at history before, what is today known as, Colombia was formed. God, I loved those Guinea Pigs 😉
Sarah possesses a wise, worldly, soul I'd say a lot of our friends may agree. She really seems to connect with history regardless of where or when it is from. Our trip to India and around South America seemed to bring her
spiritual side to the fore for most of the journey - she was inspired. Bogota was about the 3/4 mark of our trip and while here, she (with maybe a little help from me) put pen to paper on designing a logo that would soon represent The Native Source; a handmade and fair trade jewelry business that she started. You can see one of the drafts included in the photos as part of this blog.
One museum that I really enjoyed was the Military Museum in Bogota. Actual personnel from the Colombian armed forces welcome visitors and provide kind assistance to leave a favorable impression. Our guide was about eighteen and a very nice, knowledgeable young fella. Some of the guard's proudest moments come in telling the story of how they helped to bring Escobar down. We also got to see and touch a lot of weapons which was interactive and interesting.
When it comes to art, I am more Dali then Picasso. I also found out that I am into Fernando Botero's work. His signature style, (Boterismo) depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political humor and criticism. He is also still alive
which was a bonus for me too. We had been to his museum in his hometown of Medellin and now we visited his work in th capital. It's hard to pick a favorite, because his consistent and interesting style is used to devastating effect in portraying so may historical figureheads and events including the Mona Lisa, Pablo Escobar and even animals.
Another great thing about Bogota, was that we got to meet up with friends again. We enjoyed a few nights out on the town with Marsha and Tremane (congrats to the now-married couple!) and were kindly hosted by Sarah and Giovanna at their lovely apartment. It was with Sarah & Giovanna that we were introduced to rock climbing too as they invited us to their place in Suesca, which is considered the Colombian birthplace of rick climbing. There was a group of about ten who were getting together to scale the cliff faces one Saturday morning and we were glad to come along for the ride. I actually joined the gang a little into the afternoon, as I ducked into a local pub to watch Man United whallop Arsenal 8-2 in the Premier League. (I'll have to write
up a separate blog about my soccer antics while travelling). Anyway, after a few tasty pints and watching my team win I joined the crew to give this rock-climbing a go. Sarah and I did quite well for our first time as we both scaled to the heights of our experienced friends.
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