Bogota - part 2

Our first visit to Bogota was fairly fleeting so we very much looked forward to going back there. And the city really didn´t dissappoint second time round. Last time we didn't manage to see the Museo del Oro (gold museum) so that was first on the list. It is one of the best museums I have been to. Brilliantly laid out, all of the information is displayed both in Spanish and English and is well written enough to hold your attention - and what's more it's free on Sundays!

In search of a guide book (we lost our last one) we went across town by bus to a book shop stocking english books. The bus system in Bogota really is very good by the way. All the stations are enclosed with a ticket office and policeman and the busses only stop at them and not on the street.

Anyway, the only book we found was the Shoestring Lonely Planet and at 120,000 pesos (40 odd quid), it was a bit pricey, even more so considering that the new addition is out this March.

However, all was not lost. The bookstore happened to be fairly close to the Zona Rosa area, so we walked on to check that out. This part of town is seriously high class. Well, I guess its just very western, but in a nice way. It´s not covered in neon or anything (accept the Hard Rock Cafe!) and it has a good number of shiny bars and restaurants. There was a good atmosphere and many Colombians doing what us Brits do best - sitting in a pub with a cold pint in hand. Yes, they have had a stab at creating some pubs and have done a pretty good job really. They also had an Irish pub. Where doesn't?

Seeing some Colombian girls with pints of a dark cloudy liquid I went over to ask if they´d recommend it. They kindly offered a taste of this beverage and it was indeed bitter. The drink, on closer inpection was a slighgtly reddish colour with an oaky flavour, but it was quite bitter-like so I got myself a pint.

Our stay back in Bogota coincided with a bank hoilday weekend, and on the Sunday and Monday pretty much everything was closed. Cue the unsavory types. The streets in the central area then seemed to belong to the homeless, needy and desperate (not the guy above, he seemed perfectly respectable!). It really did take on an entriely different vibe. Just the day before I was thinking how nice it was to be able to walk around in a city and blend in a bit - mainly due to the fact that plenty of Colombians have white skin. But on the Sunday it was back to being stared at. We quickly made our way back to the Candelaria area we were staying, but not before being warned by a kind Israeli couple that a guy was following us with a knife. His cover blown, he ambled off accross the road. Damn these hoodies!

With not much going on in town on the Monday, we paid a visit to Zipaquira to see the salt mines. Its a slick set up there and we took a guide in to see the Cathedral inside and also a miners walking tour - all in Spanish, we gleaned what information we could. The Colombians especially liked the parts where the guide would get us all to turn off our headlamps and follow each other in the dark. Suddenly instead of walking with adults you could be forgiven for thinking you were surrounded by school kids! Though I've never been a fan of stumbling around in pitch black darkness!

Bogota - Colombia

We arrived in Bogota only one hour before our UK friends Chris and Jo. With the ever changing plans, I think thats almost perfect timing! All the speeding through the last remainder of Central America meant we'd now be with friends for Christmas and New Year - well, they're worth it! (I'm surprised the last three weeks haven't been a total blur, by the way!)

Coming from a very humid Panama, Bogota is literally a breath of fresh air. Its high altitude means that (in December at least) it's nice and warm in the sunshine during the day and a little cold at night. I'm sure I've said before, but to be able to wear shoes and socks feels like real luxury after sticky humid places.

We stayed in a hostel call The Cranky Croc run by a well meaning if slightly disorgainised Aussie guy. But unlike the hostel up the road, the place had hot water so I was more than happy. You can just about get used to cold showers in places like Panama, but here anything else would be torture in the morning.

When we weren't drinking disgusting cheap red wine out of cartons, we managed to take in some of the wonderful architecture the city has to offer. And I've come to think that you can't beat beautiful buildings set in a city with mountainous views as the backdrop. We wondered around the streets, took in a free lunch - yes, there is such a thing - and checked out the many street markets and alleys packed with stalls.

In the evening we took a ride up the cable car to the top of the mountain and admired a fantastic view of Bogota at night. Up there they had a concert performance inside a church and outside had attempted to create Blackpool illuminations with festive figures of all kinds! It was enough to make us all feel a little Christmassy for a few moments! Then it was back down for a KFC style meal in the slowest fast food place I've been in. We all craved a greasy chicken meal and instantly regretted it. Back to the supermarket to purchase more of its finest plonk....

Panama to Colombia

I must start firstly by wishing my readers a very Happy New Year. Secondly I'd like to apologise (again) for the lack of new blog posts. And thirdly when one does pop on t'internet, say sorry that its not been in any way coordinated with Viva Latin America. Clearly we are almost one in the same person these days and need to make an effort not to cover exactly the same ground! Nevertheless here's a slightly more condensed (and I reckon probably less entertaining) version of what happened from Panama to Colombia.

If, like us, your forward planning has been fairly minimal you'll soon find out that there is no cheap way of getting from Panama to Colombia - that is if you value your life! You could attempt to travel overland across the Darien Gap but that should either be classed as adventurous or suicide, depending on how you view these things. I didn't think my parents would appreciate a phone call from some guerrillas demanding money in exchange for my life. It just wouldn't be a particularly good Christmas present!

So, faced with flying or sailing, we chose flying. Sailing takes at least 5 days and although you get to see the San Blas islands, we just didn't have the time. But wait a minute, what's this? Trans Darien Monorail
Could my eyes be deceiving me? No. Its a joke website but it tickled me and almost raised my hopes during hours and hours of flight searching!

We found some fairly cheap flights in the end but a feature of the low cost was that to get to Bogota we had to change planes twice and sleep in Barranquilla airport in northern Colombia. Our main concern was that the airport would be shut overnight and we'd have to find somewhere to sleep at some ridiculous time at night. However, it actually worked surprisingly well. After a comedy 20 minute flight from Cartagena to Barranquilla in a 20 seater Dash 8, we found that the airport was open. We even got the approval from the security guard, although he seemed totally baffled as to why we weren't going to a hotel. All that was left for it was to find a row of seats and unroll the sleeping bags for a bit of shut eye.

I can't say I felt at my best the next day, but I did get some sleep so I was happy with that. Compared with some overland border crossings it was a walk in the park!