Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Today is a beautiful sunny day as I head down the hill to visit a few museums. I decide that as it is such a nice day, I will grab a coffee and detour via Simon Bolivar square. There is always people to see down here, with street vendors and commuters it is a busy place. The square is getting ready for a FARQ party tomorrow, a celebration of them becoming a political party and there is a visit from the Pope in a couple of weeks so everything is being cleaned. A stop to watch this hive of activity before going further to see the elegant Presidential Palace behind the square. Once I have finished my coffee I head back up to the Botero Museum.

I have previously seen Botero’s generously proportioned art but his art collection is here, so I can view other works by Dali, Picasso, Henri Matisse and other artists. From this tour it is easy to visit the Museum of Modern Art and the Casa de Moneda. The Casa de Moneda is on the site of an old mint and is fairly interesting, I like the fact that most of the presses are from Birmingham and would have been shipped over in the late 1800s.  

I had lunch in the museum courtyard. I felt quite decadent and normal, eating pasta with a chilled glass of wine alongside people on their lunch breaks rather than travellers. The Modern Art museum is always fun and aside from the geometric works there were sections from Colombian artists, Alejandro Obregón of particular note.  

I enjoyed my afternoon of culture and as this is my last day in Bogotá fancied somewhere nice for dinner. I dragged Claire and Amy to Capital Cafe where we all enjoyed meat with roasties, and a bit more wine.

Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

So funny this morning as I sit down for a breakfast and some of the guys arrive home after the night out. They are rough, but fair play for staying out till 9.30am. I spend the morning researching the best route to Medellin. Clare was home at 4am so I am able to wake her at midday to get lunch before the Graffiti tour starts.

The tour is really interesting, taking in the La Candelaria area where I am staying, before heading downtown for more political based art. The guide shows different styles of graffiti including sculpture, there are a series of green statutes all over the rooftops of the area and an artist that puts small masks on the walls. The art is legal if is an approved design and you have the wall owners permission. This position was made legal thanks to Justin bieber who after a concert painted some terrible art in the presence of police and thus the community successfully challenged and it was legalised.

We learnt about political art pieces and how children and adults still struggle for work. Street vending is illegal and people are not able to get decent jobs even if educated so the Colombia of today still seems fragile. The President is covering graffiti in the historic area and so a lot of what we saw will disappear, potentially to be replaced with tagging or vandalism rather than the artistic street art we got to experience.  

Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Claire and Amy seem keen to explore a bit of the city and as we discuss the day we agree on a decent coffee, followed by the gold museum before taking the Telefonica up to Monseratte at dusk for the panoramic view. We enjoy a flat white at the coffee place at the bottom of the hill before walking the couple of blocks to the Museo de Oro. I was ahead of them crossing the road and as Claire crossed she noticed her bag open and she has had her purse stolen. There was relatively little money in it, but still a bit of a shock. We stop in a bao bun restaurant for lunch and she can use the wifi to stop her cards, thank goodness she didn’t loose her phone. 

After that drama we still make it to the gold museum. It is obviously full of gold, covering different gold moulding techniques, use in rituals and different periods of history. This museum is one of the top attractions in Bogotá, but I think I have seen enough gold in other areas like northern Peru that I didn’t get that much from it. I think the girls are in the same place as we wander around other parts of the city, I register a SIM card for my phone and then we walk back up the hill to our Hostal. 

Our Hostal is very sociable and so we end up as a group of eight walking to the Telefonica. It is more expensive to go up at night but so cool to see the city in daylight, watch the sunset and then the city lights slowly show a different view.  We enjoy a spot of rum & coke at the top and after monster burgers the group continue drinking into the night.  I leave them heading to a club, looks like it’s going to be a messy night.

Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Breakfast is bread and boiled eggs, delicious.  I have fun teaching an American guy how to open eggs like a pro, apparently they don’t eat them.

Everyone is leaving me today, Helen & Manuel to some thermal pools south of here and Liam & Nicki to Mexico. I feel sure I will bump into Helen & Manual again in Colombia but for now it is a hug goodbye.

Liam, Nicki and I have a random start. The Gold museum is closed when we arrive, we don’t have enough money on us for the Telefonica, so we head to the free Botero museum. Fernando Botero is one of Colombia’s most famous artists and he paints fat people. Strictly speaking they don’t have to be physically fat, he enhances the body and features into his representation of the person. I am not sure whether I like it or not, I like that he has a distinctive style called Boterismo but wouldn’t hang a piece at home.

We wander up the historic streets, past La Candaleria church which is the oldest in Bogotá and stumble into a French patisserie. We polish off large cakes and a coffee, clearly inspired by the artwork. Early afternoon and it’s time to say goodbye to Nicki & Liam, crazy to think that we have met up in most countries and the next time will be back in Southampton.

I set about planning my next few weeks of adventures, when I hear a friendly brummie accent. I get chatting to Claire and Amy, from the UK and sharing what I know about Colombia. These girls are so funny, we chat all afternoon and well into our happy hour cocktails at the hostel. It’s always great making new friends as you travel.

Zipaquirá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Today Liam, Nicki and I head to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá. This involves catching the transmillennial city network to the Portal del Norte bus station at the edge of the city and then a bus to Zipaquirá which is about an hour and a half or maybe two by the time we have figured out the right buses and where they leave from.

We arrive in Zipaquirá to discover a small town with a really pretty historic plaza. Continuing up the hill we find the entrance to the Salt Cathedral. This Cathedral is built inside a old salt mine and is only 12years old, built after a previous one collapsed. They have 13 stations of the cross, each featuring a different salt sculpted cross in a chamber. They look more like works of art rather than a religious offering. The mine works it’s way down to a huge cavern that has the main alter, all lit really atmospherically. It is a magical place and on the way out we watch a film about this layer and how they currently mine. This layer was mined using dynamite, whereas the current mining is done using water pressure. They currently mine the salt in brine form, extracting the brine water from well chambers that are bigger than the Eiffel Tower!

Our return back to the city is blighted by loads of traffic and it takes us twice as long. We have a quick bite to eat and then relax, exhausted after our adventures.

Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Plaza Foch parties all night, particularly on a Friday night, so I didn’t get much sleep before my 6am departure for the airport.   The taxi is actually a good ride, the dawn is beautiful and we get great views of Cotopaxi without clouds. My flight is brilliant and quick, the landscapes surprisingly different from the air.  When I land at Bogotá I manage to navigate taxis with the new currency and safely arrive at my hostel. 

 I am so excited to catch up with Liam and Nicki, already here chilling out after their night bus, it’s great to see them and catch up on our latest adventures. We are sat in the lounge, when Helen from my Galápagos boat tour wanders past. I can’t believe that her and Manuel are booked in to the same hostel, loads of friends together.

We wander out for lunch at a local place serving a huge soup followed by chicken and rice for around £3. Totally full, we go to the Plaza to join a walking tour of the area. It is interesting walking the historic centre and learning about the violent history this country has experienced. I find the Pablo Escobar/corrupt government/ USA influence period fascinating and wonder if the truth will ever be known. I find the fact that Pablo agreed to a jail term as long as he could serve it in the jail (castle) he built just incredible. Liked the tour a lot, the guide was really passionate and positive about the future for his generation in Colombia.

Once back at the hostel, we chill in front of the open fire on these huge floor cushions they have and then crash early.