It was the first day of our big trip and we were excited to start exploring, but the elements were against us. Rain drizzled down all morning, I had barely slept in 2 days (thanks overnight flights and jet lag!), breathing was slightly laboured at this altitude and we weren’t thrilled by the sight out of the window. It turned out that not much was going on in Bogota at 8 a.m. anyway. A few cafes were open but otherwise it was a ghost town. We wandered aimlessly, admiring the quiet, colourful streets of the old town while wondering where everyone was in this city of over 8 million people.
After passing a couple of churches and the large, empty Plaza Simon Bolivar, we ventured into a small handicrafts market. Somehow Danny attracted a group of high school students who wanted to interview him for a school project on tourism. Most questions were along the lines of how long he had been here (half a day), what was his highlight (the coffee) and would he recommend Bogota to others (yes, the coffee was good). I'm not sure he really helped them much.
As the weather was terrible we decided to hit a couple of museums. First up was the Gold Museum, which came highly recommended online by other travellers. There is a long, deep history of gold production in the country, of which Colombians are immensely proud. I'm not sure what all the fuss was about, and I wouldn't have minded if we had skipped it. Although the section on the science behind extracting and shaping the gold was interesting, the other rooms featuring gold products all looked the same after a while. Following this was the Botero Museum, full of art by the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero. His work was quite good overall, and the museum also featured many famous European artists, much to my delight.
By the time we emerged outside, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking out. We spent the rest of the day strolling along the art and graffiti-lined streets, checking out a local supermarket (one of Danny's all-time favourite activities in a new city) and trying to avoid the hundreds of street vendors and touts who had suddenly popped up and were trying to sell us everything under the sun. Every second building we saw was a cafe - their cafe culture was seemingly on par with Melbourne's. It wasn't easy to find alcohol in amongst all the coffee, but we persevered. After a couple of happy hour drinks and an okay meal, we were done for the day.
Bogota
Colombia
With a little more sleep under our belts, we were ready to take on day 2. The altitude was affecting both of us, giving us a mld headache and making even the most basic tasks effortful. It didn't stop us walking for hours and hours around the sprawling city.
First up was the Paloquemao produce market, a 45-minute walk away through some questionable neighbourhoods (definitely not places I would be going alone or at night). The market itself was much more appealing - a clean, expansive site packed with weekend shoppers. It was clearly a place for locals, as we didn't see a single other tourist while we meandered through the labyrinth. Danny stopped for coffee (of course), where we were given a spiel about the origins of the coffee beans and its characteristics. Colombians are just as proud of their coffee as they are their gold.
Once we worked out how to navigate the public bus system, we headed to Parque Metropolitano Simon Bolivar, the largest green space in Bogota and one of the biggest urban parks in the world. The view from the top of the library in the centre wasn't as awe-inspiring as I had hoped, but strolling around the central lake was refreshingly peaceful, with no sounds of traffic and few people. It was a welcome break from the madness of the city.
After a lunch full of local staples (patacones, arepas and tamales) we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art. We have learnt from past experiences that modern art can be hit or miss; this one turned out to be not too bad. From mind-tripping interactive installations on colour and light to tapestries depicting significant events in Colombia's history, I came away feeling it was time and money well spent.
The next morning I decided to brave the streets and go for a run. Luckily today was Sunday, which meant it was ciclovia day. Over 120 km of major roads are closed off around the city from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. so that cyclists can enjoy a relatively safe ride through Bogota. Runners are also permitted to join the party. The road closest to me was absolutely packed with exercise enthusiasts, and I appreciated the safety of running in a large group. Pity this didn't happen every morning, as the streets were generally unrunnable in the La Candelaria district (where we were staying).
A gargantuan mountain range looms over the city from the east, and this morning our aim was to climb to the top of one of the peaks, Cerro Monserrate. Apparently it was also the aim of half the population of Bogota. With thousands of others we slowly plodded up the incredibly steep path. We couldn't go fast even if we wanted, due to the sheer number of people and the high altitude. The trail was lined with food stalls and there was a party atmosphere in the air, with music being played by both stallholders and hikers’ mobile phones (which I guess was better than listening to everyone's gasping breaths). With 500 metres of ascent, taking us up to 3,100 m above sea level, we eventually reached the church on top of the mountain, where a service was currently under way. As we predicted before leaving, low clouds mostly obscured the view of the vast city below. We watched the clouds shift for a while but they never revealed what lay behind.
After a fruit recharge (I was loving the fresh local fruit that was available everywhere in the city) we caught the bus to the Usaquen flea market. It was surprisingly calm and contained high quality stalls - if I didn't have months of backpacking ahead of me I might have stocked up on souvenirs. In the end all I bought was an overpriced empanada and a scoop of ice cream made with araza, a sour-tasting tropical fruit native to the Amazon (similar to guava).
It was a 3 km walk to Parque 93, a popular restaurant area in the food-loving Chapinero district. It rained the whole way. Despite the gloomy conditions, we were amazed by how different this part of the city was compared to where we were staying. Here there were wide roads, plenty of trees, slightly more modern buildings and less craziness. It definitely felt like an expat area. The park itself had been transformed into a pink wonderland, with boutique stalls and plastic flowers lining the edges and a throng of people filling the centre (we guess it was some sort of Mother's Day celebration). This didn't interest us at all. We did find a fantastic falafel and shawarma restaurant though, which supplied me with the best falafel pita I had eaten in a long time.
Continuing on through Chapinero we arrived at Parque Virrey, a linear park that was extremely quiet and lovely to meander along. This led us out to a bus stop that carried us back to our hostel, where we stayed for the rest of the night while the rain poured and thunder rumbled outside.
Day 4. Jet lag has not dissipated. 1.30 a.m. was the daily wake-up time.
Our final day in Bogota offered us the best weather yet, and we stupidly went 200 m underground. Initially, we had planned to take a tour of the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral and nearby Guatavita Lagoon together. For some unknown reason, the natural outdoor lake was closed to visitors on Mondays, so instead we skipped the expensive tour and made our own way to the cathedral.
The cathedral turned out to be extremely religious (the clue was in the name), with nearly all salt carvings being of crosses and chapels. Each was lit up in ever-changing colourful lights, and our audio guide explained how each cross represented some part of Jesus' crucifixion. The carvings were well created, but overall the site was nowhere near as impressive as the salt mine we visited in Poland many years ago. For us, the repetitiveness and gaudy lights didn't justify the hefty entrance price or the 5-hour return bus journey.
What did make the trip worthwhile was the region the cathedral was located in, Zipaquira. I didn't realise how much I needed to escape the city until we arrived at this small, peaceful city with its well-preserved old town. Although it had similarities to La Candelaria (the brightly painted buildings and cobbled stone streets), it was a much more picturesque version. The skies were clear, mountains surrounded us and it seemed that every street in the centre was photo worthy. I hoped that other towns we plan to visit in Colombia would be similar to Zipaquira.
Arriving back in Bogota, we were pleasantly surprised to see there were still clear skies overhead, although it was slightly frustrating knowing that the views from Cerro Monserrate would have been spectacular today. The streets were incredibly busy and we saw more tourists this afternoon than on all our other days here combined. A quick Google search confirmed our suspicions: it was a holiday, Ascension Day. We seem to have a good knack for hitting public holidays on our travels, and Google told us there would be two more before we left Colombia. Street vendors had tripled in number and tour groups filled the pedestrian streets. The rest of the day was spent avoiding the touts screaming out to every passer-by and trying to find the calm we experienced in Zipaquira.
Bogota pros:
- We didn't find a lot of people who spoke English, but everyone we interacted with was incredibly friendly. The Spanish-speaking locals always did their best to help us out when needed and we never encountered any rudeness from anyone.
- The bus network is fantastic and easy to use. Separate bus lanes run down the centre of main roads, making it a quick way to travel around the congested city.
- Colombians are well known for their meat dishes, and vegan food can be hard to come by. Thankfully I had no trouble finding vegan dishes in Bogota, which I was told is the most vegan-friendly city in the country.
- The cycling network is world-class. Sunday's ciclovia is a genius idea, but on other days there are cyclists all over the city, peacefully sharing the busy roads with other vehicles. Other countries could learn a thing or two from the Colombians.
- The colourful old town was beautiful to explore.
Bogota cons:
- I didn't always feel safe here. Although nothing happened to either of us, we did witness a robbery in a busy area in broad daylight, putting us on high alert at all times. The constant fear impacted heavily on our ability to enjoy ourselves.
- There are very limited green areas in the city, especially around our neighbourhood. A respite from the concrete would have been welcome.
- The weather sucks.
