Bogotá

Getting pretty close to the end of our South American leg and having already caught around a thousand long distance buses, we caught a cheap flight from Baranquilla to Bogotá to make our lives just that much better (2 hours v 18 hours).

Not too much to note re our one night stop in Barranquilla. We arrived late in the evening, and left very early in the am. The hostel was great, the neighbouring restaurant had terrible service, and that is about it.

Arriving in Bogotá was a bit of a relief climate-wise. Warm enough for shorts and T's during the day, and cool enough to sleep at night. We had a hostel in La Candelaria (the Centro Historico), which was a decent base to wind down for a few days.

We wandered La Candelaria and found some impressive civic buildings in the main plaza:

The city is relatively low rise, but there were around half a dozen skyscrapers in construction. It seems as though the Colombian economy is booming in Bogotá and Medellín, with a lot US and European companies setting up base for the cheap operating costs, as well as Colombians starting to take advantage of the vast natural resources (minerals etc) that they possess. Bogotá is reportedly the fastest growing city in Latin America.

We stumbled upon a craft beer bar, where the beers were just as good as back home but around a quarter of the price for a pint. Needless to say we spent a lot of time here during our short stay:

The graphic design was definitely familiar. Bogotá:

Paraparaumu:

Not sure who came up with it first, but I guess we are maybe not so unique in NZ after all.

We spent a lot of time wandering the streets and enjoying some Colombian coffees. The streets in La Candelaria have a huge amount of street art (graffiti is legal in Bogotá), and a good crowd of interesting people given the number of universities in close proximity.

Typical shopfront:

One of the more entertaining sights that we caught (but failed to photograph) was a soldier in full combat gear including bullet proof vest, helmet, and combat rifle, helping a tiny elderly woman across the road holding her hand.

Needing to work off a few cervezas, we trekked up the hill, Monserrate, for a breathtaking view over the city. Breathtaking because we reached over 3,150 m above sea level.

Cat wrecking the stairs:

And from the top:

We caught the funicular down, figuring we had had enough exercise for one day:

To celebrate our last night in South America we went out for some good Colombian grub. I had the Bandeja Paisa, which had absolutely everything in it: chorizo, blood sausage, chicharrón (pork rinds), minced beef, spicy beans, rice, avocado, fried plantains, avocado, arepas and a fried egg. Almost enough to cause a heart attack:

Cat had some fried sea bass with fried plantains and other garnishes, which we washed down with some whisky sours:

With time up in Colombia, we still have a huge list of things we'd like to do here one day, so we will definitely have to return.

Realising that there is a lot of ground between Colombia and Mexico, we had booked a flight up to Mexico City, from where we will work our way down the country and then return to Mexico City.

Hasta luego Bogotá:

And South America: