Getting up at half past three, after a couple of hours sleep, was not the ideal start for our departure from Rio and onwards to Columbia. We predictably find Fred still drinking on the street corner and give him a farewell high-five. One Crazy Frenchman. Flying from Rio to São Paulo, and then São Paulo to Bogota, I was slugged with a massive migraine mid-trip and struggled through hell all the way to Bogota. Having none of the issues with interrogation at customs that we were warned about, we found Uncle Peter straight away, and were grateful for the ease in which we got back to his and Lucia’s place. Lucia, warm, bubbly and friendly, launched straight into a conversation with us…in Spanish. With both our brains a pile of liquid mush, and my Spanish terrible to begin with, we tried to respond in kind, but soon enough I just found myself nodding and smiling politely. It was fantastic though to be in a nice, clean, welcoming apartment, shower, have the opportunity to wash clothes, and be fed!
Lucia’s alcoholic neighbour (I mean that in the nicest possible way) came around after lunch to celebrate Lucia’s birthday, so we all had a rum, and laughed away in the loungeroom. Dan and I were struggling to make much sense of the conversation, having been up since Midnight Bogota time, and politely excused ourselves to crash out…hard.
We woke up in time for another great meal at dinner time and a more lively conversation this time, with Peter, Lucia, her sons Esteban, Pablo and Pablo’s friend. It was great to catch up with Peter and meet Lucia and her family, and to have somewhere to relax and recuperate.
It was overcast and rainy, but nothing to be bothered by as Dan, Lucia, Peter and myself caught the Transmilenio in towards the old part of the city. Bogota instantly struck me as your normal modern city with it’s Blockbuster, Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’s etc. The people were all very well dressed and there was no sense of nervousness or anxiousness to be out on the streets and public transport. Granted, we weren’t venturing into the poorer and more dangerous parts of the city, but by all accounts Bogota on the whole is just as safe as any other city.
Walking around the old part of the city we saw some fantastic old colonial buildings, government buildings, and the house of the President, Uribe. We also wandered through the stunning Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) which had a massive display of ancient indigenous gold and metalwork, and saw a large collection of work by famous Columbian artist Fernando Botero, in the Museo de Arte del Banco de la República, along with works by Picasso, Degas, Monet and many others.
The following day, despite all predictions, produced a beautiful warm sunny day, in stark contrast to the previous two.
Making the most of it, Peter, Dan and I caught the cable car up to Cerro De Montserrat (at 3030m) which has a church at the top and stunning panoramic views over the massive sprawl of Bogota.
The next day Dan and I ventured out to the Catedral de Sal at Zipaquira. Created in the huge underground caverns of a working salt mine, the modern version of the Cathedral was opened in 1995 and takes around an hour to explore with a guide. Just the sheer size of some of the chambers was amazing, along with the fact that, apart from a few marble sculputers, the entire thing is created out of salt crystals. Two of the highlights inside the caverns were the Cathedral Dome that was lit up in a brilliant blue, and the mirror lake which gave a perfect reflection of the cavern roof.
