Colombia.
Colombia wasn’t on our original list of South American destinations, but after traveling for the past three months, everyone kept telling us how incredible Colombia is. Keeping with our travel fashion, we planned a last minute ten day trip to the Northern country to wrap up our South American tour.
Bogota.
We flew internationally for the first time from Lima, Peru to Bogota, Colombia. We heard mixed reviews about Bogota – Some people love it and some don’t. Everyone we talked to said they didn’t care for Bogota because it was dirty and third world. Maybe it was because my expectations weren’t very high, but we had a very different first impression. It didn’t feel third world to us at all. It’s a very neat Colonial city. Lots of people, lots of motorcycles, awesome walking streets, great restaurants. Perhaps because we were recently in Bolivia and THAT was certainly third world, that Bogota didn’t give off that vibe for us.
Since we were trying to cram in an entire country in 10 days, we knew we had to move quickly. With only one full day in each city, we tried to use our time wisely. Our day in Bogota consisted of a funicular ride to the Monastery at the top of Monserrate Mountain which overlooks all of Bogota. Beautiful, good weather, just chilly at night.
We were actually surprised at the number of police and military personnel on the streets. We spoke to one of them and he explained that all men have a mandatory one-year military service in Colombia. Interesting. At least we felt safe!
We wrapped up our day in Bogota with a tour of the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira; an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground.
Short and sweet — Now off to the next city!
Pro:
- There’s a big bike movement and on Sundays, Bogota closes down 70 miles of streets in the city for only bicycles. I love this!
- The people in Colombia are the most attractive in all of South America (in our opinion 🙂 )
- Domestic flights are cheap and quick – Take advantage of this.
Con:
- Traffic everywhere, narrow streets and sidewalks. Don’t get hit!
- Colombian beer sucks
Tip:
- Great restaurants in Zona T – Be sure to check it out.
- Also, because of it’s central and popular location, Zona T is a great place to stay as well.
Fun Fact:
- The street signs look like Harry Potter 🙂
