Estamos aqui!
We made it! Bri and I touched down in the capital of Bogota in the early hours of Friday morning, after an 8 hour lay-over in Atlanta. We took advantage of our stay there and made the trek downtown to good ol' Waffle House, and then the Civil Rights Museum. This was a crazy eye-opener to a scary past in south that it turns it we didn't know as much about as we thought. Gorgeous sunny stroll through Olympic Park, past the College Football Museum (Bri will be back for this!), and back to the airport we went.
After a flight with enough turbulence to spill our very full cups of wine, we were relieved and of course excited to finally set foot here in Colombia. Despite much research and planning, you never really know what you're getting yourself into until you actually land in a place. Bogota is a sprawling city of over 8 million people, and full of overwhelming sights and sounds.
We stationed ourselves in the Candelaria district, which is the oldest part of the city, complete with narrow brick roads and colonial buildings set against a gorgeous backdrop of mountains. At over 2000 metres up, I could feel some effects of the altitude, feeling winded more easily and even some tingly fingers and toes in the mornings. But it was all good of course! The weekend we arrived there was an Indigenous Chicha festival at the Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo, and we tried some type of corn bread wrapped in the husk, while enjoying some traditional musical performances. We spent our morning wandering the streets, eating empanadas, and trying some tasty Colombian coffee.
In the afternoon we caught up with a free walking tour, and there tried Chicha for
ourselves- a fermented corn drink which had a funny smell and an... ok taste that would take some getting used to. Apparently packs a mean hangover! This was the alcoholic drink of choice until the arrival of some German brewers in the 1940s, who through government pressure and negative ad campaigns all but abolished Indigenous chicha. It is making a comeback, but the beer remains! We also tried our hands at Tejo, which is a traditional sport in Colombia which is played mostly while drinking. The object of the game is to explode little paper triangles filled with gunpowder which are lying around a metal rim set in clay with a heavy metal puck. It sounds just like a gun shot, and scares the bejezus out of you if you're not paying attention. Feels great to make one go off yourself though! The losing team is supposed to buy the other team's beer, but lucky for us newbies we were off the hook this time.
Other sights and sounds on our walk was the changing of the guard at the presidential palace, Bolivar Square, cathedrals and more cathedrals, and delicious street food.
Probably our favourite part of Bogota was the Graffiti tour we did on day two. The city is filled with gorgeous artwork, murals, and tags everywhere you turn. We loved hearing some insight into the artists, how their art represents the culture, social justice issues, and gives a voice to those rising up against government corruption. Or sometimes just cats. (Ann notice Top Cat top left!! XD)
Next we leave the chilly mountain climate behind and fly north Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast. Sun and sand awaits! Until next time....
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| The Candelaria district of Bogota |
After a flight with enough turbulence to spill our very full cups of wine, we were relieved and of course excited to finally set foot here in Colombia. Despite much research and planning, you never really know what you're getting yourself into until you actually land in a place. Bogota is a sprawling city of over 8 million people, and full of overwhelming sights and sounds.
We stationed ourselves in the Candelaria district, which is the oldest part of the city, complete with narrow brick roads and colonial buildings set against a gorgeous backdrop of mountains. At over 2000 metres up, I could feel some effects of the altitude, feeling winded more easily and even some tingly fingers and toes in the mornings. But it was all good of course! The weekend we arrived there was an Indigenous Chicha festival at the Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo, and we tried some type of corn bread wrapped in the husk, while enjoying some traditional musical performances. We spent our morning wandering the streets, eating empanadas, and trying some tasty Colombian coffee.
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| Brian tries his hand at Tejo |
Other sights and sounds on our walk was the changing of the guard at the presidential palace, Bolivar Square, cathedrals and more cathedrals, and delicious street food.
Probably our favourite part of Bogota was the Graffiti tour we did on day two. The city is filled with gorgeous artwork, murals, and tags everywhere you turn. We loved hearing some insight into the artists, how their art represents the culture, social justice issues, and gives a voice to those rising up against government corruption. Or sometimes just cats. (Ann notice Top Cat top left!! XD)Next we leave the chilly mountain climate behind and fly north Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast. Sun and sand awaits! Until next time....
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