Colombia-Joyas y Cafe Day 2

Day 2 - Tuesday, March 25, 2014 - Explore Bogotá: Funicular Up Monserrate Hill, La Candelaria, Old City & Gold Museum; Dinner at Local Restaurant

Our day began at 6:30 with gray skies, but no rain in the forecast. It was 61° and 65% humidity. After breakfast we gathered on the second floor of this old Colonial Hotel for a Welcome Meeting.

Everyone made it to Bogota last night except a gentleman from Alaska who had to cancel because he lost his passport. We know how important it is to have your identification and all felt badly when Edgar told us of his fate.

Also joining us from the OAT Regional Office in Bogota was Tatiana. She wished us well and welcomed us to her beautiful country. There are only eight of us on this Adventure – we are lucky the company did not cancel this trip because of low numbers.

Edgar gave us a briefing of the rules that will make our trip more comfortable and reminded us that in order to discover Colombia in a timely manner in the next 11 days, we would be taking four flights up and over the three branches of the Andes Mountains.

We met back in the lobby at 9:15 to begin our exploration of Bogota. We met Pablo, our driver, who steered our 24-passenger bus through the narrow cobblestone streets of this 16th century capital.

Home to a population of more than 8.5 million people, the country has had a tumultuous history that Edgar began to tell us on our journey up the mountain side to Monserrate Hill. We climbed half way in the bus and then rode a funicular up to the top of the 10,000-foot peak.

From there we could see forever, we know Bogota sits in a plain surrounded by mountains, but up this high looking down on the city, one could tell what a prize it was for the Spanish Conquistadores.

We got off of the funicular and then hiked another few hundred feet up to 10,500 where Vic could take some fantastic panorama photos of the commanding view of the city below.

The summit of the hill is home to a 17th-century Catholic church, Pasion de Cristo Confortanos, and a holy site for pilgrims from the whole area of South America.

In a little shop by the church Edgar treated us to a cup of coca tea and a tea made from panela, a solid block of concentrated raw sugar. Added to some of the cups of steaming hot tea was a shot of aguardiente, an anise-flavored liqueur, also made of sugar cane.

We also tried the special protein treat, Culona, a species of leaf-cutter ants, called hormiga culona (roughly translated as "large-bottomed ant"). Crunchy like a peanut but a little salty like jerky, it is a sustaining food eaten during the pre Spanish era by the indigenous people. Expensive, high in protein, but not something we would ever eat again.

Pablo was waiting for us as we returned to the valley and Edgar took us on a walking tour of the La Candelaria, neighborhood, and the oldest part of the City of Bogota. There are 17 universities in the capital, and most of them are here in this part of the sprawling metropolis.

Edgar initiated several conversations with students and they willingly answered our questions about the education institutions in Bogota and in Colombia. We also tried the chicha, a fermented beer made of corn and served in a gourd.

We had lunch in a garden restaurant called La Sociedad, where we had a variety of Colombian specialties, red snapper, chicken with plantains, and beef with a mild tomato sauce served with a fried egg on top. Previously one of the Spanish Colonial homes built in 1604, this was an ideal place to imagine the wealthy Conquistadores living the good life in the Americas.

Leaving the interior courtyard, we walked past many of the historical buildings, and then on to the Plaza de Bolivar, the city hall, and the religious center of the Cathedral and the Bishop’s palace.

We also saw the new Supreme Court Building built in 1985 after the siege of the Court by members of the M-19 guerrilla group who took over the Palace of Justice and the military killed more than 100 people.

Our walk took us to the Presidential Palace, the home of the president where we had our photo taken with the Palace guards.

We continued our walk to Bogotá’s Gold Museum, home to the world’s biggest collection of pre-Hispanic gold artifacts. We had seen the Gold Museum of Lima, Peru, but the gold in this museum puts that display to shame. The displays were so well done, and the amount of different styles of the Colombian art was incredible.

Walking back to our hotel at 4:45, we saw the deadlock of the Bogota traffic jams. We opted out of dinner tonight as we had a huge lunch at noon. While we worked on the journal and the photos, we enjoyed the sounds of the streets below.

Accommodations: Hotel de la Opera - - - Meals included: B, L, & D

To receive $100 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

We have talked about taking the Ukraine tour, too, and I hope it can be reinstated again. We'd like to do the Egypt tour, too, if that ever comes back. We have only been to Cartegena and really enjoyed a week there. I look forward to the rest of your entries. Steve has mentioned that many expats live in Medelin. We thought that would also be an interesting place to see. We are ending out personal Mexico trip with a week in Mazatlan. I love seeing the beach and listening to the waves. Happy Travels!

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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