Bogota: Bienvenidos a Colombia
There is no feeling like landing in a foreign country for the first time, especially at night. We arrived in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday night with a potent mix of excitement and anxiety, fun and fear. Getting into the country was pretty easy, answering a few quick questions from immigration, getting our passports stamped, and getting a taxi to our first hostel, Destino Nomada, in the old colonial Calendaria district of Bogota. The hostel occupied a beautiful old house, with a center courtyard, bar, and a labrynth of halls going to dorm and private rooms. We met a number of other travelers right away who would quickly become friends. Most were European and Australian, with a couple of other Americans thrown into the mix. The second night we met another Oregonian from West Linn named Bryan, proving what a small world we live in.
Exploring Bogota for the first time was awe inspiring. The Calendaria district was built hundreds of years ago, and includes a massive main square, the Plaza Bolivar, flanked by a huge church and the presidential palace. The surrounding buildings are very old and mostly related to government or the church. As we walked around, we garnered some very interesting stares from almost everyone that passed us, mostly on account of Russ's height. Children were the most amusing, coming up to us to say hi followed by a bunch of rapid-fire spanish that we had no hope of understanding. It was Thursday of Easter Week, and the streets were packed with families wandering around, street vendors selling mostly unidentifiable little snacks, and an assortment of puppety oddball street performers. Throughout our first day, we were struck by the friendliness of everyone here. People are so polite and patient with us as we struggle to do simple things like buy water or ask directions. Our lack of spanish has definitely been the biggest challenge so far.
One crazy moment in the crowded streets happened when a family of Colombians stopped us to ask where we were from and talk to us for a minute. Several of them spoke english fluently. They asked to take a photo with us, and once the other Colombians walking by saw that, they all wanted pictures too. A group of 100 or so (no exaggeration) people crowded around us with cameras and camcorders, jumping in beside us to get a picture for themselves. A couple people handed Russ their children or babies so he could hold them up high in the air. We let the craziness go on for a couple minutes before we started feeling overwhelmed and made our escape, both of us in disbelief over our newfound fame.
Most of our nights in Bogota were spent hanging out in our hostel, visiting with the other travelers, hearing their experiences and getting invaluable advice on where to go and what to do. Almost everyone there had been to the Northern coast of Colombia, and had done many of the things we already had planned, so hearing their first-hand accounts helped us to formulate our specific game plan as we feel free to move about the country.
During the day, we walked around for hours, bought lunch and dinner in miscellaneous restaraunts, and went to museums. The Museo De Oro (Museum of Gold) holds the world's largest collection of Pre-Colombian gold artifacts. While the museum is a bit of a one trick pony, we really enjoyed seeing all of the various ornaments, jewelry, sacraficial objects, and everyday use items like silverware, small boxes, and armor.
We also visited the Colombian National Museum, which resides in a two or three hundred year old jail with huge thick walls and iron bar doorways. Artifacts spaned Pre-Colombian to early 1900's. The most interesting wing for us was dedicated to the Spanish Inquisition. They had a suit of armor that looked like a knight costume out of a movie, and a bunch of different weapons, maps, and other random objects from both sides of that ugly era in human history.
On Saturday night we went out on the town for the first time with a large group of people from our hostel, including one of the owners and one of the guys who works there, both Colombians. We filled three taxis and went across town to the Zona Rosa, an upscale area in Northern Bogota. It felt a world away from the old section that we had been staying and hanging out in for the previous days with really nice bars and restaurants that reminded me of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and snappy dressed college-age Colombians packing every place. We settled in at an Irish bar, where we hung out on a big patio with the people from the hostel before going inside to get away from the group a bit and make conversation with some Colombians, who were all extremely friendly and excited to talk to us. After a couple hours there, our whole group went around the corner to a rooftop bar, also very nice. It was a great feeling to be standing on a rooftop in Colombia hanging out with Russ and a bunch of new friends from all over the world.
On Sunday and Monday we mostly hung out at the hostel and planned the next leg of our adventure. A Spanish punk band stayed at the hostel for the weekend and partied 24/7 for three days, which was entertaining at first but proved frustrating as they sang "Rock Around The Clock" at the top of their lungs on the patio below our window at 6am on Monday morning.
Bryan decided to join us traveling for a while, so on Tuesday morning we repacked our bags and began our first bus trip, heading for the small colonial village called Villa De Leyva.
View Photo Album of Bogota
Exploring Bogota for the first time was awe inspiring. The Calendaria district was built hundreds of years ago, and includes a massive main square, the Plaza Bolivar, flanked by a huge church and the presidential palace. The surrounding buildings are very old and mostly related to government or the church. As we walked around, we garnered some very interesting stares from almost everyone that passed us, mostly on account of Russ's height. Children were the most amusing, coming up to us to say hi followed by a bunch of rapid-fire spanish that we had no hope of understanding. It was Thursday of Easter Week, and the streets were packed with families wandering around, street vendors selling mostly unidentifiable little snacks, and an assortment of puppety oddball street performers. Throughout our first day, we were struck by the friendliness of everyone here. People are so polite and patient with us as we struggle to do simple things like buy water or ask directions. Our lack of spanish has definitely been the biggest challenge so far.
One crazy moment in the crowded streets happened when a family of Colombians stopped us to ask where we were from and talk to us for a minute. Several of them spoke english fluently. They asked to take a photo with us, and once the other Colombians walking by saw that, they all wanted pictures too. A group of 100 or so (no exaggeration) people crowded around us with cameras and camcorders, jumping in beside us to get a picture for themselves. A couple people handed Russ their children or babies so he could hold them up high in the air. We let the craziness go on for a couple minutes before we started feeling overwhelmed and made our escape, both of us in disbelief over our newfound fame.
Most of our nights in Bogota were spent hanging out in our hostel, visiting with the other travelers, hearing their experiences and getting invaluable advice on where to go and what to do. Almost everyone there had been to the Northern coast of Colombia, and had done many of the things we already had planned, so hearing their first-hand accounts helped us to formulate our specific game plan as we feel free to move about the country.
During the day, we walked around for hours, bought lunch and dinner in miscellaneous restaraunts, and went to museums. The Museo De Oro (Museum of Gold) holds the world's largest collection of Pre-Colombian gold artifacts. While the museum is a bit of a one trick pony, we really enjoyed seeing all of the various ornaments, jewelry, sacraficial objects, and everyday use items like silverware, small boxes, and armor.
We also visited the Colombian National Museum, which resides in a two or three hundred year old jail with huge thick walls and iron bar doorways. Artifacts spaned Pre-Colombian to early 1900's. The most interesting wing for us was dedicated to the Spanish Inquisition. They had a suit of armor that looked like a knight costume out of a movie, and a bunch of different weapons, maps, and other random objects from both sides of that ugly era in human history.
On Saturday night we went out on the town for the first time with a large group of people from our hostel, including one of the owners and one of the guys who works there, both Colombians. We filled three taxis and went across town to the Zona Rosa, an upscale area in Northern Bogota. It felt a world away from the old section that we had been staying and hanging out in for the previous days with really nice bars and restaurants that reminded me of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and snappy dressed college-age Colombians packing every place. We settled in at an Irish bar, where we hung out on a big patio with the people from the hostel before going inside to get away from the group a bit and make conversation with some Colombians, who were all extremely friendly and excited to talk to us. After a couple hours there, our whole group went around the corner to a rooftop bar, also very nice. It was a great feeling to be standing on a rooftop in Colombia hanging out with Russ and a bunch of new friends from all over the world.
On Sunday and Monday we mostly hung out at the hostel and planned the next leg of our adventure. A Spanish punk band stayed at the hostel for the weekend and partied 24/7 for three days, which was entertaining at first but proved frustrating as they sang "Rock Around The Clock" at the top of their lungs on the patio below our window at 6am on Monday morning.
Bryan decided to join us traveling for a while, so on Tuesday morning we repacked our bags and began our first bus trip, heading for the small colonial village called Villa De Leyva.
View Photo Album of Bogota
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