Discovering Bogota

Day 2

Kranky croc hostel, Bogota

Day 2 was a day of exploration and discovering the varied capital that is Bogota.

Having not yet adjusted to the new time zone (6 hours -), we were all up and about by 7am. We spent a good couple of hours getting ready and deciding on our daily activities. Unfortunately we were soon to discover that the 1st of May, like in the UK, is a national holiday and therefore one of the few days that all tourist attractions (granted there aren't that many!) are closed. So with the gold museum, history of policing museum and all shops shut we decided to wander. We discovered that the 1st May does have its own, rather Colombian, charm. By this I mean there were multiple political protests and hoards and hoards (an hoards) of police kitted out to the nines, ready for any trouble. It seemed like controlled security though, we felt safe, and the locals were fairly peaceful in their protests, marching along with a rainbow of coloured banners fighting for 'liberty' of various kinds [sorry for vagueness].
 

The five of us (Shane and Nick included) found a little cafe called 'the corner', appropriately situated on a corner, and had breakfast. I chose the savoury pancakes which were very tasty, but I can see a pattern forming with the previous evening`s plate of meat and chips in terms of healthy eating.

After this we decided to head up to Montserrate, the mountain that looms ominously over the city, which houses an angelic looking church and the obligatory statue of Jesus. As we approached the equally ominous looking cable car that we were to take to the top, a dark grey cloud lowered itself to the top of the mountain, obscuring any possibility of a view. We decided that it was an activity best saved for clear skies..!
 

As the rain began to fall [the whether is a subject I don't want dwell on, as, after receiving a text from Mum this morning, we think it might be sunnier & warmer in the UK :( ] we went on a hunt for a kagoul, a hunt which failed desperately, leaving us with one very bedraggled Bean.  On this journey we did see a mini uprising consisting of a group of youngsters throwing paintballs at a building on a corner of town where the police were absent. Surrounding locals were calm but turned around, choosing not to continue towards the kafuffle, so we did the same but kept watching from afar. I was joking about imagining a wall of the police marching from behind to put an end to it when lo and behold, a wall of police (kitted like robocop) on bikes descended on the group which quickly dispanded. After this a police van arrived which aimlessly fired water canons onto the pavement, apparently as a final deterrent, but all traces of the trouble makers were long gone. This did not perturb us at all, as it seemed like a group of university students just being university students. Personally, however, I would not have liked to have challenged the May 1st army of police!
 

We made our way back to the hostel, drenched from the very British rain, and plonked ourselves in the communal area to decided on our plan of action post-bogota. We have decided to head up north towards the Caribbean coast, partly drawn by reports of temperatures of 30degrees plus and partly by rave reviews by almost everyone we have spoken too. We will leave the day after tomorrow when we have finally visited the top of Montserrate (Rain permitting).

 

Please feel free to contact any of us via my whatsapp, facebook, viber (a new skype-like discovery) or scorkie@hotmail.com as we have an abundance of internet here!