Bogotá

First impressions of Bogotá were not great.  The city felt gritty and a little unsafe, and it was freezing cold, not what we had bargained for.  We arrived at the hostel in La Candelaria (the historic area of Bogotá) and were greeted by the staff who immediately took our bags from the taxi.  Everything happened so quickly that there was a brief moment of panic where we thought our bags were being stolen by a petite Colombian woman and an older gentleman.  The hostel was lovely with a big open courtyard, which all the rooms centered around.  As it was dinner time, Marc asked for recommendations for something to eat close by.  Our choices were Mongolian or a pub dinner at the local Australian run establishment.  Both very Colombian options obviously.  We opted for Mongolian and wandered down the dark pothole ridden streets.   I was a little anxious as I was positive everyone was going to mug us, even the sweet little old lady who was doing laundry.  I’m positive there was a switchblade hidden in her detergent, or at a minimum, ninja stars.  Dinner was surprisingly tasty although not overly authentic and it turned out that the little old lady really was just doing laundry.

The next day we planned a gastronomic and cultural tour of La Candelaria.  Our first stop was for breakfast at La Puerta Falsa.  It was a quaint little eatery with an array of delicious sweet treats in the front window, beckoning us to eat them and die happily in a diabetic coma.  We were directed to eat the popular and common snack, chocolate completo which is hot chocolate made with water, served with cheese (like a firm ricotta I suppose, which you are meant to put in the hot chocolate), buttered bread and a biscuit type thing (biscuit in more of the American sense of the word, so similar to a flattish scone).  It was an interesting meal, especially with the cheese in the hot chocolate.  Nonetheless, it was a very cute establishment. 

At first a little apprehensive to put cheese in his hot chocolate...

Marc soon realised it was delicious!

The super cute La Puerta Falsa

Our next stop was the Botero Museum.  Botero had a love for all things fat so obviously I was very excited to see his artwork.  Unfortunately so were 50 Colombian school kids.  We managed to navigate our way around the rabble and found ourselves in a beautiful building housing some amazing art.  I think I can safely say that Botero is now one of my favourite artists.  Normally I dislike taking photos of artwork but for blogging purposes we thought it necessary.

Fat nun.

Marc reliving his fat girl phase. 

This one is for Anastasia.

Angry pug face lady.

Chubby Mona Lisa

Chubby lady eating a disproportionately small ice cream 

Another one for Anastasia

And again for Anastasia

Birds are always cuter when they are chubby.

Chubby Jesus

Proof that smoking doesn't keep you thin.

The museum was not only Botero, there were pieces by Chaggall, Picasso, Dalí, Renoir, Miró and Monet.

Richard Estes

Dalí

By this stage it was lunch time and we thought we would try out a popular vegetarian joint called Quinua y Amaranto.  We had the set lunch, which consisted of a delicious green coloured soup, followed by a large plate of rice, salad and vegetable frittata.  Here we met two lovely Danish girls and a Colombian guy named Stephen.  We all got chatting and soon found out that he was an architect and had moved to the La Candelaria district for the buildings.  We all expressed our appreciation for the architecture of the area and we soon invited to Stephen’s place to see him apartment.  He lived in a building, which had been a house and was now converted into apartments.  It really was a beautiful apartment, open plan and full of light and included a rooftop terrace with views to the neighbouring hills.

On Stephen's terrace, with everyone staring at Marc's creepy toe shoes

The view from the terrace

That night, on Stephen’s recommendation, we had dinner at A Seis Manos (Six Hands).  It was more of a bar than a restaurant with an area for performance art.  We were lucky enough to be there on the night a French duo were performing.  It was part slapstick, part juggling and very entertaining.

The next day the weather was terrible.  Colder than the day before and raining.  We decided to visit a local shopping mall and to see if any movies of interest were showing (they weren’t).  We headed to the north of Bogotá which is known as the more modern and developed area.  The place was beautiful.  Full of tree lined streets and amazing shopping.  It was so different from La Candelaria and probably my most favourite main city we have been to so far.

On our last day in Bogotá we were lucky enough to be there on the Sunday to visit the Mercado de San Alejo which is a flea market in the city centre.  Sunday is also the day when cars are banned from the main roads of the city and the streets are opened up to pedestrians and cyclists.  Apparently it is an initiative to get Colombians more active and shed the few extra pounds some of them are carrying (nothing compared to North Americans, Australians or the fat little Buddha generation growing up in China).

The lovely car free streets of Bogotá

The market was a lot of fun and had everything from clothes, to furniture to old random crap that I had to stop Marc from buying.  He was eyeing off a rather trendy but unnecessary leather jacket but when we realised it weighed 200kg on its own we decided to pass.  It may be our one true regret of the trip.

Fruit heaven 

Some lovely earthen home wares 

Some lovely earthen home wares next to the hello kitty stall

Marc posing for a Colombian Coffee ad. 

Marc posing.

After the markets we were suckered in to eating at a local asado (BBQ) restaurant, mainly because they offered free samples at the door.  They had live music playing and you could see the meat being cooked and prepared right in front of you. 

So in summary, we haven't been mugged, we haven't been offered drugs and we haven't felt like our personal security has been at risk.  I'm not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.  

We thoroughly enjoyed Bogotá and could have spent much more time there but Marc’s serious caffeine addiction meant we had to head to the coffee triangle.