Bogota

It felt weird to leave Mexico. I suppose that after over 7 weeks there I was somewhat at home, and definitely in my comfort zone. But do you know what else? Mexico is just an incredible country. Como dige a mi amiga Gaby, Mexico es un país rico en cultura, gente, colores, fiestas, comida, historia... y en mucho mas - la lista sigua!!

Hasta la proxima!

I am in Colombia! First stop: Bogota, which on the temperature scale, is the complete opposite of Cancun. Goodbye 30°C and 90% humidity, and hello 18°C and 30% humidity. And 60% precipitation. As we know, there's just no pleasing some people!

I always find being in a new big city a little overwhelming. I'm not sure if it's the constant warnings of danger, or the sheer size of a place like Bogota, but it takes a few days for me to feel at ease.

Fortunately for my first night in Bogota, my amazing hostel, 12:12 had it all sorted. I felt immediately at home in this cosy place, which is in one of the safest neighbourhoods in Bogota. On Saturday nights they arrange transport to Andres, a famous club / restaurant, which reminds me a little of Secret Cinema in London, as it's all a bit crazy and they have actors running round and a band which passes amongst the tables, serenading each group and dressing the guests in golden crowns or sashes in the Colombian colours.

The party lights of San Andres

To warn anyone thinking of going, it's not a cheap trip. The main event is in Chía, about 35 minutes out of the city, and the minibus cost us 50,000 pesos. Plus 21,000 to enter. Plus a minimum of 20,000 to eat anything, and the same again if you don't want to drink beer, which comes in at 11,000 a bottle. So it's not a cheap date but if you want to do some crazy dancing (and they play a good mix of Latino and western music), and rub shoulders with the rich kids of Bogota, as well as every other tourist in town, it's the place to go. And man it felt good to get down!

With my chicos David and Bethan

It also felt really good to slob around the next morning. 12:12 hostel is the kind of place that makes it easy to slob around, like a home away  from home, complete with a cute little dog, Merengue.

The lovely communal dining space with lots of travel inspo on the walls!

La cocina

Eventually I dragged myself out - on my friend Bethan's recommendation, I wanted to head to the weekly flea market in Usaquen.

I met the sweetest little lady at the bus stop. For most buses in Bogota, and the TransMilenio, you can either buy a ticket or use the Tu Llave card, which is like an Oyster card for Rollos. But I needed to wait for one of the few buses that you can use cash on. So I asked an old lady at the bus stop, and it turned out that she was going the same way. So we got on the bus together and when there was a seat, we sat and had a natter, which was mainly the lady warning me not to walk all the way back to the hostel like I was suggesting, because it was too dangerous. And also generally warning me of how dangerous Bogota is. Not exactly reassuring when it's coming from a local but then I have to remind myself of the horrors that this country and her generation have seen. I think I would still be scared too.

My friend told me when it was time for us to get off, and before she left me, was careful to tell me where to get the bus back afterwards. Talking to the locals is the best! And so far the rumours are true - all the Colombians I've met so far have been lovely!

Street art in Usaquen

Usaquen was positively buzzing. From what I've read there's always a bit of a market here, but on Sundays it takes over the town. The streets are packed with vendors selling artesan and local products, and everything from mobile phone cases to personalised jewellery, to organic honey to cigars. Every now and then the stalls will be broken up by a band or singer busking, or some dancers performing for the crowd. These guys and gals were dancing all day long!

Shaking some moves on the streets of Usaquen

There are lots of bargains to be had, including for these bags made by the indigenous Wayuu 

I didn't buy anything, as I'm trying to "be good", and although I want to buy one of these pretty bags, I'm going to try and buy it in the Caribbean, as that's where they're made.

I was starting to settle into life in the big city. On my second day I borrowed a Tu Llave card from Sebastian, one of the guys working in the hostel, and jumped on the Transmilenio, Bogota's huge network of buses, to La Candelaria, the historic centre of Bogota and a magnet for gringos like myself. It just so happened to be a public holiday, so the streets around were closed to traffic and many people were taking the opportunity to cruise through the city on the bikes, without fear of being run over. The streets of La Candelaria were packed with pedestrians too, and all the way down la septima people were stopping to watch the various street performers.

I soon found myself in Plaza Bolívar, the huge main square in Bogota, home to the Palacio de Justicia, Cathedral, National Government and thousands of pigeons (bleurgh).