Bogota, Colombia, South America

I got up this morning and got a bus into the city center, to an area called Candelaria. I got the bus to the university, and then walked into the old town, to Bolivar Square. I found the tourist information center and joined the free walking tour that starts there every day at 10am. Our tour guide, “Chris”, who was Colombian, didn’t speak English very well at all. He was able to get his point across, but I would have expected him to have a better level of English for being a government paid tour guide.

The tour lasted just over two hours and took us all around the center to see the Presidential Palace, a few churches, and told us a bit of the history of Bogota and Colombia. It was interesting, and I’m definitely glad I did it. I met a group of Irish teachers who are traveling around South America and I was able to get some good tips on where to go and what to see in Peru and Bolivia. I like getting these personal recommendations from other travelers, they usually work out really well.

After the tour finished I went to get lunch at a place recommended by the tour guide. The restaurant was called La Puerta Falsa, and I was told to try the dish ajiaco. It’s a thick soup made with chicken, corn, and potatoes, and then on the side you get rice and avocado to add to the soup. It was delicious! After having lunch I went to find Carmen Church which was the first picture that Jacquelien sent me to find. It’s a really cool gothic church that is made of red and white bricks. It’s really different looking, but beautiful. Unfortunately, it was raining all day, so it wasn’t the best conditions for taking pictures, but it was still impressive looking.

I got the bus back to the hotel early in the afternoon and completed a few lessons in my newly downloaded Rosetta Stone application. It seems like a really good way to learn, so hopefully between that and the course I’ll start on Monday, I’ll have a little better understanding of the Spanish language.

I met Melissa after work again today and we got a taxi back to her house. Her mom, Luz Mery, had dinner all ready and waiting for us on the table. She’s the best! We had to eat pretty quickly and then run out because Melissa had rehearsal with her group and we were already late. They are a group of six girls that all play instruments and sing. There were a few guitars, a couple of bandolas, and some tambourines and maracas. They met at one of the girl’s apartments and rehearsed for about an hour and a half. It was cool to hear some Colombian music sang the way it should be, with the proper instruments and everything.

After the rehearsal finished I got a taxi home from Melissa’s house and it’ll be a relatively early night. I’m already back at the hotel and it’s before 11pm, but that’s a good thing. I’ve been pretty tired so hopefully a good night’s sleep will help to recharge the batteries.