BOGOTA (The Capital). Our Entrance and Exit to Colombia. 73 488 Km

The tale of our time in Bogota is really of two trips. Our arrival into Colombia and the last few days of out time in South America.

In our first few days in Bogota (and Colombia) we were getting use to the sudden temperature difference after having spent the previous 3 weeks in hot and humid Cuba. We started off with a walking tour around the historic area of Bogota where we learnt that most of the historic buildings no longer existe due to either natural or man made demolition. We did get to hear a good deal of Colombia history though which was a good way to get started in Colombia.

The guide also pointed out to us a type of street art which involved making green statues of people and placing them on roof tops. As we walked around the old neighbourhood of Candelaria we started finding them everywhere.

On our second day we took a tour out to see the biggest salt mine in the world. There is no way you can give a good description of how big this mine is. The real attraction to this place however is the work the miners have done over the years to create a sacred space within the mine, including the stations of the cross and a massive cathedral.

These days, each of the stations is fitted out with fancy lighting and when you get to the very bottom of the tunnel there are gift shops where you an buy mining hats and emeralds, movie screenings, and other displays.

On our return to Bogota, around 3 months later, we only had a day and half to fit in the things we wanted to do. On the top of the list is one of the most recommended museums in the continent. The gold museum.

Over this last year we have seen a number of museums. Some good, some bad, some really overwhelming. The gold museum in Bogota though has to be one of the best I've been to anywhere. With a really good explanation of the impact gold and other metals over the century it managed to place exhibits with a great amount of space and interest.

In the afternoon of our first day back we made our way with 40 other tourists to do a walking tour of Colombian graffiti. Like a number of cities in South America the street art scene is quite big and you can see it pretty much everywhere. Over a couple of hours, our guide took us through just a handful of the walls painted around the old neighbourhood and explained the history of street art and its importance in Bogota.

A local avocado seller was imortalised on this wall and now he turns up to have photos with the tour groups (for a small tip).

To round out our last full day we headed to a tall building nearby where you can pay a couple of dollars to take the elevator up to their viewing balcony and watch the sunset over the city and the lights come on. It is amazingly different to Medellín. Where Medellín is stuck between 2 hills, Bogota just stretches out forever. And that shows with the limited number of high rise buildings in the city.

As we watched the lights come on it was time for us to make it to one last dinner out. Our 8th of the top 50 in Latin America was unfortunately a bit of a let down but with all the good meals we've eaten this year we weren't too sad.

So on our last day we had one more thing we were keen for and crossed our fingers for good weather. On the eastern boarder of Bogota where the mountains rise to eastern branch of the Andes range, lies a church and some restaurants high above the city. Once upon a time you could hike up the mountain but after landslides destroyed the trail you can now take either the funicular or the cable car.

Thankfully we started out with some clear blue skies but as the funicular headed up into the mountain a few clouds came over the city that partially obscured the sun covered city. We were able to get an awesome view from the top but to be honest I preferred the view from the building the night before.

We came back to city level by lunch time and after a quick bite of some of our favourite Colombian dishes we headed to the Bogota Beer Company for one last beer.

After almost a full year it's hard to believe that we will be leaving the continent in just a few hours. Thankfully we have a week in Norway to transition us from the South American traveling life to the one that awaits us back in Australia.

Next post from beyond the arctic circle - it's going to be cold.

73 488 Km (39714Km Flights, 9156Km Sailing, 24099Km Bus, 296km Hiking, 51Km Horse riding, 150Km Train, 12Km Bike)