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Good bye Central America, Hello South America!!
After a short stop-over in Miami, we got to Bogota, Colombia, to start the second half of our trip. Feels like we've been travelling forever! Having spent little time planning this part of our trip, it is a little bit daunting when you realise that the whole of Central America can fit inside one country in South America. Bus journeys jump from 4 hours to the next destination to 20 hour overnight buses and not only do we have to get past the barrier of our terrible Spanish, but now there's Portuguese to deal with too! What have we got ourselves in for?!
After a day's exploring the old area of Candelaria and a strange dinner of Pizza and mulled wine, we rested up for our tour the following day. On a Sunday the Mayor of Bogota closes down the city centre to cars, meaning it is the perfect day for a bike ride! Mike is an ex-journalist who, when the slump in the news business came, diversified and became a tour guide. His unusual tours show a side of the city which most tourists wouldn't get to see otherwise, including inside the Bull Fighting Arena and the red light district! People perceive Bogota and Colombia in general as being a very dangerous place and a few years ago they would have been right, but the country is very safe and with a little bit of knowledge about which areas in a city to avoid (which is the same as many larger cities in the UK!), it is an awesome place to explore.
We went to the police museum, which is staffed by young Colombians who are doing their military service. You turn up, wait for a few minutes and your own personal tour guide takes you around the museum and gives you the history of the Colombian police and military. The highlight of the tour was either the laughable life-sized models of Pablo Escobar, the drug baron, or his cousin's diamond studded Harley Davidson motorbike. It was interesting to have a guide to ask questions... who clearly didn't want to say too much, but made it clear that the Colombian police aren't all decent law abiding citizens. Who would have guessed?
On our last full day in the city we rode a cable car up the hillside looming over the city to a Church which is a favourite of pilgrims who take the XYZ stairs to the top. We skipped that bit! From the top the whole city sprawls out below which is quite a sight! Some people arrived to the top puffing and panting and headed into the church. We opted for a coffee and a cake with a view.
A good way to finish off our stop in Bogota, we hopped on an overnight bus headed towards Santa Marta, a town on the coast from where we can explore the Caribbean side of Colombia. Once again, going the wrong way before heading the right way, heading up before we can head South. Round and round we go!
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