30.09.-02.10.11

BOGOTA-my final destination

On Friday morning, 30.09.11 I left VILLA DE LEYVA at 8.30 am. Somehow it felt a bit weird as this was my last bus ride after one year of traveling and Thank God it was a good and short one.

I arrived in the huge capital of BOGOTA with 8,5 Million inhabitants at around 1pm and got off at the "Portal del Norte" from where I took the "TransMilenio Bus" to the colonial quarter of "La Candelaria".

Bogota is located on an altitude of 2.600m and has an average climate of 14 degress, gets cold at night and it rains most of the year. But it is also a city of extremes: the elegance of the colonial architecture in the historic centre of "La Cendelaria", where most travellers and young people hang out or the glittering towers of finance in the north or Zona Rosa where you can find all upmarket Bars and Hotels and where the real party is.

When I checked into the "Hostal Platypus" I was placed in their "second house" up the road….and when they showed me my dormitory which I had to share with two guys and now window, I was very disappointed and wanted to look for another place. But unfortunately I had paid already for my first night and therefore I didn't have a choice. But later on when I met Beatrix from Portugal and Sharon from Honkong I asked them if I could move into their dorm. First of all they seemed like the better company and secondly the dorm had a window.

And as it was a sunny afternoon I walked straight up to the "teleferico" (cable car). The old cable car brought me up to the summit of "Cerro de Monserrate" (3.200m) where I found the impressive big church "Eglesia de Monserrate", lots of souvenir shops, cafes and a few upmarket restaurants with a brilliant view over Bogota and on the other side a beautiful mountain range. At about 5pm a few clouds appeared over the capital and I quickly took some photos to both sides. Then I visited the church and walked over to the souvenir shops where I bought some presents. Unfortunately it was too cloudy for a nice "sunset shot over Bogota" and therefore I took the cable car back down.

At night I walked over to the newer hostel "Platypus Hostel" where I updated my travel blog and chatted to the nice receptionist "Fernando" who then offered me a beer.

The next day, Saturday 01.10.11 I had signed myself up for the "Bogota Bike Tours" which was highly recommended by a few other travellers. So I walked over to their office where I met my group and Mike, our tour guide and the owner of the company.

The tour started at 10.30 am and we first cycled through the nice bohemian and colonial quarter of "La Candelaria", then to the "Plaza Bolivar" and further on to the fruit and vegetable market, Universidad, red light district, Bullfighting Stadium and a Coffee Fabric where we enjoyed a freshly brewed coffee and bought bags of milled coffee for our families back home.

The tour went on until 6 pm and at the end we were all a bit tired and hungry but when we arrived back at Mike's office he told us that the tour normally ends at 3pm!! Wow...a 7 hour bike tour through Bogota and we all agreed that it was fabulous a very informative tour!!! Thanks Mike for the great day and the link with all the photos of the day!

I was starving after the big tour and walked straight to a restaurant where I had a huge dinner. Even though that I was quiet tired and would have loved to stay in the hostel, I decided to catch up with Doris, a CS who was staying in Bogota. So I took a taxi to the "Zona T" at 9.30pm where I caught up with Doris, her Columbian friends and a girl from Finland. All bars in the "Zona T" where packed around that area and walked around in circles for a while until we finally found a little bar where we could sit down.

First we started with some beers but as Doris had never tried "Aquardientes" (a typical Columbian Anis- schnapps) we ordered a bottle of the cheapest "Aquardientes". I wasn't planning to stay for long but after we ordered the schnapps it was 3am when we left the bar. I had trouble to find a taxi but after I agreed to pay 20.000 GOP (8 Euro) the taxi driver brought me safely back to my hostel in "La Candelaria".

The next day, Sunday 02.10.11, I woke up with a hangover at 8am and felt very sad. It was my LAST DAY in Columbia and South America and I couldn't believe that I had to fly home that day. After breakfast and saying Good Bye to David from New Zealand and my roommate Beatrix from Portugal I went to the "Artisanal Shops" behind the "Gold Museum" where I bought a few souvenirs and presents for my family and friends in Germany.

At 2.30 pm I took a taxi to the airport with two German girls who were on the same flight as me and at 6pm the Air France plane took off. I still couldn't believe that I was finally going back to Germany after ONE YEAR of travelling through South America!!! But I tried to keep myself in a positive mood by telling myself that "new and positive challenges" are waiting for me in Europe!!!!

And on Monday, 03.10.11 I was landing at 2pm in DUESSELDORF in GERMANY and I had tears in my eyes when we were touching the German ground!!!

The End!