What an odd fashion! I learnt today that these the wide skirts came from emulating the fashion in Spain and as for the bowler hats - apparently a shrewd hat salesman from London came over here hoping to sell his hats and the
Arrived safely in La Paz just after midnight and took a taxi to this hotel (the one with all the glass) where I'm staying 3 nights because the only rooms available at the hostels are shared dorms (too old for that!). It was pouring with rain, but then this is the rainy and therefore low season (upside = hardly any tourists). Pleased that I didn´t feel the altitude at all as the airport is at a staggering 4,000m above sea level and is the world´s highest. Had my 1st hot shower in a month which was exceedingly enjoyable. Looked out the window into the street before getting into bed around 2am and there was a woman picking up litter from the streets one bit at a time and there was plenty of it. I wondered what time she'd be going to bed as I sank gratefully into mine.
Here we are at the airport bidding each other a tearful farewell after a month of fabulous fun together. I managed to get a flight within an hour of Anita´s and our gates were right next to each other's. She´s flying back to London through Paris on Air France (then Dubai in a couple of days!) and I'm on a flight to La Paz, Bolivia on Taca Airlines (Peruvian) through Lima. We had arrived early, were checked in within minutes and had time to enjoy a couple of beers before boarding. We marvelled at how peaceful and quiet the airport was - we were there for over 2 hours and there wasn't a single announcement over the loud speaker - it was completely silent the whole time and how much more relaxing than the experience at most airports where the noise is constant. A quiet voice at the gate let you know when the flight was boarding - only those people at the gate could hear it. We were also pleased and surprised that on none of the flights we've taken so far have we had to empty our water bottles - hoorah!
For our final feast in Colombia, we had the most delicious and inexpensive sushi in these colourful surroundings at La Totuma restaurant. Anita rubbed her tummy in delight as she ate her favourite food and realised how flat her tummy had become after eating lots of fruit, avoiding the ubiquitous fried food and following me up numerous mountains complaining of feeling like a packhorse. It had all been worthwhile.
Wandering through the streets of Bogotà on our last day, we came upon a Botero museum and had a chuckle at all the chubbiness.
This is a privately owned mansion in North Bogotà, now a museum. It's a fine example of an 18th century colonial home owned by a rich merchant who was a great art collector. This part of town is completely different from La Candelaria and much more affluent, full of high-end restaurants, hotels and sprauncy apartments.
Bogota is a vast, sprawling metropolis set high in the mountains and the air and visibility are good considering how built up it is. The city (called Santa Fe de Bogotà) was founded in 1538 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. It was named after King Bacata, the local king of the indigenous Muisca tribe. Phillip II of Spain confirmed the city´s title adopting the name of Quesada's birthplace which was Santa Fe in Andalucía in Spain.
We wandered through the streets enjoying looking at the colonial architecture and various museums. Despite the drug trade and guerilla violence which have scarred the minds and landscape of this beautiful country, Colombia is rebuilding its position on the tourist circuit.
There are so many people selling minutes on different mobile phones/networks, it`s big business and it means you don't need to bother to buy a local simcard. Just as a note, we haven't been able to use our credit cards to pay for a single hotel, tour or restaurant in Colombia - it's cash only (known as "en efectivo"). Even the travel agent selling my ticket would only accept a Visa debit or credit card, no other, so we've had to make a few trips to the ATM which limits you to 300,000 pesos (about 90 quid) per transaction. Fortunately, that goes a long way here and you get a lot of bang for your buck!
Wondering around the neighbourhood, we saw some rather wacky buildings - there`s obviously no shortage of hallucanogenics among the local artists.
Within a few minutes we met some colourful characters, too, including Ian on the left from Sussex. We thought we were adventurous - this English chap was cycling from Vancouver to Patogonia and a few years ago he hitchhiked from Dover to Cape Town which included a 29-day trip down the river Congo on his own in a dugout canoe he bought off a fisherman from Kinshasa . And he's so clean-cut and well-spoken! He's buying vegetarian food from these guys who appeared in the hostel selling homemade food. Although S. Americans, they looked like a double-act : the Pope and the Mujahadeen. We`re meeting so many colourful characters, every one with a story to tell.
View away from town looking over beautiful ecological park. A spectacular river flowed over huge boulders in the bottom of the valley. The following morning we left on the 6am bus to Armenia where we got another long-distance bus to Bogotá which was very comfortable - the seats went right back, there was a foot rest and movies with sub-titles and a loo. The journey took 7 hours and cost 42,000 pesos, about 13 quid.
This was our last night in Salento and we climbed hundreds of steps to El Mirador to enjoy the sunset views over the town. We felt sad to leave this lovely place. Next stop - Bogotà.
Colombia has thousands of acres of coffee plants and here are some of them. They grow only "arabica" (more taste, less caffeine) and because this area lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, it has ideal temperature and rainfall for coffee to grow abundantly. The altitude is also ideal, around 1,200m.
This is our last day in Salento so we began the day with an early morning walk through the coffee farms and down to the river.
This is standard fare here : pork kebab or carne asada (grilled beef), corn on the cob, fried plantain and the ubiqitous arepa (maize pancake). Full plate costs 5,000 pesos (10,000 = 3 quid)
This was the hairiest, scariest journey of my life in this red jeep on the way back to Salento after the trek. You can seat 4-6 comfortably but these guys cram in up to 10-12 people for extra cash. There were 6 in the back, 4 in the front, a couple on the roof and I was standing on the back ledge with one guy but after he picked up others en route, there were 5 of us hanging on the back. Unluckily I was on the edge and the driver was tearing round the corners and very nearly lost control while the jeep careered right over to one side round the corners. I was holding on for dear life and my fingers were red raw by the time we got back.
This area is prone to a lot of rain, as evidenced by the abundance of flowers and crops, and at these heights it often has low-lying clouds that drape over the mountains like loosely flung scarves.
Resting on grass that is as green as green gets and taking in the huge expanses and distant views.
