Bogota Day 1

After a long day of flights, arrived in Bogota around 8pm. For some reason Canadians arriving in Colombia have to pay a special fee of $100 at customs. I didn't feel so special. And because if this, Canadians also have their own special line for customs, which was ridiculously slow and took well over an hour and a half. Very weird.

Already had a private room in a hostel booked in the old section of Bogota called la candelaria. Location was ideal, price was dirt cheap ($17/night) and it said we would have a private bathroom. What a disappointment - no private bathroom and very sketchy room. Most hostels have a nice common area to relax and meet other travellers but that was lacking too.

So dropped off our backpacks and headed out for some food and beer which landed us at The Bogota Beer Company which was two blocks away. That's not coincidence btw :)

Shortly after sitting down, some Colombians at the table next to us took an interest in us and we spent the rest of the evening trying to understand their broken English while I'd throw in the odd Spanish word to show I was at least making an effort. Was a lot of fun actually and a definite clue to the friendliness we were about to encounter on a regular basis for the next 17 days. -SPRead more