Bogota - Day 2

Got up after a terrible sleep because our second story room has pigeons outside our window and also what sounded like nests inside the walls. So noisy! Grrr.

Wandered the cobblestone streets of the old town and found the main plaza Bolivar square which has the national capitol, a huge cathedral and the lievano palace. Found some breakfast nearby and then headed off to hike nearby Mt monserat.

What we didn't realize was this day was a national holiday leading up to Easter and this mountain is a holy site and everyone does a pilgrimage up the mountain on this day. The hike up was steep and the city being at an altitude of 8660 feet made breathing tough during the ascent. The crowds had to be seen to be believed too. It was so busy that we couldn't reach the top as everyone got logjammed and couldn't move a single step for several minutes at a time. After about 30 minutes moving maybe 20 steps, we squeezed out of the herd and headed back down the mountain. Near the bottom of the mountain, a tv crew interviewed me about our experience haha, and same thing happened to me more recently descending down the mountain in Kotor, Montenegro.

Spent the rest of the day and evening strolling the old town. Found an authentic Colombian restaurant for supper where we each had a gigantic soup that neither of us finished but was amazing. And also discovered a great craft beer pub. Original plan was to spend three nights in Bogota and then head into the interior but the forecast was calling for ridiculous amounts of rain so we spent the evening figuring out where to head next.... -SPRead more