Bogotá Day 3-4

On the third day we did another walking tour about all the different conflicts of Colombia. It was very interesting to learn about the different aspects of the history of the country and what events led to all these military, political and drug conflicts that determined the last decades of Colombia and that led to a former guerilla member to be the president today.

After the tour we had a coca icecream, and tried the traditional indigenous drink chicha, which is made of fermented corn. Though the government made massive propaganda against it in the last century, it is now beginning to be normal again to drink it, and a lot of people are offering it on the streets to taste it. For lunch we had patacones (fried cooking banana) with vegetables. As dessert, we had obleas, filled with caramel (arequipe) and papaya jam. Several stands sell obleas, and advertise them with a huge pic of Mick Jagger, as he really liked it once he visited Bogotá. As basically everything here, it was also very sweet, but tasty.

We visited the Museum of Gold, which holds thousands of pieces of gold which were find all over the country. It was amazing to see all the tiny details in the jewelry and small artifacts.

On our last day we walked around and visited the military museum, and tried some weird fruit salad (or juice, we were not really sure) and then we headed to the airport to go to our next stop, Cartagena.

Bogotá was a nice place to start our trip, to learn about the history of the country and to experience a bit less touristic city. Though the city is in a very nice area right in the middle of the Andes, and there are some nice buildings, it is full of controversy. A lot of beggars, and no-go zones, an on the other hand expensive cars, modern universities, all surrounded by private guards and police.Read more