Arriving in Colombia 🇨🇴

Our flight ✈️ from Madrid to Bogota, in a plane named Julio Iglesias, no less 😂, was uneventful. There is not much to see when you are flying over the Atlantic Ocean for hours on end! 😀 There were a few unusual cloud formations, but that was about it 😂. It was dark by the time we were approaching Bogota, so there was not much to see.

Once we landed, we had a few hold-ups at security and passport control, meaning that we were amongst the last off the plane. I was worried that our pre-booked transfer would have given up on us, but, in reality, he had squeezed in an extra fare, so we had to wait for him!

The drive to our hostel in downtown Bogota was fast and efficient. Our first impressions of the city were that we could have been anywhere. There were lots of nondescript skyscrapers with none of the usual colourful advertising hoardings or distinctive vehicles to give you clues as to which country you have landed in.

However, as soon as we turned off the ring road into the old part of Bogota, it was a different story! The place was buzzing with traffic and throngs of people out enjoying their Friday night. We were struck by the amazing street art everywhere and by the music 🎶 spilling out of every doorway.

Soon, David, our driver, was pulling up outside a characterful three-storey building, our home for the next four nights. Inside, check-in went smoothly. The only downside was dragging our extremely heavy bags up 6 flights of ancient, uneven, but gorgeously colourful, stairs to our room! Not a great deal of fun at what was now after 9pm local time (3am UK time!)

We just had time to take in our surroundings (dated, but clean and comfortable - what more do we need?) before heading up to the roof bar for a nightcap. The music was thumping, the staff were very friendly, and the chef was boosting the flames on the barbecue with a hairdryer! Mark tried his first Colombian beer and declared it very much to his liking, especially at £1 a bottle! A musician was just getting ready to play. We were tempted to stay and listen, but we were just too tired, so we decided to call it a night.

I think we're going to enjoy Colombia! 😀Read more