La Paz to Bogota was $485. My most expensive ticket yet! I left for the airport at 5:30am with a German whose name I didn't catch, and we both held our breaths as I made it through Bolivian customs. Success!
On the plane, I sat in the front row next to a Colombian man who kept taking selfies that had part of my face in them. He was determined to speak to me in Spanish, even though I repeatedly told him I didn't speak Spanish and that I didn't understand what he was saying. My first interaction with a Colombian turned out to fulfill the stereotype -they are warm, kind people who are passionate about their country.
I took an overpriced taxi from the airport to Masaya Hostel. The currency in Colombia is large denominations, and I only know numbers up to 100 (sort of, remember the Argentinian bingo fiasco?) When it came time to pay, I held up each bill until the cab driver told me which one it was (it was the largest bill).
The hostel was nice! Hot shower, private and comfy beds with chargers, hammocks and large couches for relaxing, and a delicious veggie restaurant next door.
My first day I did a walking tour to meet some peeps. It was one of the better walking tours I have done because it included snackies - chica, coca cake, tea, juice. Afterwards a group of us got a big lunch for less than $3. We then went to Bogota Craft Beer! I kicked it with Laura from Scotland, Nick from Holland, and Moon from South Korea. I had two beers (a first on this trip!) and then we got $1 french fries before returning to the hostel for a salsa lesson. The group wanted to go to gringo night, a large party where a bunch of white tourists go. Since it wasn't my scene, I stayed in and drank canelazo, a hot drink with panela, cinnamon, aguardiente, and lime juice. Nick tried to convince me to go out, but when I decided to stay in he did too. He invited me to breakfast and to hike with him the following day... I was like what's up Nick?
The breakfast at the hostel was unreal. Pancakes, fresh fruit, eggs with all the veggies, yogurt with granola, unlimited coffee, and cereal. Only $4. Nick and I ate way too much and then set off for Mont Cerrate, which was a steep hike to a viewpoint. Nick was a great conversationalist and was quite charming. We went to a posh restaurant at the top and then took a cable car down. It was only at the end of the hike that I was finally able to get it out of him that he had a girlfriend. Bye Nick!
A nearby hostel offered yoga, so post-hike I went over with Laura. Yoga was incredible! When I told the teacher Anna that I was obsessed with her yoga pants, she offered to take me the following day to the place where she got them. Colombians are the nicest!
I met a guy in Sucre who told me that two of his girlfriends take in couch surfers. They explained that since they can't afford to see the world right now, they will bring the world to them. I want to do the same with yoga after my yoga teacher training. I want to contact hostels to see if they would let me teach a donation based class. I'm 100% more likely to book a hostel if they offer yoga. Plus it will help me with my post-travel blues!
The next day I was craving some girl power, so I invited Laura and Danielle to do a hike with me. La Chorrera is the highest waterfall in Colombia. There was a guided tour, but I'm a bit burnt out on tours, so we chose to do it on our own. The hostel worker weirdly didn't want us to do it (maybe he gets commission?) but we were determined! After an hour, our first taxi that the hostel worker called didn't come and we nearly called it quits. But we called another taxi to a minibus and then hiked for five hours until we reached the waterfall. I'm glad we didn't let a man keep us down!
Our timing was so perfect that we even made it back to Bogota in time for a Thai massage class with Anna. Laura and I were partners. We got all tangled up in each other's business but inbetween giggles there were some relaxing moments. It was a great day.
My last day in Bogota I got juice for breakfast, went to the delicious veggie restaurant with Laura, drank coca tea and ate coca cake, and then went to the Gold Museum. I'm surprised the Spanish left any gold behind! It was a nice museum, and I moved through it quickly. Bogota is known for its emeralds. I wanted to buy one, but I don't know anything about jewels and I probably shouldn't be buying emeralds on a backpackers budget. Next time!
My camera is broken, hence the lack of photos. Everyone knows that people only read blogs for the photos! Ya killing me iPhone.
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