I gotta be honest, I have no idea what I wrote in last night’s blog post as I was suffering from two things: lack of sleep and a daze brought on by my anti-altitude sickness medication. It starts with a tingling sensation in my lips, moves to my forearms and hands, and then I get sort of out of it. Like I’m in a dream, except I know I’m not but it’s weird nevertheless.
I woke up around 8am and decided to head to breakfast before my walking tour. At breakfast, there was only one other person sitting down and I asked her how breakfast worked. She spoke English and told me that someone will come by. We chatted briefly about where we came from, what our plans were, etc and when breakfast was over, she decided to wanted to come on my free tour with me if that was OK. I didn’t mind and so Lisa and I set off towards the Museum of Gold (the tour’s starting point).
For the first time I’ve seen (and I’ve done dozens of tours) our tour guide was stopped by the police before we could begin and they requested his documentos and asked him a lot of questions that I didn’t really understand well enough to translate. I’ve never seen that happen before and of course, I was dying to get the chisme. But no dice. He didn’t fill us in on the dirt but he did pass along a tip from the policeman that scammers have been targeting tourists asking for documents and identification. Except these scammers are not wearing police uniforms (which are visibly forest green with neon green vests). Good tip but do people really fall for that??!
We walked all around the different areas of the city center and saw lots of interesting pieces of art, like this faceless almost human statue in front of the Catholic Church.
Then, we walked to the area known as La Candelaria which is where my hotel is located. Along the way, we stopped at a hostel for anyone to use the bathroom and we got to taste a sample of chicha, the most popular nationalistic drink of Colombia! Here’s me before I try it:
We walked around some more and our guide, Hector, pointed out some street art for us to enjoy. Personally, I don’t think they are as beautifully colored as the ones in Valparaiso but here are some examples
Next stop included a visit inside the Botero museum which is kept free at the artist’s insistence. Hector taught us a lot about the style of Botero and what to look out for when admiring his work:
After the tour, Lisa and I stuck around for a recommendation from Hector on a few things we wanted to see in Bogota. He even recommended a lunch place so we walked there. Along the way, we came across a pretty intense chess game set up and a very colorful church that reminded me of the Mezquita in Córdoba with the striped colors.
And finally after lunch, we went in search of a drogueria/drugstore. You see, Lisa’s backpack was stolen off the bus and it contained all her prescription medications as well as a GoPro, extra batteries, and a cell phone. Luckily for her, you don’t need actual prescriptions to buy prescription medication in Colombia. I think they probably just call it medicine here? Anyhow, she loaded up and I was able to help translate for her when the “pharmacist” asked questions. Don’t ask me how or why I even know drug Spanish. The only word I’d know is marijuana (and everyone knows that). Finally, a country where I can actually understand the Spanish they are speaking. I really like Colombia. Oh, and the food ain’t half bad either…I gotta watch myself or I’ll gain back all the weight I’ve lost from eating corn cakes!
There She Goes... 