Here's how I got here and what I've been up to so far.
My journey to Colombia didn't get off to the best start. I got up at 6AM, had breakfast, hopped in the car with Dad to Manchester Airport only to then find out that due to a strike at Frankfurt airport (the airport in which I needed to go to meet my connecting flight to Bogota) my flights had been cancelled for the day and instead I had to come back the next day at the even earlier time of 4AM. Although I was understandably annoyed by the delay in my journey, it did allow me to have an extra day at home in which I managed to meet up with my Auntie and Uncle who came up to see my Mum's art exhibition.
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| The start of my journey, flight to Frankfurt at 6:10AM |
The next day I went through the same pattern as the day before except this time there were no problems and I was able to leave the UK for Frankfurt. Roughly 3 hours spent waiting around Frankfurt Airport then an 11+ Hour flight later and I touched down in Bogota. The long distance flight was uneventful but I will always remember looking out of the narrow airplane window onto the lights of Caracas, the capital of neighbouring Venezuela, my first ever sight of South America.
Maritza and Daissy met me at the airport before taking a taxi ride to the studio which will be my home over the course of this next month. After a small meal I went straight to bed, exhausted from my day's worth of travels having left my house exactly 24 hours previously. I then slept 13 hours, getting rid of most of the jet lag!
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| My first meal in Colombia |
These first few days, Maritza and Daissy have both been helping me get to grips with life in Bogota, my jobs around the studio and showing me the sights. I've been introduced to both their families especially Maritza's younger brother Nico who is a similar age to myself.
Nico was kind enough to take me up to Cerro de Montserrate, a mountain with a monastery perched on its summit 1000m+ above the city, on Sunday morning along with his friend Santiago. In hindsight, this was probably not the best time to go as it was only my second day in Bogota, the 4th highest capital city in the world at 2460m above sea level, and really I should've taken things easy to adjust to new climate. However, I did enjoy the incredible views from the top despite suffering from the aching walk up, sunburn and some of the effects of altitude sickness. We also visited Casa Quinta de Bolívar, former residence of Simon Bolívar, former Colombian president and a key political figure across South America in achieving independence from Spain. The house itself was fairly small and modest but what was most impressive were the gardens that surrounded it, filled with lush vegetation, statues and exotic flowers.
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| Cerro de Montsserate |
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| Casa Quinta de Bolívar |
Maritza also took me sightseeing today in which I saw much of the La Candelaria area of the city, la plaza de Bolívar, my cousin Michael's old university and the Plaza de Toros before heading to Julie (Chelsea)'s house, another friend of Michael's, for a lunch of traditional Colombian food. I am going on a guided tour around the city in Spanish tomorrow so I'll need to have my ears ready for lots of listening!
Initial impressions on Bogota? Chaos. The city is a huge urban sprawl with constant noise and traffic however beneath the hustle and bustle you can appreciate some of its nicer areas. The food so far has been excellent and is definitely something you don't really hear about from Colombia.
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| FOOD OF THE WEEK: Tamal, supposedly the perfect hangover breakfast |
Okay, that's my first post in Colombia done. Can I got to bed now?
#FraserOnTour
FP
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