Why hello there,
welcome back to yet another Observations blogpost. This one, as you will know from the title, is about my time in Colombia and what I learnt while I was there. Unlike my Belgium Observations post, I have achieved my goal and learnt something every day I was in Bogotá so here's my 30 Observations for my month in the country's capital. Providing extra insight into the place as well as my experience while there. Hope you like it.
1. Bogotá, the city that doesn't sleep
It is often said about New York City but perhaps those who say it haven't been to Bogotá. The Colombian capital is home to more than 7 and a half million people and is constantly noisy and alive with activity (and 24 hour traffic).
2. Weather
Bogotá is in the northern reaches of the Andes providing it with a different climate to much of the country. The sun may shine most days but due to its altitude, the air is much cooler making the weather more manageable. There is also quite a bit of rain during April and May, the closest it really gets to 'winter' as the country's proximity to the equator means that seasons are muddled and don't really exist.
3. Colombian Spanish
As a Spanish student, what I was very keen on discovering when I came to Colombia was how the local dialect of Spanish compares with the Castillian variety (Spanish from Spain). My initial fears that I would find Colombian Spanish almost impossible to understand were put at ease as I found it to be not too different from the Spanish used in Spain however I did notice a few subtle differences. As expected, most of these differences are in pronunciation. Examples include double l's being pronounced as j's and q's as k's. There are also differences words used in situations such as when they say 'Ciao' instead of 'Adios' or 'Hasta Luego'.
4. Time difference/Not moving the clocks back/forward
The time difference between Bogota and the UK is 6 hours. I was fooled early on in my stay when the clocks changed however in Colombia the time stayed the same meaning I was a whole hour early meeting with Maritza! Silly me.
5. Tea/Coffee
I came to Colombia expecting to be dominated by coffee once more, just like every country I've been to in my gap year. This is a pretty reasonable assumption as Colombia is renowned for its coffee however it wasn't quite what I expected. Much of Colombia's best coffee is exported to countries across the world meaning that finding the really good quality Colombian coffee in the country itself is difficult. Although I did try a Tinto (coffee mixed chocolate), the majority of the time tea was the beverage of choice both to help with the heat and cos you can't be certain of clean running water from all of the taps so it is better to brew up than risk it.
6. Colourful Houses
Colombians like their colours and what was particularly nice to see was the amount of brightly coloured houses in Bogotá. Many of the best ones are found in La Candelaria and here's a short collection of my favourites.
7. Fruit
Besides Coffee, Colombia is well known for its tropical fruit production. On the streets around La Candelaria there are loads of people selling a large variety of fruits and fruit juices of which I liked freshly squeezed Orange juice and Passion fruit the most
8. Beggars
As a whole, Colombia is considered a developing nations but the issues of poverty and starvation still exist fairly prominently. Many homeless people can be found sleeping in the strangest of places out in the streets and at many points due to being a westerner, I was approached by people asking for money. The police make a big effort to discourage begging however many that you encounter are happy one or two hundred pesos which is a small price to pay. Think of it as your good deed for the day.
9. Traffic
Bogota is an incredibly busy city and is therefore filled with an extortionate amount of traffic. Many vehicles drive way over the speed limit while motorbikes weave in and out and for pedestrians it is almost impossible to cross any of the main roads. Better keep your whits about you!
10. Doormen at housing complex-correcting you on time of day
While I was staying in the studio, it was customary to greet the doormen to the housing complex on the way in and out. I'm not always aware of the current time so I found it rather amusing whenever I said the wrong greeting to them (e.g. saying Buenos dias in the afternoon, typically a morning greeting), they would correct me without apology or a smug grin at my fault. Call me weird but I used to think it was quite funny!
11. Colombia and the national football team #Unidosporunpais
Football is Colombia's national sport and for the first time since France 1998, the national side has qualified for the World Cup finals in Brazil. As cliches go, World Cup fever has already swept the nation so much so that you'd think the tournament was in Colombia itself. Walking through the centre of Bogotá, you'll see just about every man, woman, child and even pet wearing a Colombia jersey (not surprising when you can buy one for about a fiver on the street), shops are selling all kinds of merchandise to get fans in the mood, stars such as Monaco players Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez are all over the advertisements and all the eyes of the sports media are trained onto how Los Cafeteros* (currently 5th in the FIFA World rankings) fair at the main event in a few weeks time. The whole country is most definitely behind the team and excited to be involved with football's greatest showpiece once more. It reminds of how excited England used to get before world cups up until 2010, the less said about that-the better.
*= 'Los Cafeteros', or the coffee growers in English, is the nickname for the Colombia national football team. Typical!
12. Street vendors
Just about anywhere you walk in the city centre of Bogotá, the Carrera Septima in particular, you'll find lots of people trying to sell you things. There is a real variety of products on display including food, drinks, football shirts, hats, sunglasses, pirate DVDs, electronics and textiles so you may pick up a bargain or two, especially if you fancy a bit of bartering in Spanish. I got my Colombia football shirt for 15,000 CP which is roughly a fiver whereas I'd have to pay over 10 times that amount to buy one in an official sports shop.
13. Altitude Sickness
Bogotá is the 4th highest capital city in the world (2 of the top 4 are also in the Andes, I'll let you name those yourself) standing at a height of 2640m above sea level. It may not be the same as climbing Everest but the altitude does have certain effects on people-including me. Altitude sickness can be quite a horrible thing to go through but you can take medication or drink Coca Tea- a traditional south american drink made from Coca leaves (the source of Cocaine but don't worry, there's not actual cocaine in it) which can both help counter its effects.
14. Cycling
After Football, Cycling is the second sport in Colombia and Bogotá is filled with thousands of cyclists everyday. The government accomodates its nation's love of life on 2 wheels by making cycle ways, offering bike hire services and during Sundays and Bank Holidays some main streets in Bogotá are closed off exclusively for Cycling. Also just before I arrived the World Track Cycling Championships were held in the southern city of Cali. Power to the pedal!
15. Confusing Transmilenio
The Transmilenio is the BRT Bus system in Bogotá designed for quick, affordable transport in and around the city. Once you get over how overcrowded many of the services are and work out the confusing route maps at each station, you then can really appreciate how efficient and safe the system is. A real credit to Bogotá.
16. Museums
Bogotá is famous for its many museums. There many different kinds of them across the city showing off exhibitions of Art, Political History, War and many other subjects which can make for a really interesting afternoon. Many people are drawn in by cheap or sometimes no entry charge so it's a relatively inexpensive tourist activity however be aware that many of them close on Mondays or Tuesdays for maintenance so unfortunately I fell victim to this on more than once occasion. My top picks? I'd definitely make sure you check out the Museo Del Oro, Museo Botero, Museo Nacional and Quinta de Bolívar.
17. Colombian Food
Colombian cuisine is either very salty or very sweet. Many every day dishes consist of chicken and rice with a stew-type sauce which is quite nice. The best dish I tried is called Tamal. It's a dish served for sunday breakfast in a banana leaf that contains chicken, rice and chickpeas and is supposedly a great hangover cure! Colombians are also big on their meat and sweets.
18. Zona Rosa
Where's the party at in Bogotá? The Zona Rosa is your answer. This is an area 30 minutes cab ride from La Candelaria renowned for its vast array of designer shops, restaurants and nightlife. Literally within one square mile you will find over 100 different bars and clubs, each with their own different personality and taste in music meaning that there is something for everyone. Be careful though, many of the places charge 'tourist prices' for entry and drinks that are comparable to those in the US or UK. Don't expect a cheap night out but expect an enjoyable one.
19. Money
At first, it took me quite a while to get my head around the currency situation in Colombia. It may be a developing nation but Colombia is still quite poor which means that the Colombian peso is a highly inflated currency. It's common to see 10 and 20 thousand peso notes in use and the smallest coin you can find is 100 so you can imagine how boggled mind was trying to work out the value of things compared to the British pound. Turns out that according to Google, £1 is the equivalent to 3211.47 CP meaning that the general cost of living in Colombia is quite cheap for a Brit like myself.
20. Bear Grills
Whilst staying in the studio, there a few nights where I had to fend for myself in the kitchen which presented quite a challenge. Generally, my cooking abilities are average at best and there weren't a great deal of facilities or utensils I could use to make truly desirable meals but I got by making Pasta/Rice based meals which were actually pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself. My previous fears about cooking at Uni have been somewhat alleviated since.
21. Dangerous roads
If I had to give a description of it, the traffic on the roads of Bogotá is a bit like watching endless Mario Kart races. Nearly everyone drives over the speed limit, motorbikes are constantly weaving in and out, no one stops for pedestrians crossing the street, everyone is trying to overtake each other and to make matters worse, there are often cars that aren't even fully equipped with seatbelts. On the basis of my personal driving experience to date, I don't think I'd last 5 seconds in Bogotá! In my opinion it's much safer to travel by bus as many routes in the city are segregated from the main traffic.
22. Dogs
Dogs are most certainly man's best friend in Colombia. They're a very popular pet and it is very common to see plenty of them with their owners when you're out and about as well as a large quantity of sniffer dogs used by the police. The sad thing is that you also see an abnormally large amount of stray dogs in the streets so in this case maybe what I said earlier isn't always true.
23. Safety/Personal Security
Colombia has often been given a bad reputation by western media over the years. Stories of drug related violence, crime and smuggling as well as tourism and political unrest have not shed a very positive light on the nation. Crime rates and general safety is still improving and at times when walking around Bogotá you may feel like you're just in any other busy world city but there are still dangers out there. My best advice would be to be constantly alert about yourself and surroundings. Never walk the streets alone at night, don't go around showing off valuables items such as Phones or Cameras and generally stick to the more touristic areas as you are more likely to blend in with fellow travelers. Really just have your wits about you and make sure you don't draw too much attention. I did all these things and as a consequence I faced no problems with crime or anything else of that nature.
24. Radio GaGa
Listening to Colombian radio is really confusing. Unlike in the UK, stations don't seem to have a common musical agenda which makes for a rather inconsistent playlist of songs. You could be listening to a heavy metal band one minute then a jazz band the next. I even heard a bit of Brit music from Oasis, Blur and my favourites Bombay Bicycle Club! To call Colombian radio stations diverse would be an understatement.
25. Rice
I don't for sure but it would be a very good guess to say that Rice is Colombia's staple food. I ate it with most meals as it is suitable for the local climate due to its dry nature and long shelf-life.
26. Salsa
Colombians love their music and partying so it is of no real surprise that Salsa is taught to kids in many schools. This means by the time they're adults salsa becomes like a second nature to many people and there is a real passion for it in the country. I did try my hand at it but it turns out it's much more difficult than I expected. Better get practicing...
27. Kissing Greetings
Being an awkward Brit, kiss greetings is something I've struggled in every country I've visited so far on my gap year. In terms of Colombia, more often than not it's just the one peck on the person's right cheek although some people go for the double which really does confuse things. I'd suggest sticking to one just to save the embarrassment if the other person doesn't go for a second one.
28. Poker
In the hostel we played a few games of poker to pass the time during the evenings. I've never really been that good of a poker player and confess that I still don't quite understand the rules but somehow I still managed to not lose any of the games we played and even finished second in one of them. It's by no means my favourite game but I wasn't put off it by my recent experience, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in the future.
29. Hostelling
My week in the Cranky Croc wasn't my first stay in a hostel but it has certainly improved my opinion of it. Hostels are great for travelers and students-people wanting to travel on a budget. Beds are generally cheap in most countries, you get lots of great facilities provided as well links to tourist activities but the best thing for me about hostels is that sense of community and friendliness that you just don't get in hotels. You get to meet lots of like minded people and even makes some friends which makes your time away that bit more enjoyable.
30. More to Colombia than just Bogotá
Overall I'd say I enjoyed my 5 weeks in Bogotá but I hope this isn't the last time I visit Colombia. The country has improved greatly from its bleak past and is now really starting to open itself up to tourism. Colombia is currently an almost undiscovered gem of a travel location. There is so much it has to offer from its high peaks, to tropical rainforests, to its white sandy Caribbean beaches, to its lively cities and nightlife. There are many great places in the country that I heard about from travelers in the hostel that I'd love to visit someday so I most certainly won't reject the idea of a return to the country or South America at some point in the future.
So there you have it. What I learned from my time in Colombia. Same drill again, if you feel I've made some misguided observations then don't be offended and feel free to call me out on anything that you think isn't right. I enjoy writing these posts a lot and they're only meant as a bit of light hearted fun.
Expect to be reading my final observations post from gap year when I return home from the US. I look forward to writing it for you. It's now just a matter of hours till I leave on my flight over there and I can't wait for my summer camp experience to begin. I've no idea as to how often I will be able to blog while I'm at camp but I hope to update my blog at least once or twice a month to keep up appearances and so that my family won't be worrying about me.
That's all for now,
see you stateside!
FP
#FraserOnTour
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Gap Yah! Review Part 1: 10 tips on having a great gap year
It's mid May now and in just a few days my final gap year adventure in the USA will be kicking off. Now by the time I arrive back in blighty afterwards, I will have a whole 3 days worth of shopping, packing and panicking before heading off to Southampton to start University. Basically, I'm not going to have much time once my gap year actually ends and I would like to do a series of blogposts similar to my Review of 2013 to reflect on what I've done this past year. So to give me one less thing to do in September, I've decided to start slightly early.
Here's the first installment of my Gap Year Review series.
In the months prior to starting my gap year, I didn't really know how to approach it. I felt a bit clueless, didn't really know anyone who'd taken one and was far too swamped in exam revision to pay it much attention. I wish there was someone around at that time who could've given me some decent advice. So the focus of this first post in my Gap Year review is to pass on a few things I've learnt going through the process of taking a year out. A few things I would've liked to know prior to starting. If you're thinking of taking a gap year yourself then I suggest you give this a read-not that I'm big headed or anything!
1. Have a plan
Taking a gap year is a great concept. A whole 12 months to do what you want and go where you want to go. The possibility are endless which I actually found quite daunting and at first, I had no real idea what I really wanted to do. Whether you want to go backpacking around Australia or volunteer in Africa , the sooner you have a plan, the sooner you can start putting it into action. If you're indecisive like me, the best thing to do is to set some goals and criteria for what you'd like to get out of your gap year. To show what I mean, here's what my gap year goals were: 1. ALWAYS travel to new places 2. Spend as few days at home as possible 3. As a French and Spanish student, I needed to travel to/work/live in at least one Hispanic or Francophone in order to maintain my level of proficiency in these languages ahead of Uni.
2. Save up
It goes without saying that gap years are expensive. If they weren't then I'm sure nearly everyone would have a year out before heading off to Uni. Many of the amazing projects and trips advertised online charge high fees in exchange for an unforgettable experience and the bank of Mum and Dad can only stretch so far. Start saving your money up as soon as you can and only spend money on essential things. Gear your finances towards your gap year plan, whatever it may be
3. Get a job
To help with point 2, the best way of sprucing up your savings is through a good bit of hard earned income. There's two different approaches to this. A) you can get a job before you go travelling. Or B) you can work while you travel. I chose the latter option and it's one I've stuck to throughout my gap year. Working abroad during your gap year has many benefits. It allows you to stay in one place for an extended period, letting you learn a lot about a new place, country or culture and if you can get food and accommodation thrown in as part of the deal then even better! Whatever your skill set, there are lots of kinds of employment prospects abroad available over the internet and all you have to do is pick one that suits and pursue it like hell.
4. Stay fit
When you're abroad, it's very easy to indulge in the finer things in life. Over time, all the foreign cuisine, drink and party lifestyle you've been enjoying for so long does eventually catch up on you so it's a good idea (if you want to maintain your figure) to keep active. You could join a local sports team or exercise group-also providing you with a great opportunity to meet locals or fellow travellers, take a walking or bike tour or just do your own thing be it a run, cycle or swim. Staying fit while you travel can be difficult as there are so many distractions but if you do a bit while you're away then it means that you've got less catching up to do when you get back home.
5. Step out of your comfort zone
Taking a gap year really encourages you to step up and take on many difficult situations. At times things might be overwhelming but I say embrace the chaos. As my former History teacher Mike Wilson told me before departing on my year out, it is in these tricky situations that we really learn the most about ourselves and develop as a person. Rise to the challenge and you'll feel better for it.
6. Be a YES man/lady
This is similar to the last point. During your gap year, you will be presented with a billion different opportunities and new experiences to try out and as long as they're not too life threatening then I suggest you take all of them. Even if the outcome isn't always positive, you will still have had that experience and maybe even a great story to go with it. As the old saying goes 'don't knock it till you try it'
7. Stay in touch with your school/college friends
One thing just about everyone and every website will tell you about your gap year is that you'll make 'loads of friends'. Now unless you're travelling as part of a group of fellow gappers, it is very difficult to stay friends with the people you meet on your travels as just about everyone is working/studying or travelling off somewhere else. A gap year can certainly be very lonely at times and I must say this has affected me on more than one occasion over these past months. Because of this, I have found it to be very important to stay in contact with friends from back home via Facebook or Skype or even to meet up in the flesh just so you have a familiar face to talk to when times are tough, have a laugh and to chat about their life at work/school/ university. Good quality time with friends and family is often underestimated and you should always make time for it even when you're many hundreds and thousands of miles from home.
8. Walk it
If you end up taking a similar gap year to mine, visiting lots of different cities and tourist attractions, it can become quite costly to use local public transport or getting a taxi. If your destination is nearby, I strongly suggest you walk it. The benefits are huge! Not only are you staying fit (see point 4) but you also get to see more of the city/place you are in and therefore see many of the unique things such as shops, eateries, parks and architecture that many lazier tourists will miss out on. More importantly, you get a much better idea of what the place is really like rather than through the artificial tinted lenses of a tourist.
9. Record it
Taking a gap year is an amazing experience that you will want to look back on and remember for years in the future. It's all well and good having those memories stored in your head but as we do get older we do become more forgetful so it is worth creating some more physical evidence to help our brains out. Go Asian tourist mode and take LOADS of pictures of everyone and everything (I strongly urge you to take a camera/photo capturing device everywhere you go, you never know what you're going to see or experience and there have been countless times this year where I wished I had my camera handy to capture the moment), take short videos, create a playlist of your favourite songs from your travels, write facebook statuses when key events happen, get in touch with your creative side by making a scrapbook or collage, even write your very own blog or travel diary like I've done.
10. Enjoy it
Last but not least, a no brainer. Enjoy it. Once your return back to reality, you're not likely to have this much freedom ever again so make the most of it and take every opportunity that comes your way.
To those of you taking a gap year this September or sometime in the future- I really hope you have a great time.
I hope this post was helpful and insightful and not too cheesy for you. Expect Gap Year Review Part 2 sometime in September when I return from America.
Stay classy, World!
FP
#FraserOnTour
Here's the first installment of my Gap Year Review series.
In the months prior to starting my gap year, I didn't really know how to approach it. I felt a bit clueless, didn't really know anyone who'd taken one and was far too swamped in exam revision to pay it much attention. I wish there was someone around at that time who could've given me some decent advice. So the focus of this first post in my Gap Year review is to pass on a few things I've learnt going through the process of taking a year out. A few things I would've liked to know prior to starting. If you're thinking of taking a gap year yourself then I suggest you give this a read-not that I'm big headed or anything!
1. Have a plan
Taking a gap year is a great concept. A whole 12 months to do what you want and go where you want to go. The possibility are endless which I actually found quite daunting and at first, I had no real idea what I really wanted to do. Whether you want to go backpacking around Australia or volunteer in Africa , the sooner you have a plan, the sooner you can start putting it into action. If you're indecisive like me, the best thing to do is to set some goals and criteria for what you'd like to get out of your gap year. To show what I mean, here's what my gap year goals were: 1. ALWAYS travel to new places 2. Spend as few days at home as possible 3. As a French and Spanish student, I needed to travel to/work/live in at least one Hispanic or Francophone in order to maintain my level of proficiency in these languages ahead of Uni.
2. Save up
It goes without saying that gap years are expensive. If they weren't then I'm sure nearly everyone would have a year out before heading off to Uni. Many of the amazing projects and trips advertised online charge high fees in exchange for an unforgettable experience and the bank of Mum and Dad can only stretch so far. Start saving your money up as soon as you can and only spend money on essential things. Gear your finances towards your gap year plan, whatever it may be
3. Get a job
To help with point 2, the best way of sprucing up your savings is through a good bit of hard earned income. There's two different approaches to this. A) you can get a job before you go travelling. Or B) you can work while you travel. I chose the latter option and it's one I've stuck to throughout my gap year. Working abroad during your gap year has many benefits. It allows you to stay in one place for an extended period, letting you learn a lot about a new place, country or culture and if you can get food and accommodation thrown in as part of the deal then even better! Whatever your skill set, there are lots of kinds of employment prospects abroad available over the internet and all you have to do is pick one that suits and pursue it like hell.
4. Stay fit
When you're abroad, it's very easy to indulge in the finer things in life. Over time, all the foreign cuisine, drink and party lifestyle you've been enjoying for so long does eventually catch up on you so it's a good idea (if you want to maintain your figure) to keep active. You could join a local sports team or exercise group-also providing you with a great opportunity to meet locals or fellow travellers, take a walking or bike tour or just do your own thing be it a run, cycle or swim. Staying fit while you travel can be difficult as there are so many distractions but if you do a bit while you're away then it means that you've got less catching up to do when you get back home.
5. Step out of your comfort zone
Taking a gap year really encourages you to step up and take on many difficult situations. At times things might be overwhelming but I say embrace the chaos. As my former History teacher Mike Wilson told me before departing on my year out, it is in these tricky situations that we really learn the most about ourselves and develop as a person. Rise to the challenge and you'll feel better for it.
6. Be a YES man/lady
This is similar to the last point. During your gap year, you will be presented with a billion different opportunities and new experiences to try out and as long as they're not too life threatening then I suggest you take all of them. Even if the outcome isn't always positive, you will still have had that experience and maybe even a great story to go with it. As the old saying goes 'don't knock it till you try it'
7. Stay in touch with your school/college friends
One thing just about everyone and every website will tell you about your gap year is that you'll make 'loads of friends'. Now unless you're travelling as part of a group of fellow gappers, it is very difficult to stay friends with the people you meet on your travels as just about everyone is working/studying or travelling off somewhere else. A gap year can certainly be very lonely at times and I must say this has affected me on more than one occasion over these past months. Because of this, I have found it to be very important to stay in contact with friends from back home via Facebook or Skype or even to meet up in the flesh just so you have a familiar face to talk to when times are tough, have a laugh and to chat about their life at work/school/ university. Good quality time with friends and family is often underestimated and you should always make time for it even when you're many hundreds and thousands of miles from home.
8. Walk it
If you end up taking a similar gap year to mine, visiting lots of different cities and tourist attractions, it can become quite costly to use local public transport or getting a taxi. If your destination is nearby, I strongly suggest you walk it. The benefits are huge! Not only are you staying fit (see point 4) but you also get to see more of the city/place you are in and therefore see many of the unique things such as shops, eateries, parks and architecture that many lazier tourists will miss out on. More importantly, you get a much better idea of what the place is really like rather than through the artificial tinted lenses of a tourist.
9. Record it
Taking a gap year is an amazing experience that you will want to look back on and remember for years in the future. It's all well and good having those memories stored in your head but as we do get older we do become more forgetful so it is worth creating some more physical evidence to help our brains out. Go Asian tourist mode and take LOADS of pictures of everyone and everything (I strongly urge you to take a camera/photo capturing device everywhere you go, you never know what you're going to see or experience and there have been countless times this year where I wished I had my camera handy to capture the moment), take short videos, create a playlist of your favourite songs from your travels, write facebook statuses when key events happen, get in touch with your creative side by making a scrapbook or collage, even write your very own blog or travel diary like I've done.
10. Enjoy it
Last but not least, a no brainer. Enjoy it. Once your return back to reality, you're not likely to have this much freedom ever again so make the most of it and take every opportunity that comes your way.
To those of you taking a gap year this September or sometime in the future- I really hope you have a great time.
I hope this post was helpful and insightful and not too cheesy for you. Expect Gap Year Review Part 2 sometime in September when I return from America.
Stay classy, World!
FP
#FraserOnTour
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Final week in Bogotá-Backpacker style
Sorry guys,
Yet again I'm late updating my blog. I've been so busy with so many things it has been hard to find the time to sit down for an hour or so to type anything out so yea, sorry about the silence these past few weeks.
Cracking on, I'm happy to tell you that I safely returned home to England as planned on 2nd May. A lot has happened since I last blogged so I'll pick up where I finished last time out with my final week in Bogotá. As you know, I left the studio on the Thursday and moved into the Cranky Croc, a hostel in La Candelaria where I stayed from Friday all the way up until I left Colombia the following Thursday (1st May). Without exaggerating, life in the hostel was 10 times better than staying in the studio. I stayed in a 6 bed dorm sleeping in a bunk bed that was even comfier than my bed at home, I had access to fully functioning warm showers (a real luxury compared to the studio), free wifi and other great facilities provided by the hard working staff but the best thing about staying in the Cranky Croc was meeting and getting to know all the other travellers staying there. You could sit in the main eating/drinking area there and almost instantaneously strike up a conversation with someone about your travels and where you're from despite being complete strangers. I met so many really nice and interesting people from all sorts of countries during my week there including people from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Brazil. I found the community feel of the place utterly infectious after 3 weeks of living almost by myself in the studio.
After spending a very relaxing first night in the hostel, I met up with Mauricio again on Saturday and along with his girlfriend Daniela, we went for a drive in the countryside. We stopped for lunch at a typical South American restaurant for lunch in La Calera where we shared a large dish of various meats, arepa and potatoes which proved to be a sumptuous feast. We then jumped back in the car and drove the length of the valley, taking in the glorious mountain scenery before arriving in the town of Sopó for dessert. There, we went to a dairy factory where we sampled some Arequipe flavoured (caramel) cheesecake before returning back to the city. A fine day out for some truly delicious food.
That evening, I had my first taste of Colombian nightlife when a large group of us from the hostel went out to club called Baum. The club played some great electro music which was perfect to dance to so I used this opportunity to throw some shapes. I had no idea what I was doing half of the time but the locals seemed to like it so much that I had a small following of Colombians copying my every move which I found quite amusing.
Sunday was a fairly easy day for me. I was tired from the night before and didn't really feel like doing much but I forced myself to go and take a trip to Usaquen, an area in the north of the city known for its Sunday market. Whether or not it was because I was feeling too groggy to really appreciate it, I felt that Usaquen didn't really live up to its 'must-see' billing but it was still pleasant to have a look around the various stalls and the buildings of the surrounding area. A game of poker (which I surprisingly don't suck at anymore) and watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish back at the hostel wrapped up what was a very relaxed day.
On Monday, I decided to join my friends Alex and Max (both fellow Brits) in climbing up Cerro de Montserrate for the second time. When I first went with Nico, I felt a bit too overwhelmed by the altitude to really enjoy it so I felt it was worth another visit. Although the walk up was almost as difficult as the first time, we picked a great day for it as once we reached the top, the clouds parted and the sun came out, exposing some glorious vistas of the city below. After a cup of Coca Tea with honey and lemon to help with the altitude (400 metres above Bogotá), we took plenty of pictures before our rickety descent back down.
Alex flew off to Ecuador on Tuesday afternoon so just Max and I joined a bike tour to discover the city in a different way. In between negotiating the congested and chaotic streets of the city centre, the tour stopped off at a market for some fruit tasting, a coffee factory (passing through the red light district on the way), the city's main cemetery and the Parque Nacional which made for an interesting afternoon, seeing sights away from La Candelaria.
For Wednesday-my final full-day in Colombia, Max, Josh (from Canada), Bruno (from Brazil), a Dutch woman (whose name unfortunately escapes my memory) and I took a day trip out to the town of Zipaquirá. It was very easy to get there from La Candelaria simply taking the TransMilenio to Portal del Norte (the most northern TransMilenio station) before hopping on another bus to get out to the town costing a total of under 10,000 Colombian Pesos for the round trip. Zipaquirá is known predominantly for its Salt Cathedral and mines which was the main destination of our trip. Back in 2011, I went on a college trip with the history department to Krakow, Poland where we visited the Wieliczka Salt mine, the only other open mine like Zipaquirá in the world so I'd been looking forward to going to it for a few weeks so that I could complete the set. We had a tour around the cathedral all in Spanish while we marvelled at the various crosses carved into the salt rock before entering the main hall of the cathedral, a massive underground chamber with pews and the most impressive cross of them all above the alter. The lights used gave a splendid velvet glow across the chamber and really added to the whole aura of the place. Next up was a mining tour (also all in Spanish) in which we got an inside scoop on life working in a mine. We donned a hard hat each with a headtorch on top and once in the mining section away from the cathedral our guide told us to form a chain and turn our headtorches off. We did so and found ourselves almost crawling through a low tunnel in pitch black just as the miners would- this naturally resulted in hysterical disorientation which despite having no idea where we were was really funny. We also had a go at hacking away at a salt wall using pickaxes and Josh and I activated some explosives! (fortunately they were actually just simulated). Overall it was a really enjoyable few hours spent and if you think of coming to Bogotá then it is definitely something you should check out. We then hurriedly left the Salt mine, got back into the centre of the town and found a restaurant for lunch where we also got to watch the Champions League semi-final match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, Chelsea ended up losing 3-1 meaning that Chelsea fan Max wasn't in the best of spirits but at least we had some amazing burgers to eat for lunch.
So after a long enjoyable day out, the group of us returned back to the hostel to recharge the batteries or rather in my case, to pack my stuff up. I wasn't planning on doing anything in particular for my final night but after a fair bit of persuasion I joined Max, Josh and Bruno once more as well as two Canadian girls we'd met back at the hostel for a night in Zona Rosa. The Zona Rosa is Bogotá's main area for dining, shopping and nightlife where you can find massive shopping malls and lots of fancy restaurants but seeing as we were there to party, we were only interested in the mass of bars and clubs. Literally over a hundred in about a mile radius and seeing as Wednesday was the night before a bank holiday each one was absolutely packed out. None of us had really brought that much money so we spent a lot of the night trying to find clubs and bars that didn't charge for entry or where drinks were cheap which meant we spent a lot of the time drinking and dancing in the streets while also chatting with the locals. I'd originally just come out for a beer or two so didn't really expect to find myself being 'Out out'* in shorts and a hoodie but despite me being hideously under dressed for the occasion it was an enjoyable night especially when we tried our hand at a bit of Salsa dancing in one of the clubs-which I was terrible at.
*= If you're not really sure what I mean by 'Out Out' then click on the phrase in the paragraph. It's a link that you might enjoy
Thursday was my final day in Bogotá and seeing as I wasn't flying till the evening I decided to do one last touristy thing with the guys from the hostel by going with them on a graffiti tour of the city. I'd seen tonnes of street art around the city while I'd been there so the tour was particularly interesting as we found out about the culture of graffiti artists, the techniques they use, the messages behind the art and all its legal implications. The tour is free but run on donations which depend on how much you enjoyed the tour so I would recommend if you're looking for a low budget activity to do in the city. In the afternoon I met up with Mauricio and Daniela for the final time. We had lunch together as I told them about my final week in Bogotá then Mauricio dropped me off back by the hostel. I'm really glad my cousin Michael introduced me to Mauricio. We really got on well and I hope to see him again someday. Not long after that, I hopped in a taxi to the airport and took my flight to Frankfurt leaving Bogotá, Colombia and South America behind me.
That's all for now. I'm still trying to catch up with about a week's worth of blogging so expect to see some new posts really soon. Yet again, sorry for the delay and stay tuned
FP
#FraserOnTour
Yet again I'm late updating my blog. I've been so busy with so many things it has been hard to find the time to sit down for an hour or so to type anything out so yea, sorry about the silence these past few weeks.
Cracking on, I'm happy to tell you that I safely returned home to England as planned on 2nd May. A lot has happened since I last blogged so I'll pick up where I finished last time out with my final week in Bogotá. As you know, I left the studio on the Thursday and moved into the Cranky Croc, a hostel in La Candelaria where I stayed from Friday all the way up until I left Colombia the following Thursday (1st May). Without exaggerating, life in the hostel was 10 times better than staying in the studio. I stayed in a 6 bed dorm sleeping in a bunk bed that was even comfier than my bed at home, I had access to fully functioning warm showers (a real luxury compared to the studio), free wifi and other great facilities provided by the hard working staff but the best thing about staying in the Cranky Croc was meeting and getting to know all the other travellers staying there. You could sit in the main eating/drinking area there and almost instantaneously strike up a conversation with someone about your travels and where you're from despite being complete strangers. I met so many really nice and interesting people from all sorts of countries during my week there including people from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Brazil. I found the community feel of the place utterly infectious after 3 weeks of living almost by myself in the studio.
After spending a very relaxing first night in the hostel, I met up with Mauricio again on Saturday and along with his girlfriend Daniela, we went for a drive in the countryside. We stopped for lunch at a typical South American restaurant for lunch in La Calera where we shared a large dish of various meats, arepa and potatoes which proved to be a sumptuous feast. We then jumped back in the car and drove the length of the valley, taking in the glorious mountain scenery before arriving in the town of Sopó for dessert. There, we went to a dairy factory where we sampled some Arequipe flavoured (caramel) cheesecake before returning back to the city. A fine day out for some truly delicious food.
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| Lunch time! |
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| view from the car on our country drive |
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| Mauricio and I |
That evening, I had my first taste of Colombian nightlife when a large group of us from the hostel went out to club called Baum. The club played some great electro music which was perfect to dance to so I used this opportunity to throw some shapes. I had no idea what I was doing half of the time but the locals seemed to like it so much that I had a small following of Colombians copying my every move which I found quite amusing.
Sunday was a fairly easy day for me. I was tired from the night before and didn't really feel like doing much but I forced myself to go and take a trip to Usaquen, an area in the north of the city known for its Sunday market. Whether or not it was because I was feeling too groggy to really appreciate it, I felt that Usaquen didn't really live up to its 'must-see' billing but it was still pleasant to have a look around the various stalls and the buildings of the surrounding area. A game of poker (which I surprisingly don't suck at anymore) and watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish back at the hostel wrapped up what was a very relaxed day.
On Monday, I decided to join my friends Alex and Max (both fellow Brits) in climbing up Cerro de Montserrate for the second time. When I first went with Nico, I felt a bit too overwhelmed by the altitude to really enjoy it so I felt it was worth another visit. Although the walk up was almost as difficult as the first time, we picked a great day for it as once we reached the top, the clouds parted and the sun came out, exposing some glorious vistas of the city below. After a cup of Coca Tea with honey and lemon to help with the altitude (400 metres above Bogotá), we took plenty of pictures before our rickety descent back down.
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| City view on the way up |
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| Coca Tea with Honey and Lemon at the top |
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| Group shot |
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| This is now my facebook cover photo |
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| Inside the church |
Alex flew off to Ecuador on Tuesday afternoon so just Max and I joined a bike tour to discover the city in a different way. In between negotiating the congested and chaotic streets of the city centre, the tour stopped off at a market for some fruit tasting, a coffee factory (passing through the red light district on the way), the city's main cemetery and the Parque Nacional which made for an interesting afternoon, seeing sights away from La Candelaria.
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| First stop on the bike tour- Fruit market |
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| Tasting session |
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| Coffee factory |
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| Statue in the cemetery |
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| Street artwork |
For Wednesday-my final full-day in Colombia, Max, Josh (from Canada), Bruno (from Brazil), a Dutch woman (whose name unfortunately escapes my memory) and I took a day trip out to the town of Zipaquirá. It was very easy to get there from La Candelaria simply taking the TransMilenio to Portal del Norte (the most northern TransMilenio station) before hopping on another bus to get out to the town costing a total of under 10,000 Colombian Pesos for the round trip. Zipaquirá is known predominantly for its Salt Cathedral and mines which was the main destination of our trip. Back in 2011, I went on a college trip with the history department to Krakow, Poland where we visited the Wieliczka Salt mine, the only other open mine like Zipaquirá in the world so I'd been looking forward to going to it for a few weeks so that I could complete the set. We had a tour around the cathedral all in Spanish while we marvelled at the various crosses carved into the salt rock before entering the main hall of the cathedral, a massive underground chamber with pews and the most impressive cross of them all above the alter. The lights used gave a splendid velvet glow across the chamber and really added to the whole aura of the place. Next up was a mining tour (also all in Spanish) in which we got an inside scoop on life working in a mine. We donned a hard hat each with a headtorch on top and once in the mining section away from the cathedral our guide told us to form a chain and turn our headtorches off. We did so and found ourselves almost crawling through a low tunnel in pitch black just as the miners would- this naturally resulted in hysterical disorientation which despite having no idea where we were was really funny. We also had a go at hacking away at a salt wall using pickaxes and Josh and I activated some explosives! (fortunately they were actually just simulated). Overall it was a really enjoyable few hours spent and if you think of coming to Bogotá then it is definitely something you should check out. We then hurriedly left the Salt mine, got back into the centre of the town and found a restaurant for lunch where we also got to watch the Champions League semi-final match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, Chelsea ended up losing 3-1 meaning that Chelsea fan Max wasn't in the best of spirits but at least we had some amazing burgers to eat for lunch.
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| Entering the salt mine |
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| One of many crosses we saw |
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| Here's another |
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| Me overlooking the main chapel of the cathedral |
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| We found an underground boxing ring! Bruno vs Max |
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| Max trying on a gas mask |
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| Working hard in the mine |
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| Josh and I causing explosions |
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| Team photo |
So after a long enjoyable day out, the group of us returned back to the hostel to recharge the batteries or rather in my case, to pack my stuff up. I wasn't planning on doing anything in particular for my final night but after a fair bit of persuasion I joined Max, Josh and Bruno once more as well as two Canadian girls we'd met back at the hostel for a night in Zona Rosa. The Zona Rosa is Bogotá's main area for dining, shopping and nightlife where you can find massive shopping malls and lots of fancy restaurants but seeing as we were there to party, we were only interested in the mass of bars and clubs. Literally over a hundred in about a mile radius and seeing as Wednesday was the night before a bank holiday each one was absolutely packed out. None of us had really brought that much money so we spent a lot of the night trying to find clubs and bars that didn't charge for entry or where drinks were cheap which meant we spent a lot of the time drinking and dancing in the streets while also chatting with the locals. I'd originally just come out for a beer or two so didn't really expect to find myself being 'Out out'* in shorts and a hoodie but despite me being hideously under dressed for the occasion it was an enjoyable night especially when we tried our hand at a bit of Salsa dancing in one of the clubs-which I was terrible at.
*= If you're not really sure what I mean by 'Out Out' then click on the phrase in the paragraph. It's a link that you might enjoy
Thursday was my final day in Bogotá and seeing as I wasn't flying till the evening I decided to do one last touristy thing with the guys from the hostel by going with them on a graffiti tour of the city. I'd seen tonnes of street art around the city while I'd been there so the tour was particularly interesting as we found out about the culture of graffiti artists, the techniques they use, the messages behind the art and all its legal implications. The tour is free but run on donations which depend on how much you enjoyed the tour so I would recommend if you're looking for a low budget activity to do in the city. In the afternoon I met up with Mauricio and Daniela for the final time. We had lunch together as I told them about my final week in Bogotá then Mauricio dropped me off back by the hostel. I'm really glad my cousin Michael introduced me to Mauricio. We really got on well and I hope to see him again someday. Not long after that, I hopped in a taxi to the airport and took my flight to Frankfurt leaving Bogotá, Colombia and South America behind me.
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| Bogotá graffiti tour |
That's all for now. I'm still trying to catch up with about a week's worth of blogging so expect to see some new posts really soon. Yet again, sorry for the delay and stay tuned
FP
#FraserOnTour
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