still not quite done

with Bogota... the following morning we left for Monserrate Hill. We took a funicular up (there is also a cable car but apparently they do not run at the same time, so you get one or the other or you walk up - some do it on their knees)

we walk the hill slowly stopping at the various botanical specimens - including one that they say is the basis for the Colombian flag colors.  the hill top church has a famous black Madonna and a famous very tortured Jesus carving along with many offerings of thanks for prayers granted and illness healed. 

while up there we eat ants- yes ants- and not chocolate coated ones either- these are known locally as "big-ass ants"-

they weren't too bad- mostly crunchy- not much flavor LOL- here is the guy who sold us the ants and some stands of "stuff" nearby---

we leave the hill and head into town- there are tons of museums in Bogota and we just scratch the surface- today we are headed to the Botero Museum and the complex also houses the museum of money and the one with the armaments (swords etc.)

after this we head to a hearty lunch of Bandeja Paisa (and Bob's birthday cake- since dinner is on our own tonight we celebrate at lunch)

then it is off for our last stop of the day - to learn the secrets of coffee.  Here we find out details of the whole coffee making process and we pick on a line, we roast, we taste and slurp and sniff- LOL - we have fun with it- putting on aprons and hair nets...

through rush hour traffic home - we are back at the hotel around 5:45 PM - tomorrow we are out of town to the salt mines so our days in Bogota are coming to an end....

we explore Bogota - part two

having just left the Gold Museum and it being just after noon you might think we were headed for lunch but you would be wrong...LOL

we were headed up up up to the oldest part of the city - home to one of the biggest universities in Bogota and many many students.  the area is somewhat "bohemian" and lots of great things to photograph along the way... including their transportation system which is an unusual variant on the EL-

it is street level but completely restricted access- the "buses" are long articulated ones (three sections sometimes) and they load from platforms at a height that can only be entered from the platform- the lanes are restricted solely to the transport system and cannot be entered or exited by cars (high curb barriers keep them dedicated) here are two photos from the system near the Gold Museum:

off we go to explore the upper reaches of the old city-

 

and finally we are released around 1:45 to have lunch on our own- LOL- I nab Kimo and we make a plan - first stop- food!

some other food along the way including a new obleas stand to take over---LOL

(it is no wonder I was starving by the time I had lunch!)

then we continue on for some exploring but only a few more highlights as this entry is getting long- later we go for our "welcome" dinner (fish or chicken) at a lovely french-ish place up the hill from the hotel where almost all the group joins in - the most recent arrivals have made other plans (could we have offended them so quickly on day one? we just met at breakfast- LOL)

so, a long day but wait there's more.... so keep on coming back for the details...