8 Nights in Colombia: Part 1

Walking to Cerro Monserrate

Nights 1 and 2: Bogota

We arrived at El Dorado airport early Saturday afternoon and were quickly mortified when our debit card did not work in the first ATM's we went to because it does not have a microchip. "I didn't read about this anywhere on the Internet", I quietly panicked. Luckily, the 3rd ATM was just fine but I mention it here for those Americans who might suffer the same 15 second panic attack. From the ATM, we walked past the taxi line outside the airport to where others were waiting and caught a bus after asking a few bus drivers "La Candelaria?"....Spanish fluency is just around the corner. 

We got off the bus in La Candelaria near a Juan Valdez Cafe and stopped for a nice cafe con leche and WiFi while we figured out where the hell we needed to go. This was mostly a useless stop (other than the delicious coffee) because the usually logical street layout is slightly tricky near Swiss Hostal Martinik, where we were staying. After a kind pedestrian asked us if we needed help, we figured out where to go and checked in to the adorable hostel. For a private room, we paid about $25/night. It was clean, came with free breakfast, WiFi, and coffee/tea. They even had a movie night with popcorn on Sunday...not to mention a cute dog and friendly staff. 

Since we didn't have a lot of time in Bogota, we immediately set out to explore. The Museo del Oro is just a few blocks away from the hostel and surpassed our expectations. Entrance is about $1.50 and you can rent audioguides for about $3. I had a little museum jealousy (I work for a museum, fyi) but they are owned by a bank, so of course they have the funding to be absolutely gorgeous! 

That night, we dined at a Colombian chain, Crepes & Waffles, which reminded me of a nicer Panera and while kinda expensive, did offer awesome soups and a delicious waffle with ice cream and frutas de bosque (fruits of the forest) or as we might say, wild berries :) I wanted to eat at a more low key Colombian joint but from our hostel's recommendations, it was either Crepes & Waffles or a pizza place.

The building to purchase tickets for the funicular and board to go up Cerro Monserrate

The next day, we rose with the sun to walk to Cerro Monserrate. We took the funicular up the mountain and marveled at the beautiful gardens, church and view.  Since it was Sunday morning, we were serenaded by churchgoers as we sipped cafe tinto (black coffee) and perused the souvenir market where you can buy coca tea, chocolate covered coffee beans and countless tchotchkes. 

From Monserrate, we made our way back to La Candelaria and joined Bogota Bike Tours for an amazing ride around the city that took us past graffiti art, through parks, to a coffee factory, to sample exotic fruits at the fruit market, past the red light district and to play tejo. It was an incredible day and if you have time for nothing else in Bogota, do the bike tour!

Graffiti art is everywhere in Bogota and while being very beautiful, it also usually has a message. This one is "Nobody wins" underneath a tic tac toe board of guns and targets.

Much of Colombia's good coffee is exported, leaving the lesser quality beans for Colombians

After the bike tour, we had time to visit the Botero Museum, which is free, before dinner. There is a tiny cafe in a plaza near Bogota Bike Tours that made us a delicious dinner with soup, a fried whole fish, avocados, rice, plantains, beans and a natural juice for about $3.50! From our little table we could watch performers in the plaza that drew a crowd for several hours. We didn't understand enough to enjoy the comedian, but the physical comedy of following performer was funny in every language....he also juggled fire and rode a tall unicycle. Movie night (and popcorn! We are addicts) at the hostel rounded out a jam packed, perfect day in Bogota.

Nights 3 and 4: Minca/Casa Elemento

Gorgeous view of the Sierra Nevada mountains

Early Monday morning, we packed our backpacks and I walked the hostel dog around a few blocks before heading back to El Dorado airport for our VivaColombia flight to Santa Marta. It's also possible to take a bus, but it costs more and takes over 20 hours....so the $50 flight was a no brainer. Minca, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, is about an hour bus ride from Santa Marta, maybe less if you don't get off the bus too early in Rodadero (Ryan will never live this down).

By the time we reached Minca, it was dark and raining but we had a moto taxi ride further up the mountain before we arrived at our destination, Casa Elemento. The moto taxi ride was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. It would have been significantly less scary without all the mud/rain/darkness and having to get off and walk when we got stuck, but it is an adventure I'll never forget! We arrived to friendly faces, a hot plateful of chicken curry and a roaring fire. Casa Elemento is a hostel owned by a group of friends, one of which we met in Utila, Honduras in 2010. It's always nice to reunite with travel friends and it was made even better by the fact that Casa Elemento is a slice of paradise.

"World's largest hammock"

Shower with a view

Our time at Casa Elemento was filled with jungle adventures, making new friends around the campfire, and relaxing in one of the most beautiful environments imaginable. It is a great place to get off the grid and enjoy simple pleasures usually forgotten by adulthood: exploring the forest, taking a nap in a hammock or discovering new bugs and animals. We saw leaf cutter ants, dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, goats, and many species of exotic birds. There are howler monkeys but we didn't see or hear any during our stay. I love animals and when it was finally time to make our trek back down the mountain, I was delighted to be escorted by the camp's dogs during the 3 hours it took us to get down to a taxi in Minca. The rest of our trip will be continued in Part 2.....

Casa Elemento has 2 dogs, Luna and Pantera