Exploring Bogotá’s Boroughs
Rose Goes South • Chapter 3
Last night’s mixture of altitude, jet lag and Cuba Libre cocktails made this morning less productive than we might have liked…OK so it was probably mostly down to the Cuba Libres, but I’m sure anyone trying this South American tipple for the first time would agree, they’re secretly strong and after one or two you won’t be feeling funky fresh and ready for your walking tour at 9am that’s for sure! I’d still recommend them though, and heading out to Gringo Tuesday (a night organised to integrate tourists and locals)! Also, if you’re as lucky as we are, you might even meet a friendly local tour guide over a drink, who’ll offer to show you the sites of the city at a slightly more sociable hour for 3 sleepy, hungover girls! Result!!
So, after a slow and sleepy morning, we headed to see more of the city than we had the day before. If you’re ever done a graffiti tour in Berlin or Girona, Spain then you’re sure to enjoy this one! The slight catch in Bogota, however, is that it’s all more hidden and you have to keep looking up to experience the full selection of art. Here’s a snap of my favorite piece representing Tiplr colours!
With sore necks and hungry bellys, the rest of today turned into a food day… We’ve been using Instagram to scope out the most delicious looking delicacies (so much better than Trio Advisor in my opinion) and Masa, in Bogota’s equivalent to Chelsea / Upper East Side did not disappoint. There’s no wonder locals flock here because the fresh soups, salads, baguettes, brushettas are out of this world good, we just wish we could’ve tried everything on the menu! I opted for a mango juice and buying into the avocado fad, a chicken, avocado, feta and harissa sandwich! Yum yum yum! We could’ve sat here all day watching the wealthier half of the city enjoy business meetings over coffee and cake, and ladies who lunch… To some extent it actually felt like we could be in Europe or NY and you just don’t expect that from Colombia. On the same street we passed an oyster bar, steak house and the most upmarket Starbucks I think I’ve ever seen (no joke, it looked like a Spanish Villa), we also had to resist the flashpacker sensation to explore the designer shoe boutiques in the area…
A slightly worrying rush hour taxi just about made it to the airport in time for our Vivo Colombia flight. I’m not going to give another lengthy airline review but I must add if you have legs or are over 5ft tall then this probably isn’t the plane for you! Also, why is airport WiFi so terrible? It’s the 21st century aviation world! Rant over and we made it to Medellin and are snoozing here one night before heading early to Guatape! If anyone knows how to pronounce Medellin then please let me know as we’re heading back to see this place properly at the weekend and I don’t want to sound uncultured… I’ve heard plenty of posh Londoners switch the ‘lin’ for a prolonged ‘gin’ pronunciation but still not totally convinced! Anyway, must dash, the Masa sandwich is finally wearing off and its dinner time in MedaGin! Yep, it’s all about the food!
