Bogotá

Where did we leave off last time.  No time to read backwards.  I think I was just leaving the airport?  

Sure, as good a place to start as any.  Our plane, such that it was, FINALLY made it to Bogotá.  

Rookie mistake, I paid for a taxi inside the airport.  It cost me as much as the one through the hotel. But I was so tired by then, what's money anyway? 

Hotel was fine.  No window.  It had a bed.  That was all I really cared about at that point.  I immediately used it.  I woke up at almost 7.  I booked the breakfast.  I had the 'healthy' option.  Yogurt, fruit and guacamole toast.  

The court yard outside my door  (Bottom right)

I had one day in Bogotá.  So, I was at the Botero Museum at 9am, opening time.  I had to kill some time until the English tour at the Gold Museum at 11.  You may not know Botero's name but you will recognize his stuff.  He paints people who look like they drank the fizzy lifting drink from Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.  

It is really an art gallery in an old house with a beautiful center courtyard.  The displays were very ascetically pleasing, I do like a symmetrical photo. Rule of thirds be damned.  

Picasso

Well. I'm already too tired to go on.  Tomorrow.  

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Not tomorrow, the day after.  After the Botero Museum, I went to the Gold Museum.  Everyone who's been there told me it was a must see.  

First I had to find it.  Bogota is very easy to navigate, numbered Calles and Carreras.  So I managed to not get lost.  But I did take some pictures along the way

I found a market.  I bought nothing.

there are a lot of hats, beads and bags for sale

I got there in time for  guided tour in English (11 am).  

It is really more of an archaeological museum rather than a 'gold' museum according to our guide, Gabriel.  But the archaeology of Colombia involves a lot of gold.  The museums here, and especially this one, are owned by the Bank of Colombia.  Gold was a commodity, they had the gold.  It was later that someone said, 'hey, maybe people might want to see their heritage'.   $5000 COP, ($1.50 CAD), super cheap to get in, and the tour is included.  

This little pot is a big deal.  It holds some additive to cocoa leaves for chewing.  I think the sign says it represents a woman's body.  Our guide thinks it it a sprouting seed.  Another guide I overheard says it's a cat.  Clearly they are all wrong.  This is a proto-muppet.

This is called the offering raft.  It is tiny, the size of a shoe.  The intricate details are crazy.  And it was a cast.  They created this in wax, made a mold, poured in molten gold and here we are, in a museum! I imagine this took a few million attempts before it turned out so well.  They found it in a pit, in a cave.  It was a burial offering. The priest had to convince the farmer who found it, not to melt it down to sell.

This is the offering well.  A darkroom in the museum with very cool, eerie chanting as the lights highlight gold offerings found (this is where my knowledge ends)

This is the wall, those are all gold pieces.  Enjoy this photo, it took 20 minutes to upload.

Four seated figures representing various styles from different cultural groups. And some lick'a'sticks.

My flight to Cartagena was scheduled for 6:45.  So I figured I should be at the airport by 5, 5:30 at the latest.  That should be enough time to go up Mount Montserrat (which is probably redundant with the two monts).  There is a funicular and a gondola (teleferico).  I walked to the base.  I did get a bit lost this time.  

I finally found where I needed to be with a plan to take the gondola up and funicular down, or vice versa.  But I discovered that the funicular only runs in the morning and the gondola in the afternoon.  Gondola it is then. 

There was a line to get on.  But it wasn't too too bad.  They really cram you in.  I was last on so I got a view.  

2 minutes up but it is a pretty cool ride.  Beautiful views.  

Then I wandered around a bit.  There is a big church at the top.  And the stations of the cross, of which I only saw a few.  

I saw this bird.  Merlin has some flaws.  I can't find it.

Then I noticed a big line.  Is this the line to go back down?  Yes.  Yikes!  I stopped wandering and got in line.  Finally we got to the door only to discover the line now fills a big room! 

An hour that line took!  As soon as I got to the bottom, I jumped in a taxi to my hotel to grab my backpack and then to the airport.  I made it to my gate at the 'required time' of 5:45.  

And then I waited around for half an hour, looking at other people's tiny child's school bag sized carry on.  You will all remember that I bought the cheapest tickets for my Wingo flights with one small personal item only.  They made several announcements at the gate that they would be measuring people's bags.  Oh well, either I have to check it or pay or both.  

But by the time I was allowed to board, no one was checking and I sailed through. There were people with TWO bags to carry on.   Y'all know what this means!!!  Shopping! 

My wifi is somewhat terrible in my hotel in Cartagena so the photo uploading is very slow.  Sorry this is late.