On my first night we went to a great club on the 42nd floor of what was once the Hilton. We had great views to go with a good DJ set, from the city lights at night to an impressive vista of the city in daylight when the sun came up.
After an extra lazy day due to a public holiday, I went to see a cathedral which is set in an enormous salt mine an hour outside of Bogota. It's one of Colombia's most notable tourist attractions, yet in true Colombia style you still have to ask the locals in the town where to walk, as there are no signs. They still extract salt here and from time to time miners are injured or killed, mines being generally dangerous places to work. The cathedral used to be in a different part of the mine but that collapsed a few years ago so they´ve set this one up in this part of the mine which is considered more structurally sound. I´m no fan of churches generally but this was nicely done and I couldn't help but be impressed with the way they´ve done this in the middle of a mountain.
That night I went back to Medellin to meet up with the trek group and we had a couple of good nights out there. I saw a few other people I'd met up on the coast too, so it was great to see them again too. We went to a water park one afternoon as well which was amusing. I got wolf whistled and harassed by a group of old Colombia women there. Animals, they were.
From Medellin 3 of us went to Cali for a change of scenery and to decide for ourselves what we thought of the place. You hear mixed reviews about Cali more than any other place in Colombia - people seem to either love it or hate it, and there seems to be an even split of opinion. Maybe they should rename it Marmite.
After the night bus and a small snooze we went to the zoo for the first day. I like zoos generally but I often get a minor guilt complex about some of the animals being caged, especially birds. This one wasn't too bad though, if a little dull. Cali is the salsa capital of Colombia (the dance, not the condiment...) so we were honour bound to go and see what it was like. Local friends of friends took us out to show us how it was done. The club was like many in Colombia and played a mix of electronica and salsa music, with no discernible mixing. Not for the first time, a local tried to teach me to salsa and underestimated my ability to make a hash of it. I can only hope her feet are okay now. Randomly I met Mick Cripps who played guitar and bass for LA Guns. He was a funny guy, had his own style and didn't give a shit.
Next day we went for a wander and after I went back to the hostel in the afternoon my 2 friends were robbed in a park. They weren't hurt but it was a reminder that, safe as Colombia is, there are still places not to be trusted when there are no police around. I didn't spend enough time in Cali or see enough of it to gain a solid impression but from what I did see, I can't be sure what the fuss is about. Maybe I shouldn't compare it to Medellin.
We went back to Bogota for a final party before the last of us from the trek went our separate ways. We went up one of the hills overlooking the city for a chilled evening. I noticed the altitude up there for the first time. Bogota sits at around 2,600m above sea level, and although I never felt the altitude in the city, the 500m or so higher on that hill definitely made a difference. I'll have to consider stopping smoking before I get to Maccu Picchu...
I went to another recommended attraction in Bogota - the Gold Museum. It houses an impressive array of artefacts from several hundred years ago. Gold was an integral part of life for the pre Hispanics and they used it for decoration, armour, to make musical instruments and to pay homage to and communicate with their gods. We went to the planetarium as well which was ok. I either underestimated how much spoken Spanish there would be or overestimated my ability to comprehend it. Either way, I left not much the wiser but it was still entertaining enough.
My last big night was a return to the club we'd been to on my first visit but the music was bad. A couple of girls I'd met the first time turned up and they took me to another place also several floors up. This high up:
And that was Colombia. I had a great time here, saw some great sights and met some great people. It was the perfect time to come - enough tourists are here that there is plenty to do, but still many people around the world have the mistaken impression that it's still dangerous, so it's nowhere near too touristy like some parts of Thailand. There are some small ways in which you get the impression that Colombia hasn't quite geared up for tourists, like the fact that postcards are almost impossible to come by. The people are really friendly and, whether because they're aware that their country is still shaking off its bad rep or just because they want you to like it, they are anxious to make sure you feel safe and have a good time. I hope things keep improving here and more people come to see what Colombia has to offer. It's not all about coffee and drugs. The police presence is undoubtedly a big factor in the safety here and in a strange way I think I will need to be on my guard more when I head south. Tomorrow.
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