(Okay, big confession, I completely flopped at publishing my posts whilst travelling. I arrived in Colombia on 11th April, it is now 7th September and I’m only just picking back up from where I left off).

My arrival to Colombia was a little rough. I hadn’t slept the night before, I started my period and I was getting a cold. Throw in the 2,600m of altitude that Bogotá sits at and I was a hot mess: minus the hot, triple the mess. I booked myself a private room for the night and tried to sleep everything off to explore the city the following day.

My first stop was Gracia Cafe, a really quant brunch spot with outside seating and super sweet staff. My second stop was the Gold Museum which has some 34k gold pieces, some of which date back to prehispanic times. Gold was super important to the native people and this is what El Dorado was centred around. It’s not a place but a ritual where the Muisca people would throw offerings of gold into Lake Guatavita. The Spanish saw this, took the native people out and tried to drain the lake… with buckets. Our guide gave us a brief history of Colombia and Bogotá whilst we walked through Santander Park, La Candelaria and saw the spot where Gaitan was assassinated. He was the first presidential candidate to come from the ends as it were. He advocated for the working class, workers rights and was on track to win. He got assassinated right before the election in 1948. This sparked huge riots that spread across Colombia which completely destroyed the city of Bogotá, hence why all the architecture is from the 50s/60s even though the capital was founded in 1538.

Much like any city, there are parts that are more comfortable to be in than others. The Botero Museum was good, coming from someone who is not really an artsy fartsy person and Montseratte has a great view over the city. Again, I think the universe came through for me here as I was thinking of hiking up but the trail closes at about 1pm. Realistically, that would have been a terrible idea for me, seeing as I couldn’t even shower without gasping for air. (I truly belong at sea level).

Everyone shits on Bogotá but I actually quite enjoyed it! I think it’s a good place for 2 or 3 nights before making use of the capital’s transport links. My next stop? The Coffee Axis!