Day 123 - Yet another teleferico

Bogota

The last couple of free walking tours we've tried in South America have lacked some of the interest and polish of those we've done elsewhere, but the one in Bogotá had quite good reviews so we decided to give it a try.

We joined the small group in front of the Gold Museum, and enjoyed a very interesting tour. The guides had great English, and gave us a good mix of history, art and sociology (plus we got to try chicha, which is a corn based alcoholic beverage). Also interesting about today's tour was that this is the day the government and  the main guerrilla organisation FARC were signing a peace treaty, so seeing the preparations being made for live broadcasts gave us a sense of how important this was, and having the guides gave us a better understanding of what was going on.

One of the squares we visited was the centre of the emerald trade, there were men milling around with emeralds in their hands wrapped in white paper, ready to show anyone who is interested.  The building behind them was the Emerald Trade Centre and you could see the men in the windows using the light to check the quality of the stones. We had been to this square the day before and hadn't noticed it, prrof that sometimes you need locals to show you what is going on right under your nose!

After the tour finished we walked to the telefericó to head up to Monserrate. This was a bit different to the other telefericos we'd been in, this had a large carriage which could fit up to 40 people. It moves up quite fast over a forest of eucalyptus, all over South America we have felt at home with gum trees everywhere. As expected the view from the top at Monserrate overlooking Bogotá was wonderful and really gave us an idea of the size and spread of the city.

The walking tour had taken us briefly through the Botero Museum so we went back there to finish having a look at Botero's paintings, his most famous being his portrayal of the Mona Lisa. After that a quick visit to a couple of other nearby museums (all free) finished up our cultural activities for the day.

The more we walk the streets of Bogotá the more comfortable we feel. There are no go areas which we have been avoiding, and in general the advice is not to walk around after dark. The issue is not just Bogota's reputation but also how gringos can be perceived as an easy money target, so we've been playing it safe and making sure we're home before dark.