Colombia - Downtown, Monserrat, and Northern Bogota

Downtown Bogota reminded us of the grottier parts of New York.  On a morning walk there we saw crowds of business people on their way to work, hoping on and off crammed little buses and getting their shoes shined before arriving to the office.

Now for desayuno in a little corner cafe...

Chocolate Santafereno - hot chocolate served with two bread rolls and some slices of cheese which you melt in the hot chocolate.

and some Changua which is made of eggs poached in milk with onions and coriander on top.

There are lots of carts around selling snacks but another thing that is everywhere is mobile phone rental.  People can pay to use a phone which is chained to the person who owns it.

 

Everyone loves us when they hear we're Irish...

Below; an empanada boyacense: rice, eggs and pork wrapped in pastry...

Then the Gold Museum which had an unbelievable quantity of treasure...

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Lots of rain in Bogota...

 

We're really enjoying all the tropical fruit being sold by street venders.  This has been a typical breakfast for us lately; fruit along with an arepa which is like a thick pancake made from corn sometimes served with cheese in the middle and a sprinkling of chocolate on top, at other times it is served with scrambled eggs.

We went up to Monserrate, the mountain overlooking Bogota, on the funicular today.  There is a church on top famous for its statue of a dark skinned version of Jesus.  From there we had a great view of the city, and the smog covering it.

bottles made from hooves...

After that we moved to a different hostel in northern Bogota, which is in the wealthy part of town.  Lots of shopping centres, wide streets with trees and luxury apartments.  Went out for a few drinks in La Zona Rosa which is where all the rich and beautiful people go supposedly.  Was just like any other city really and everything here is twice as expensive as the other side of town.