from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: Not quite a White Christmas in Bogota, Colombia

Bogota is an interesting place. It isn't a city that you can just wander aimlessly around like I prefer to do as you have a fairly good chance of getting stabbed or mugged or worse if you end up in the wrong neighbourhood which can occur very quickly (more on that later). You either love it or hate it.

In three days you can see basically all there is quite comfortably. Taxis are your friend here - you'll be using them a lot to go from one zone to another. I kind of got stuck in Bogota for a week as I had not factored in the pre-Xmas chaotic rush for buses to every town in the country by locals escaping the capital for the holiday period. Madness at the Terminal. It meant that I skipped San Agustin as well which was disappointing. So what did I do for seven days....well:

Monserrate Mountain - glowing in bright fluorescent lights in the night sky...the peak of Monserrate was aglow with Xmas lights and plenty of punters heading up the cable car to watch sunset and take photos with tacky bible themed characters. There is a church at the top and a fancy restaurant with amazing views. The night I went up it was very smoggy and we couldn't see the city boundaries. The cloud/smog did allow for some ok photos after sunset with the city lights reflecting upon the clouds. Be careful walking to/from the cable car alone at night.

Rock al Horno (4-09 Calle 12d piso 2, La Candelaria) - A great little salsa bar full of local punters. The old guy behind the tiny bar plays some cracking music from his pile of CDs. The toilets are mildly dodgy (and public) but its still a cool place. The waitress there appears to be a professional dancer - she practices at the tiny entrance when she's not busy....man those feet move fast. Check it out. Things get going after 10pm.

Museo Botero - Botero is a famous artist in Colombia, if not because his work is very different: fat characters often with some small features. It's weird to me and I find it hard to like. Many people do, as is evidenced by Colombia embracing his work all throughout the country. There are many works by other famous artists to keep the interest up if his stuff isn't to your liking. Best of all, it is free. Worth a gander.

Museo de Oro - One of the most visited sites in Bogota. If you go and wander around without doing the free tour you may not like it or get much out of it. I encourage you to do the 11:30am or 4pm free tour (in English) as most of what you will hear in the hour or so will be in addition to the information on the plaques. Try and make sure you don't get an old Swiss couple who think it is ok to stand in front of every exhibit that the guide is describing such that nobody else can see them.

Graffiti tour - Run by an Aussie guy who moved to Bogota about 3 years ago, used to be a physiotherapist but is now a graffiti artist/guide....go figure. Bogota is ripe for such a tour as it almost encourages graffiti in a tasteful way, ie not tagging which is just shit. Many residents, shop owners and public offices allow artists to paint murals, more as a way of discouraging tagging. It's cool. Much of the work is themed and it gives a boring wall some character, until some little shit comes along and tags the crap out of it. A lot of the work is actually pretty darn good. A lot of effort goes into it. Technically it is illegal but rarely would you get fined or arrested. Christian, aka, Crisp, was putting up stickers as we went along. I laughed when I saw it.....a banker with a storm trooper helmet, suggesting they are on the dark side. I kept quiet about my former employment. He gave us all one of these stickers to put up somewhere around the world and take a photo....perhaps Chifley Square.

Zona Rosa - Six of us from the hostel headed to the pleasant surrounds of Zona Rosa....clearly one if the wealthier areas in Bogota and packed with restaurants....but most weren't open Xmas night though. Decided on an Italian place for my final meal in Bogota, a nice cozy trattoria with decent food and wine. Fairly expensive for Sth Am but it was the wealthier area after all. Lomo con salsa queso azul and a Malbec shared with the Aussie girls. Meal was ok...cut of meat could have been better for $15 but the wine more than made up for it. After dinner half the crowd departed and the remaining Aussies decided we should have another bottle of vino for dessert! And then some cheesecake generously bought by the girls for my birthday. An excellent evening with some fine company.

Xmas eve - Dinner at Fatimas Hostel with Chris, Penny and Michelle @ 10:30pm. Food was reasonable although not enough. I filled up on bread and pate and stuffing....very tasty but not so good for the digestive system. The red wine I had was awful...the girls said theirs was good. A few drinks later and with the DJs blarring a strange mix of Spanish, English and doof dof music, things got going. Spirits were being consumed left and right....even by the family of the hostel owners. It was quite amusing to watch some of the family members unleash their moves in the centre courtyard-come-dance floor. Music finished at 3:30am much to my disappointment (I had been told it would be 6am). Oh well, prob saved me a hangover anyways.

Parque Simon Bolivar - Not quite the park I was hoping for. Its claim to fame is that is a few metres larger than Central Park. There was something happening there when Chris and I turned up. We bought a ticket each not really knowing what it was. To our disappointment it was a religious theme park of sorts with exhibits of the birth of Christ and life in Bethlehem (I'm guessing). The locals were loving it....photos taken everywhere with the life-sized rubber characters and some real ones thrown in to the mix. Weird to say the least. We were definitely the only tourists there and rightfully so.

Flea market in Usaquen - A really nice neighbourhood that has a great Sunday market that winds its way through the streets. Quality handicrafts for sale which is unusual and every store isn't the same. Some good restaurants sprawled around the suburb too.

Plaza de Bolivar

Speakers corner in Plaza de Bolivar with very few listeners

Nut jobs holding a ceremony for the end of the world...why the police allow fires in a public space I don't know

Is that a festive lama?

Cable-car to Monserrate

Church at the top of Monserrate all lit up as part of the festive neon competition between Bogota, Medellin and Cartegena

The religious themed exhibition....that guy is actually real!

Not sure that is an Obama approved sculpture

My what big feet you have

Note the police van centre bottom....after we took a few photos we headed up a path to the left taking no more than two steps before the police called us down. The senior officer explained the consequences of continuing in that direction with a violent stabbing motion. It did look quite sketchy and I only intended to stick my head around the corner. We proceeded with haste in the opposite direction (this was only 6-7 blocks from our hostel).