My sister’s birthday is on December 31st and my neice’s birthday is on January 1st so we typically vacation around then. This year we took a trip to Bogota, Colombia. Take a look at some of my other travel diaries to see other places we’ve visited.

Day 1 – 12/27/17

We left Florida at 7pm and arrived in Bogota, Colombia around midnight (the flight was like 3 and a half hours). Our driver met us at the airport and drove us to the JW Marriot. It was decorated so beautifully and the rooms were nice and clean. The people were so friendly and eager to help. They have 3 restaurants, a 24 hour gym, and a spa.

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Day 2

We had a whole list of things to do! Most of the stuff on our list were in the same area (La Candelaria) so we knocked them all out in one day.

Museo Botero

First on our list – Museo botero! Featuring Ferdinand Botero’s art – this museum is a must see. Botero is known for “Boteroism” – a style of art where people and figures are shown in exaggerated volume.

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It was really cool to see all of the art and this was one of my favorite places in Colombia. I thought it was very unique.

The place itself is also breathtaking and a perfect place for photo ops.

Bolivar Square

We continued to walk further down and came upon Bolivar square.

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We didn’t stay here very long but we did feed the pigeons! It was fun. We also got some cotton candy – yum!

Museo del Oro

Sadly, we didn’t get to stay long at Museo del Oro because we would’ve been late for our next activity. Museo del Oro means Gold Museum in English. We briskly went through a few floors of the museum. It was interesting to see and read about the traditions and also learn about El Dorado. It was also nice to see how people used to wear gold back in the day and how that differs from today.

Not gonna lie, I wouldn’t say this is a MUST SEE but it’s definitely interesting if you’re in the area and looking for something to do. It’s also one of the most visited places in Bogota so it might be worth it to check it out.

Because we were in a rush, I sadly didn’t get a lot of pictures here.

Graffiti Tour

We had a graffiti tour planned at 2:00. We met the tour guide at Parque de los Periodistas, which was also beautiful! The design of this whole place was nice.

We were with a a group of 30 or more people. The tour guide (English speaking of course) started explaining why people did graffiti and explained how the tour would go. It was a 2 and a half hour walking tour. We decided to skip out on the tour because 1) our feet hurt at this point and 2) we wanted to do our own thing and take our own pictures without having to wait on other people.

If you want to take the tour, it’s free but they suggest a small donation be given.

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Day 3

Catedral de Sal

An hour out from Bogota in Zipaquira is this cool underground Cathedral in the mountains. Catedral de Sal means “Salt Cathedral” and it’s named that because the place that it’s built in is actually a salt mine. This mine featured both white and black salt. The miners built the cathedral and it’s been open for about 22 years so it’s fairly new. I thought it was beautiful. It also featured a pool of water that is a black mirror – water that is so full of salt that it makes a reflection! You can’t add more salt because it’s already saturated so adding more salt will have no effect.

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Day 4

Monserrate

We took a train up to the top of this mountain in Bogota, Colombia. They have cable cars (teleferico) that go up the mountain as well, but I think they weren’t working that day. You can walk up to the top as well but they suggest that only really athletic people do this because it’s tough. I obviously wouldn’t know.

So what’s on the top? It’s beautiful! They decorate it with lights (which I assume looks beautiful at night but I think they stop taking people up at 1/2:00) and they’ve got restaurants, a flea market, and a cathedral.

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What I thought was so cool about the Cathedral was that it sat at the top with beautiful views of the mountains and clouds. It literally felt like we were sitting on top of the world (or the town haha). Imagine if your religious place of worship (I’m not catholic) was on top of the mountains! It would feel so cool to pray there and just feel the serenity!

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Day 5

Last Day

So we woke up wanting to go to Crepes & Waffles for breakfast BUT they weren’t open when we got there, so we settled for Dunkin Donuts. Later on we were supposed to go shopping either at Zona T shopping district or the Andino Mall, but my whole entire family (minus my dad) was sick that day – crazy right!! My sister and I are still sick! And.. this was her birthday day, doesn’t that blow?! We were also supposed to go eat a popular rotating restaurant – La Fragata Giratoria, but we didn’t really get out of bed this day. I guess it was kind of relaxing? minus being sick of course.

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Day 6

Happy New Years!

We left at 7 in the morning and got back at like 11 praying that I wouldn’t be sick on the plane!

Quick notes

I only eat halal food so eating here was a struggle. I go to a bunch of other places and don’t have an issue eating seafood, but I really didn’t like the fish here. A lot of things taste different here than they do there like the eggs, the ice cream, and the soda. We were kind of starving and I think that’s why I got sick but if you can eat chicken/beef I think you’ll be fine!

No one here really speaks English so if you’re planning on going you might want to brush up on your Spanish.

I suggest knowing how to say:

• Where
• How many
• Help
• I have a question
• Without/with
• Food items (eggs, toast, meat, fish, shrimp)
• Bathrooms
• I want
• Numbers
• Breakfast/Lunch

How did you spend your Winter Break? Anything interesting?

I’ll also be gradually uploading pictures to my Instagram (@sayeedah_) and Facebook (sayeedahsparkles) so be sure to follow me there as well! I will be adding pictures that I didn’t include in this post!