Bogotá is huge, and from the airplane looks like it goes on forever. The buildings are not the tall skyscrapers of São Paulo, or other Brazilian cities, but instead just sprawl over the landscape, in a valley surrounded by green mountains. The avenues are wide, and easy to understand with a convenient north south numbering system. The TransMilenio bus system is a model for transportation. It is a mix between a subway and a bus system, and people play music and sing on the buses. But it can be confusing with different tickets for different lines. I am staying at a hotel near the National University of Colombia. In the evening, there are fireworks outside my window.
The Gold museum is unique. I thought all the gold had been stolen from this country, but the museum is full of ancient gold artifacts. You walk into bank vaults that showcase the gold masks and pieces that the ancient warriors wore. I like the gold animals; frogs, birds, fish and crocodiles.
I am not sure I am in love with the art of Fernando Botero, but the museum is interesting. The people in his art are simply voluminous. Even the still lifes look fat.
Today my hosts took me to Chingaza National Park. The park is about 2 hours from Bogota on steep gravel roads. I have never seen this type of landscape called the Páramo. The plants look as if they should be in a desert, but it is very wet and foggy. We did a hike around the Laguna Seco in the cold rain, looking for birds at an altitude of more than 3600 meters (11,800 ft). It is an incredible landscape and a big change from the humid heat of Cartagena.
On Tuesday I fly to Peru.