Tuesday 27 August - Wednesday 4 September

Bogota, Colombia

A very early morning arrival, meant we even beat the sun to Bogota - so a little coffee assisted breather at the station and into a non-negotiable cab and we arrived at our aptly named hostel (Cranky Croc) waaaaaay before check in time. No room ready, funny that, so we were shown to the frosty lounge where we could curl up and rest for a few hours, aided by the supply of bottomless coffee.....luckily, cos the first round I made was salted instead of slightly sweetened. Who puts white grains in an open tub with a teaspoon next to the coffee pot when its not sugar? Fail.

To be fair, Bogota was not on our must see list for Colombia but more of an admin necessity courtesy of HSBC. We needed some internet banking secure keys delivered from Bahrain and Bogota was our last chance to receive them in order not to miss the deadline. They eventually arrived nine days later on Wednesday the 4th, no thanks to their efficient service and we were finally able to check out, book a flight to Ecuador and arrange a bus to Cali.

In the end Bogota turned out just as the owner of the Cranky Croc said... "It grows on you." At first it was just another cold grey city, but after a relaxed week with some much needed downtime mixed with a splash of sightseeing, a touch of teargas and rioting and lots of laughs with fellow guests as well as the hostel's local driver Alex, we really enjoyed our time here.

We took an interesting, although very touristy trip with Alex to Zipaquira's Salt Cathedral. An ex salt mine, now a full on enormous underground Cathedral carved into the walls of the mine and all lit up like a Christmas tree. Definitely worth a visit, even if churches aren't your thing. We rode the cable car to the top of Monserrat to enjoy the incredible views over the vast and sprawling Capital and enjoyed simply wandering the streets admiring the graffiti murals. Apparently Bogota pays artists for doing half decent murals, hence the abundance of colourfully spray painted everything.

If there's one other thing I need to mention, it's to thank The Cranky Croc for helping us discover the brilliant Kenny Powers series.....Eastbound and Down. Another triumph for Will Ferrell and his crazy comedy which we love - Dons and I were in hysterics for days whilst watching all three series. Jono Boyd - you must watch this series - its right up your alley.