Well, it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting! After sitting in my hotel room for half an hour wondering what to do, I decided to venture out into the wilds of Bogota while it was still light and have an early dinner. It seemed perfectly normal to me - hoards of people running around, just like any major city. And there were tons of police all over the place. Devoured a huge soup and pizza (hadn't eaten properly in a while!) and got back to the safety of my hotel room just after nightfall! It was freezing in my hotel room and for the first time in a long time, I was snuggled up in bed with the duvet wrapped right around my neck (and still woke up with an ice block for a nose!). It was a stark contract from Cartagena and Santa Marta which were stiflingly hot and humid.

So Bogota - officially known as Santa Fe de Bogota - has a population of almost 8 million. It sits at 2,640m which makes it the 3rd highest capital city in the world (the other 2 being La Paz and Quito of course!). I actually had no idea it was so high and didn't feel the effects this time - I must still be acclimatised from all of that altitude a few months back!

Bogota used to be considered a real no-no and a definite place to avoid. It's now up-and-coming, has really cleaned up its act, improved security and implemented a citywide clean-up campaign.

My hotel was in La Candelaria, the 470 year old historical quarter although there didn't seem very much historical of where I was staying! There was a sex shop just along the street which was handy and a fair few dodgy characters hanging around at night but I didn't feel UNsafe. Then again, I wouldn't have gone out waving my money around either!

On Wednesday morning, I was picked up by Rafael, my guide for the day on an 8 hour tour! Bloody hell, that's a long time! He was quite possibly the most boring man I have ever met - and that's an occupational hazard when you're in the people business! Clearly knew his stuff but just had no oomph. He was also a bit of a creep - didn't understand the concept of personal space so I had to keep putting obstacles in-between us and moving further and further away when he was talking and getting closer to me! He also had this annoying swagger about him - clearly thought he was God's gift - but was VERY far from it!!

We started the day by going up the Cerro de Monserrate - a hill at about 3,000m which overlooks the city. On a clear day I'm sure it's a lovely view but it was drizzly and foggy so we could hardly see anything. Still, it was the best time of day to go as the weather just got worse as the day progressed!

Bogota is not an attractive city but there are some gems here and there and some lovely neoclassical style buildings, very European. The museo del oro was a highlight - it contains 34,000 pieces of gold from the pre-hispanic cultures and is considered to be the most important gold museum in the world. We also went to an emerald shop where they explained how they mine the jewels, the quality etc. The lady showing me around was very nice - and funny too. I asked her why she wasn't wearing any emeralds and she said she hates them! Ha ha ha. She couldn't have been working on commission surely. Mind you, it was obvious I wasn't interested (or able to be swayed!) in buying anything.

After getting totally soaked and seeing the new president's house (he was just inaugurated on 7th August), we went to the Botero galley. Now, this I liked. You'll definitely have seen his work, even if you don't recognize his name. His paintings and sculptures focus mainly on people and they are all 'proportionally exaggerated' or, in layman's terms, FAT! It made me giggle anyway.

I finally managed to rid myself of Rafael at about 5pm and sought refuge (and warmth, comfort, dry clothes and SPACE!) in my hotel room.

On Thursday I had the delightful surprise of Rafael turning up to take me overnight to Villa de Leyva. Great! We went in his car which he appeared to have never driven - his right foot was very heavy on the brake and he was swerving all over the place. This was actually the first time in my travels that I felt seriously nervous in a vehicle. Anyway, out first stop was the Puente de Boyaca (Bridge of Boyaca) which is s small bridge commemorating the site of the battle which led to Colombia's independence in 1819 (In fact the anniversary was 7th August so I just missed being in Cartagena for it by a day).

For the remainder of the journey I struggled to keep my eyes open and kept dropping off, partly because I was exhausted but also because of Rafael's never-ending inane commentary and pointing out the bleeding obvious - this is a church, this is so-and-so town (as we drove past the sign!), this is a school, this is a field, this is the road. He then started pointing out potato fields and asked if I had ever eaten potatoes. Apart from the fact we had eaten them together for lunch the day before, hello……? I come from the land of spuds - where we panic if a meal doesn't contain them!

We finally arrived in Villa de Leyva which was just beautiful. It's a colonial town and considered one of the finest in Colombia. All of the buildings are white with wooden window and door frames and terracotta roofs. There isn't a modern building or any concrete or glass in sight. Stunning! I had an hour's rest (from Rafael!) before meeting him for a walking tour of the town which thankfully only took an hour and then I told him I would be fine without him for the rest of the day. And no, I didn't want to join him for dinner!

Had a quiet (well, it would be as there was only me!) dinner on the edge of the square. The restaurant I was in was playing power ballads and in-between every song, a blast of Blondie or MJ would emerge from the next-door place! Anyway, treated myself to half a bottle of wine and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I was then hoping to go to a famous bar where Bill Lynn plays every night. I say this as though I know who he is. Hadn't a clue but apparently he was Elvis' drummer for 4 years. Anyway, my Lonely Planet is too old as apparently he passed away a couple of years ago.

On Friday we set off at 8am and the first stop was the imaginatively titled El Fossil (the fossil!) which is, believe it or not, a fossil! It's actually pretty impressive and is the fossil of a 120-million year old kronosaurus which looks a bit like a crocodile but with fins. It was discovered by some farmers in 1977. It was about 6m long and pretty cool!

We then went further to a Dominican monastery which, to be honest, was just like any old monastery although it had lovely gardens. Then onto Raquira which is the home of the clay pot sow e went into someone's house to watch how they make them (they were horrible if truth be told!!). I then resented being asked to give the men some cigarette money. A tip maybe but not money to buy cancer sticks - sorry!

Rafael then announced that he was taking me to his house. Hmmm, not sure about this one! He then said his wife would be cooking us lunch! Phew! He has a wife! Got to his place which was tastefully designed (not!) in a multi-coloured fashion. Every room was decorated in primary colours and he insisted on showing me around the whole place. I needed my sunglasses on! He said he ran it as a hotel (but didn't ever seem to have had any guests!) and a restaurant. Each room held about 6 people so I'm not sure how that would work unless he's catering to backpackers, large families or very good friends!! Had lunch which started off well with a delicious bean soup and then went steadily downhill with chewy, fatty beef and soggy chips. Yummy!

Finally made it to the piece de resistance of the day - Zipaquira Salt Cathedral. This structure was born from an old salt mine and is dig right inside the mountain. The mines are some of the largest in the world and contain reserves of salt that will last for another 500 years! The cathedral itself is 75 m long and 18m high and it can accommodate 8,400 people! There are something like 20 chambers or chapels which each depict each stage of Jesus' life. I'm not a modern church kind of gal but it's all very weird and beautiful at the same time. My photos didn't come out that well because of the lighting but hopefully you get the idea. If you google it, you'll see some great images.

We then headed back to Bogota and the 30 minute journey ended up taking 2/5 hours which drove me insane! The rush hour traffic was just abominable.

On Saturday I headed to the airport for my flight to Caracas. All very odd. I wasn't allowed to stand in the check-in queue until I had been to a window and had my passport photocopied which they then stuck back in my passport (still not sure why). After checking in, I then had to go back to another window where they gave me a refund of the equivalent of USD40 - who knows why but never question it when people hand you money on a plate! I then got to my gate (after some confusion as what it said on my boarding pass didn't correspond with what was on the screens which in turn didn't correspond with where I actually had to go. It was going to be one of those days! They kept making announcements about my flight which I couldn't catch and finally tracked someone down who, in a mixture of Spanish and English, basically told me that if I was willing to travel tomorrow they would give me a return ticket to anywhere in the world on their airline! Tempting, and if I didn't already have an itinerary which included an onward flight the next day, I would have done it. I then asked her if the flight was on time (as by now it was only about 20 minutes until take-off and I was concerned I may, once again, be in the wrong place!) which I thought was a perfectly reasonable question. She looked at me incredulously, laughed and just said 'no'. An hour later, I looked up at the board and saw I was now sitting at the departure gate for Madrid. Aaargh! I've missed my flight. Oh no, they'd just moved us 4 gates down, where the board said 'boarding' even though there was a gaping hole where the plane should have been.

So, I bid farewell to Colombia. As I have mentioned a few times, I really like what I've seen here in my limited time and I would love to come back and see what I've missed. For years it's been on the danger list and travellers have been unable to get travel insurance to cover them due to frequent armed conflict. The increase in security has changed that perception although I checked the UK FCO and they still advise against all but essential travel to a lot of the country! Having said that, in the last year, only 18 people have sought consular advice/help which seems like nothing to me! This sour reputation has also kept Colombia off the gringo trail and in fact since leaving Cartagena I haven't seen any other foreigners.

The people are great with a warm welcome and the police are helpful and friendly and the government (at least on the face of it!) seems to have its head screwed on right. Their foreign policy mainly concentrates on the illegal drug trade, the fight against terrorism (mainly guerillas) and improving Colombia's image internationally. The new president was inaugurated just last week and the Colombians I have spoken to think he will be successful - although it's only the law-abiding citizens who like him!!!

It's more expensive than I expected it to be and there is no shortage of well-dressed, suited and booted cosmopolitan Colombians in their trendy designer clothes, eating in fancy restaurants. But, the divide between rich and poor is enormous with 10% of the population controlling 46% of the wealth and then at the other end of the scale slums with no water or electricity.

The major exports of Colombia are coffee, emeralds, flowers (2nd major exporter in world after Holland) and obviously cocaine - they control 80% of the world's cocaine market. This has been the cause of many conflicts over the years due to the mafia almost controlling the country - condoning rebel/guerilla activity and an abundance of corrupt police and officials. Over the last 10 years or so, the government has confiscated a whole load of cartel-owned properties, an action that resulted in an increase in terrorist activity, especially through the use of car bombs. Since 1999, there has been the US-backed Colombia Plan which aims to eradicate all coca plantations by spraying the fields with herbicides. Some farmers, who make all of their money through the production of coca, have moved their fields to national parks, where spraying is illegal. Why the US interest you ask? Oil of course!

So, next stop Venezuela. I thought at one point I would not be able to make it directly from Colombia after recent diplomatic relations, threats of cancelling flights between the 2 countries and closing the borders but all seems fluffy and friendly again (yeah right!). Every Colombian I have told I am going there has responded with 'say hello to Chavez' in a VERY sarcastic tone!