It took us until 4pm to find a special place to stay in Cartagena for Xmas via the Internet. Being too late for the planed museum we went shopping instead.

I was keen to go out for the evening to justify extending our stay in Bogota. An Irish-Belgium contingent consisting of Dave, Colum, Geof and some others from the hostel set out for Andres in Zona Rosa. I had my usual plan of doing the drinking before I got there and as usual slightly over did it.

The large nightclub was on several floors playing a mixture of local music which of course included Salsa. Spirits were again high and as usual we got a lot of interest from the locals. What makes going out in Columbia so good is that they know how to enjoy themselves.

We were having a good time until Liz tried to find her warm top and favourite scarf. Both were put on a chair nearby but were now gone. We were forced to stay until 3am, when the nightclub closed for a good search. We diddn't find them so went back to the hostal, dejected that someone must have just walked off with them.

Despite the bad end we both enjoyed Bogota, it has been good to experience it's vibrant nightlife, museums and street art. It seems to be a lot safer than it was but you can still see some of the past issues in La Candelaria where we stayed. For example you can hire a security guard armed with baseball bat and fierce dog to escourt yourself around the drinking holes. They also wear a balaclava so that the locals don't recognize them - look scary when you see them.