Flight to Bogota is 1 hour and we stow our 7 pieces of luggage in a locker for the 10 hour layover.
 
A colleague in our local office has referred and scheduled a taxi. The driver puts 5 of us in a little Toyota Yaris....give Lyn the front seat and girls and I set off in Crazy taxi ride to a few select spots.  A friend recommended - Lunch at Andres DC, visit to park - Joyeria, and cable car up the mountain - Monseratte overlooking Bogota.       Sounds great !

Bogota appears clean and we move briskly through traffic to an affluent section of the city. The taxi leaves us outside Andres DC...an artsy, wacked-out 5 story restaurant set in urban mall. Think House of Blues meets Nightmare on Elm Street.   They have actors, magicians, and oddball characters like a one eyeball man, a birdwoman...mime's, Elvis' , d*** Tracy, and some crazy clown lady who talks about "science".     The menu is huge and everything sounds delicious. Pricey...and we see most families attending birthdays, so this must be a special occasion place.

We have patacones/tostones, cheeseburgers, suckling pig, mixed grill skewers, and Lyn has the Langonstines (Colombian lobster).   We share a dessert of chocolate lava and Guanabana meringue. Food is good / average. Scene is extremely unique.

We visit an idyllic park , a few emerald / jewelry stores to research ideas for Lyn- on our 20th anniversary and finally the home stretch...a visit to Monserrate.

Monserrate is a white chapel-church & village built on the mountain overlooking Bogota. The cable car ($8) departs around 4:30 and we ascend steeply up a forested slope. Incredibly view of Bogota and the valley. The 10000 ft about sea level height at the chapel leaves us breathless. The altitude difference is obvious. Dusk is settling and the city sparkles believe. We go to a few bodegas and craft stalls to sample tea, coffee, aguadiente (Colombian herbal liquer) and last minute souvenirs. 

Our driver, Edgar insists on taking us through the city center of colonial period. Bogota is buzzing on a Saturday night and the city has similar old Spanish appearance of Cartagena.   At airport, we check in for our 6 1/2 overnight flight to Toronto and collapse into the Avianca club.    Our trip is far from over but the best is past. We leave Colombia torn with having found a wonderful and secure place for our family to visit. We've been able to relax and settle in and now back to work, school, and the pace.        Highly recommend Colombia for anyone.   Cheers.