Today was a pretty quiet day!! I had pretty much seen all I wanted to see in Bogota, so today I planned to do nothing!!!
After a nice sleep in, it was time for breakfast. I went into the dining room, to find quite a few people in there. Bruce, Donna and myself all sat and chatted while we happily ate our breakfast.
Bruce was off on his bike riding tour of Bogota, which left Donna and I to work out what we wanted to do.
First thing was first, Donna and I were to become official roommates today. We had to move out of our single room accommodation, and into our shared double room!!
This was easy for Donna, as she only has a very small carry on bag, that she only had to move a couple of rooms down. I on the other hand, have about 13 bags of stuff, that I firstly needed to pack, and then haul up the stairs and down the hall way. After a couple of trips, my move was complete.
We quickly sorted out who was going to take which bed. There were in fact 3 beds, 2 side by side, and one tucked off in a little room to the side... although it was more like a dungeon or a cave than a room. I ended up taking the bed in the cave, and Donna took the bed closest to the bathroom. It was all very easy!!
We then decided to go and check out the roof top area at the hotel. So we climbed up the iron spiral stair case to the roof, where we had a great view of all the roof tops in the neighbourhood our hotel is located in. The terracotta roof tiles stretched for quiet a distance. Some people were hanging out their washing, and what perfect weather to do so. Whilst it was cloudy, it was a mild day, with a nice breeze blowing and the most important thing, no rain.
We decided to take a seat on the rooftop, and that's where we spent the majority of the day.... Talking!!!
We watched as the police walked around and inspected the rooftop of the building next door to the hotel. We conjured up plots on what was going on... the most feasible being a random drug bust. Considering that this was the one and same building that the guys were doing dodgy deals in front of when I was trying to find the front door of our hotel, it sounds about right.
It got to around 3pm.... and we thought that it would be too late for lunch. So instead we went to reception and grabbed ourselves a coffee and snack to tied us through.
As we returned to the roof top with our goods, we noticed the lightest of rain sprinkling. Considering how quick the downfall occurred yesterday, Donna and I decided it safer to go and sit in the undercover courtyard. So we sat there, and eventually were joined by the Russian, Dim.
We had a good chat to him, and found out that he is in fact a critical care doctor in Russia. We chatted for a while, and then we were joined by Bruce, a couple of German men finishing off their business trip and finally another of our tour group members Anthea. As we chatted, we got a better idea of who everyone was, and where they had been and where they were off to after this tour.
Soon it was 5pm, and time for our pre-tour meeting with our guide Andres. We met all but one of the group members I would be spending the next week with. Our final group member Lisa was arriving this evening some time. Everyone seems so lovely, so here's hoping for a great week ahead.
Andres talked and talked about Colombia, the tour we would be embarking on and what we should expect. Meanwhile I was so hungry I was about to start eating people. So I was super stoked when Andres told us that the meeting was finished, and that it was time for dinner.
We all jumped up and grabbed the last bits and pieces we needed and headed out the front door of the hotel. Being a Saturday night, again the streets were filled with people. The area we have been staying in has a large number of universities, so the population seems to be a younger one. Whilst we were heading out to a restaurant, most of the other people we past seemed more interested in finding a bar or a club than a restaurant.
Andres lead us into this really cool looking restaurant, that was actually decorated with all things trolls.
We had heard a lot of great things about a local Colombian dish, a soup called aijaca. This soup is made of chicken, potatoes and corn, and comes with a number of accomplishments that you can choose to add if you desire. So most of the table actually ordered that soup, and it was the right decision. It was amazingly yummy and very filling.
Soon after we finished dinner, we were waiting to ask for our bill, however found it very hard to get a waiters attention. So trust Dim to use his Russian brashness to our advantage. He pretty much just turns his head around towards the kitchen and yells out 'hello amigo, my friend, check please'. It worked, as 1 minute later we had our bills!!
All paid, we walked back the hotel and settled in for the night. Donna and I headed to our room.... Only to find the repercussions of our day of talking on the rooftop. We were both sunburnt. Just goes to show, even when it's cloudy you can still get burnt. Whilst my burn just looked like a really dark tan, poor Donna's face and arms were quite red. Thank goodness, you could only see it in the harshness of the fluorescent lighting in our bathroom. Lesson learnt however, sunscreen at all times in Colombia!!!
I then turned to the task of sorting out my bags. I had made the decision that because we return to Bogota and the same hotel in a weeks time, that I would in fact leave a bag of my stuff in secure storage there. It will help save my back and arms from having to carry a third bag around Colombia. Especially considering I am again going cross country and having to get on and off public buses. Managing a few bags just gets too difficult and cumbersome!
The task was pretty easy.... actually a lot easier than what I had thought. I essentially took out as many clothes that I could, and as long as they fit in my big carry on bag they were cut from my case. My purple case was so light!!! This is going to be a dream!!
So with all my bags sorted, it was time to head to bed. We had a fairly early start tomorrow, so I wanted to be well rested.
As I climbed into my cave bed.... I pulled the covers up and then proceeded to toss and turn. I knew Donna was a light sleeper, and I was petrified that I was going to keep her up all night snoring. However, eventually I succumbed to my tiredness. I was finally pushing out some z's.
I had just fallen asleep, when out of no where I hear this loud banging on our door. What the hell?!?! I tried to ignore it, but again that banging at the door was repeated. Really, what the hell?!?!?
So I got up, and climbed out of my cave. I opened the door to find the receptionist from down stairs, and another girl. The guy starts telling me that this is our new room mate. We weren't expecting another room mate... especially considering that I had all of my stuff all over her bed.
Donna and I both questioned if she was in with us... Because no one had bothered to tell us that we were to get another room mate. The guy said that he would check it out, but was sure that she was definitely in with us.
5 mins later, the girl arrived back, yep she was definitely our room mate. And that's how we met Lisa. By the time she had returned to the room, I had cleared all my stuff off her bed and had managed to climb back into my cave.
Lisa had to get herself sorted, so the light was switched on and she rustled around for a while. She told us that her bag had gone missing.... so she didn't have all of her stuff. I offered her the use of any of my stuff if she needed it, but she refused. She said that her bag would hopefully arrive first thing in the morning before we catch our bus.
We all soon fell asleep. Let's hope there's no more surprises waiting for us!!!