After an amazing week in Ecuador we arrived in Bogota Columbia right on time at 12:50 pm. We had a little issue when one of Kevins bags didnt arrive with us but the airline said they would have it delivered to our hostel by that evening or early morning. We converted some of our money to Columbian Pesos before leaving the airport.We made our way to the Transmilenio terminal right outside the airport. We decided to purchase a week long ticket considering how affordable it was- $1750 Columbian pesos per day or .85 American cents, totaling $36.75 for seven of us for seven days! Here are some pictures of the system. It travels everywhere in Bogota and runs M-Su 5am -11pm and Sundays 6am -10pm.
As you can see it is very crowded. We crammed in and thankfully Kelly and TY are fluent in spanish and helped with the navigation to our first hostel.
www.gobrt.org/Transmelino.html
Our bus ride took about thirty minutes . Our stop was about a 3 minute walk from our hostel . We checked in and explored our accommodations. Our first accommodations were at Masaya International Hostel and Events. We were greeted with a complimentary cocktail of rum and punch and showed to our rooms.We chose three rooms , two with 3 double beds and one room with a double bed. We decided to draw straws to see who got the room to themself and Michelle did a victory dance when she picked the winning straw.
Tha accommodations were great !
www.masaya-experience.com
Emily
Wednesday Oct 10th
We woke up around 9:00 am and enjoyed our complimentary breakfast . They had fruit, eggs, several meats , beans and rice. They also served super strong coffee . We decided to go walk around some shops to pass the time before we headed to the bullfight. We split up into groups and decided to meet back at the hostel at noon. When we returned Kevin's bag had arrived . We made our way to the Transmilenio stop and took it to the arena known as the Santamaria. Once we arrived we were taken aback by the size of the arena.
(byebyebullfighting.org)
(Total spent on shopping and Bullfight came to $107,862.07 pesos or $60 American dollars shopping totaled $48,531.65 pesos or $27.00.) We went back to the hostel to inquire about things to do. We grabbed a snack and freshened up before heading out to dinner and a night of exploration.
Alex had heard about an awesome place called Andres DC- Andres Carne de Res is an experience. Not just a restaurant or a club, but a wild nightlife destination for Bogotános. We took the transmilenio there around 7:00 pm ordered food and let loose.
Kevin
Thursday Oct 11
We all didn't feel that great but we had to get up by 8:00am to eat a quick breakfast and be ready to depart at 9:00 for our tour of the Salt Cathedrals. We quickly made it down to the kitchen area grabbed a quick bite , showered and met our tour bus out side at 9:00 am. Kevin looked a little green and was so thankful our private tour van had air conditioning.
We had booked the excursion for $93,468.36 pesos or $52.00 American dollars per person , $364.00 total. It was a great deal for all that was included.-
Description-
Built at an altitude of 2,652 meters (8,700 ft) in the ancient town of Zipaquira, about 48 kilometers from Bogota, the Salt Cathedral is the number one Wonder of Colombia. In this tour you will visit this amazing site made of salt within the tunnels of a mine 200 meters (656 ft) underground.
The adventure begins in your hotel in Bogota, where you will be picked up in an air conditioned vehicle that will drive you to Zipaquira, one of the oldest cities in Colombia. Once there, you will go to the Salt Park, a 32-hectare (79 acre) area that has representations of the mining process and geological displays that promote sustainable development. The beautiful underground Salt Cathedral will come next, as you enter the hallway showing the Stations of the Cross that will lead you to a large dome and the three naves that make up this remarkable work of architecture. Afterwards, you will visit the town of Zipaquira and its main square with picturesque buildings that have marked the history of Colombia. If you prefer, you can choose the lunch package, which includes a meal after the tour, right before you are brought back to the starting point.
Gema Tours is a travel agency founded in 1982 in Cartagena de Indias that specializes in the organization of conventions, events, festivals, transportation, and vacation tourism. It has the ISO 9001:2000 certification and the NTS AV 01 and 02 certifications in Quality Tourism for Travel Agency Reservations and Customer Service.
The adventure begins in your hotel in Bogota, where you will be picked up in an air conditioned vehicle that will drive you to Zipaquira, one of the oldest cities in Colombia. Once there, you will go to the Salt Park, a 32-hectare (79 acre) area that has representations of the mining process and geological displays that promote sustainable development. The beautiful underground Salt Cathedral will come next, as you enter the hallway showing the Stations of the Cross that will lead you to a large dome and the three naves that make up this remarkable work of architecture. Afterwards, you will visit the town of Zipaquira and its main square with picturesque buildings that have marked the history of Colombia. If you prefer, you can choose the lunch package, which includes a meal after the tour, right before you are brought back to the starting point.
Gema Tours is a travel agency founded in 1982 in Cartagena de Indias that specializes in the organization of conventions, events, festivals, transportation, and vacation tourism. It has the ISO 9001:2000 certification and the NTS AV 01 and 02 certifications in Quality Tourism for Travel Agency Reservations and Customer Service.
Includes
- Transportation with air conditioning
- Bilingual tour guide
- Access to monuments and site
- Recommendations
We were so amazed at the Salt Cathedral. It was absolutely breathtaking. The guided tour was so informative and educational. Everyone took a lot of pictures . We were so touched when we saw Kevin taking a moment to himself-
We could not help but laugh when he spoke aloud saying , "please God make this hangover go away." Even our guide got a good laugh out of it.
This incredible experience included an equally outstanding lunch after the tour. We were served local dishes - including fish, meats, beans, rice, a mixed pickled salad, avocado, and of course fried plantains.
We arrived at our destination and met up with our guide around 11:00 am. We were very excited. We talked with our tour guide Paul .He was extremly knowledgeable and entheuastic. We were ready for our adventure and began around 12:30.
The entrance to El Chiflon, La Chorrera and the Monkey Cave is 8,000 Pesos per person and include a guide.
Saturday October 13th
Feel the Adrenaline on our This incredible experience included an equally outstanding lunch after the tour. We were served local dishes - including fish, meats, beans, rice, a mixed pickled salad, avocado, and of course fried plantains.
After our late lunch took one last look at the beautiful scenery then headed back to our hostel on our private tour bus. We were beat. We arrived around 3:30 pm and decided to just relax. Alex, Kelly , Kevin and Emily took naps and Jamie, Michelle ad TY played pool and ping-pong at the hostel . We all met up to discuss dinner around 7:30 pm. We decided to just go out around the area and grab some to go food. There were several carts on the street with different street food and we all got what we were in the mood for and met back at the hostel. Over dinner we decided tomorrow we would take the transmilenio to the Fenicular, a popular tourist attraction that is like a large glass gondala that takes you to the top of Monserrate Hill. From there we would take a guided hike to La Chorrera- Columbia 's tallest waterfall .We all hung out and played pool, ping pong and just relaxed watching tv. Everyone was in bed by 10:00pm
.
Dinner Cost = $43,144.83 pesos or $24 American Dollars.
(tripadvisor.com)
Michelle
Friday October 13th
We woke up around 8:30 . We had breakfast and talked about how excited we were about the activities for the day. Here is an overview of our day-
We left around 10:00 am and caught the Transmelino to the site where we would catch the Fenicular to take a scenic ride to our meet up point for the hike to La Chorrere and meet our guide.
Here we are taking the Fenicular .We left around 10:00 am and caught the Transmelino to the site where we would catch the Fenicular to take a scenic ride to our meet up point for the hike to La Chorrere and meet our guide.
Our trip to La Chorrera
Chorrera: Colombia's tallest waterfall
La Chorrera is Colombia’s tallest waterfall and for keen hikers and adventurers, it’s well worth a visit. The journey itself is for the most part on foot, and in total takes roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes. You’ll need to have a lift arranged for you to navigate the journey through cloud forests to the other side of Bogotá’s mountains, but once you’re there you begin a 45 minute trek to the first stop off point. Here you’ll find a helpfully located restaurant where you can get a good meal for around $13000 pesos. Once you’re sufficiently rested, you’ll take another half an hour to reach the waterfalls. The views here are magnificent and you can even walk through the waterfalls to discover what lies behind them. For the brave it’s also possible to swim but be warned, it’s very cold! If you arrange the trip with See Colombia Travel, it’s also possible to pre-order a delicious meal of local trout for your return, the perfect end to a memorable hike.
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| Kelly and Jamie said they just had to get in. |
Lunch at El Chiflon is 13,000 Pesos and include meet, rice, salad and juice... The food is good but the experience of eating in the middle of the nature listening to the flow of water is what matters.
We finished our excursion around 2:45 pm and rode the Fennicular back down to our Transmelino stop.
(total for tour and lunch = $107.00 or $192,329.12 pesos)
(total for tour and lunch = $107.00 or $192,329.12 pesos)
We were a bit tired and still full from our lunch so we decided to take it easy and go to a cafe to pass some time . We had coffee and decided where we would go to dinner. ($9,437.93 pesos or $5.25 American dollars.)After coffee everyone went to shower and pack before dinner. We needed to be completely packed up because we were going on an overnight excursion tomorrow. We were going backpacking , white water rafting and camping then would return and stay at our second hostel for the remainder of our trip.
We had all really enjoyed the street food right around our hostel and decided to go grab some and meet back up and eat in the common area. Everyone got different things and for seven of us to eat it only cost $22.00 American dollars or $39,549.42 pesos.
After dinner we all packed up and prepared for our Saturday to Sunday adventure. We were very excited and headed to bed around 10:30 to get some rest .
Alex
After dinner we all packed up and prepared for our Saturday to Sunday adventure. We were very excited and headed to bed around 10:30 to get some rest .
Alex
Saturday October 13th
We woke up around 7:30 , had a quick breakfast and said our goodbyes to our fellow travelers at the hostel. We were picked up at 9:00 on the dot to begin our adventure-
Bogota Adventure Tour!
During your stay in Bogotá you can take an exciting tour to Tobia, just 90 minutes away from Bogota and a fantastic place for adventure sports such as White Water Rafting in the Negro River, horse riding, rappelling down waterfalls and exploring canyons.
During this weekend trip you will leave from Bogota and head towards Tobia where you will set up tents provided by us for your weekend adventures accommodation.
You will over the two days embark on exciting activities such as horse riding, white water rafting down the Rio Negro, rappel down a 75 mt waterfall and go canyoning in the Tiger creek.
All activities will be with very experienced, professional and medically certified guides. Two lunches 1 breakfast and 1 dinner is also included. Dont miss this exciting trip where you will immerse yourself in some of Colombias exuberant nature!
Information
Starting from
$231 USD
Availability
See Tour dates *
Duration
2 days / 1 night
* Price per person for the whole package
Here is a link to the website: Mantaraya Travel - Day Tours and Trips for Colombia
More information
What is Included
Horseriding
White Water Rafting – Rio Negro.
Meals: Lunch and dinner day 1, Breakfast and lunch day 2.
Rapelling
Canyoning
Private transportation: Bogotá – Tobia – Bogotá. (Around 2 hours)
Tour guide in Spanish or English.
All tent equipment including bedding
Accident coverage
Not Included
Gratuity
Jamie , Alex and Emily were getting really nervouse about our white water rafting experience. We were leaving at 11:00 and were meeting up in thirty minutes to gear up and go through safety . We geared up and our two white water guides made sure Jamie ,Alex and Emily were in spots that they could handle. The rafting consists of class 2, 3 and a couple of 4 class rapids. We set off for our adventure!None of us were prepaired for this intense adventure- here are some pics of our experience , or as a few of us like to put it, our near death experience-
Poor Alex fell out of the raft and one of our guides jumped in after her to make sure she was doing the white water float position until we could reach her! We all had an incredible and experience . It truly was one of the most intense things we've ever done and were so proud of ourselves. We worked together as a group in a very intense situation and celebrated at the end in relief.
After the whitewater excursion we were exhausted from all the adrenaline. We got in comfy clothes and had a late lunch . While we were rafting two of the guides had caught us trout and prepared us a hearty lunch consisting of fresh trout ccrn rice and a slaw salad.
After lunch it was allready 5:30 pm. We gathered firewood and relaxed a bit . We made a fire and got ready to prepair for a late dinner and time to just reflect on our day. We got a good fire going and arounf 7:00 began to cook dinner. The tour provided us with meats and sides to cook and we talked and laughed about the days events. We had a huge feast.
Our guides even brought a American treat for us, SMORES! We sat around the fire after cleaning up dinner and talked and reflected on our trip thus far.
We all called it a night around 11:00pm.
Jamie
Sunday October 14th
We all woke up around 7am . Put some strong coffee on the fire and made a quick breakfast of breads , eggs and fruit. After discussing it with our guides we decided on a less intense activity for our morning excursion. We chose to go horseback riding. Everyone agreed that we had done our adrenalin activity for Columbia yesterday. The horseback riding was perfect . It was scenic, relaxing and educational . Our tour guides pointed out specific trees and animals known only to the area. The ride lasted about three hours, and besides Michelle's horse having some gas , it was quite enjoyable. After poor Jamie was stuck behind Michelle's horse for an hour, we decided Michelle should ride in the back of the pack.
Around 1:00 pm we arrived back at camp and began packing up. We ate a quick lunch of prepared sandwiches and chips and were picked up around 3:30. We traveled about two hours and were dropped off at our new hostel around 5:45 pm.
www.mantaraytravel.com/sightseeing-tours/bogota-2-day-rafting-tour total for this adventure is $1617 +150 tip= $1767.00 dollars or $3,176,537.84 pesos.
We were staying at the Anandamay Hostel and Hotel for the last two nights of our trip. This hostel was in a calmer part of Bogota than our first Hostel.
We welcomed being a few streets back from the busy main streets. We had a twelve room dorm all to ourselves. The accommodations were quaint but comfy and clean. We were tired and headed out to grab groceries after unpacking and showering. . We decided to cook at the hostel that night. We made a fajita dinner and relaxed and discussed our activities for our last full full day in Bogota. We all decided that we would attend coffee school . We would make our way out around 9 am after our free breakfast. Coffee school was about a twenty minute bus ride away and lasted from 10am-4pm and included lunch all for $15 American dollars per person $105.00 or $188,758 pesos.
We all ate dinner , cleaned up and relaxed in the courtyard drinking wine.
We reflected on our trip so far and compared photos and had some good laughs. We headed to bed around 11:30 and dosed off quickly. This hostel was in a much quieter location than our first and we welcomed the peacefulness.
(Food and wine $23.00 dollars or $41,341.77 pesos)
(www.tripadvisor.com)
Kelly
Monday October 15th
We woke up early and enjoyed our breakfast. This hostel had alot of fresh fruits and some pickled vegetables as well as meats and breads for breakfast. We ate a lot of fruit and realized that most of our diet in Columbia was meats and starches and we missed fruits and veggies. After breakfast we caught the transmilenio to the coffee school location. We were greeted by a very eccentric man named Gordy. He was all about coffee. We began by tasting several different kinds and strengths of coffee. After we had a huge caffeine buzz we took a guided tour around the plant . It was fascinating seeing the process of making coffee. As if we were'nt buzzed enough , our lunch incorporated coffee into everything. Even the salad dressing had coffee in it and of course iced coffee for our beverage. Kelly , Jamie and Kevin were feeling a little nauseated from all the caffine and were ready to go by 3:30. We thanked our guide and bought some coffee to take home . We got the transmilenio back to the hostel and relaxed for awhile.
We decided we should go out to a nice dinner for our last night in Bogota. We looked on trip advisor and decided on the number three rated resteraunt in Bogota, Divinos Swiss House. We headed out around 8 and arrived around 8:30. Divinos was a quaint personal resteraunt. We ate fondue, shared entrees and drank wine and beer. It was delicious!
We Caught the Transmilenio back and arrived home around 11:00. We decided to play some Jenga. We got up to 35 stacks which was pretty impressive for being so stuffed and partaking in some cocktails. We had all had a great night and hit the sack arount 12:30 am.
(Dinner $172.00 or $309,164.57 pesos)
TY
Tuesday October 16th
We all woke up around 10:00 . We gathered for breakfast and decided to split up and do some typical tourist shopping for souviners. We agreed to meet back at the hostel around three for a late lunch before we departed for the airport. We had asked if it was ok to leave our bags there until we had to go to the airport around six. They said it was no problem.We all bought something to remind us of our trip: Alex got a pair of boots, Emily bought a take anywhere hammock, Jamie got a hand crochet dress for her mini chiuaua Mia, Kelly got a hand carved one of a kind tiger ,she collects tigers , Michelle got a bracelet, Kevin got a hat and TY got a handmade shot set with a bottle of tequila. We all had our souvineers . We met up , showed each other our goodies and grabbed our favorite street foods and enjoyed one last lunch in Bogota.
(lunch and shopping totaled $53.00 or $ 95,265.83 pesos)
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| Alex's boots |
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| Emily's Hammock |
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| Jamie's dress for Mia |
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| Kelly's Tiger |
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| Kevin's hat |
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| Michelle's bracelet |
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| TY's shot set |
After lunch we hung out for about an hour then caught the transmelino to the airport. We had to go through security , bags checked , all the good stuff. We arrived at our gate around 8:00 pm. Everyone grabbed a few things before our overnight flight to Buenos Aires Argentina. We were so excited and ready to continue our journey. See ya Bogota , Columbia - it's been real!!
Total for money spent in Columbia = $2,694.25 Dollars or $4,842,829.36 Columbian pesos
Total left for trip =$40,221.14-$2,694.25= $37,526.89 Dollars
Emily
Total for money spent in Columbia = $2,694.25 Dollars or $4,842,829.36 Columbian pesos
Total left for trip =$40,221.14-$2,694.25= $37,526.89 Dollars
Emily
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