Bogota, Colombia

From Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast I traveled south to Bogota, Colombia. Because distances are long between cities here in South America, I take overnight busses and try to sleep. It is very difficult - and cold! They turn the A/C on and never turn it off. They may be driving through a desert but a coat or sleeping bag is required on the bus. From Santa Marta to Bogota was a 20 hour ride - it got a bit tedious at the end.

Bogota is a beautiful city up in the mountains. It is full of museums, universities, and libraries. Everybody dresses professionally (suit coats for guys) and wears dark colors (which I realized the day I wore a white t-shirt all over town). It is the ¨professional¨ city in Colombia.


I spent a week there getting my visa to Brazil arranged and tourist card to Venezuela. There were pianos at one of the libraries near the hostel I stayed at. I spent a couple of hours each day catching up on music I used to play regularly.

At the library, I also watched the World Cup final on a projected big-screen in a large conference room. The place was packed with a slight majority rooting for France. Now that Italy has won, everyone is wearing Italian jerseys.

They have a neat public transit system here that is essentially a closed bus system - like a subway but with busses.