Hold onto your hat!

In order for us to travel around this beautiful city, which we do as often as possible, you have to take a taxi. Now, the taxis here in Bogota are quite distinct, they are mostly yellow and usually quite small! The drivers seem to pride themselves on getting you to your destination quickly and this usually involves squeezing into the smallest gaps, honking their horns constantly and weaving in and out of traffic. The roads here are steep as we are basically on the side of a mountain, with lots of bends and the lanes not always clearly marked. However, we would not travel any other way and always wonder if our stomachs will arrive with us or shortly after we arrive at our destination. Charlotte loves the taxis ride and usually sleeps through the more hair raising journeys when she’s not on the lookout for VW Beetles or counting all the taxis, Sebastian takes great joy in batting Garath in the face or examining the ceiling.

            

Last weekend we decided to visit Simon Bolivar Park, this is a great expanse of green space for the people of Bogota to enjoy. The park is beautiful with trees, lakes, beaches and lots of kiddie play areas. People come and fly kites, play soccer, eat and enjoy, which is exactly what we did. Well, we basically moved from one kiddie area to another in order to keep madam amused, and of course we ate a packed lunch, my mum would be proud! We also revisited the presidential palace and square which is very beautiful and of course very heavily guarded. Charlotte enjoyed not the architecture but chasing the pigeons and eating popsicles, Sebastian ate bananas and slept a lot! We walked along one of the main streets and mingled with the people of Bogota. Like any major city you have to be careful and try not to look like a turista - no jewellery or flashing of the wallet and people only stare a little, well a lot, but we are quite a diverse looking family. You get used to it and it is even funny sometimes as some people are quite unconcerned about how obviously they are going to do it. We were a little out of our comfort zone but it was wonderful to get a feel of the city. Of course the drive home was quite memorable, with the driver going to the beat of the music which definitely gets you there faster!!!

          

Earlier this week we visited the hill of Monserrate, located at 3,152 meters above sea level and accessed by a very steep funicular. At its peak (a further 300m!) is the Santuario del Senor Caido, a favourite place of pilgrimage for both locals and tourists. We are not particularly religious but the church was beautiful, quiet and so very peaceful. The view of the city was incredible and being in such a tranquil place was very calming. Charlotte was very impressed by the funicular (the train) and was very serious about lighting candles in the church.