Arrived!

So...After 5 exciting days in Colombia - with ups and downs, from which we have already learned a lot - I finally manage to write the first blog entry. I start, as is usual for a blog, at the beginning:

The flight went smoothly. First layover in Madrid and then on with the new Dreamliner (thanks for the info, Kon) to Bogota. The selection of movies was very good. The food....not. Sitting next to us was a Colombian nun who promised to pray for us every day. So nothing can go wrong anymore ;)

After landing, off to the taxi towards the hostel. Lesson no. 1: Don't trust any taxi driver. As we later found out, we had to pay three times the regular price - typical beginner's mistake. The hostel, however, was very neat: friendly staff, comfortable beds and breakfast included. Bogota itself has a lot of charm, especially because of the colorful facades and many graffiti that can be found scattered throughout the city. Here is a picture in the dawn:

On the top right you can see clearly the church on top of Mount Monseratte, which was our first destination. After some detours, we arrived at the foot of the mountain. Only 1500 steps up remained. But we managed those excellently as well, with the anticipation of the subsequent muscle soreness.

When strolling through the city, you come across shoe polishers, avocado and banana sellers, people in suits...everything mixed up. The many policemen are noticeable, who are positioned on almost every corner...except when you need them. Nevertheless, we survived our first mugging well, albeit with 50,000COP (15€) less in our travel fund. Lesson no. 2: Walk away when a junkie sits down next to you.

Here are some impressions.

After three days in the big city, a change of scenery was necessary, so we embarked on the exciting journey to Villa de Leyva. After a 50-minute bus ride through Bogota to the bus terminal, we became fully aware of the size of this city. Especially since we had moved almost exclusively in one district so far. Funny and at the same time alarming detail on the bus: A sign indicating that the use of firearms is not allowed here. Arriving at the bus terminal, a special spectacle awaited us: arranged in a semicircle, there were 15 booths where men loudly advertised their business. One of them even came out of his booth and incessantly talked to us. Despite several 'No comprendo', he obviously did not accept that we did not understand him. And so we decided for the company next door. On the bus, a very pleasant Argentinian sat next to me and I could test my Spanish. Conclusion: room for improvement. Nevertheless, I had an entertaining journey. Not least because Franzi almost tipped over from her chair several times while half-asleep (Franzi quote: 'It only looked like it') and my friendly neighbors pointed it out to me several times.

We liked Villa de Leyva from the very beginning. It is a small village where you can relax very well. In addition, we noticed that there are more dogs than people here. To our great luck, we had the hostel completely to ourselves so far, which created a home-sweet-home feeling.

We particularly liked the well-equipped kitchen. The previous experiences with the food here in Colombia can be quickly described: meat, meat, meat and meat. So now we could let off steam in our own kitchen.

The breakfast was accompanied by the school chapel, which loudly rehearsed their songs for an upcoming festival outside. Followed by an estimated 200 students in rows.

Then we went on our first hike, which, after wandering around for a while, ended in a dead end (no signs). On the way back, however, we were invited by a few Colombians to beer and avocado. They had already had a good one at 3pm, but that did not affect their hospitality.

In general, it should be noted at this point that the people here in Colombia are very friendly and helpful. If you just look around on the street twice, someone is already standing next to you asking if they can help.

Our second hike was crowned with more success. After a slight detour (about 1 hour), we reached the Casa de Terracotta - a house built entirely of clay and then el fossil - a small museum with dinosaur fossils (semi-exciting).

We liked the atmosphere and the flair so much that we decided to extend our stay by three more nights....hasta luego!