On Saturday we went on a site seeing trip and hit a few spots. Our first stop was the National Park. This was just a quick stop before heading to Monserrate.
Here we are at one of the food stands at the park, to the right we found a pup taking a little drink from the fountain. There are a lot of loose dogs running around Bogota, some in packs, some on their own, all seemed pretty docile though.
On to the good stuff. From here we went up to Monserrate.
Monserrate is a mountain that dominates the city centre of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to 3,152 metres (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine, devoted to "El Señor Caído" (Fallen Lord).
Here is the entrance at the foot of Monserrate where you can pickup the cable car, or walk to the top using the stone stairs. To walk takes ~1 hr and 30 minutes. Most of us took the cable car, a few braved the walk. Given that this walk takes you up an additional ~2ooo ft in altitude on top of the ~8,500 ft, Jackie and I figured the cable car was the way to go (we have been getting our workouts at the gym here, and we wanted to live to see the top). The altitude really affects us folks who are used to a mere 500 ft above sea-level in Buffalo, vs 9 to 10 thousand feet here.
And away we go, up the mountain on a train track being pulled by a cable !!
You'll notice another car coming down the tracks towards us in the picture on the right. The track has this minor split to allow cars to pass, but for most of the path there is only one track.
Luckily the split worked out fine.
We made it safely off the cable car. Here is Jackie on the walk up to the church at the top.
Along the walkway they had statues that displayed the stations of the cross.
We came upon some interesting vegetation that only occurs at this elevation.
It looked like it was spray-painted white.
And here we made it to the best spot for a complete view of Bogota, all 8 million people in one shot. Below are 4 photos that are a panoramic, from South to North. I also included a short video that is a panoramic as well, see below.
Here is the video of the same shot.
After getting a good look at the city, we trekked over to the other side of the mountain. On the way we ran into some goats. As you can see they were off in the distance in the first photo ... then they decided to join us. (Don't worry Denice, they didn't try to eat our coats as you have experienced)
Here are a few shots of Jackie and I on the back side of the mountain. Some nice scenery on this side.
Here we are at one of the food stands at the park, to the right we found a pup taking a little drink from the fountain. There are a lot of loose dogs running around Bogota, some in packs, some on their own, all seemed pretty docile though.
On to the good stuff. From here we went up to Monserrate.
Monserrate is a mountain that dominates the city centre of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to 3,152 metres (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine, devoted to "El Señor Caído" (Fallen Lord).
Here is the entrance at the foot of Monserrate where you can pickup the cable car, or walk to the top using the stone stairs. To walk takes ~1 hr and 30 minutes. Most of us took the cable car, a few braved the walk. Given that this walk takes you up an additional ~2ooo ft in altitude on top of the ~8,500 ft, Jackie and I figured the cable car was the way to go (we have been getting our workouts at the gym here, and we wanted to live to see the top). The altitude really affects us folks who are used to a mere 500 ft above sea-level in Buffalo, vs 9 to 10 thousand feet here.
And away we go, up the mountain on a train track being pulled by a cable !!
You'll notice another car coming down the tracks towards us in the picture on the right. The track has this minor split to allow cars to pass, but for most of the path there is only one track.
Luckily the split worked out fine.
We made it safely off the cable car. Here is Jackie on the walk up to the church at the top.
Along the walkway they had statues that displayed the stations of the cross.
We came upon some interesting vegetation that only occurs at this elevation.
It looked like it was spray-painted white.
And here we made it to the best spot for a complete view of Bogota, all 8 million people in one shot. Below are 4 photos that are a panoramic, from South to North. I also included a short video that is a panoramic as well, see below.
Here is the video of the same shot.
After getting a good look at the city, we trekked over to the other side of the mountain. On the way we ran into some goats. As you can see they were off in the distance in the first photo ... then they decided to join us. (Don't worry Denice, they didn't try to eat our coats as you have experienced)
Here are a few shots of Jackie and I on the back side of the mountain. Some nice scenery on this side.
Here I am, rocking out with my little (very out of tune guitar).
After all the fun we took another cable car back. This one however had the cable attached to the top of the car, as opposed to the railroad type on the way up.
The white building is the restaurant at the top. You'll notice at the base of the first cable car tower there is a Rottweiler keeping watch (or sleeping).
Here's another cable car coming back up as we were going down.
On the way down I took a shot of the tallest building in Bogota as we reached approx the same height (~50 stories).
And here's the landing pad for the cable car on the way down.
After Monserrate, we were all starving so we went off to the Old City for some lunch.
We went to Fulanitos (as recommended by Jorge our driver). It was a great spot, great food, great views, and true to it's original decor.
Here are a couple of photos from the back patio of the restaurant.
Here is Jackie, and Jason and Suzanne Judd at our table.
After lunch we took a walk through the Old City, also known as La Candelarias.
On the right, you'll see a statue created by a local artist and donated to the city. Unfortunately the head of the statue fell off some time ago. Since it was a gift, there aren't any funds to fix it, so it has been this way for a while. We noticed there were 2 other statues done by the same artist on another street, luckily those had not lost their heads (yet).
Here's the road to the Plaza de Bolivar.
After all the fun we took another cable car back. This one however had the cable attached to the top of the car, as opposed to the railroad type on the way up.
The white building is the restaurant at the top. You'll notice at the base of the first cable car tower there is a Rottweiler keeping watch (or sleeping).
Here's another cable car coming back up as we were going down.
On the way down I took a shot of the tallest building in Bogota as we reached approx the same height (~50 stories).
And here's the landing pad for the cable car on the way down.
After Monserrate, we were all starving so we went off to the Old City for some lunch.
We went to Fulanitos (as recommended by Jorge our driver). It was a great spot, great food, great views, and true to it's original decor.
Here are a couple of photos from the back patio of the restaurant.
Here is Jackie, and Jason and Suzanne Judd at our table.
After lunch we took a walk through the Old City, also known as La Candelarias.
On the right, you'll see a statue created by a local artist and donated to the city. Unfortunately the head of the statue fell off some time ago. Since it was a gift, there aren't any funds to fix it, so it has been this way for a while. We noticed there were 2 other statues done by the same artist on another street, luckily those had not lost their heads (yet).
Here's the road to the Plaza de Bolivar.
Here is the Iglesia del Carmen, an impressive Catholic church.
Here's a photo of the church with the back drop of the Andes.
Here is the Plaza del Bolivar.
Below is the Casa de Narino, the official home of the President starting in 1908.
Here's a photo of Jackie and I with one of the guards. Jackie commented, "I can't believe he let you get that close to his gun." Guess I was closer than I realized ...
All in all it was a great day, we covered a lot of ground, saw some cool sites, and had some good food.
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