Bogota.

Landing in Colombia before embarking on the less intimidating South American countries was always going to be tough. But that's how I wanted it. We soon learned just how tough it was going to be. The first taxi driver we came across after landing had one thing to say to us when he discovered that we couldn't speak any Spanish - ¨Complication!¨ he laughed and then giggled for another 10 seconds.

Yes, we didn't speak Spanish and that certainly made our first few days in Bogota, the nation's capital, a little scary and we thought we had been throw right in the deep end. But in hindsight Bogota was a pretty cool place, with funky shops and bars. Also it was quite reserved and probably far safer than most of the places we've been to since.

One feature of the city was a cable car ride to the peak of a nearby mountain which provided stunning views over the sprawling city. There was an option to walk the mountain but, seeing as the city itself lies at 3000 metres above sea level, we decided to take the easy option.

Next up we hit the bus to a small town called Villa De Leyva. The bus rides themselves prove to be quite eventful, as anyone who has travelled through South America will attest to. For instance, the bus drivers in Ecuador are currently on strike because they are no longer allowed to drink beer while they operate a large vehicle at high speed which houses approximately 40 trusting souls! It's a bloody outrage!


Colombia has a metric shit load of military check points along it's highways. This is to help prevent paramilitary activity and kidnappings (which are still happening occasionally). At these points all of the male passengers are instructed to leave the bus (apparently women wouldn't ever dream of carrying a weapon) and the nice young military men touting AK 47's put in a token effort to pat you down and make sure you're an ok dude. One particular soldier thought it was hilarious when he approached me for a routine search and I threw my hands in the air like he was going to shoot me. He laughed so much that he forgot to conduct the search. I think there is a lesson in that for aspiring young kidnappers.

Our time in Villa De Leyva was great, it's a tourist spot for a lot of domestic travellers yet still sees very few foreigners. Gabby and I were approached several times in the street by gawking locals who wanted to have their picture taken with us, which was unusual for Gabby but just another day in public for me. I told them that everyone in Australia is as tall and hot as us.

We explored the cobbled, colonial streets in Villa De Leyva taking in the tourist attractions. One of which was a fossil of a sea dwelling dinosaur which was approximately 12 metres long and at least 200 years old!!!!! (which I'm told is when dinosaurs were eventually defeated by English stable boys who had grown tired of frequent dinosaur related violence).

There were many tourist attractions in the area associated with dinosaurs, including a park with hundreds of full scale models (shown below) that probably would be of little interest to most human adults, but Gab and I had a great time.


One of the things I'm trying to master on this trip is the dying art of the timer photograph. Where you set up the camera, click the shutter and run to get in the frame. You know, like Chevy Chase would do at the family Christmas gathering. It allows pictures from solitary situations which might otherwise leave you un-featured in the memory. Here is a fine example of this timeless (huh) art in practice.

I drank the water in Villa De Leyva late one night, desperate for hydration and I paid the price for the next two weeks. Bottled water only from here on in.........