Buenos tardes
Started out going to the Museum of Gold today -- huge collection of gold, silver and copper artifacts, and exhibits about what metallurgy has meant for Colombian and pre-Colombian society, etc. It was interesting enough, if you like that kind of thing, but after about an hour I'd gotten the gist. After that, we wandered through an outdoor market that had an inordinate number of used book tents. People approached us to try to sell us emeralds. And shine our shoes. Gracias, no. I came across a crafts booth and I got myself a tiny little bag for my camera, and a slightly larger one for other personal effects that will be more convenient to carry than my purse. I'm very pleased with my purchases.
After lunch we took a cable car to the top of Cerro de Monserrate, where there was a church and a garden. Really pretty up there, and though it was a bit cloudy/misty to get a full view of the ground, I liked it because it was dramatic watching the mists move across the mountaintop. There was a dog there who adopted me -- walked around with me for quite a bit. He also tended to go stand by where the cable cars arrive when people were getting off; greeting them, perhaps. He was very sweet -- some kind of sheep dog/dalmation mix, it seemed. Wish I had my camera cable so I could post a picture but that'll have to wait. I hope I don't fill my memory card too soon. The animal situation here is interesting. I see a fair amount of stray dogs (they would be carted so fast in NYC), and they tend to be very tame and seemingly well-fed. Haven't seen any cats -- they were everywhere in Europe.
So I gotta put it out there that if you're looking for an interesting and affordable place to travel to, Bogota's a great bet. For lunch I had a ham and cheese crepe, a (really good) pina cola, and dessert all for about 20,000 pesos, which is roughly the equivalent of about 10 USD. My purse purchases were about $8 total. The currency itself -- the notes -- are colorful and beautiful. How come we have such boring looking money when everyone else's is so pretty?
Had some really nice weather today too. It's been coming and going. The weather people had gray rain clouds for every day I'm here, but the sun has been making its way out and the temperature has been quite nice at those times. Eh, what do the weather people know?
Back at the hotel and taking a little rest before going out later on.