The exterior of our apartment in Candelaria
Our flight to Bogota was half empty - the first time that I had experienced a flight that was anything less than full for many years. The Coronavirus Pandemic was proving peskier than anticipated and had begun to effect travel. We had decided to continue our journey to Colombia and see how things developed.
I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about Bogota. We had booked an apartment in the historical area of Candelaria, although we had read about it being somewhat shady. Despite security issues having improved dramatically over recent years, the area still had a reputation. As things turned out, we were glad that we stayed there - it was close to the museums, historical buildings and some impressive street art. We had no problems during the daytime and to be on the safe side, we didn't venture out at night.
One of the highlights of our stay in the city was the excellent Bogota Graffiti Tour:
A free three-hour tour (donations are welcome) offers an insight into the Bogota street art scene as well as politics and other aspects of city life. If you ever find yourself in Bogota, it is well worth taking.
Jay, the guide on the grafitti tour
The other highlight was a morning spent at the superb Gold Museum. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much, but was blown away by the exhibits and size of the museum - and all for a few Colombia pesos. Another museum of note is the Botero Museum, a lovely space complete with courtyard, exhibiting work by Botero and other international artists and sculptors.
Botero Museum
Candelaria is an interesting area to wander around and we spent much time sitting in the main square people watching. There are some pretty good restaurants and cafes in the vicinity too.
Streets of Candelaria
After a few days, we took a bus through the countryside to Villa de Leyva, a beautiful colonial town which is home to the largest plaza in South America. On the day we arrived we headed to the plaza where we ate pizza and drunk wine and beer while we watched guests arriving for a wedding at the church.
Drinks in the sunshine, Villa de Leyva
The next day we went to the quirky Terracotta House located just outside town. It's an amazing building made entirely of terracotta and kind of like a giant hobbit house. Set in the countryside, it is surrounded by weird and wonderful sculptures. We love offbeat attractions and this one definitely made our top ten.
Terracotta House, Villa de Leyva
Casa Museo Luis Alberto Alcuna was also on the quirky side. Home of the Colombian artist, the courtyard was full of plants, flowers, sculptures and art and situated on the plaza.
Casa Alcuna, Villa de Leyva
Barichara was our next destination and it was pretty as a picture. There wasn't much going on, but it was a wonderful place to wander around and take in the cobbled streets, cute houses and churches. We walked on an ancient trail from Barichara to the equally pretty village of Guane. The views over the valley were spectacular and we spotted an array of colourful birds.
Cobbled street of Barichara
Our journey to Cartagena included a mini-bus through the mountains as the rain pelted down. The driver made numerous attempts to overtake other vehicles on the narrow road. A five-hour wait at a bus station and overnight bus journey followed.
By 9.00 am we were in a taxi on a chaotic road on our way to Cartagena's historical centre. We had breakfast and explored the scenic heart of the city, before taking another taxi to our Airbnb. Our apartment was on floor 23 of a double tower block in a slightly sketchy neighbourhood. After a visit to the local supermarket to stock up for the week, we went online to discover that the Coronavirus situation was gaining
momentum. We spent an unsettled night listening to strong winds howling around the building and the occasional explosion (the cause of which we never established!)
Colours of Cartagena
After much deliberation, we decided that we had no choice but to return to Bogota and try and secure an earlier flight back to the UK. That night we managed to bring our flight home forward by two weeks, but the pressure was building and we know we needed to get back as soon as possible. We booked a flight to Bogota which was leaving the day after next. Our plan to head south was abandoned.
The next day we walked back along the beachfront to El Centro, but our hearts were heavy as we knew that our trip was pretty much over. We left for Bogota the following day. On arrival, we waited in line to try and change our flight to no avail. Our only choice was to hang out in Bogota for six days and hope that our flight wasn't cancelled.
We had booked in at a very nice hotel conveniently close to the airport. Due to its cost and lack of affordable food in the area (apart from expensive room service), we decided to head back to Candelaria after one comfortable at the hotel. We knew that there, we would have a choice of cheap restaurants and a handy supermarket nearby. We booked the apartment that we had stayed in previously which was more than half the price of the hotel.
On arrival, one of the residents informed us that the city would be under lockdown starting the day after next. This would mean that shops and restaurants would be closed and that we may not be able to get to the airport should we have to. We spent one night there (we had booked five), before reluctantly making our way back to the airport hotel.
The night we arrived at the hotel we discovered that our flight had been cancelled. There would be no more flights after the weekend. Our flight had been scheduled for the Monday. Our only option would be to find an alternative flight leaving at the weekend and prices were rising fast as we looked at them. We eventually found a flight via Panama City, Miami and New York City leaving the day after next for about twice the price we originally paid. We had no choice but to book it.
In the meantime, lockdown meant that we could only leave our room for breakfast. Our next meal of the day was room service in the early evening. It was a stressful time. We headed to the airport for our flight on the Friday. Many of the flights were being cancelled and there was a very high chance that one or more of ours might be. Unbelieveably, the four flights that took us back to England left on schedule.
Our last week in Colombia was both stressful and costly. It was a case of making the right decision at the right time, but we were relatively lucky. We are now back in the UK in lockdown and even though our funds are depleted, we are still planning our next adventure and keeping those travel dreams alive.