Bogota Plaza Summit Hotel

... contains around 50,000 pieces and is pretty incredible. The most famous piece being Muisca´s golden raft, that represents the El Dorado ceremony which depicts an incumbent chief standing on a raft offering gold to the lake, surrounded by the principal chieftains, all of them adorned with gold and feathers. It was an amazing piece which was quite small but so intricate. It also makes you think about all the time the Spanish spent looking for the illusive El ...

... Deutschland, ich glaub es gibt gar nicht so viele Arztpraxen, sondern gleich ins Krankenhaus. Und da saßen wir dann und haben eeewig gewartet&#8230;=P<br><br>Und was total witzig/übertrieben ist, ist dass es hier überall Fernseher gibt! In jedem noch so kleinen Untersuchungszimmer, in dem es sonst außer ner Liege und nem Stuhl nichts gibt, muss ein Fernseher an der Wand hängen! Im Fitnessstudio hat&#8217;s sogar in den Toiletten einen! xD<br ...

... wollte und wir haben uns dann mit ihm um 8 an der Station getroffen. Ich hab 8 zu ihm gesagt, weil Kolumbianer ja bekanntlich nicht so pünktlich sind, aber er war sogar schon früher da und Lena und ich echt hatten auch echt nichts dagegen denn so langsam wurde es schon ein bisschen unheimlich! Es war schon stockdunkel und es waren nicht mehr so viele Leute unterwegs. Und was mich echt ein bisschen geschockt hat, war zu sehen, wie viele Leute tatsächlich auf der Straße ...

... although the little stalls that<br>sell arapas (a kind of deep fried pasty with various fillings) are a<br>good place to snack during the day. Twenty years ago we didn't worry<br>about nutrition in the same way as we do now, so while arapas are<br>fine to fill a hole and keep you going throughout the day when we eat<br>a proper meal we try and eat a well balanced meal, it's not always<br>possible, but we try.<br><br><br><br>Spanish lessons are calling. Hasta<br>luego.<br><br><br><br>laters<b r>

... would be entirely appropriate), in a cheap pre-paid taxi (C$20,000 or USD10) for the hour-long journey it took to get to the La Candelaria part of town. I saw police presence everywhere. It is quite common in Colombia for law enforcement to patrol the streets carrying large assault rifles. While guns usually make me quite uneasy, they are pretty comforting here. <br><br>The streets of Bogota were filled with nice and large cars of all the ...

... of Aaron´s from Honduras who was now living in Bogota. We wandered around the narrow streets for a while, finding many intriguing-looking options, from Italian pastas, to Spanish tapas, to a place that based all of its dishes around what they boasted were "The best mushrooms in Bogota." We chose the mushrooms, and were treated to deliciously-flavored dishes, combining various meats and vegetables with the famous (and yes, very tasty) mushrooms, served in a dark, candle-lit room ...

... back to Caracas. Going back to the border also meant that Maciek could try and withdraw some money on the Brazilian site, which would put us back on track financially. We caught the coach later that evening and after 12 hour journey and numerous army checkpoints arrived back in Santa Elena. Shortly after arrival Steve went to book his trip to Macaraiba Table Mountain, which we could not do due to financial and time constraints. The trip takes 6 ...

... hostel, had some lunch and then used the internet for a while, but never sought to venture outside of my area to do sightseeing thanks to all sorts of reports and warnings I'd been bombarded with since arriving. Fortunately I met a couple of German chaps, Jan and Bjorn, and we all plotted to get the **** out of there the next day as we peered over the balcony at the crackheads and prostitutes operating next door. Apparently not much to see in Caracas ...

... Rachel looks at me increduously when I show her the goods. We eat dinner in one of the greasy little cafes upstairs. People seem incredibly rude and push each other around and bark at each other. There are no smiles here for anyone. A lady thumps her 5 year old daughter hard for not eating properly. The little girl doesn`t cry but stares out into space. Eventually we find the right bus, which is another challenge in itself, and we get on board ...

... is a massive gap between rich and poor. We are staying in the wealthy suburb of Altamira, where brand new SUV's mix with beautifully dressed people and flashy restaurants. The apartment blocks are ugly but are completely gated in by 50ft electronic fences - security is obviously big on the agenda. Our hotel had an armed guard. The largest shopping mall in South America is here, called "SamBil", a blur of designer labels and roof top restaurants with a ...