We knew we needed the exercise, and our host Robin was willing to take us up the nearby mountain for some outdoor entertainment and views of Bogotá. We got up early this morning and started at 6:30am for a long hike up a high hill in Bogotá.
We left so early because the hike is on privately owned land and is only open to the public until 10am. It’s a beautiful spot along a river with eucalyptus and pine trees so it also smelled great too!
Today was a beautiful day in Bogota, so we experienced the city on two wheels with a Bogota bike tour.
Biking in Bogota
Sunday is a big day for cyclists in Bogota Colombia because they close the streets to cars. You heard me right! A big chunk of main streets in Bogota are shut down for pedestrians and cyclists for Ciclovia, and we wanted to be part of it! Since we don’t travel with bikes, we participated in a bike tour with Bogota Bike Tours. For 35,000 COP (less than $16 Canadian), we got a 5 hour ride around the city with a lot of facts and fun!
Fuel for the Bike Tour
The best way to get ready for a bike tour is to eat! Since we didn’t eat dinner last night because of our massive lunch, we stopped at a street with lots of Colombian restaurants. We wanted an authentic breakfast and got it at La Puerta de La Tradicion. We consumed coffee, a milk soup called changua (which was delicious) and chorizo. The food was good, the service was too, and from there it was a quick walk to the bike shop.
Bogota Bike Tour
The English language bike tour left around 10:40am from Bogotá Bike Tours and took us approximately 8KM around the city, with a lot of stops along the way.
The guidebooks call it “The Old City,” or “The Walled City,” and the locals merely call it “El Centro” but either way they’re talking about a beautiful place to visit. Cartagena’s tourist area is a compelling mess of narrow streets filled with colorful buildings, art, crafts and people. Visitors to the city flock here for many reasons.
The Walled City of Cartagena
The exterior of the old city is marked by an old stone wall, which makes for a great walk overlooking the sea at dusk when the blazing sun isn’t burning you to a crisp. The wall runs for 11km and encompasses the port and the old city, including Getsemani.
Horse drawn carriages mix with taxis in the roads, and tourists work around vendors on the sidewalks. Stroll around and see beautiful old buildings, modern art sculptures, craft stalls and lovely plazas.
Teatro in Old City Cartagena
Get Lost in the Streets
I visited the old town multiple times over the course of my stay in this city, and “lost” every time, but I always saw something new and lovely. For me, getting lost in the streets of Cartagena’s tourist area is a day well spent. I loved wandering the streets taking countless photos of the gorgeous surroundings.
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