Bogota as seen from Monserrate (10,341 feet above sea level); you can choose to walk a mile and a half up the mountain with 2000 feet of elevation gain or do like we did and take the scenic cable car and funicular
The Iglesia de la Veracruz, dating from 1546, is one of the oldest buildings in the city; Bogota is a sprawling city with a total land area of 613 square miles which is roughly the same size as Greater London or just slightly smaller than Houston
Quinta de Bolívar was owned by Simon Bolivar from 1820 to 1830 although he only stayed here 423 days (he must have kept a very detailed diary!); the late 17th century house is today a museum located at the base of Monserrate
Simon Bolivar's House was originally out in the country which is amazing considering it's only a 20 minute walk from the main square; the house recently underwent major renovations to return it to the way it was during Bolivar's time
This was the Libertador's bedroom at Simon Bolivar's house; after Bolivar died in 1830, the house was used as a girl's school, tannery, and a meeting place for political groups until the government bought it in 1922 to convert it to a museum
Bogota, which is 8660 feet above sea level, has 8+ million residents with almost 13 million in the metro area; the streets in the city are not named but numbered with N-S streets called 'carreras' and E-W streets called 'calles'
Bogota Botanical Garden was disappointing despite it being very popular with the locals; for the greenhouses you could only visit as part of a guided tour in Spanish that was OK but didn't showcase Colombia as one of the world's most biodiverse countries
The Royal Convent of Santa Clara was built in 1647 and today houses the Santa Clara Museum; the austere facade is in striking contrast to the Baroque interior making it the most interesting of the many churches I visited here
The Santa Clara Church (1647) was very impressive with altarpieces on both end walls, mural painting, starry latticework and a collection of oil paintings that cover the walls without leaving a single empty space
This statue for the Monserrate Monastery, 'Holy Christ fell to the whip and nailed to the cross,' dates from the 17th century and is made from wood and metal, it is one of the most important religious statues in Colombia
Because of its altitude, Bogota does not get hot (the record high temperature is only 84) but the weather is generally cool and cloudy with frequent rain; the city doesn't have good public transit but I used Uber to efficiently get around
This beautiful building was the first headquarters of the royal public library for six decades in the 1700s; Lee and I had a guide take us around the sights of old Bogota giving us tons of helpful information
John Leguizamo was born in Bogota but his family immigrated to Queens, NY when he was a child; his credits include To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (won Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor), Super Mario Bros, Repo Men, and John Wick
This featured blog entry was written by VagabondCowboy from the blog The frugal travels of a vagabond.
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