I highly recommend Colombia for your next adventure travel. The country is full of so many diverse and interesting places, it’s hard to pick what you will want to see in a short amount of time. This trip, I traveled with Lily. I met her on an Operation Smile Mission in Bolivia. I’ve yet to blog about Salar De Uyuni-one of my best trips ever!

We flew into Bogota and spent two days there. It was plenty of time to get our sightseeing list completed. We visited Museo del Oro. It was fantastic and my introduction to the history of Colombia. There are fascinating artifacts and pieces of gold made from the indigenous people in Colombia displayed. I knew very little about the history of Colombia; I am so thankful for all that I learned about Colombia on this trip. The Spanish were horrible to the people here. My eyes were opened constantly and my heart was torn out repeatedly during this trip. But I was filled with warm love from the people and vibrancy I saw all over the country.

$$$ Shopping in Bogota $$$

I had seen colorful bags from Colombia on a blog before this trip so knew that was what I wanted to buy. Colombia has the most gorgeous and colorful bags I’ve ever seen!  I’m still so happy with my bolsa purchase and wish I had more! We found a great place to buy bags at a tourist shopping mall across from Museo del Oro in Bogota. We had read they could be quite expensive in Cartagena (true). So we loaded up on bags in Bogota, knowing we would probably grab some more in the other cities we traveled to. I’m glad we made this decision. There is nothing worse than waiting until the last minute to get the item you want most on the trip. The best part was that I used my newly purchased bag on the trip and felt like I fit right in!

On our second day we got up early to hike up Monserrate (note the elevation is over 10,000 feet). I’m glad we got there when they opened, it left the rest of the day to explore and we beat the crowds. This hike was a challenge! We had layers on, including a rain jacket. It did rain on us! You definitely need proper shoes and water and need to be ready for a workout. You’ll be passed by soccer players in training and locals that are clearly older than you. I loved this hike and enjoyed the views of the city the entire way. At the top, there is a church, restaurant, baños and the best part is a funicular that you have to take down! There aren’t many funiculars in the world (here is a List here ) and this is the only one in Colombia. So it’s a must ride!

After our hiking adventure, we went back to our hotel to cleaned up and get ready for the rest of the day. We spent time exploring the city and shopping for more bags. We ran into a giant parade that weaved through the city streets. It’s always the best when you run into the city celebrating something and you have no idea why. Where I live (Santa Barbara, CA) we have many parades. I always run into tourists who look mystified and ask what’s going on, on the parade day.  I love to share that they stumbled upon one of the best events in town (typically it’s Fiesta or Summer Solstice parade).

We headed to Museo Botero towards the end of our day. I really enjoyed Museo Botero. The building is beautiful and the collection is huge! I wasn’t that familiar with this famous Colombian artist, so it was a perfect setting to get immersed by one artist. I think it’s a lovely place to spend your afternoon.

We also jumped in on a free graffiti tour! This was super cool and another place to learn about current events and the political culture of Colombia. There were a lot of people on this tour, but I was still into it and my attention was held the entire tour.

Bogata is cold! It’s high elevation and definitely a place where you need to dress in layers. I was there in August, so make sure you’ve got a rain jacket and umbrella packed for this part of Colombia. I sell cool pagodas that can be used in rain or sun. If you’re taking a checked bag, it will fit in your larger suitcase.  (pagoda parasol)

next up will be San Andres, Cartagena & Medellín…🇨🇴