Bogota part 1

Our flight from Ipiales to Bogota was delayed so we played cards at the airport till the propeller plane arrived to take us to the Colombian capital. It was lunch by the time we got to Bogota so we ate a quick bite at the airport (my second McDonald's in 10 years, and the same price as England) and got a minibus to our hotel. The Jewish-run hotel we were at had beds with mattresses harder than coffee table. Actually, I think coffee tables are softer. Dont do what Tamar did and jump onto the bed to relax - youll end up breaking your arse bone. We didn't have time to relax though, as we were met by the tourist police to be taken on a tour of the city. It felt funny walking around with 3 too-young looking, armed policemen as they showed us the important buildings in the Old Town area. We stood and had photos taken with the president's guards outside his presidential palace. A couple of street sellers and beggars came up to us in the main square and they were scared off by the tourist police's stern stare. Simon Bolivar is an important man in South America, as he headed the resistance against the Spanish and eventually won independence. He was from Colombia and nearly every important building or statue has something to do with him. Even the country Bolivia is named after him.

Because of the McDonalds we had earlier, we couldn't afford to go out for the group meal so had some disgusting local food called 'arepas' instead from a dirty local restaurant. Arepas are basically flour and sweetcorn mashed up and grilled, with salt-flavoured cheese inside and melted margarine. Dee liked the bland, powderey taste however and she ate mine while I went hungry.