I had intended to stay in Bogota for a couple of nights before heading for the Caribbean Coast. 8 days after I arrived, I am writing this in Bogota airport, waiting for my departing flight. So I made my mind up about Bogota in the end, I love it. It is such a vibrant city and even the daily afternoon monsoon cannot dampen the spirits or dull the colours of this tropical metropolis. One thing which really sold the city to me was the easy access to being active, for everyone. Whether it’s salsa dancing, cycling through the city, rollerblading, playing football, basketball or running through one of the many parks, exercise and activity is embraced and encouraged. It’s a refreshing approach to living, and one which the UK and other western countries could learn a lot from. I don’t have the statistics, but from what I have seen, obesity and excess weight is not a problem in Colombia (well Bogota, at least). So despite not having been for any more runs, my week in Bogota was active, energetic and without a dull day.

One of the first things I did was sign up for a bike tour of Bogota. It had been recommended by a traveller I met in La Paz and I felt it was time to get back on a bike after my scabby chin mishap before leaving the UK. I did my tour with ‘Bogotravel tours’ and had a really great day. Not much beats a bike ride on a nice day, feeling the wind through your hair with the world/local area at your feet. Hearing about Bogota’s dramatic history and culture from our local guide made it an even better experience. I particularly enjoyed seeing the rich and powerful street art around the city. I even recognised an artist ‘Stinkfish’, who has (or had) a mural in Stokes Croft, Bristol, close to where I used to live. I survived the tour without a scrape or graze and would recommend it to anyone visiting Bogota!

Another day in Bogota, another active pursuit. The beautiful mountains which lie along the East of Bogota lend themselves to hiking, and lead to panoramic views of the huge city. Me and a friend from my hostel set our sights on hiking up to Guadalupe, a mountain above the city which is topped with a giant Virgin Mary. Less frequented than the neighbouring Monserrate, we were the only walkers heading up the mountain road that day. The road zig zags up the steep incline through farmland and tropical bush. I have been surprised since being in South America at how many familiar ‘British’ plants I have seen. Foxgloves, gorse and elder lined the roadsides up the mountain. Along with a fair few young soldiers with huge guns (I’m just about getting used to seeing these on street corners everywhere). After 2 and a bit hours we reached the summit and the Virgin. Unfortunately Bogota’s afternoon clouds were encroaching and only hazy views of the city could be made out. We got lucky and hitched a lift with some locals on the way back down, and avoided the daily downpour.

On booking my departure from Bogota, I opted for a cheap flight (rather than a cheap 20 hour bus ride), and thus had a few days to kill. When researching day trips from Bogota I discovered that Colombia’s highest waterfall is only 20km or so outside the city and accessible by a tour, or a bit of bussing and a bit of hiking (for the bargain hunter travellers out there). Well I love a bargain so along with a group from my hostel, I headed out into the magical mountains on a local bus. The clouds were ominous and it wasn’t long before we were hiking through a good old Colombian storm. The scenery was still beautiful despite the weather and the low clouds made the mountains look all the more mystical. We managed to buy some plastic ponchos en-route and missioned through the muddy jungle to the impressive waterfall. It’s a shame it wasn’t a nicer day but it certainly wasn’t a day wasted. Having said that, it really was a relief to get back to the hostel and have a (luke)warm shower and put some (kind of) clean clothes on.

Today was my final day in Bogota and I still hadn’t enrolled in the essential tourist pursuit of ascending the mountain of Monserrate. Despite (attempting) dancing salsa and merengue until the early hours last night, I rose early, loaded up on breakfast and set off with another traveller from my hostel with the mountain in sight. I had been told that during the week it’s not safe to climb Monserrate, as thieves which used to target tourists in the city have moved into the mountains due to the strong police and army presence on the streets. I was climbing on a Sunday though, the busiest day of the week, with thousands of other people making the pilgrimage up the mountain to the church perched on top. We joined the streams of walkers, young and old, on the steep incline. It is basically a 2km walk up very steep steps and pretty tough going. People of Bogota, I take my hat off to you. This is an admirable Sunday tradition, particularly those who favour running, rather than walking up and down. It was a beautiful day and on reaching the summit after about an hour and 20 minutes walking, I was glad to have only just got around to making the hike that day. The views of the city were fantastic and even included a peek of rare blue Bogota sky.