Bogota, Colombia
The Beginning
logisticS
Vegan Spots:
De Raiz Cocina Cafe - born of a masters thesis, this place is delicious
Nativa Arte & Comida Natural - Vegan Menu del dia & they have brownies!
What to do:
Free Walking Tour
Visit the Gold Museum - it was actually cool
Teleferico de Monserrate - for the view
Departure: Bus to MedelliN
Arrival: Spirit Airlines
Detroit >> Fort Lauderdale >> Bogota
9 hours - $150 w/ a checked bag!
Hostel: Republica Hostel
Overall Rating - 8/10
lOCATION - safe area with neighborhood feel
Breakfast included - lots of fruit, coffee and several non-vegan options
comfortable beds, small dorm rooms, excellent wifi
great outdoor space & courtyard
Bit Pricy - there are less expensive places
The Story
One week ago I landed at El Dorado Airport in Bogota, Colombia and for the first time stepped onto the continent of South America! Despite traveling quite a bit with my nomadic family, I have never been to any country in Central or South America. The farthest south I had been was New Orleans where I spent a couple summers with my dearest childhood friend and her family.
Initially I planned to travel in Europe this fall: pining after all things Scandinavian, hiking in the Scottish Highlands, exploring iconic cities like Prague & Barcelona, visiting with favorite friends in London and family in Ireland. However, having grown up in Germany for six years and with my parents currently living in Germany, I began to feel that I could be a little more adventurous. I needed to go somewhere I had never been before. With a tiny bit of Spanish and money as my only time constraint going south meant I could travel longer.
I decided that South America would be the setting of my grand adventure, and that was pretty much the extent of my planning. I did have to figure out a point of entry. Initially I thought perhaps Quito or Lima. However, despite starting my adventure in October, the off season, flights were still more expensive than I had in mind, perhaps due to the popularity of Ecuador and Peru. So, true to my personality and the fact that I am not a great planner, I put off buying a flight until I woke up one morning and realized that summer was gone, September was here and I had three weeks to find a ticket. My search lead me to Spirit, an American budget airline, that happened to have a two day flash sale: 50% off flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Colombia wasn’t on my radar until I saw a flight to Bogota from Detroit, MI for $153. Sold.
It was serendipity that lead me to Bogota for within hours of landing a friend from last summer got in touch via Instagram to tell me she had just relocated to Bogota. Totally random. Originally from Holland, I met her on a Green Tortoise National Park Trip on the west coast last summer. After 14 days traveling on a bus we hung out in San Francisco until she went south to San Diego and I went north to Mendocino for a wedding. A little over a year later and we both ended up in Bogota, Colombia of all places. I met up with her every day I was in Bogota for wonderful conversations shared over a vegan meal.
The vegan food situation in Bogota is seriously delicious. I know things are slowly and surely changing around the world, but I had dangerously low expectations of what my vegan options would be. Meat is a huge part of the mainstream diet, as it is most places, and yet in Bogota I had some of the best vegan food of my life. With my friend in tow we went from vegan lunch spot to vegan brownie spot to vegan restaurant.
For lunch, “el menu del dia” is a traditional set menu including a fresh fruit juice, soup, main course and sometimes a little dessert. For someone like me who has trouble deciding what to order, this was perfect. You sit down and they simply bring you what they have made for lunch that day knowing it will be vegan, delicious and healthy. It was homey, like when your parent makes you lunch and you eat whoever is placed in front of you. For dinner we frequented an incredible restaurant called De Roiz, The Roots, a plant based restaurant forged from the masters thesis of the owner.
By frequent I mean I ate there three of the five nights I was in Bogota and had the beet burger and chocolate cake accompanied by chai ice cream every time. I rarely order desert, but the cake and chai ice cream must be had. Highly recommend.
The most delicious juice
Between meals with my friend, I managed to squeeze in some culture as well. I took a free walking tour and learnt a little about the history of Colombia, went to El Museo De Oro which was fantastic, sat in the beautiful court yard of the Botero museum, wandered the colorful neighborhood of Candilaria. My last day I also took a Funicular train up Monserrate for a pretty epic view of the city.
My next stop is a ten hour bus ride to the infamous Medellin. A city often known for Pablo Escobar and his treacherous drug cartel, but times have changed and fellow travelers speak very highly of the city.