I really had no concept of Colombia before enthusiastically booking my flight and so hours before heading to the airport, I resorted to my favorite travel guide – Anthony Bourdain. Armed with Bourdain’s 2013 Colombia episode I set off for the airport.
Bogota
Day 1
I arrived in Bogota after a relatively painless five and a half hour red eye flight from New York. Despite being bleary eyed, I became immediately excited by stunning views of the city’s mountains and lush green landscape, made even more beautiful by the early morning light.
Bogota is the third highest capital city in South America, at an average of 2,640 feet above sea level and the largest city in Colombia. And it’s also cold. While winter in other parts of Colombia is so only in name, winter in Bogota is a real thing. Surprisingly, and refreshingly, almost no one in Bogota speaks English.
The agenda for the day: Drinks on the rooftop of B.O.G. Hotel, where we were staying and dinner at Andres Carne de Res Chia.
Andres Carne de Res Chia is about an hour drive outside of Bogota and provides a uniquely Colombian experience. Immediately on arrival, guests are given a welcome tequila shot out of a lime half. Inside, the restaurant looks like a TGI Friday’s merged with a fiesta-themed backyard party. Long wooden tables and benches, tons of twinkly heart-shaped lights, lit-up signs with various phrases in Spanish, photos of random celebrities and bric-a-brac fill up the enormous space. The extensive menu, consisting of Colombian classics such as empanadas, maduros (sweet plantains), chicharrones (fried pork belly), and a lot of meat, is housed in what looks like a comic book. Most everything is deep fried and covered in cheese and therefore delicious. The drinks are ostentatious, arriving in a variety of large receptacles ranging from colorful skulls to copper goblets. The crowd is energetic, and the music is loud and Latin.
As the drinks and deep fried food keep coming, so do the crowds. Eventually, the dance floor at the back of the restaurant is packed full of people salsa-ing, grinding, drinking and boisterously singing along at full volume to what I imagine must be Colombian classics. The only English songs we hear all night are, inexplicably, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” and quite logically, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” which is always an appropriate dance party song choice.
Everyone was happy, friendly and an energetic – and no one was on their cell phones!
Day 2
Our second day in Bogota dawned rather wintery, but we braved the chilly weather to head to Monserrate, the famous mountaintop sanctuary in Bogota’s center. Being in no shape to hike anything after the festivities of the night before, we opted for the funicular, which took us straight to the top.
Touristy curiosity satisfied, we headed to the highly recommended Misia for lunch and were not disappointed. Fluffy chicken and cheese empanadas, corn, cheese and avocado soup, steak, and a plantain cake occupied us while rain and wind raged outside.
Dinner that night was at Osaka/OskPeru, a Peruvian and Japanese fusion restaurant serving nikkei cuisine. Located in an elegant and modern Japanese-inspired space, Osaka was a culinary journey consisting of the freshest ingredients. We ate salmon ceviche with rocoto peppers, octopus skewers with tempura flakes and spicy mayo, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with sweet potato puree, along with about ten thousand other delicious, incredible, fresh dishes.
We decided to dance off our substantial and incredible dinner at Armando, a multi-level club, featuring an electronic DJ on the roof, and a salsa/Latin dance party on the lower floor. Never known to not embrace cultural traditions, we quickly made friends with some locals, drank Aguaderiente (which translates ominously into “fire water”), and salsa danced the night away.
Next stop – Medellin!
