Ole! We have arrived in Bogotá

Last night Heathrow T2 was quite relaxed compared with T5 though there was a long walk to our gate. The flight was a bit late leaving - 10pm UK - a young Russian man arrived to sit beside us panting and apologising. He’d flown from Moscow via Istanbul then discovered at boarding that unless he had a return ticket he wasn’t allowed on the flight. He bought his ticket as he ran for the plane. He’s en route for the Galapagos. We had a chat about Russia. Inflation is 24% but people are behind Putin. He has lost 8 young friends in the war, but says there is no conscription. He says Russia is worried about the expansion of NATO in the surrounding countries, having been invaded many times but have never invaded another country. He has several passports, including French and NZ. He was born in France as his Russian father was working there, but he has Scottish and NZ heritage too.

I watched Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan in The Liar. A late supper was served - pasta with salad and a small glass of red wine and a sweet cake (given to Mr C). We slept/dozed till omelette, bread and coffee at 3am ( 8 am UK) and arrived around 4. Immigration and baggage reclaim were straightforward and we were met by a driver who also picked up Robert and Jenny from near Folkestone. We hung about as he expected another couple but in the end we set off for our hotel Caso Deco. We went straight to bed for 4 hours and had a late breakfast this morning.

On our way out we met Andres our guide. He’s a youngish cool dude with very long black dreads and a thick accent. We’ll be meeting the rest of the group tonight when he takes us out for a meal.

The area looks quite run down with plastic bags of rubbish in the street and slogans and graffiti on the buildings. There is a green line on the map the hotel gave us and it’s not recommended to go beyond that. It was quite humid but drizzling when went for a wander, passing colourful buildings and lots of stalls selling fruits - lychees, mangos, melons, guavas. Quite lurid paintings are for sale. Freya Karlo seems popular. (I don’t think the Brit who got off the plane wearing a MAGA cap will be). A band with lots of security was practicing near a mural of Cesar Alvarez. We reached the huge main square dedicated to Simon Bolivar. Vendors were selling pigeon food and children were feeding them, and tourists were getting their photographs with them. Lots of people were wandering. The cathedral was quite plain inside, white walls, sparkling chandeliers and gold paint on pillars.

We bought a large flagon of water for just under £2. It’s something like 5000 COP to £1. I felt quite puffed walking back up the steep hill to the hotel (but we are at around 8000ft) and had another ocular disturbance on entering. I could be dehydrated so drank lots of water and had a lie down till it went in 15 minutes. The optician and GP say it’s nothing to worry about. Just another hazard of getting older.

The hotel WiFi only seems to work in the lobby so I’ll post this when I can. Looks like I won’t have opportunity to see much of your blios.