Thursday 30 July 2015

Postcards from Bogota

Hola chicos! I think it's fair to say that when I arrived in Bogota on Monday I was questioning why on earth I'd flown half way round the world alone. The city looked intimidating, I couldn't understand anything and I was exhausted from nearly 24 hours of travel- though I did watch lots of films on the plane (FYI Birdman is a very strange but interesting film, 7/10).

Fast forward nearly 72 hours and my feelings have completely changed. I've had three days of Spanish classes which has already helped me out a lot, though my inability to roll my 'r's is pretty upsetting. My hostel is lovely, I've met some really interesting people from all over the world and I've 100% been reminded why I've decided to drop everything to do this. Now, I don't think I'll be able to count Bogota as one of my favourite places in the world but it does have a certain charm about it. A few little observations:
  • There are dogs wandering the streets all over the city, but so far Colombian dogs (los perros) seem very friendly.
  • The pavements are really high off the road- those with little legs would struggle.
  • There are little stalls selling fresh juice and food everywhere- in the break at my Spanish school everyone heads over the road to buy 'arepas con queso' which is basically a flat hot bread sort of thing filled with cheese. This, combined with how cheap food is (e.g. on Tuesday I got a fresh juice, bowl of soup and beef with rice and veg all for 8000 pesos, which is £1.79), may be problematic for my waist line.
Yesterday I went on a walking tour of all the street art in La Candelaria district which was so interesting and gave a real insight to political and social issues that Colombians are currently facing. For example, despite Bogota hardly being a hot holiday destination, Colombia is actually in a drought at the moment which has left hundreds of indigenous tribes suffering. To add to the problem, Colombia has lots of raw materials which big American companies are after, for example petroleum. In order for them to tap into these resources, the companies redirect rivers or create dams, leaving these tribes with even less water to survive on. The unofficial number of fatalities caused by this in 2015 alone is around 700 people. The tour guide, Jay, told us all about this and loads more and it really has given me a different appreciation for the country and its inhabitants, especially as he said how desperate Colombians are to change the typical violence and cocaine associations that many people have with the country. 

Here are just a few examples of the art we were shown:

If you ever happen to find yourself in Bogota with a couple of spare hours I highly recommend you take the graffiti tour.

Until next time, hasta luego!

Sunday 26 July 2015

One way ticket to Bogota, Colombia

So this is it; I'm about to fly 5000 miles round the world by myself. It feels like I've been counting down to this moment forever; my go-to answer for 'so what are you doing with your life?' has for a long time been the typical "I'm going travelling" response of many twenty-somethings. But now it's actually happening.



It would be a downright lie if I said I was completely calm right now. If you know me, you'll know I'm a worrier. If you don't know me and you've just stumbled across this blog let me fill you in. My name's Hannah, I'm 22 and for the last year I've been working as a waitress in a cocktail bar (I hope you've got Human League in your head now) in order to save up money for my travels. Specifically for my impending solo trip round South America, starting in Bogota. The typical reaction I've had from friends, family and even strangers about this plan has been one of shock. 'Oh my god I just read an article in the Daily Mail that says Colombia is the number one place for a solo female traveller NOT to go to!'. Ah, well if the Daily Mail says it then it must be true...

So why am I going solo? Because why not. I've wanted to travel for a long time and nobody else that I know is either available to or wants to- why should I wait around for someone else to be ready when I can go alone? Of course I'm scared. I think there'd probably be something wrong with me if I wasn't. But it's not enough to stop me. I'm not one to turn to quotes for inspiration but there's a saying that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Let's hope that's true.

And why South America? It isn't somewhere I've always been desperate to go to but when deciding on one big area to head to, for me it seemed the most interesting and completely different to anywhere I've been before. I've done interrailing in Europe, though only a few weeks at a time. Australia, in my naive mind, seems like it would sort of be a hot version of England, and I wanted to try somewhere a bit more off the beaten traveller track. From the hundreds of other travel blogs I've been reading, South America seems like it has so much to offer and I'm so excited to be immersed in such a rich, diverse culture.

I'm hoping this blog can act as my travel diary, something for me to look back on and see all the amazing places I've visited. A few years ago I was speaking to a girl in a hostel in Italy who was travelling alone and unfortunately she'd just had pretty much everything valuable stolen, including her camera & memory card. I remember her saying the worst bit was the camera, because nobody else had been there to see everything she'd experienced. Touch wood, this will absolutely not happen to me.

I suppose I've nothing more to say right now- I've just had a bacon sandwich, even though I feel a little bit sick, but there's always something about airports and flights that makes me feel like I need to eat at every opportunity. Anyway, anyone who is reading this before 9pm GMT on the 27th July, please pray for me that my rucksack makes it to Colombia...

Time to board!