One Day in Bogota

Bogota, Colombia

We got up early to eat one last yummy breakfast at our hotel before taking a car to the airport for our short flight to Bogota. Getting through security at the Cartagena airport was quick and easy, leaving us plenty of time to do a little shopping before boarding our plane. The flight on Avianca was very comfortable, leaving right on time and getting us to Bogota ahead of schedule. We got our bags then headed outside to try to find our hotel shuttle. No luck there! We finally wound up getting in a taxi for the super short ride to the Courtyard Marriott which was located less than five minutes away.

After checking into our room and finding out about getting the shuttle the following morning for our flight back to Atlanta, we had a hotel driver take us into the city. I had watched an Anthony Bourdain show about Colombia, and one of the places he ate was in Bogota. The driver took us to La Puerta Falsa, a tiny hole in the wall restaurant that seats about 30 people. We followed Anthony Bourdain’s recommendations and ordered the tamale and the chicken soup – so amazing! The restaurant has an incredible selection of homemade sweets for dessert, so we picked out a sampling which we took with us as we walked around the city.

The restaurant is located in an area known as La Candelaria, a more historic part of town. We walked through the main square and up and down several streets, stopping in a few shops to pick up some last-minute items to bring home. We then got an Uber to take us to another part of the city known as Usaquen. This area is filled with numerous restaurants from upscale to fast food, including lots of American staples like Burger King, Krispy Kreme, and Hooters. The drive from La Candelaria to Usaquen was beautiful, though, and we got to see a lot of the incredible grafitti that Bogota is known for.

After walking around a bit, we called for the hotel car to pick us up so we we could get a good night’s sleep before our 8am flight the next day.