When we moved to Amsterdam 3 months ago I knew we would be traveling to a bunch of different far off places, hopefully even a few places that were off the beaten path. I did not, however, anticipate I would be heading to South America let alone Colombia. But life is full of unexpected surprises! Back in October I learned I would be participating in a site visit for one of the main clients I am serving here in the Netherlands and that site was in Bogota, Colombia. While this was a very cool opportunity to learn more about the client and to experience a new area of the world, it didn’t come without its worries. Although I have read many an articles on how Colombia is actually much safer than it used to be, I couldn’t help but see the scenes for Narcos playing through my head. I reassured myself, however, that that was then and this is now. Plus EY would make sure we were staying in a safe area and I would be with two other coworkers. Before I knew it the day arrived to take the journey back over the Atlantic only this time headed south. The day got off to a rough start when 3 Uber’s accepted then cancelled our rides. We were originally going to take the train which is by far the easiest way to get to the airport but there was scheduled maintenance on the tracks out of the central Amsterdam stations so that wasn’t possible. Once we finally got an Uber we got stuck in a traffic jam up to the departure drop offs (who would have thought traffic at 8 am on a Sunday?!). Then after security we had to go through passport control which was a disaster. We finally made it through though and were able to just walk straight on the plane. Thankfully, EY had approved us to take business class. I’m going to sound super entitled but business class is really so much better than economy. I’m definitely not at a point in life where I can afford it myself but when I can use miles or EY pays for it I am #blessed.
We arrived in Bogota in the middle of the afternoon and got to the hotel without too much hassle. Driving through the streets of Bogota I had a few “oh shit what have I gotten myself into” moments as passed through some questionable areas but our hotel itself seemed to be in a very safe part of town. 
After we dropped our bags we went walking around the street surrounding the hotel. There were stands set up for Sunday markets and we peaked around. Anything to stay awake. At only 4 pm it felt like time for sleep. Jet lag is real. We weren’t super hungry after being fed about 4 times on the flight but we stumbled into a small cafe and had some finger food and drinks. It had a nice patio and general ambiance but it wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about. At about 7:30 we admitted defeat and went back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. 
The next morning I woke up naturally at about 5:45 (the upside of jet lag) and decided to go be healthy at the hotel’s gym. I started off at my normal pace and immediately felt a side ache gaining strength. I chalked it up to being tired from traveling but later thought to look at the altitude. We were at about 8,300 feet. That explained it. I was relieved that was the reason and it wasn’t that I was getting extremely out of shape. After 3 months level at/below sea level the altitude was pretty rough. Post work out we all met for lunch before heading to the office. It was about 2 km (1.25 miles) to the office so my coworkers wanted to walk. No wanting to rock the boat I agreed hoping I would not later regret the decision considering my choice to wear heels. I wish I had objected because it was probably top 10 worst walk experiences. The route we took all the sidewalks were cracked or cobbled which was difficult in heels. Also, we happened to be walking along the bus lane and in Bogota, I don’t think emissions tests are a thing. The whole walk I felt like I was just sucking in exhaust. I wanted one of the masks all the tourists from China wear. It was also quite humid so although the temperatures were fairly cool I had definitely worked up a sweat by the time we arrived. Once we made it to the office, we spent the day meeting with our EY Bogota team discussing their audit plan. All very boring to non-accountants so I will spare you all. We did go out to lunch which was enjoyable. We walked over (again) and by the time we got there my feet were in fire, dreading the eventual walk back to the office. I should have planned my footwear a little better. Anyway the restaurant we went to was called Andrés Carne de Res and it was located in a nice part of town (evident as it was surrounded by all the designer shops). This was apparently the restaurant for local Colombian fare and we ordered way too much food. To start we got these juice with milk drinks which were essentially smoothies. They were really good but oddly served in a bowl. You were supposed to drink from the bowl but we requested straws because there is only so far I will go for a cultural experience in the presence of my employers.
For appetizers the manager from the Bogota team ordered us plantains, chicharrones, and arepas. It was a little fun because I knew what all these things were but my European coworkers weren’t familiar. The plantains were interesting because they were served in a big circle cut into slices like a pizza and covered in cheese. I had never seen them prepared like this. I had just assumed they would be similar to how they were in the Caribbean. As we were eating our starters, a mariachi band appeared and offered a song. The partner on the engagement in the Netherlands had his birthday the following day so we requested Happy Birthday to record and send to him. Somehow in the process, I was given a sash and crown.
Once they left, we received our main courses. I was already so full but I did my best to eat the Ajiaco I order which is a traditional chicken soup served with corn. It was very good but I had no room in my stomach to finish. I definitely should have gone with the half order.
After eating so much I was actually happy to walk back to the office. We finished our meetings and took an Uber back to the hotel. Now I can commentate on how horrible traffic in Bogota is. Literally total gridlock the entire way back to the hotel. It took us probably over 30 minutes to make the short drive. The only form of public transportation in Bogota is buses which doesn’t help the traffic really. Just clogs the street with buses. They also try to help traffic by having restrictions on what cars are allowed to drive in the city center during morning and evening rush hours – allowing cars with odd license plate numbers to drive during those hours on odd days and cars with even numbers ln even days. People just get around this by having two cars though so also pretty ineffective. Despite the frustrations with traffic, as it was dark outside though we didn’t really have a choice but to take a cab. We didn’t want to have our laptops stolen on the trek back. Still full from lunch we had a small dinner after arriving back at a restaurant called la Mar recommended by the Colombian team. It was essentially different sushi and sashimi dishes which was perfect for a light dinner.
The next morning we were off to the client offices for meetings. Again, won’t bore you with all the accounting details. Our meetings ended around 1 pm and we headed quickly to the hotel to drop our stuff/change and then went on an adventure to the old part of the city. We attempted to get lunch at another spot recommended by the Colombian team but they were full so we just went straight to the Plaza Bolivar. The walk down had some questionable moments. There was definitely a quarter mile stretch that stank of urine. But there were some photo oops along the way.
We arrived at the plaza and to say it was disappointing would be putting it lightly. Basically it was a big square with some pigeons. Not a whole lot else. 
Underwhelmed we found a patio and had some lunch to plan our next move. The Colombia team also recommended we head to the top of the mountain – Monserrat – to get some great views of the city at sunset and have dinner. After killing some time on the restaurant patio we did just that. This was probably my favorite activity that we did. The views were actually fabulous and it was quiet up on the mountain with fresh air. We finally managed to escape the polluted air below. There were tons of lights set up which I wish had been lit but I guess they don’t light everything until a little closer to Christmas.
After enjoying a glass of wine at one of the restaurants, we ventured to the other restaurant for dinner. The restaurant had incredible views of the city which was equally as impressive at night as it was during the day. With all the lights shining you could see just how expansive bogota was below. We tried a Peruvian cocktail known as a pisco sour which I would highly recommend. It was foamy and had a slight sweetness to it which I enjoyed. Our food was equally as delicious. I even convinced the group to indulge on some flambéed strawberries which were fun because you also got a bit of a show.
After dessert we went back to the hotel where I returned to the world of WiFi. I was greeted by a flood of text messages informing me my dad fell and broke his hip skiing that day. Talk about a sobering moment. The next morning after sleeping on it, I resolved I wanted to see if I could reroute through Denver on the way back to Amsterdam. Thankfully, it was fairly easy. I used miles to fly American to Denver (shockingly few miles might I add) and rerouted my KLM ticket from Bogota to Amsterdam to Denver to Amsterdam. Unfortunately I had to downgrade to economy in order to not incur a hefty fee but such is life. Our plane didn’t leave until midnight so we worked in the morning then arranged a visit to the Cathedral de Sal in Zipaquirá about an hour outside Bogota. we stopped in the old city center and had lunch on a terrace (our director really values restaurants with terraces). For a random pick, the restaurant was actually quite nice and tasty. The terrace had a nice view over the central square which was much nicer than the one we saw in Bogota.
After lunch we hiked (literally so many stairs) to the entry of the church. The church itself is carved into an old salt mine. You start by going through the stations of the cross which leads to the chapel itself. It was really nicely done with lighting enhancing the experience.
Once we emerged from the cathedral it was time to head back to Bogota. After some standstill traffic we made it back and quickly had a meal before heading to the airport. Overall, I think the trip was a good experience but when I hit the tarmac in the good old US of A, I felt a large sense of relief. I think part of it was I was relieved to be on my way to family but I was also happy to be in a place where I didn’t constantly feel like I needed to just be aware of my surroundings as to not get into a precarious situation. Now I can say I have been to South America too! Another continent down. I celebrated via chicken minis from Chick-fil-A and headed to my next flight to Denver. I was going home!
Have Passport Will Travel 