Brothers Discovering the World: Bogota, Cartagena and Carnival in Barranquilla

Hello everyone,

Very late this time but I did want to put carnival in one blog entry therefore it needed to wait until now. In Bogota (coldest city in Colombia) Felipe, my Chilean brother, joined my travels so from now on I am not alone for some days. Before he came, I had the chance to visit a football game which unfortunately was not as good as expected but still a great experience.

The stadium (very empty) - club: Santa Fe

Presidents Palace

The court which represents one of the worst and still unsolved crimes in Colombian history. A group of students took once as a way of protest everyone in there as hostages. Before that they had already robbed the army and got all their weapons. The government did not want to negotiate so instead the army went in with tanks and everything and killed everyone except for 12 people. They were brought to a house near by and never showed up again. 6 of their bodies have been recovered. The remaining bodies are still missing.

View on Bogota

Afterwards we left to Cartagena which is a city with a beautiful historical center for tourists but seems to be less pretty for living. Amazingly I met a friend whom I meet 5 month ago in Argentina. What a coincidence!

Beautiful old buildings and barely any traffic

We were lucky to see a Colombian weeding

After Cartagena we left for the Carnival in Barranquilla. I first have been sad to not be in Brasil for Carnival but in the end I do not regret being in Colombia. We had a great time as the people are so friendly and happy. Everyone dances with everyone, throws flour and foam at others and simply has a good time. The parades were a bit disappointing as you watch them from a stand. Sitting kills lots of the atmosphere and also makes it appear so far away. I would have preferred more involvement as it was possible at the last day of the parade.