Christmas Lights in Colombia
Marcela Colombia Travel Blog
Is that time of the year again and I’ve been meaning to relive one of
the many special Bogotan traditions: to visit Monserrate, the
tallest and most well known mountain that frames the city of Bogota,
by night . During December visiting Monserrate is especially beautiful
because of the Christmas lights that decorate the whole mountain and
the church that lies on top of the crater of our now dormant volcano
that has become a
symbol of our city.
We just got back from a trip to the Galapagos Island and when we left
the airport and started heading east I could see from far, far away
how amazing Monserrate looked with all its Christmas lights which made
it easier to spot from almost everywhere in the city.
Next day I didn’t get there at sunset as I suggested in my things to
do in Bogota post, but managed to park at around 8:30 after waiting
for about 30 min to find parking space. I didn’t realize how popular
this little Christmas tour was until we got there to find loads of
families, couples and friends queuing to buy their cable car tickets.
We meet a couple of friends, bought our tickets (COL$17000 – US$9) and
up we went. The ticket allowed us to go up in the funicular and down
on the cable car which are both a great experience and an excellent
opportunity to enjoy the best view of Bogota. Up there people were
happy and all amazed to find thousands of little bulbs in flowers and
star shapes and also to find a three Wise Kings beautifully lit up.
There was a wonderful atmosphere with kids running up and down the
coble stone pathways and although it was a bit cold that didn’t stop
us or everyone else from walking around taking loads of photos and
enjoying the beautiful scenery of Bogota at night.
We headed towards the back of the church to where the Monserrate
market is. As we approached and started climbing the last set of
stairs we were welcomed and enchanted by the delicious aroma of
Canelazo. Canelazo is a local cocktail made of melted Panela (natural
whole cane sugar in blocks), cinnamon and a shot of Aguardiente – one
of our local drinks that is very similar to tequila. A glass of
Canelazo will definitely keep you warm… exactly what we needed, what a
bliss!!
After having a little chat with the kind man that prepared our
canelazos we kept on walking through the market. Here you can find all
sorts of Colombian souvenirs, t-shirts, hats and food. Right at the
end of the market we were greeted by a very friendly Paisa (paisas are
native of Medellin and the Coffee area of Colombia) who invited us to
his little restaurant and gave a tester of the food that was being
cooked there.
We couldn’t resist and decided to carry on with the Bogotan traditions
and have some of the local delicatessen, a must if you visit
Monserrate. We ordered Chocolate Caliente (hot chocolate) with cheese,
Almojabanas (type of bread made with corn flower and cheese), Tamales
(a corn based dough mixed with vegetables and meat, wrapped in
plantain leaves and steamed) which not only had a very homey and
delicious taste but it happened to be very cheap. The whole meal for
the four of us was about COL$36.000- US$18.
Having paid our bill we started heading back to the cable car to go
down to Bogota. On our way back we couldn’t help to stop one more for
a final shot at Bogota … it’s just too nice.
It was a fantastic night out, catching up with friends and a must if
you are planning a trip to Colombia and Bogota or if you are already
here and happened to read this post before the 10th January where all
the Christmas lights will be out and put away until next year.
And with this last post of 2010 I send you many Abrazos and wish you
all a very happy and successful 2011, as always if you would like some
more info please feel free to send me a message.…. See you all next
year!
Marcela
Colombia Travel Blog