Bogota in the rearview mirror.

As the plane circled low over Cartagena this morning it was hard not to think of Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone. Even though it was a bit of a Indiana Jones ripoff I still enjoyed that movie as a kid and to now be in the stone walled city of Cartagena is pretty cool. Of course the damn movie was not filmed anywhere near here so tune in to see how reality cracks up.

Overlooking Bogota from Monserrate, a church that is built on the top of a 10,341 foot peak and as close to God as I'll ever get in this life. We cheated and took the cable car to the top which was good because the view alone made my lungs burn. The church was built in the 1600's which surprised me because I didn't even know they had Christmas lights back then, the place is lit up like a bonfire at night. Inside is peaceful and understated, with a gory statue of Christ collapsing to the ground, cross in hand, at the head of the cathedral. Just outside the cathedral are about 25 booths selling souvenirs the way God intended and I nearly bought a shot glass made from goat hooves. Perhaps on the return trip.

Leaving Bogota was tough, first, because we had such a great time with our new friends, and second, we had to get up at 4am to catch a cab to the airport. Then sit and wait for the fog to clear until 9am and now here we are in 88F with birds and sea air and the Carribean lapping at our feet. Our gracious host Andy at his family's home in Bogota as his mom sets the table for a scrumptious tamale dinner.More awesome grafiti in La Candalaria district. I dig this urban art form. In rush hour traffic it took us nearly 2 hours to go the 6 miles on the city bus to Andy's home.

But we're in Cartagena now and a cold cerveza Aguila beckons...