My first day in Colombia was fairly smooth but I did since more tension in the air. The immigration agent at the airport questioned me exensively and I argued with her for a long time because she refused to give me more than a two month stay permit. Upón changing money I was again extensively questioned and required to provided detailed information and fingerprinted. The taxi driver was friendly but took me to a hotel of his choice rather than the one I asked for.



The city itself is a very modern clean city. It was as close to New York I have felt. The city is located at over 3,000 feet and is flanked by mountain peaks on one side- the east I think. I was told this made it easy to get around the city by motorcyle, but I found this concept worked in theory. Then, I never understand how anyone gets lost in Manhattan where the streets are clearly marked and laid out in a east-west north-south grid. The is no train system but the city has a elaborate bus system.



I arrived in time for Semana Santa. This meant most stores were closed for two days and the city was nearly deserted. It also rained everyday and was very cold at night. I was battling a severe cold almost immediately because most of my cloths were in customs with my motorcycle. I was determined to visit the Gold Museum, however.



The museum has a reknown display of gold artifacts and details the history of gold in the region. The short version is the Spanish raped the region of its resources and enslaved the people in their quest for more gold to fuel their empire.

I walked around the city center for a couple of hours before the rain began.



I had a lot of time to kill because customs closed for the holiday weekend leaving me without transportation in a deserted city for five days. Sick and tired, literally, I stayed in my room and ate my sorrows away….