Some random photos of Bogota

The Police Museum

The police museum was GANGSTER. The kit that the Colombian police use against their drug lords and terrorists is serious, the anti-terror uniform was worthy of NASA space exploration. Flame resistant and god knows what else. If aliens ever invade this planet, the Colombian police force will be the only people capable of saving the human race. Real talk.

It was an interesting insight into the recent history of the country. The best bit (obviously) was the Pablo Escobar exhibition in the basement, that and all the uniforms. UNIFORMS. I do like men in uniforms. Signs of submission. They command such respect, I would do whatever a Colombian policeman told me to do, the same goes for the Spanish Guardia Civil.

We were escorted around the museum by a young guy in uniform who ended the tour with a trip to the basement to see the Pablo Escobar exhibition. I wasn't that large, just a few pictures and mock Escobars showing his days in prison, his days as a politician and his death. There was a photograph display of every single member of the cartel some of which were taken at their scenes of death. Shot dead, their bodies sprawled over the ground, bloody. The worst was someone who had been both a police and a cartel informer. He had his own head opened to stuff his severed hand inside his face. He looked horribly disfigured. Brutal. All but four of the numerous members of the cartel are now dead. It seems crazy that they ran the show, made a mockery of the police and government but in the end their lawlessness got out of hand and the police took back the control of the streets. It is also crazy that one man drove this whole episode of Colombian history. Violence is something I don't really understand. I don't think I could have lived in Medellin during the days of Escobar.

Gunz

A petrol bomb turned swan, made by one of the policemen as a sign of peace after they foiled an attack.

Bogota from the museum roof

Apologies for the horrible quality of this photo, the lighting was rubbish and it was rather crowded.

First Impressions of Bogota

Over-cast and quite a change from the open blue skies or thunderous but perfectly formed, brilliantly defined white clouds that seemed to pass us by only on the horizon and never overhead when we were in the jungle. Several degrees cooler, we were back in jumpers and jeans, but it was a no point shivery and uncomfortably cold. Walking around candelaria and the centre of Bogota was just what I needed. A mixture of old and new architecture, large structures and small tiled roof houses sprawled over a weird network of seemily interwoven roads. Latin. I had read that Bogota was a cultural capital and a quick look around the centre seemed to confirm this, a couple of art galleries, some cool shops, graffiti on the sides of walls, really cool-looking buses, an amazing bookshop (heaven, I love books) and a slightly beaten up freak-show of a main square. This is what I had wanted and hoped this city would be like. There were llamas in the main square. This is something I was not expecting. Graffiti on statues, bubbles, people selling mangos and other forms of street food, children, adults, tourists and locals. Police.

We got stopped by some policemen and invited to look around the Police Museum. Police museum? Strange. Didn't sound that interesting to me. I was proven wrong, if you think about it, it's logical, in a country like Colombia where there has been a fair amount of violence, drug crime and terrorism that these interesting conditions create an interesting police force. Serious shit. I wouldn't want to fuck with the Colombian police force.

The change in gear from the jungle seemed to have made us all a bit tired and groggy. We searched for a good and cheap place to eat. We landed on our feet, finding a small cafe that had the most delicious menu del dia. It was a good introduction to some Colombian regional dishes - I had a vegetarian bandeja paisa which was delicious.

Colombian coffee! I love coffee.