Bogota Day Trippin': Lago Guatavita

The new year means times for new adventures! The first stop: Lago Guatavita .

After some brief cross-referencing of my travel book and the internet the previous night, I felt ready to make my journey to the outskirts of Bogota for this exciting adventure. And, since we all know that half the fun is getting there, here is how the adventure unfolded:
1. Transmilenio: Hoped on this innovative form of transport to Portal Norte.

2. Transfer to City Connector: After a few brief conversations with the transport staff, I navigated to the city bus and continued on my path north...I graciously gave up my seat to a visually impaired man which was rewarded by numerous uncomfortable looks by other passengers who hadn't been so generous. Curious, very curious?


3. Arrival in Guatavita> I arrived in town...an interesting locale that had actually been rebuilt after it was decided to flood the area to create a reservoir. The new town (slightly moved to the side) is a quaint version of what had been.

4. Hitching a Ride:So, the entrance to the mountain hike is about 10 km from town...yeah, we'll need some transport for this trip. I made some instant friends with a family visiting from Florida and Venezuela and we caught a collectivo to the park entrance.

5. Climb Every Mountain Our group started the trek up the mountain to view the lake...enjoying our guide sharing the indigenous history of the area (and the reenactments by the little boy in the group.)

Of course, once we reached the top, the trek back was much easier...because our vehicles were waiting:) We made our way back into town and after a quick trip to the lake, it was back to Bogota. All in all, a great way to kick off my resolution of more day trips in 2009!