Sogamoso and Bogota

Our last day in Sogamoso was Good Friday where just about everything was closed down, including most public transportation.  We hired a taxi for most of the day to take us to the sites still open.  Our first stop: the Batan Termales.  The termales were mainly just warm, sulfuric pools with families enjoying a swim.

We then spent a couple hours at an ecological park that a family had recommended.  It is a small zoo area geared towards families, but it was a beautiful day to just amble along outside.

Admit it: we look stunning in the required swim caps, no?

With it being Good Friday, there were no direct routes to Bogota, so we hopped on a bus that stopped at every small town.  Due to traffic, the would-be-four-hour journey turned to five.  Since Becky and I were sitting almost all the way in the back, we saw four young men quickly climb into the dark luggage unit at the very rear of the bus when we had been driving for about an hour.  The bus helper told us they were stowaways and had to stay in the rear while we passed a checkpoint.  Even after we passed it, though, the bus became too crowded, so the guys had to ride in the hold for hours.  Luckily, they had beer to pass the time and seemed quite jovial when they were finally invited to join the lighted bus again. 

That night, we stayed in the nicest place yet....with real, hot-water showers.  Needless to say, we lazed a bit in the morning, going so far as to order an extra cup of tea after breakfast.  One has to enjoy the finer things in life when they pop up, no?

After dining on Mexican for lunch, we went to Parque Simon Bolivar.  This park is massive, so much so that even though it is in the middle of a huge city, one feels like she is in the country out for a stroll.  Families were everywhere playing soccer, reading, picnicking, etc.  

Becky and I picked a spot under a tree and read for a bit of the afternoon before heading to the airport......four hours early.  We had mistaken the time our flight left and wound up with far too much time to hang out around an airport.

This turned out to be fantastic luck: not only did we partake in some delectable ice cream, but I bought two dresses as well in a mall only fifteen minutes away!

Healthy for the bananas: our bodies needed the potassium after all our workouts.