Settling in + El Cerro, Day 2

 The Hotel Virrey is basic, but the room is bigger than my bedroom, and everything works, so that's great.  It's located between La Candelaria (the historic center) and the city center, so it's very convenient to the tourist destinations.

The free breakfast is fantastic, over-scrambled eggs, rice, ham, cheese, all kinds of fresh fruit, cereals, yogurt etc.  plus of course tea/coffee/fruit juices.  Way better than I expected!

And I already learned a new fruit, ciruela roja, which is like a small plum.  Travel is broadening!

The neighborhood itself?  Down-market is probably an accurate description.

In the afternoon I went to el Cerro de Monserrate.  Bogotá is built in a valley on the west side of a tall (500m) ridge, on top of which is a church and restaurants, etc.  There's both a funicular and the Teleférico (cable car), and to get to them is a half-hour uphill walk, an hour (seemingly) in line for the ticket booth, then half an hour wait for the car itself.  At the top?  Spectacular views of all of the city as it is laid across the valley.  A surprisingly large number of skyscrapers, but given a population of 10 million that really shouldn't be a surprise.   Not much else, other than the okay church and some beautiful plants.  Then a 45-minute wait for the car down.

If it sounds like I'm bitching about the wait time to entertainment value ratio, that's because I am.  But it's a must-do, so I'm glad I did it.

I *did* save about a buck since I paid the "mayor" ( "older," 6 2+) fare!

On the way back to the hotel, feeling a bit peckish, so I stopped for the most typical of Colombian treats, a hot dog 🙄.  Big dog in a big bun, the "Mexicano" was loaded with peppers, tomatoes, hamburger, cheese sauce, and crushed tortilla chips.  Dog + fries + drink for 20,000 pesos ($5), not bad, and the boy in the shop was try-not-to-stare gorgeous.

I got back early, around 7, but was totally exhausted and slept for, count-em, 12 hours!