I am traveling by plane from Natal, Brazil, to Bogota, Colombia.

I spent a few days in Natal to overcome jet lag and rest, but it didn't seem to be very restful. Perhaps due to the water quality, one of my eyes is still red. I'm currently rinsing my eye with bottled water and using eye drops.
Also, my body's internal clock still seems to be on Italian time.

After considering various options, I decided to prioritize mobility and fly to Bogota, Colombia.

I've come to realize what I'm truly interested in. While the Amazon is intriguing, I'm more drawn to the Pacific coast. I happened to come to Natal, on the Atlantic side, simply because it was the cheapest flight from Italy. I don't necessarily need to focus on this area. I understand now why I didn't have a strong image of the surrounding cities. It's not a place I necessarily need to visit.

If I were to travel by land, it would take 12 hours to reach the neighboring major city of Fortaleza from here. The original estimate was 8 hours, but I was told 12 hours, so I assume that's correct. From Fortaleza, it would take almost a day by bus to reach Belem. From Belem, it would take a week by boat to reach Manaus, and another 5 days by boat to reach the Colombian border... While overland travel might be enjoyable sometimes, I'd end up traveling through rural areas excessively if I had a motorcycle, so I don't need to do that here. I can see those kinds of landscapes later if I want to. So, I'll enter Colombia and secure mobility there, and then head south. The Amazon is also appealing, but I'm ultimately more interested in the Pacific coast.

Another option would have been to fly to Manaus, take a jungle cruise, and then travel to Bogota, Colombia. However, flights from Manaus are surprisingly expensive, and jungle tours in Manaus are also quite expensive. So, it's better to just fly directly to Colombia. If I want to go on an Amazon tour, I can do it in Peru. Besides, I'm not that interested in jungle tours. I often prefer seeing the mundane scenery along the roadside.

Although I came to Natal this time, I could have saved money by making Fortaleza, the transit point from Italy, my destination. That would have cost 350,000 JPY to Colombia. However, since I'm already here, I have to pay 600,000 JPY for an additional flight. It was a mistake, but there's nothing I can do about it now.

Also, since I haven't visited the northeastern part of South America, it's a good opportunity to leave a trace of my presence there. This coastal city is not bad either.

So, early in the morning, I asked the hotel to arrange a shared shuttle bus (35 Brazilian reais, approximately 1,120 JPY) to the airport. When I came from the airport to the hotel, I took a local bus with a transfer for about 6 Brazilian reais (approximately 190 JPY), which is a bit expensive. However, local buses take a long time, and it would be troublesome if I couldn't connect properly, so I chose a shuttle bus. It's very comfortable if you pay for it. It took about 1.5 hours to arrive.

Then, I took a flight to Fortaleza, which takes less than an hour.

When I tried to check in at another airline in Fortaleza, they told me that I couldn't board without a return ticket to Colombia... Oh no. I knew that, but I forgot.

So, I bought a ticket online on the spot.

At first, the receptionist said that I needed a ticket to fly "anywhere other than Bogota." When I asked if Medellin, another city in Colombia, would be okay, she said "yes," so I prepared a cheap "Bogota to Medellin" ticket. However, after preparing the ticket, another receptionist and a man in a suit said, "No, you need a flight to outside of Colombia." Come on. The first receptionist shouldn't say something like that.

In any case, the boarding time was approaching.

Moreover, this receptionist said, "You have to print that out."
Even though they let me board the flight without printing my E-Ticket, they said I have to print the return ticket. What's going on?

In the end, I boarded the plane without submitting the printed ticket, so I don't understand why I had to print it. It's ridiculous. I even paid to use the internet cafe on the 2nd floor to print it. It's such a waste of time.

Well, I'll just have to hurry up and buy a ticket to fly out of Colombia and print it... But because I was in a hurry, I made a mistake that I usually don't make... I entered the letters of my name incorrectly, with one letter duplicated. Even if it's just the address or other unimportant information, it's a fatal mistake to get the name wrong. With a real ticket, you wouldn't be allowed to board if your name was different.

It seems that the airline (TAME, an airline in Ecuador) does not allow name changes, so I had no choice but to buy another ticket.

Of course, I intend to cancel the ticket I bought later, and I bought a ticket that can be canceled, so there should be no problem other than the hassle and the internet cafe fee...

And finally, I was able to secure a ticket to leave Colombia and receive my boarding pass. Ah.

The check-in points for the ticket to leave Colombia were as follows:
- Check-in counter (as mentioned above)
- Just before the immigration counter

There was a little trouble, but I was saved because I had 4 hours of connection time.

And now, to Colombia...





In Bogotá, Colombia, I stayed at:

El Arriero
Single room (shared bathroom) for 5 nights: 150,000 Colombian pesos (COP) + breakfast for 5 days: 25,000 pesos = 175,000 pesos + 16% tax (approximately 7,400 yen).

The rooms are clean, which is good, but it seems like the hotel is newly opened, so the operations are not very smooth. I think it will improve over time, and it's within an acceptable range, but there were various interesting things. People who are not used to overseas hotels might be confused.

- Booking.com offered a free airport transfer with the Geneous benefit, but the hotel said, "It's usually 10 USD, but with the Geneous benefit, it's 5 USD." I called Booking.com support and they said that the airport transfer is free, and if you are charged, you can get a refund in Japanese yen with a receipt.
- The hotel said that if you pay by credit card, there will be a 5% surcharge. I don't know if they realize that this is a violation of the contract with the credit card company. Not only that, but in this case, it's different from the price on Booking.com, so it's a problem in two ways. I called Booking.com support again, and they said, "That's not true. It's not written on the page." They said that if you are charged, you can get a refund like the airport transfer. It seems that for the credit card company, a double charge is a violation of the contract, but for Booking.com, it doesn't matter if there is a double charge, as long as it's not written on the page.
- The breakfast is the simplest I've ever had. Just two small pastries and coffee. It costs 5,000 pesos (approximately 210 yen) for breakfast, so it's reasonable if you think it's worth it.
- The breakfast time is not fixed. I don't understand. I waited, and it was served at 9:30 AM! That's too late.
- Even though I paid for breakfast at check-in, I was told, "Breakfast is only available on weekends." I don't understand. If that's the case, they should refund the money. When I tried to ask about it, I suddenly received a phone call, and the person said, "I'm leaving. I'll be back later," and they didn't come back until the evening. I'm not sure if there will be breakfast tomorrow.
- I received an email saying, "Breakfast is not included, so you need to pay an additional amount in USD." I don't understand. Also, 14 USD per day is too much. Is it a calculation error? Do they not understand English well?
- Later, 4 out of the 5 breakfasts I had already paid for were refunded in cash. It seems that they were told by the Booking.com office, and they finally understood when I showed them the details. What a hassle.
- There is a kitchen, but there are frying pans, but there is nothing that can be used as chopsticks. I don't usually expect hotels, except for Chinese or Japanese hotels, to have chopsticks, but it's still strange that there is nothing to use to handle the frying pans.
- There are no forks or knives in the kitchen. I don't understand.
- There is no kettle in the kitchen. There should be one, normally. I can't understand why there isn't one.
- I was told that I would be given the key later, but I was never given it. What does it mean to have a single room without a key? Fortunately, there are not many guests, so I don't think there is much risk of being robbed.
- On the third morning, I was suddenly asked, "Do you want breakfast?" and I ate breakfast, but on the fourth day, I was not asked anything. I don't understand.

Hmm. There are many things to comment on.

I am walking around the city of Bogota.

There are many graffiti, and there are often strange people on the streets, so I am a little worried, but there are many police officers, so it doesn't seem very dangerous during the day.
The place where I am staying is a little north, so the Public Order is relatively good.
It seems that the north is generally safer.

The old city, which is the center of tourism, seems to be somewhere in the middle between a safe area and a dangerous area.



I was riding a bus on a dedicated road called Transmillenio, heading towards the old city, when I encountered a attempted theft.

My pants had a zipper, so it seems they couldn't steal anything.
I was standing in the aisle of the bus, and an old woman was sitting. The old woman was sitting there with an innocent expression, or rather, she was pretending to be asleep. Hmm.

Let's take a walk around Plaza de Bolívar, located in the center of Bogotá.
It doesn't feel particularly dangerous, but is caution necessary?

There was a Mint Museum (Casa de Moneda), so I went inside.

There were indeed exhibits related to currency, but there were also exhibits of modern art, Christianity, and other things... What is this? Was it a complex facility? It was free to enter, and the rooms were arranged in an interesting way, so it was difficult to tell where I was, which made it even harder to understand what I was seeing... Well, I enjoyed it, so that's fine.

Let's go to the Botero Museum in the center of Bogotá.
It seems to be a complex facility, and it is connected to the Casa de Moneda (Mint Museum) inside, so the boundary is not very clear.

Still, this style.
Is he an artist who likes chubby people?
Or are there many chubby people nearby...?
There are many strange paintings.
Not only humans, but also fruits and guitars are drawn as chubby.

Visit the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro) in Bogotá.
Each piece is a small ornament, but there are so many of them.
Indeed, it is the land of El Dorado.

I went to the National Museum of Colombia.
It was surprisingly free.
It was very fulfilling and I am satisfied.