26 Apr 2023
We visited Monserrate, the Gold Museum and a Colombian coffee cafe that has coffee from all the coffee growing regions of Columbia. The agenda was developed in conjunction with our tour guide, Javier Yhama. Javier was a terrific guide. First, Javier is fluent in both English and Spanish, and I believe he speaks quite a bit of Portuguese as well. We had a very busy schedule, but still had time to enjoy a relaxing lunch at the Columbian restaurant on Monserrate. Javier is very knowledgable of Columbian history and culture and can relate interesting stories when questioned or queried. The tram ride up to Monserrate was breathtaking; over 3000 meters / 10,000 feet. The view from Monserrate is nothing short of fantastic.
The gold museum is spectacular. It is hard to believe the Spanish left so much gold behind! The museum does a wonderful job of explaining the anthropological development of metallurgy in Columbia, and is segmented into historical and regional developments.
The coffee cafe is just off the Simon Bolivar plaza, and has coffee from every growing region in Columbia. The baristas are really knowledgable and can tune the available coffee products to your taste.
To summarize, Javier was most helpful in assisting us with our travels throughout Columbia. He was prompt on our tour day in Bogota, took many photographs agreeably, and was a lot of fun to have as a guide.