After doing some work in the morning, I headed over to the old part of town for lunch at a spot a friend recommended to me as well as to check out the nearby Museo Botero. The drive highlighted both just how big Bogota is plus how diverse as we serpentined through a series of sharp curves eventually landing on a street that felt like I had stepped back in time.

Towards the end of this cobblestoned street was Dios. Both a hotel and a restaurant, I was escorted into a lovely patio with an open fire pit. Keeping with my desire to try a few different things, I settled on 3 of the smaller dishes.

First up though was a very visually stunning plate of dark bread with an herb butter. It was nicely toasted with a slightly sour taste that was balanced by the compound butter.

That was soon followed by my first real course – a shrimp tartare wrapped in avocado. Again, the presentation was stunning and the dish itself was bursting with fresh flavors. A great start.

Next up was a seafood sausage of salmon, crab and octopus which was paired with roasted potatoes in a chimichurri sauce. This was another winner with the crunchy potatoes making a perfect bite with the rich sausage.

Last up was their version of crispy pork belly in this case with pickled watermelon radishes in a mocalete sauce. The acidic radishes were a much needed counterpoint to the unctuous pork belly and the slightly spicy sauce. Probably the least favorite of the three for me but still very tasty.

I made the quick jaunt down the street to the museum and immediately a large smile came across my face. Fernando Botero, who only died last year, is one of my favorite modern artists, with an instantly recognizable style that is wholly unique.

The museum, which was free, is a former mansion with a beautiful patio. It is divided between his own works (paintings, sketches and sculptures) and his very impressive collection of works from modern masters, including two Picassos!

The museum was full of people all delighted by the whimsical style of Botero. I was surprised that many of my favorites below aren’t really that old – including a couple from the 1990s.

After leaving the museum, I took a quick around the old part of the city and now understood why only to come here during the day. It definitely wouldn’t feel safe at night.

I headed back to my hotel to do some more work and of course a much needed siesta before embarking on sadly already my final dinner in Bogota. The restaurant was just under a mile away so I decided to walk in crisp weather.

Cafe Bar Universal has become a local favorite for its combination of Colombian and global cuisine. It definitely had the vibe of a local hangout so I could see why it was fairly packed. Oh and get the fries I was told. Por qué no!

After my first choice being sadly already sold out, I chose two dishes and ofc, the fries. First up was kromesqui – which consisted of croquetas filled with pork and potato, which were wrapped in lettuce with a tarragon mayo sauce. This was outstanding with various textures complementing each other quite nicely mixed with the tangy sauce. Delicious.

Next up were the fries, which are doubled fried to make them extra crispy. And indeed they were. It was quite a large bowl of them so I wisely decided to stop once my final course arrived.

My server had suggested the agnolotti with roasted shiitake after the other shiitake dish I wanted had been 86d. Once again portion size is a non issue in Bogota, with the pillowy agnolottis covered in a very generous shavings of Grand Pabano. I ate just about all of it, enjoying the large shiitake caps with the light pasta. There would be no dessert though.

I did, however, opt for a night cap (and my first sip of alcohol) back at Mesa Franca, which had turned into quite party scene versus when I had lunch there. There was a special list of cocktails made with what was explained to me as an “ancestral” liquor called Viche Monte Manglar.

After being warned off of my first choice (no bueno my friendly server said) I went with her recommended Mula Pacifica – basically their version of a Moscow Mule, sans the copper mug. It turned out to be a great option as the potent liquor was tempered by the ginger and lime soda.

Soon it was time to head back across the street and get some sleep (no elevator issues once again!) Tomorrow would be one last meal before getting on yet another big silver bird, destination Rio de Janeiro, where I would finally have some time to stretch my legs a bit.

It was time to finally get back to South America. Brazil was my main destination but a crazy good deal to Bogota made me add that as a pit stop first. I would soon regret for making just that but more on that later.

The flights while a bit bumpy were mostly uneventful. I was also pleasantly surprised the altitude (8700 ft) wasn’t affecting me much… yet. It was also very easy getting out of the airport and making the relatively short trip to my hotel. That’s when the easy part stopped.

After checking in, the very nice bellhop offered to bring my luggage upstairs. We boarded the elevator, and I noticed the doors shut very hard and fast. I joked that I need to be careful or I’d lose a foot trying to get into it. He used my key card to go to the 6th floor and then… nada. To make matters worse, now for some reason the 2nd floor button was lit up but we weren’t moving. Uh oh.

To add to the comedy factor, the walkie talkie the bellhop had kept saying over and over “please change the battery now” I also couldn’t get any signal so we appeared to be stuck, literally. Perhaps it was because of the long travel and my overall tiredness, I didn’t really panic. My new amigo however was saying a prayer repeatedly asking God to open the doors.

About 45 mins later and after several failed attempts to pry open the doors, we were told a technician was coming to free us. My amigo kept insisting they call the fire department but the manager (“Don Pedro! Don Pedro” as my amigo pleaded) said the technician would handle it. Finally, after about an hour, he did just that and I quickly crashed in my very basic but spacious room.

The next morning I worked for a bit and now the altitude had caught up with me. With a dull headache, I headed literally across the street to a place a friend had recommended – Mesa Franca.

A very cool little spot, I was presented with a menu in Spanish as well as English – except for one section which they didn’t have to translate. It was a mix of very creative sounding dishes. However, my garlic issue made the list a lot shorter. That actually turned out to be a good thing as I probably would have never ordered what I did.

First up was a combo of yuca based focaccia with a local honey butter, which was delicious. This was paired with watermelon “tartare” with horseradish, capers, lacto fermented chili, chives, cashew cream and dill infused oil. This basically blew my mind as it tasted exactly like steak tartare with an amazing blend of spices.

I’m a sucker for roasted beets and this preparation sounded very intriguing – Red beets – Roasted and smoked, goat cheese emulsion with kefir, chimichurri, mizuna. This was another winner with a very generous portion of hearty beets in a very rich sauce. The beet greens as a salad on top was a nice touch too.

I headed back across the street to do some work (hey I have to pay for this somehow!) and a much needed siesta. While still feeling the effects of the altitude, I wasn’t about to miss my reservation at one of the top 50 restaurants in Bogota – Harry Sasson.

Named after the famed Colombian chef of the same name, his flagship restaurant was located in a tonier part of town. After walking through the very attractive patio, I entered into the massive main room but was soon escorted to a smaller side room with a fireplace roaring away. A really stunning restaurant.

The menu had at least 20 things I wanted but given that was impossible and wanting to take advantage of the massive wood ovens, I decided to go the wood roasted route.

It was a cool rainy night so the wood roasted tomato soup sounded particularly appealing. For such a simple name, the flavor was anything but that. It was quite simply, the best tomato soup I had ever had. Bursting with flavor from the roasted tomatoes and whatever magical combination of smoked herbs, I eagerly ate the large bowl of goodness along with the excellent bread.

Keeping with the wood roasted theme, next up was the season wild mushrooms with herbs. I thought it might be a nice side dish but was soon presented with a sizzling forest of wild mushrooms on a fajita plate. Clearly meant to share for the table, I had no issues making it my main dish. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked and seasoned, with the hot plate allowing me enough time to enjoy them at a leisurely pace without getting cold.

I was pretty full so the famous Harry’s Bar Hot Dog would have to be another time. I wasn’t sure how I could keep up the wood roasted theme with desserts but then I saw the rum soaked wood roasted pineapple item. Sold.

The pineapples were diced and layered on top of a biscotti with roasted coconut ice cream and pina colada foam. This was Colombia in a dessert – from the rum in the pineapples to the mix of tropical and sweet flavors. A great capper to a great meal that cost less than $50.

I took the incredibly cheap Uber home (eschewing the even cheaper motorcycle option) and headed to bed. Tomorrow would be my last full day in Bogota so I planned to make the most of it.