Bogotá, Colombia: Botero & Leo (June 2024)

We strolled around Paloquemao Market looking for an empanada stand (Empanadas y ají Don Camilo), and we wound up getting lost in the maze of this market, but we finally found it!

Their salsas were the highlight and I usually don’t care for salsa!

I underestimated the size of these things and ended up LOVING them so much, I wanted 50 more. They were hot and cheesy inside.

They sell the salsas too but I didn’t have check-ins for my flights so I didn’t get any, so much regrets.

The market was just waking up.

We met up with our friend who arrived a day after us and went to get more food and coffee at Orígenes Café – even though the food here was more Westernized, they were still pretty good!

We went to the Botero Museum

The Botero Museum was actually next to a bunch of other museums, so we crossed the courtyard and checked out Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU)

It started raining so it was actually perfect timing for a museum day.

We walked some more and some young locals around this street cart started talking to me so I used my high school Spanish to converse with them — everyone was so friendly and welcoming! At first, I was a bit cautious but once we started talking, they really meant no harm and were genuinely curious about where we were from. They were drinking “canelazo” and told me to try it – so I got one for $1, and it was perfect because it was a bit chilly from the rain and the alcohol warmed me up!

Later on I found out: Canelazo: cinnamon, cloves, and panela (a type of natural brown sugar) boiled in water, topped off with aguardiente, which is sugar-cane alcohol.

The street art scene here was insane.

I was so inspired by the street art here.

We went to Leo, which was one of World’s Best 50 Restaurants.

They had some pretty interesting cocktails.

They started us off with small bites. Some were good, some were questionable.

It was definitely a very interesting experience.

Big-butt ant.

I liked some dishes while my companions did not.

Desserts

Worm dessert.

More desserts.

The coffee was the highlight of the meal for me. It was an interesting dining experience, but I didn’t think it was worth the price.