On our first day, we decided to 'wing-it' and took a taxi into the Casco Viejo (Old Compound) area, dropping us off in Independence Square, where independence was declared from Colombia in 1903. This is the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion, which was begun in 1688 but took over 100 years to complete.

It took us awhile to get our bearings, but we headed out to walk around by heading North towards the Presidential Palace, where we were abruptly stopped by a guard. We turned West and wound up meandering past Plaza Bolivar and on to a promenade that passed along the waterfront. We passed the Theatro National, a beautiful place to visit for only $1.

This area has many fine restaurants in it, though we didn't make an opportunity to eat here. It is well suited for tourists, and luckily for us we were practically alone on this Sunday. The weather was very cooperative and we had a great time walking through the Casco Viejo area.