The Dangerous City? - Bogota
7th September, Landing in the worlds most dangerous city at 3am I thought we were going to step out of the airport to a wild hustle and bustle but instead we were greeted by a peaceful taxi journey by a man named John down empty streets, John let us into the hostel and we attempted to get some sleep.
The next morning it took a while for us to figure out how the city worked, heading for the bus and looking for a cash point. I was in awe at the colour and art that filled the streets. We caught the j24 into central Bogota to find some brunch. The food was delicious and the waiter was helping us practice our Spanish, he even told us that pitillo means straw in Colombian Spanish but small dick in Mexican Spanish.
We then ventured down the streets stopping to look at art painted on almost every wall. We were heading for the famous cable car up to monserrate. We saw our first llama outside the entrance dressed up for photo opportunities for tourists (which we did not participate but instead felt quite sorry for the llama). The journey up to the top was crammed into a sardine can gondola with about 30 other people. The view was incredible but it was at the top of monseratte where we realised we were at a very high altitude (how we didn’t realise this before is baffling). Monseratte sits over 10,000ft above sea level, more than 10x the height of my home town. And we could barely take 8 steps before feeling breathless. We took in the view of the city, all be it drizzly which is apparently Bogotas usual state. We spent some time in the church and looked at the bronze statues that decorated the gardens. And then headed back down in another squished gondola.
It was when we reached the bottom that jet lag hit. We headed to a bus stop and waited in a very orderly queue for a bus that didn’t seem to arrive, then swapped to another bus stop for the bus we came in on that was a lot less orderly and more like being pushed onto a tube. We missed 3 of these busses being stood there because we didn’t realise the number changed based on the direction of travel. But eventually, two very jet lagged girls tackling the altitude made it back home. We picked up some pot noodles and ate them on our hotels rooftop bar (which isn’t open). Before heading to bed.
It’s fair to say we overdid it on day 1, but I am so thankful we got to experience the city and discover for ourselves what it was truly like. I didn’t feel in danger or on edge and in fact a lot of people were very talkative and helpful.
Day two, 8th September, we took the morning a LOT slower, we made breakfast in the hostel and planned ourselves a route to visit the sights we want to see. Now that we understood public transport we got into central Bogota much easier and started our self made walking tour. The city offers a lot of walking tours many of which are free however they all seemed to be 3 hours and we weren’t sure we could handle that after yesterday.
First we headed to The Gold Museum and wandered round learning about how mining for technology soon became mining because of the cultural status. Miners in Colombia were very respected people back in the day which I found very interesting. There was the most beautiful gold conch shell, I wouldn’t mind one of those on my bookshelf.
We headed onwards, grabbing a cake en route, to the Gabriel Garcia Marques Cultural Centre. This wasn’t what we were expecting but it was filled with artwork from modern Columbian artists which was fascinating and quite politically thought provoking. The Cultural Centre had an incredible circular bookshop sat above it and we were so tempted by so many Spanish books.
And then it was to Plaza De Bolivia, the main square in the city, where sits the important buildings such as the National Capital and Primada Cathedral. These buildings have incredible architecture up close and when you step back they are painted in front of incredible mountainous terrain. It hadn’t occurred to me before being here that it was going to be a mountain city but the surrounding peaks make for a very dramatic landscape. There was another art piece in the square that was very thought provoking and I thoroughly enjoyed viewing. The one takeaway I did have was: do not visit this square if you’re scared of pigeons, they are EVERYWHERE, and street vendors were selling feed for you to hold them.
At this point in the day we felt much brighter so heading back was a much more enjoyable experience. The streets of Bogota had become alive with street vendors selling anything you could possibly imagine and the city was suddenly full of people and life. When we reached home we decided to relax and journal for a while and it wasn’t until 6pm that we felt like we could just pass out. It took everything in us to force ourselves up and out for dinner but I’m so glad we did.
The taco and cocktail bar was recommended by the hostel owner and it was an incredible recommendation, the building was lit with LEDs and very atmospheric, we sat in a sort of in door courtyard next to the kitchen where we could see the chefs cooking. And the Poloma we had was incredible, although I’m not sure how long it’ll take before scooping the ice out of your class into a plate won’t feel awkward anymore. We had smoked fish and cauliflower tacos with a selection of salsas and it was a delicious experience.
And when we got back I fell fast asleep. It was gone ten at this point but it didn’t stop me waking up really early, I hope my body clock adjusts soon.
My favourite part of the city was its colour and art, the drastic amounts telephone cables surrounded by bright splashes of hand painted murals was such an incredible sight. I must warn you that I could not wrap my head around the road rules and you seemed to be able to cross any street even a dual carriageway anywhere. The city was absolutely full of motorbikes who didn’t seem to abide by the same rules as cars but did seem to get places faster due to the congestion on the roads.
The weather in Bogota gave us wiplash with it being rainy and windy one moment and sunny the next so I’m looking forward to having a reliable temperature (even if it is in the 30s!). Today, 9th September, we fly to Santa Marta to visit Tayrona National Park, and I cannot wait.
I loved Bogota and am sure you could squeeze in even more adventures in the city if you were pre acclimatised to the time zone and altitude. I think the city will hold a special place in my heart knowing that it marked the start of our adventure.
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