I love traveling in foreign airports, they are the umbilical cord to the world for me. I also appreciate the airport nostalgia which washes over me whenever the security guard cops a feel post metal detector, but does not require me to step aside for a clothing swipe or a full body scan…
On the intercity flight between Medellin and Bogota I had found myself seated in the exit row. The flight attendant seemed dubious of my ability to effectively communicate emergency instructions in Spanish; I was doubtful too…Luckily no such situation arose because out of sheer kindness or laziness on the attendants part I was able to maintain my exit-row leg-room for the hour and a half flight.
Arrival into Bogota lead to me to question my overall travel competency. It’s the basic things like re-confirming the address of your airb&b, which really matter on a trip it turns out… Of course, when the address is written down incorrectly, sometimes there is nothing you can do to evade those uncomfortable travel situations- the ones where you find yourself standing on a park corner, attempting to look cool and non-conspicuous while simultaneously clutching all of your luggage to your person, waiting for your host to come retrieve you like a lost puppy….
Never one to be content sitting in for one single evening my obliging travel partner and I went questing for food and Monserrate directly after our eventual arrival at our accommodations.
Food we found at a delectable restaurant called Crepes and Waffles. Pleased to see all vegetarian food for the first time on the trip I splurged on an actual dinner dish rather than continuing to subsist on my travel diet of deserts, caffeine and street snacks. (Interesting Side note: This chain, originating in Bogota, only hires women who are head of households as employees. My initial response to this fact was to approval; it’s about time someplace tailored jobs for women right?! However, the more I thought on it the more issues I have with the policy: What about other women who are not heads of houses? Can they not work too? What happens when the children leave or the spouse dies and technically they are the only household member and thus not really a head of a household. Are they then fired? Also, why are discriminate against men? Isn’t there enough discrimination already?)
Monserrate is a looming mountain which presides over the Eastern side of Bogota. Located on a top peak is the Sanctuary of Monserrate a popular tourist and pilgram destination. The views of the city from the mountaintop are expansive and the ride up the mountain on either a cable car or funicular are a “must-do” part of the tourist experience. Having done my research before hand I knew that the mountain was open to tourists until midnight… What research did not tell me is that the church, the tourist booths and parts of the gardens would be closed after five o’clock. Therefore, if you want to enjoy anything other than a lovely dulcet toned sunset and garden walk in partial darkness, visit the mountain prior to closing time…
La Candelaria, the old city in downtown of Bogota is very compact. It’s winding streets are laid out in what ought to be a simple to understand alpha-numeric order. Yet somehow it is not. We traveled in circles, circumnavigating the actual destination at least three times before deciding that the out-of-date-tourist-map, which was missing Carreras 12A – 12H was less than helpful. In general I would also have fared better directionally were I not gawking upwards at the astoundingly violent, beautiful, political murals and graffiti littering the city’s walls, while also attempting to side step the missing sewer-cover holes.
(Note: Across the city the iron sewer covers have been pulled off and the metal re-sold thereby exposing gaping holes in the sidewalk. While we were in Bogota this issue rose to the forefront of the publics attention due to the deaths of 2 children who, within the course of one week stepped into these holes and drowned in the trash and rainwater .)
Finally trying something new, we joined a bike tour of the city. Although I do not endorse bike tours, in general, this one in particular had a certain element of ecas the first thing we did was bike the wrong way on a one-way street, fighting our way uphill against traffic, the tour was a impressively comprehensive including: La Macerana, the old bull fighting ring, currently standing empty as the current governor has declared the sport illegal, the old town squares, where students congregate to eat, drink and protest politics, a coffee factory, where the roasting and bagging portion of the coffee preparation is completed and the Cementario Central de Bogota, which houses wealthy or well loved political figures as well as the famous Bavaria Beer Company founder, Leo Kopp, who is visited by Colombians and tourists alike, all waiting in line to whisper their desires for a new job or financial stability into his ear…
Colombia as a country is progressing forward from drug cartels and zones of terror that people associate with it. Although I would not yet deem it prepared for busloads of tourists, (particularly as there is a distinct lack of tourist assistance available) it is a much safer place to visit today than it has ever been. If you want to travel, go try it out- eat areps y aguardiente and for goodness sake don’t bring any cholo tea back through customs with you. It contains cocaine (Cough cough, now we all know!)…
intrepid trekking 