2 weeks in Bogotá

After two weeks in Bogotá, I am finally able to get around by self with any problems. I take the Transmilenio everywhere and then I walk from there to wherever I am going.

Bogotá in one word is amazing. It is a very nice city. It is very beautiful. It’s very clean. For a city of this size, there is not much pollution. Traffic is kind of bad, especially because of the rain and the numerous unfinished construction projects to extend the Transmilenio bus service.

Really, my main observation is that Bogota is a city of sharp contrasts. (probably like all big cities). On one hand, the city looks very modern, while on the other, it feels as if you are traveling back in time.

Expensive penthouses.

 Very modern looking city.

 A guy who sells things on horse back. These people have an amazing ability to control their horses. They ride them down busy streets and don't even look scared. They act like they are in car.

A guy walking his llama (I love llamas, I wouldn't mind having a couple).

The city is amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone. You will have fun. Colombians will make sure you do. I love this city. I can't wait to see even more of it.

Here are some other random things/pictures of Bogotá and/or Colombians.

Colombians watch NASCAR. (at least it’s on TV a lot)

Using the same logic, Colombians must also like reruns of The Nanny.  (who would do that to themselves?)

I’ve never seen so many donkeys, horses and llamas in such a big city.

People tend to think I am French (don’t know if that is an insult or not).

They play Hootie and the Blowfish on the radio.

There are no Starbucks. But if you want Juan Valdez or Oma, there is one on every street corner.

If you hate salsa music, don’t come here.

The Colombian word for baseball hat is cachucha. Sounds like someone is sneezing.

Jean jackets are not only popular in Canada….there are plenty of people sporting the Canadian tux down here, too.

Colombians might be the number 1 consumer of car horns.

All driving laws are ignored.

The only English language newspaper available in Bogotá seems to be The Miami Herald.

When people find out that I am from the United States they ask me if Indiana is close to Miami.

All radio stations play the Colombian national anthem every 12 hours. (6am, 6pm)

There are a lot of protests.

Nobody seems to have heating or air conditioning. You never need either here.

Every tree in every park has a sticker on it with a number. Somewhere in Bogota, there is a big book where you can look up the life story of any tree.

You can also buy Seattle Supersonics jerseys.

Some random pictures.

I've gained a couple of pounds since I arrived. (or this is a Fernando Botero painting of me)

DINOSAURIOS!!!

Still having fun in Bogotá! Saludos desde Colombia!

Food!!!

So far, Colombian food has been nothing but delicious! If you know me, you know I take pictures of food!

Ajiaco Santafereño - Chicken soup with capers, cream, yuca, potato, guasca, mazorca (corn), always served with avocado and rice on the side.  The essential Bogotá dish.

Arepizza - An arepa (ground corn bread), topped with sausage, pineapple and cheese.

Bandeja Paisa - Traditional dish from Medellín. It consists of a fried egg, sausage, beef, arepa, plátano maduro (sweet fried over-ripe plantain), baked beans, avocado, rice and chicharrón (Colombia pork rinds).

Colombian coffee! - This is called a "Tinto" or black coffee. It also has cinnamon sticks and panela (pure sugar cane).

I forgot the name but it's fired plantains with mozzarella cheese in the middle.

Plátano Maduro - Fried plantain stuffed with cheese and "bocadillo." Bocadillo is made from guayaba (guava) fruit and panela. 

They have Activia down here, too! But with weird Amazonian fruits!!

Sancocho de gallina - Potato and yuca soup with a hen leg. Also served with rice and avocado on the side.

A funny restaurant. It is called "Mr. Stinky." I was told that it was named after the owner, whose real nickname was "Mr. Stinky." The menu is full of sexual innuendos. You can order "Pechugas de mi prima" if you want.

Saludos desde Bogotá!

El Cerro de Monserrate

With nothing better to do on Easter, I hopped the Transmilenio with Deidi and we cruised downtown to climb the mountain to reach the holiest of holies for Colombians: El cerro de Monserrate (Monserrate Mountain).

At a whopping 10,341 feet above sea level (Bogota is at 8,600), located on top of the mountain lies a church built in the 1657 named after Monserrat's Morena Virgin located in Barcelona, Spain. The name was adapted from Catalan to Spanish along the way (adding an "e" at the end).

Inside the church is the statue of Señor Caído de Monserrate (The Fallen Lord). However, I didn't feel comfortable taking a picture. The church was full of people praying and I didn't want to be the insensitive gringo snapping away like an Asian tourist on a holy day. (Ironically enough, I was told that Easter Sunday isn't as important for Colombians as Good Friday. Don't understand it, I thought the two days would compliment each other, but whatever).

So the question remains...how to climb the 2,000 foot mountain...

There were 3 options: one could simply walk up the path. However, it's been under construction for 3 years and nobody thinks they will ever finish it. So were down to two options. One is a car lift that dangles you 2,000 feet in the air and wobbles just enough to make you feel as if you will fall to your painful death. Or....an almost impossibly vertically ran train that goes through a tunnel on a mountain that suffers from frequent falling rocks which could crush you leaving you stuck in a tunnel waiting for your eventual death. Option one soundly slightly less scary (and cheaper).

So I sold my soul and went up the teleférico (wasn't that a Robert Johnson song?)

I was scared, and of course, Deidi was just as happy as could be!

Of course, you don't just dangle off the edge of a mountain. You do so packed in like New Yorkers in a cable car full of screaming Colombians. But we made it just fine, with Deidi laughing all the way to the top at the full grown men screaming like little girls (which in retrospect was pretty funny).

So now were on top of the mountain trying to catch our breath....literally and figuratively, because below us was the most incredible view of Bogota you could ever ask for.

I literally felt on top of some exotic world that had yet to be discovered, except by the 200 or so other tourists.

It was the most exotic place I have ever been in my life. I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Well worth the $4.00 it cost to go.

For being at 10,000 ft, it wasn't that cold.  

Let's put it this way..,Bogotá is a BIG city. This is just the south east corner.

   

 Downtown (a few skyscrapers)

Northwestern part of the city.

As north as you can see. The city continues out of view. (I live somewhere in that mess of roads, buildings and construction.)

Here are some more pics, because who likes reading?? It's indescribable anyway.

Any bird watchers out there? Got a curve ball for ya....black bird with a neon orange beak that likes itty bitty mosquitos...

So after surviving the trip down. My lungs were letting me have it. Walk around for a couple of hours at 10,000 feet is no joke, especially for the old breathers.

I couldn't catch my breath. It was even worse than the first night in Bogota.

So I did what anyone should do when they can't catch their breath.

COCA

That's right. Coca leaves. Don't worry Mom and Dad, unlike their chemically altered, unfortunately well-known, mutated cousin, cocaine; coca leaves themselves are very healthy. And in my case, the best remedy for altitude problems. Coca Tea is widely available and legal. The box I bought was approved by the Colombian version of the FDA.

Here are just some of the benefits:

Helps your digestion

Prevents diarrhea (wish I knew that in Mexico)


Prevents vertigo and vomit


Cures altitude sickness


For those of you who sing or won't shut up, it prevents vocal cord fatigue

Fights arthritis and nervous system disorders

You can find Coca tea just about anywhere (for those of you who are going to Perú, you will probably be chewing the actual leaves, for what I've heard)

 

By the way, the coca is grown by the Colombian Government in their own legal plantations.

Translation: The Coca leaf is a cultural heritage of Colombia. It is a sacred plant to the indigenous, some of whom believe that we (los humans) came from the coca plant. But don't worry, I'm not going overboard with it. Just when I can't breath. By the way, it doesn't give you energy or anything. If someone gave it to me and told me it was green tea, I would believe them.

Well, thanks for reading! I am doing just fine in Bogota. I feel safe and healthy. So far, no cases of Cuernavaca's Revenge. Got some job interviews tomorrow!

Take care and saludos desde Bogotá!

The Botero Museum

If you like humorous paintings and sculptures of chunky, flabby and completely obese people and animals that bury deeper meaning below the surface of fat rolls, the Botero Museum in Bogotá is most certainly for you! If that’s not your thing, it’s still for you!

The museum, which houses the personal collection of Colombian artist Fernando Botero, is located in the heart of the Candelaria neighborhood in pleno centro Bogotá in a beautiful colonial building not far from the Plaza de Bolívar. If you still don’t think you would be interested, only about half of his collection contains his own works. The other half includes paintings by Dalí, Picasso and Monet, among others.

Botero, a native of Medellín, Colombia (the second largest city in Colombia behind Bogotá), is very well known worldwide for his unique and immediately recognizable style of art. His works can be found in dozens and dozens of countries from Japan to Germany to Wisconsin to Colombia.

For those of you who have been to Spain, Botero is responsible for that weird, giant hand in the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid.

One interesting tidbit about Botero is that he is the self-proclaimed “most Colombian of Colombian artists,” even though he has not resided in Colombia since the 1970s.

Here are some my favorite Botero works.

 Adam and Eve (if they were from Texas)

El Presidente

El Presidente...takin' a little nap!

The Mona Lisa (I swear her chunky little eyes always seem to be looking at you)

A giant hand that is taller than me!

 El gato (cat), Deidi's favorite

 Even Jesus has put on some weight!

 ?? I don't know, but that baby is about to eat her ear.

 

Manuel Marulanda “Tirofijo” - 1999

  
National Cathedral - Plaza de Bolívar - 1948

National Cathedral

 

Capital Building 

Thanks for reading! Saludos desde Bogotá!