Today was my last full day in South America on this trip, and i thought it would be nice to share how i spent the day.
Before i get into the chronology, it has to be noted that today was also my first day apart from my lovely bride in over 3 months. That was not sweet at all. Mu flew back to the States on a redeye last night, so that she could do some outdoor stuff and visit with our family in the Bay Area. Many months ago, i agreed to do the heavy lifting on retrieving our car in Vegas and doing the drive up to San Francisco, and thought it would be fun to stay a few extra days in Bogota. This was one of those classic ideas that sounded a little better in the idea phase than in execution.
That being said, i am very happy to report that our time in bogota has been wonderful. We stayed in the Candelaria neighborhood, which is where the city was founded 475 years ago. The barrio is all little streets and colorful single story buildings, a huge contrast to the glamour and wealth on display several kilometers north, in the new centro of the city.
We also had the pleasure of meeting some friends of friends who live in bogtoa, which made the time here so much better. They took us out to some amazing restaurants and got us to places that we would not otherwise have seen. A big thanks to Carolina, Jaun Carlos and Dan.
What did i get up to with this extra day in the big city?
- Woke up, did some yoga and and then ran on Cerro de Monserrate: bogota is bounded to the east by some seriously steep mountains. The city is actually already at a high elevation, about 8,700 feet, and the top of this peak is over 10,000 feet. The views along this trail, which was quite busy today due to a public holiday, are impressive. The city sprawls in every direction, and the neighboring mountains reinforce how rugged the terrain is within the range.
- Then, it was time to do some internet 'chores', in preparation for returning to the States. I am embarrassed to admit how nice it is to pop on a podcast and crunch away on the net. Time can really melt away, but it is (mostly) productive.
- Next, i picked out some museums nearby that warranted a visit, the Bolero museum complex and the Museo del Oro. The former houses the gift to the government from Colombia's most famous artist, Fernando Botero, including his works and that of many modern masters. These were fine, but the true gem was an engrossing exhibit of the artist Vik Muniz. Then, the gold museum shows the importance of metallurgy and the craftsmanship creating venerated objects in pre-colombian cultures throughout Colombia. The sheer volume of the gold is amazing, and the museo was bustling with the holiday.
- Ciclovia: after the museums, i walked around something called Ciclovia. This pubic space takes existing streets in the city, shuts them on sundays/holidays and turns them into miles long concrete parks. There are thousands of people out, eating ice cream, shopping, watching the street performers, drinking fresh fruit juice and generally reveling in the created community. Not that many people are actually riding bikes, which is nice for the walkers like me.
- Upon returning to my hostel (and after an Irish coffee to wake-up), i regrouped and then headed out to the ritzier northern barrios. Had not explored these parts of the city, and read good things. So glad i did. I took the 'metro' uptown, which are long buses running on dedicated bus lanes in the middle of major boulevards. This system has been a boon to Latin American cities, as it leverages existing infrastructure. Once i got off the bus, i just wandered the streets, getting a tea at one point and eventually stumbling upon a massive food festival. So i had to stop and chow. My last dinner in Colombia ended up being an arepa, which is a thick corn tortilla cut in half and stuffed with delicious fillings. There were thousands of people at the festival and food from just about every corner of the globe.
- Then, i came back to the historical barrio where i am staying and sat in the Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo and listened to a stand-up comedian. Tough to follow. I think the two toughest test of language proficiency are comedy and talking on the phone. Not perfect on either by any measure, but worlds better today than i was 90 days ago when we touched down in Buenos Aries. For instance, i talked with my cabbie back home tonight for 20 or minutes about all sorts of stuff with no real problem communicating.
- Heading to bed kind of early, as i have a redeye tomorrow night and won't get much sleep. Also, there is a kind of lingering security concern in Bogota that makes heading out alone suboptimal. The people that run the hostel, our friends and almost all of the taxi drivers (taxi drivers!) have made it abundantly clear that you need to be on your toes and even then there is no certainty on staying safe. So i stay in and wrote a blog post, listened to music and recharged.
See you in the good ol' US of A.
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