Bogota is really like any other big city i’ve visited……there are good areas with very picturesque sites, and then not so pretty areas that just feel sketchy.
we walked around a little bit last night looking for a place to have dinner, and i was slightly unnerved. maybe it’s because everyone during this trip has said, “oh be careful when you get to Bogota, watch your bag, watch your wallet, it’s pretty bad, they’ll take the cell phone right out of hand, etc.” so the streets felt dark & sinister.
we ended up at a fun little place (a chain) called La Hamburgueseria, which really felt like a jazz club that served burgers. lot’s of cool jazz posters on the wall and a crazy colorful painting in the back of the room, and good jazz playing throughout dinner.
today, in the light of day, we saw that there wasn’t anything sinister at all about our area. it’s primarily student filled, and there is a lot of activity as it’s by a variety of cultural attractions…..you do need to watch your step while walking though, lots of missing utility covers causing big holes in the sidewalks and people with dogs here don’t seem to know the concept of bringing bags on a walk. but hey, at least unlike the streets of SF, this poo belongs to a dog.
the day started with a bicycle tour through the city hosted by Bogota Bike Tours. Mike, the owner, is from Walnut Creek and we spent some time chatting over coffee and pastry at our first stop on the tour. he’s a really nice guy, and i’m glad we had the opportunity to hang out with him for a bit before we headed out for the rest of the ride.
we only road about 10 miles, but saw lots of sites along the way. we stopped to enjoy a coffee at Cafe de la Fonda, fresh fruit at the La Macerena Market and a quick game of Tejo.
Tejo, the brown square you see is clay, the white circle is made up of gun powder in paper triangles, and the goal is to hit and make the triangle explode, plus, hit the center of the target with a hand-sized rock. it’s a drinking game……gun powder and alcohol, what could go wrong?
super fun tour once you get comfortable riding on the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians and cars, and not using any directional hand signals. warning, don’t try this at home.
after the tour we went to the Museo Botero (which is free) to see not only the works of Fernando Botero, but also his private collection of art. pieces by Picasso, Monet, Dali, and Miro to name a few. impressive. we also walked down to the Plaza Bolivar and enjoyed a little organ music at the Catedral Primada.
