The Blaus - South America and Europe

27 de Junio - Bogota, Colombia

Bogota is up in the mountains, and it is quite a bit cooler than the other parts of Colombia that we have visited. We were not expecting cool nights and jackets again, but quickly learned that the capital is different from most of the rest of the country. We arrived by bus late at night because our bus broke down half way between Armenia and Bogota. We wanted to stay in La Candelaria, the old historical section of town, and the bus driver told us that we had passed it and should get out before we reach the bus terminal on the other side of town. He called us a cab from his cell phone, and then dropped us on the side of the road, the cab was waiting and we got right in. We were so tired from the long day and the bus breakdown mishap that we left two bags of gifts including Colombian coffee, cigars, shirts, and other little things in the taxi and were never able to recover these items. That was heartbreaking, but it was nothing too expensive or important. We had heard bad things about Bogota at night, but from our view it looked just like any American city, with people bustling either on their way home or heading out for the night.

We arrived just in time to catch the end of the Colombian league soccer championship, with Medellin Nacional beating Santa Fe de Bogota 2-1. Nacional is the favorite team of the country, and even in Bogota there were plenty of green jerseys worn about the streets, and people driving up and down honking their horns flying the Nacional flag from the back of motorcycles. It was odd to us, because the celebration for Medellin in Bogota would be like people celebrating in Chicago if the Yankees won the World Series, it just would not happen at home. It did, however, make for an exciting arrival in Bogota with a special welcoming committee.

We spent most of the days walking around old town, and going to museums. The Museo de Oro was our first stop, and probably the best museum we have been to in South America. It houses relics of Gold from the rich history of Colombia, a history in gold. Incredible pieces from head dresses, masks, idols, chest plates, scepters, and tons of other religous and cultural pieces adorned the 3 story collection. It was really impressive to see that much gold, only the King Tut exhibit boasts as much gold as this museum. Colombia was once very rich in gold, until the Spanish found it and took most of it. Luckily many pieces were lost for years, and avoided being stolen and melted down by the Spanish. Many of the most incredible pieces have been found in the last 10 years, which we thought was quite amazing. We also visited another Botero museum, which was equally as impressive. It contained all Botero´s work, as well as his personal collection. Not only was he a great artist himself, he had an incredible collection of Rembrant, Monet, Manet, Klimt, Henry Moore, Klee, Picasso, Van Gough and many more famous artists. Another really nice thing was that the museums were either free or only $1 admission. They want the public to have as much access as possible.

Bogota has a pretty rough and tumble reputation, and we saw some signs of it on the streets. There was more pan handling than any other place we have been, and some of it quite aggressive (although nothing like San Francisco). We also noticed that there are thousands of police everywhere on the streets. They are not heavily armed, in fact most don´t even carry guns, but they travel in groups of 4-6, and it is not uncommon to see upwards of 30 police officers within 100 feet of eachother in a square or main thoroughfare.

Since we are heading to the jungle, we thought we should take advantage of our last night in a city for awhile, so we went out to the north part of the city where the lively Zona Rosa section entertains the city all night long. This is an area of about 4 square blocks dedicated to cafes, restaurants, bars, and clubs. We carefully selected a Thai/Japanese place for dinner, then went to a bar for a drink, then went to a salsa club to end the night. The area was completely packed with young party goers, and was a lot of fun. Since we usually don´t go out very late we were dead tired by midnight, but felt like we gave it the old college try.

Just like all the other cities we have been to in South America, Bogota has an old, more run down historical section, and a newer, hip section of town. The old town area was also safer than we had read about and anticipated, and was generally pleasant and lively. People love to dance and sing in Colombia, and we could see that everywhere. In line at the grocery store, out on the street, even in a quiet restaurant a couple was dancing salsa after they pushed their table aside. Everything has a beat and the city moves to that beat. We were pleasantly surprised by the city, but would prefer to live in Medellin, if given the choice, due to the weather.

posted by The Blaus @ 1:37 PM