GoForth and Blog

So, I’m actually quite glad that I opted not to travel my first week here. I spent the week exploring the city, and getting to know Gloria, Leo, and Sori- the family I am staying with. They are wonderful, helpful, caring people and I am lucky to be able to stay with them. And I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the city. Some things about Bogotá:

• It’s BIG (census data estimates around 8 million but I think it’s MUCH bigger than that), and it’s busy.
• It’s even easier to navigate than NYC. The streets are in a numbered grid- Carreras run north-south and Calles run east-west- but making things even easier is the way addresses are written; for example, Carrera 21 #39-71 means the building is on Carrera 21, 71 meters from Calle 39 (in the direction of Calle 40). Brilliant. Plus, there are huge mountains bordering the city to the east, so if you can see those (and you almost always can) you know which direction you’re facing.
• The people are ridiculously friendly and nice. They have the South American version of Southern Charm- they use “Señora” and “Señor” the way Southerners use “Ma’am” and “Sir”. And they have this formal accent that makes it sound like they’re speaking Italian. It’s lovely.
• There are a ton of cultural events going on, often free- movies, concerts, performances, lectures… plus museums galore, also free or very cheap (especially compared to Boston, those cultural snobs).
• The driving etiquette is as bad as China’s… I’m back to having to look over my shoulder while crossing at a green light because cars making rights-on-red have the right of way. This infuriates me. There is no reason why that should be OK. But, to its credit, the city is somewhat progressive when it comes to cars- for example, depending on the last number on your license plate, there are 2 3-hour periods per week when you’re not allowed to be on the road. And, every Sunday and holiday, a few of the major roads are closed half-way (so a 4-lane road becomes 2 lanes, e.g.) and turned into “Ciclovias”- bicycle routes from 7:00 am-2:00 pm. AND, there are 2 days per year where private driving is banned entirely. I think it should be 1 day per week, but when you’re talking about 8 million cars, 2 days per year is still a significant footprint-shrinker.

• They are really into hot chocolate here- they shave it from bars into simmering milk. Yum. The hot chocolate shelves in the grocery stores rival ours for canned soup. They’re also quite good at pastries and ice cream and there is a bevy of crazy tropical fruits to be had. Sadly, however, when it comes to cuisine I think Colombia is the Great Britain of South America.

During my week of exploring, I spent a lot of time in La Candelaria- an old neighborhood just east of the center with colorful colonial architecture, narrow, cobblestone roads, and lots of cafes, restaurants, and cultural sites. It’s my favorite place in the city so far.

(Here are some more photos of el barrio)

Also in my first week, I visited the Donación Botero- a free museum mostly featuring work by Fernando Botero, who is Colombian and generously donated his work to the museum (he’s the guy who does this stuff), as well as some other artists- it has an awesome sculpture by Dalí, and I didn’t even know he did sculptures! It is a great museum- I love Botero’s work, and the space itself was fantastic- bright, clean, interesting. I’m glad it’s free- I’m definitely going back.

I went to el Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá- or the MAMBO (despite its awesome acronym, it was not as good as the Donación Botero); the swanky Rosales district in the northern part of the city, which is a shopping and eating haven; went to the top of El Mirrador Torre Colpatria- the country’s tallest building (48 stories, I think)- for some incredible views;

La Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango- or the Blaa, which I love- a big central library with exhibits and cultural events; checked out some artisan markets; and went into La Iglesia del Carmen- an amazing church in La Candelaria.

(The street that La Iglesia del Carmen is on is super narrow, so it’s difficult to get a photo of much of the facade at once… you can see a more complete photo here.)

I enjoyed a free outdoor concert on an afternoon when it was actually warm enough to just be in a t-shirt… (it rarely gets warmer than 70F/20C this time of year… back to pastiness for me) and of course I put in a fair amount of cafe time.

Take me Home!