Since Friday afternoon, Ryan and I have been very busy! We went down to the main road (Carerra 7) to see the Friday evening festival, and we came upon a massive protest. There is an upcoming mayoral election in Bogota, and there has been some controversy; the people of Bogota are very passionate about it. We watched the protest, which took place in the form of parade marching down Carerra 7 and into Plaza Bolivar, from the confines of a coffee shop off the street. It went on for at least 45 minutes, and at that point, we made our way down the street to enjoy some corn on the cob, fried plantains, and empanadas. We then made our way back to our hostel and went to a local Colombian club with the people from our hostel. Many of the people who are at the hostel live here and know the city quite well, so it was a good experience. Ordering a vodka soda proved to be fairly difficult though!
On Saturday morning, Ryan and I had our first spanish lesson with a local woman named Angela. She was great, although she gave us homework. No bueno! We are slowly becoming less awkward and spastic when ordering food, paying for groceries, or asking questions. After our spanish lesson, we went to a Lonely Planet recommended vegetarian restaurant and had a wonderful meal. I’m not entirely positive what I ate, but it was entirely delicious. From there, we began our trek up the side of the mountain to Monserrate, a church located 3,000 meters above sea level. Similar to Ha Ling in Canmore, you began your ascent immediately and are left out of breath within minutes. It took us about an hour to get up the winding 3km hike, and despite the rain that began halfway up, the view was worth the agony! The church itself was nothing extraordinary, but the view was amazing. The city literally goes for miles. The view wasn’t as clear as I imagine it to be on a sunny day, but it was beautiful nevertheless. It was strange looking at Bogota from above, as the city doesn’t appear to have a clear downtown the way most cities do. On top of that, there are very few high rises in Bogota. The tallest building in Bogota is the same height as Bankers Hall in Calgary. On the way down from Monserrate, we got caught in one more downpour, and fortunately found a sheltered area to take cover in until the worst had passed. The trek up Monserrate has been known to be dangerous so we didn’t linger long. The path was paved (cobblestoned) all the way up, and there were police every few hundred meters so I never felt as though there was any real danger. By the time we made it to the bottom, we were tired and fairly wet. I took a really hot shower when we got back to the hostel; the rain isn’t very warm here and it chills you to the core! The hike exhausted us so we spent the evening relaxing.
Today we went on a bike tour through Bogota. Sunday was a perfect day to do it, as Carerra 7 closes down for bicycles. It was very neat to be a part of this weekly tradition and to see all the people out and about; teenagers, famililes, and parents running behind children on bicycles. We made our way by bike down Carrera 7 and over to the national park, which was a beautiful greenspace. There, we found more local people spending the day hanging out, picnicing, and blowing bubbles. After all the warnings of how dangerous Bogota is, it was really nice to see people out enjoying a beautiful day and to feel like I was back home on a summer day. We continued our tour down the main road between La Candelaria and the airport and saw all of the city funded murials. They were pretty spectacular to say the least. I think it is pretty amazing that a city with a destructive and violent background has channeled these negative emotions into artwork. From there, we visited the main cemetery, the red light district, and then ended at the local market. We had the chance to try some of the delicious local fruit, including passionfruit, dragon fruit and tree tomatoes. I also had some of the most ripe and flavorful papaya I’ve ever had. Mmm! Unfortunately, it began to pour rain while we were in the market and we spen the 10 minute bike ride back in the rain. Ryan and I (stupidly) forgot our jackets, but the guide had colored plastic panchos, so we rode home in style! We’ve now learned that the weather in Bogota is more unpredictable than Calgary, and just because rain isn’t forecasted doesn’t mean it won’t come down in buckets! Tonight we have our second spanish lesson, and we are hoping that our instructor can prepare us for our first bus experience tomorrow night…
Ryan and I have adjusted to Bogota quite quickly. I’ve been trying to take in all the sights, sounds and smells around me. For the most part, the city is quiet, aside from the occasional dog parking or car siren. The streets are quiet clean, and as I mentioned before, most people don’t look twice at us. There is garbage and poverty, although it seems to be fairly contained. The streets don’t smell of anything in particular, and considering some of the smells I encountered in Asia, I have been extremely impressed. We are still quite cautious in terms of our bags, and we tend to just put the necessities in our pockets. Colombian food is fairly tasty, particularly the traditional soup that consists of chicken, capers, potato and sour cream in a broth with a corn on the cob in it and an avocado on the side. Colombians eat quite a bit of avocado, which I am obviously quite pleased with!