Bogota – what an amazing city.
I really only spent two days there – and I consider it an adequate amount of time to see it – but that’s me as I’m not a city person.
Bogota is the third highest capital city in the world and one of the most populated cities in the world as well. And I’m not surprised by that at all after being there. It is an extremely crowded city. For those who have been to New York City or even Washington, DC and you say it’s crowded and dirty – those cities are very clean and those cities are like suburbia compared to Bogota. More info on Bogota at the Wikipedia site.
I’m not saying anything bad about Bogota at all – because I enjoyed the time I spent there – and the architecture is amazing – with the Spanish Colonial architecture prevalent throughout the city.
I’ll dedicate this post to my first day in Bogota.
My first real day in Bogota – I took a bike tour of the city – and it gave me more than enough to see the city. I was there on a Sunday which was actually a perfect day for it because Sundays in Bogota – they close off a lot of the streets and open it up to bikers, walkers, runners, rollerbladers – in an effort to make for a more active city. And it was definitely active. Sundays from 7a-2p is called Ciclovia.
The city was definitely crowded with active Colombians – I don’t even want to know what the streets are like when filled with cars!
Ciclovia en Bogota
But Sundays are not just for Cicolvia but also for festivals, markets, both flea markets and farmers markets. But that Sunday was also a gorgeous day – sun shining, not too hot – as I was wearing jeans and a sweater – but still warm enough that I didn’t have to wear a sweater.
I got to see the huge Plaza de Bolivar – filled with pigeons and people. I saw impressive cathedrals, the giant presidential palace, countless parks, statues (Colombians love their heroes and statues), and the national cemetery, and the Red Light district. I even got to participate in the national sport of Colombia – a game called Tejo – which involved throwing giant iron rocks/balls at a mud pit that contained envelopes filled with gun powder. The point – was to hit as many of the envelopes, so it would explode. Yup – that’s the national sport. It also involves a bit of drinking.
In my first day in Colombia, I really learned even more that the history of Colombia is very violent one. I always knew this of course, but being there and seeing it was very eye opening. And sad as well. While it is stable now, you are still able to see it and Colombia still has a lot of healing that needs to be done. The people, however, are so friendly, you would never have guessed that just 10 years ago that they were in the midst of a drug war. It made me much more appreciative of my life and freedoms.
Not once did I feel in danger, especially since I was traveling by myself. I did not see any drugs while there, nor anyone doing drugs. I did see prostitutes in the Red Light District – where it is legal – this was seen on my bike tour. There is a lot of poverty in Bogota – and you see it much more openly.
Overall, I had a blast my first day in Colombia. Bogota is a beautiful city and I was in awe of the architecture. It is such a historic city filed with so much culture and amazing food and people – despite its recent violent past – I was still charmed by the city.
Enjoy the pictures of the city!
New Modern Millie 