Bogota

I had a bit of an adventure in the Bogota airport upon arrival. There were signs pointing to the baggage claim area, but those hallways were roped off, so the only signs I could follow were for “connecting flights”. I kept walking in the only direction I could, ignoring the signs, eventually I found myself in a room with an escalator going up. Other people were going up, so I followed. At the top of the escalator, I realized I’d gone the wrong way. The escalator took me to a security check for… connecting flights! I tried to turn around and go back down the stairs, but I wasn’t allowed to. I was told to proceed through security and then return to the door where I would be allowed to go back downstairs. So, I went through security. I had to take out my laptop, I lost my bottle of water. Having cleared the security check, I headed for the door so I could go back downstairs. I got stopped going through the door by a security guard. She told me I’d have to go through security before going back downstairs. I told her I already did, but she didn’t seem to care. She told me to go through again. So, I went through security a second time – same lane, same guards, same routine. But the second time I went to the door, the guard let me go back downstairs. I guess she needed to see me clear security with her own eyes? It took me a while, but I eventually found the Immigration desks and managed to find my luggage.
​
It’s the rainy season in Bogota and it rained a lot. It was kind of cold too. I spend the cold, rainy days indoors and tried to spend as much time outside as possible when the weather was nicer.

I decided to check out the Botero museum, partly because it’s free. It’s full of Botero’s art (sculptures and paintings) and it is interesting; all of it features people and items that are inflated like balloons, which makes me wonder if it’s a joke or a metaphor or if it’s how Botero actually sees the world. Mostly, art museums make me think that I don’t really like art. The Monet was kind of nice though.
​I also went to the Gold Museum. It was spectacular. There was a lot of gold on display. Some of the rooms are actually inside vaults and I think I was probably a little too interested in the vault doors. I probably looked suspicious. I wasn’t allowed to take photos in one of the vaults. I definitely recommend a visit to the gold museum if you find yourself in Bogota. I was a little cranky though, because they didn’t let me visit the coffee shop before my museum visit and I hadn’t had any coffee. I still don’t understand why – I think it was another stupid covid protocol.
When the weather improved, I went for a lot walk and ended up at Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar – a large park with a lake. It was a Sunday, and the park was packed with families and dogs. People were selling home made ice cream out of insulated bags. People rented paddleboats and kayaks or took a larger boat for a cruise around the lake.
​
I also went to the Botanical gardens. The buildings have unique biomes with various plants and trees and flowers. Not bad, but not amazing.

​​On Sundays, the streets turned into a flea market where people brought all kinds of unwanted stuff, spread it out on a blanket and hoped to make a sale. There were a lot of vintage toys and antiques. Clothing and shoes. I didn’t buy anything. There were also vendors selling trinkets. I did find the items made from Venezuelan bills to be neat. The city also had some not-so-nice areas, lots of homeless people, lots of drug use. But I never felt that I was in danger. I didn’t wander after dark. There were usually other people around.

The weather was a little unpredictable at times. One late afternoon, the wind picked up, carrying garbage through the air, knocking things off buildings and patios. I was rushing back to my hostel but decided to duck into a convenience store for a minute to get some dirt out of my eyes. As I walked into the shop, I heard a crash behind me. I turned to see the sidewalk covered with broken glass. Two window panes had broken on the 4th floor above the store entrance and fallen to the ground, missing me by a few seconds. I walked the rest of the way to my hostel in the middle of the suddenly deserted road, keeping clear of the buildings.
​
At the top of one of the mountains surrounding the city is a church where one can get a great view of the city. I had read that the climb to the top of Monserrate was dangerous – that there were lots of thieves - and that I should only go when there are lots of people and police. I think the danger might have been overblown, or perhaps it was just very busy on the day I went because of the nice weather. At any rate, the climb to the top was very safe. There were hundreds of people, lots of police. It took me about an hour to make the 500 meter climb. I kind of wanted to take the funicular because it goes through a tunnel, but I didn’t want to wait in a line and the climb was free. There are lots of shops and restaurants at the top of the mountain. I spent a few hours up there and had a snack before heading back down. 


​In the area around my hostel there were a lot of different restaurants, so I ate quite well in Bogota. And there are lots of good coffee shops.


Public transit in Bogota was easy and efficient. I used it a few times and ended up taking the bus to the airport when it was time to leave. I ended up walking the last kilometer to the airport because Google told me to. Turns out the bus I was on would have taken me right to the front door, but I guess it’s good to get some exercise before a flight.
​
And now I’m back in Calgary! My South American adventure is over – but I am hoping to start a new adventure soon. I may post about hikes and other things in the Calgary area in the meantime.