First Stop – Bogota, Columbia

We are on the road again, the international version, that is. After almost 3 years of mostly domestic travel by car, we put our adventurous caps back on and are traveling in Colombia, South America. Why go to Colombia? Our son Mark spent Jan. and Feb. 2020 in Medellin, Colombia and loved it. He rented a room from Dave, a lifelong friend of our good friends Dan and Kathy. During recent visits with Dan and Kathy, we all decided that WE should visit Dave too. He is from Milwaukee but spends half the year in Medellin. The 2 of us will spend a week exploring Colombia before connecting with Dan and Kathy in Cartagena and Santa Marta before staying with Dave for six days.

Our first stop was Bogota, Colombia’s capital and largest city with over 7 million inhabitants. The three-hour flight from Miami was prompt and uneventful, but airplane seats have gotten impossibly tight these days. Is it just us, or is air travel no longer civilized? Every seat was filled and the folks in front of us just had to recline. Grrr. Arrival in Bogota was amazingly quick and easy. All good so far. We exited and lined up for a taxi, which quickly approached. After shuffling our bags into the cab, the line monitor begged for a tip and complained when it wasn’t enough. OK, we rolled with that. The cab driver was as friendly as anyone could be considering we spoke no Spanish and he spoke no English. After a 25-minute ride to our Airbnb, the driver flashed a note with a fare of 380,000 pesos ($86)!! Our Airbnb host, Jaime, said to expect 30,000 pesos or about $6.50. We were confused, appalled, angry, etc. After some very tense moments, we made it clear that we would not pay his price. Steve took the guy’s picture and the price dropped to 120,000.  Steve said no more than 100,000.  We got out of the cab and he took a picture of the license plate. The guy was alarmed and signaled 50,000 pesos.  That was fine because we only had 50,000 peso bills.  Note to self, get price upfront and get smaller bills.  Whew. Welcome to Colombia. Don’t ride with this guy.

Our Airbnb was a very modern studio apartment with an amazing deck and panoramic views of the city, both day and night.

It was in the La Candelaria (old city) neighborhood, just barely. The immediate surroundings looked sketchy with barred windows and razor wire along the roof lines. Actually, this was common everywhere. The presence of armed police posted on the next block with submachine guns gave us pause and at the same time, gave us comfort. There were armed police and security guards absolutely everywhere.

We walked to the primary tourist areas without worry, but did not venture out after dark. We ate our first night’s dinner at Culto Pacific, located on the ground floor of our complex. The food was flavorful and beautifully presented by a very accommodating waiter. This amazing dinner and 3 glasses of wine – under $40. We are going to like it here.

Our few encounters with locals so far made it clear that little to no English was spoken. Google translate was going to be our friend for the next few days. Our Airbnb host recommended using rideshare company Cabify to avoid any issues with fares. Good idea. After a few false starts with the app, we secured a ride to the base of Monserrate, a prominent religious site built at the top of one of the mountains bordering the city. People will hike up 2,000+ feet to the summit as a pilgrimage of sorts. Not us. We took the funicular and still had to climb quite a ways to reach the cathedral. The original church was built by the Spanish during colonial times and destroyed by an earthquake in 1917. It was rebuilt in the 1920s, with the funicular added in the 1950s and the cable cars added in the 1960s. We found the history and the adjacent grounds to be interesting and the view of Bogota to be magnificent.

Well worth the $2 Cabify ride and the $10 funicular. Still loving the prices here.

Our next stop was Parque Santader, a bustling public square filled with vendors of all sorts. We violated one of our own rules and got lunch from one of the food carts. We were super hungry and it seemed safe enough. We muddled through the ordering process by pointing at the signs. The owner was pleasant and moved a couple of metal chairs and a little table for us to sit on while he cooked our meal. Steve had a hot dog that had a strange assortment of sauces added to it. Cindy had a hamburguesa, which tasted more like a hot dog formed into the shape of a hamburger. They were tasty enough, although it is still unclear what exactly we might have eaten. After all that, Cindy was fine. Steve, not so much. We are guessing it was one of the sauces. There is a reason we have rules…

Bogota is located in a mountainous region and has a base elevation of 8,600 feet. We live at about 750 feet. The altitude did cause some breathing issues. Nothing serious, but we occasionally had to adjust our pace, particularly when walking uphill. Luckily, the main tourist squares were flat. We toured the Gold Museum, which highlighted the importance that gold played in Colombia’s history and one of the reasons the Spaniards conquered the region in the 1500s. On Day 3, we took a 3-hour walking tour that we booked through freetours.com and learned a lot about the area’s history and culture. Paula, our guide, was a delightful young lady, very knowledgeable and really cute.

Considering the complexity of the subject matter, her English was quite good. We had to pull up Google translate a few times though. She directed us to numerous free museums and a yummy (and safe) spot for lunch.

One of the many things we missed by not being able travel abroad for the past few years was the opportunity to engage with people from elsewhere in the world. While English was uncommon, it sure jumped out whenever we heard it. Cindy made a new friend from Russia while sitting on a street bench near Plaza de Bolivar while waiting for our walking tour.  We continue to hand out our Roaming Retired business cards when we engage people on our travels.

He had a few interesting comments about what was going on back home.

After our brief stay, it was time to leave Bogota. While worth visiting as part of a larger itinerary, it’s probably not a recommended destination in and of itself. On the way to the airport, we saw some very unique street performers. While the picture doesn’t do it justice, imagine a couple doing a complex juggling act in the crosswalk between the changes of the traffic signals on a really busy highway.  Apparently, stop light street performing is a thing in Bogota. They were really good, although given the limited time to collect from the waiting cars, it’s hard to believe they could make much of a living.

Next stop – Cartagena.