Day One-Bogotá

el viernes 11 de mayo, 2018

My personal agente de viaje (travel agent - that would be Ned) made some excellent decisions to ensure that our trip is off to a GREAT start! 

We departed Santa Barbara at 10AM on Thursday, May 10. It was close to midnight local time (+2 hour time change) when we finally cleared immigration and customs at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. All flights were on time, connections were all comfortable (No OJ Simpson sprints through the airport!) + luggage made it too! The Hilton Garden Inn shuttle picked us up at El Dorado, and the driver literally dropped us off AT the door (there was light rain, but we are in Bogotá during the rainy month of May after all). 

Hilton Garden Inn is conveniently located near the airport in Bogatá. It is new and beautifully appointed. We slept deeply and late. Spent a leisurely morning, showering before going downstairs for desayuno (breakfast). I had the Tortilla Española a la Moda. It was both yummy and artistically presented: three small mounds of tortilla española topped with edible flowers. My only regret is that my phone/camera was upstairs recharging, so no photos. 

Not much English is spoken here, which is a bit of a surprise. However, we are in a Spanish speaking country, and tourism is relatively new. (Ned and I do remember when, as US citizens, Colombia was off-limits to us.) 

After breakfast and regroup, Luís drove us to Hotel de la Opera in the Candelaria district of Bogotá. 

Candelaria is the historic old town (circa 1600’s) with parks, churches, museums and eateries all within walking distance. 

Hotel de la Ópera

Weather holding, so we walked to Plaza de Bolivar which is a pigeon-filled square.

From there we popped into the Museo de Oro. When asked our ages, I explained that we are both viejitos (little old ones) and jubilados (pensioners or retired). We got in for FREE! 

It’s a fabulous museum, worth the hype.  

Weather still holding, but rain threatening, so we hoofed it back to hotel - just in time! 

Calle 10

For dinner we opted for tradition, by sampling ajiaco, Bogotá’s signature dish at La Puerta Falsa, an unpretentious hole in the wall restaurant that has been in business since 1816. Ajiaco is a hearty bowl of soup made with shredded chicken and three kinds of potatoes served with a generous wedge of avocado, a hunk of choclo (starchy corn on the cob), capers and a dollop of cream. It’s garnished with guascas, a Colombian herb - quite filling and quite good. We probably didn't need the tamal, but WOW! Wrapped in banana leaves, it's very different from the Mexican tamales we know.  

 

  

Initial Observations: 

• Bogatá does not look like other cities in Latin America that we have visited. I finally figured it out: Most buildings are constructed of brick instead of the ubiquitous cement. Also, most buildings are actually finished. 
• No evidence of diesel exhaust - air quality is actually lovely (could be b/c of rain, but Bogotá does have a rather sophisticated "transmilenio" bus system).
• Many walls and buildings are adorned with amazing street art that rivals what we saw in Melbourne, Australia. Note: There's a 2.5 hour walking Graffiti Art tour....
• The people are so nice! They get so excited to share their country with us that they talk super fast! Fortunately, the dialect is quite “clean” so is easy-ish to comprehend and is quite enthusiastic. 
• Most unusual street food: Hormigas Culonas (translation: Big Ass Ants)

Note: We have yet to run in to very many people who speak much English. Therefore, I probably will have to negotiate the next leg of our trip, as what we want to do will have to be communicated en español… Stay tuned!