An Average Sunday in Bogota - La Ciclovia!

Every Sunday the main boulevard through the historic part of Bogota is closed off to cars and buses and until 2 or 3 in the afternoon the city runs a Ciclovia - or bike ride.   Yesterday we found Bike Bogota and talked to the owner, Mike, about renting bikes and going on a tour of the city.  We decided the better day for the tour was during the Ciclovia so here we are Sunday in Bogota.

We wanted to get some extra miles in so we meet with a different guide in the morning who took us for a short tour in the La Candelaria area.  We first stopped at a local "place" to get some home brewed chi - a brewed beverage made from corn that is said to be like a red bull. It was a strange yellow concoction served in re-used plastic bottles but we tried it anyway.  The flavor matched the color - strange and we decided it didn't really go so well with our bananas for breakfast.  We went by the Quinta de Bolivar, a house and museum where Simon Bolivar lived  - but we were too early and the gates were still closed.  Within an hour we met up with the rest of our group and made our way down to the main road and the Ciclovia.

What a fantastic idea!  Everyone is out in the streets, riding bicycles, tricycles, rollerblades, skateboards, and walking.  Its like they saved up all their energy from the week and now they are out in droves.  Its quite an amazing sight and we instantly are wondering how we could initiate a similar type of ride in Los Angeles.  Could you imagine -- closing off a major thoroughfare for the better part of a day, every week. We would have a riot on our hands!  Of course everyone would be all for it, so long as the street closed did not effect them personally. 

We quickly see that it is not just the streets that are full of people, the parks and green space are also packed.  We stop at the park to see the huge aerobics-dance class which is spilling into the street.  People of all ages, sizes and shapes are shaking their bootie.

Every bit of space is being utilized, kids playing ball, families snacking from the food carts, and of course the young couples hand in hand, smooching on the park benches.  Check out this rollerhockey rink - looks like ice, but really is concrete.

We continue to the Plaza de Toros, or bull ring.  Its an amazing stadium whose entry is adorned with bronze statutes of famous matadores in their tight paints, arms outstretched, red capes in hand. I can't quite get my head around the shear brutality of the event, taunt an animal while waving a cape at it, stab it in the neck so it starts bleeding and getting week, all so a young man can show his grace and bravery by waiving a little red cape and thrusting a sword into the bull resulting in his death - with the winner taking home an ear.  Did you know that bulls are colorblind and the red cape could be purple, pink or yellow and it would make no difference?  Anyway, controversy aside, the stadium is impressive.  Interestingly there are two massive towers of condos built behind the stadium with bird's eye view of the events.  The better your view, the more expenisve the condo.  Guess you could hold bull fight bbq's on your deck, charge all your friends a small admission fee...

Next stop, the university. The college students of Bogota are very politically active as is evident by all the grafitti type slogans on the buildings.  A large rendition of Che Guevara, the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, a major player in the Cuban Revolution and now a counter-culture symbol of revolution is prominently displaced in the main square inside university grounds where many demonstrations are held. 

After visiting a few more sights and sampling some of the local fruits we start our way back.  As we re-join the ciclovia we make a final stop at the flea market.  Amazingly, its just like any other flea market in any part of the world, one man's junk is another man's treasure.  One  unique stall was the coca stall - there are many things you can make out of the coca plant besides cocaine.  Soap, te, and cookies which we tried - no stimulant effect but a little like cardboard.

Bogota - The Constant Dilemma: Where to Eat?

We have encountered a growing dilemma in Bogota which plagues us each night after the sun goes down:  Where to eat?  We are pretty comfortable out after dark so long as we stay within our neighborhood of La Candelaria.  Chicken is always the standard fallback and we did find one decent rotisserie.  One night we stumbled upon this great little middle eastern place with fantastic hummus and falafel.  Of course when we went to go back there a few days later, it was the night they were closed.  Quite random.  So where else?  One night we couldn't find food even if we paid double for it.  Everything was closed.  After our tempers had risen due to starvation (ok a bit dramatic) we found a little local place that was serving chinese food. The young waiters were deep in conversation, with each other and their friends who came in and out, and customers were not really on their radar.  Lucky for us, there were only 2 dishes to pick from - fried rice or fried noodles - so it was a quick order. 
In our search for food and beverage we did happen upon a unique spot -- I only wish I had had my camera so I could have documented it.  It was essentially a no name place that only opened at night.  You walked into a small bar like area - with a full bar, then through another door and you were in another room, no chairs, just green outdoor carpet on the floor, small little tables, and a chiminea in the corner.  If you walked a few more steps there was another similar room, although this one had a passionate latin american couple making out in one corner.  At the suggestion of the waiter we took a space on the floor near the chiminea diagonally from the "hot" couple.  Toasty warm by the fire, we tried a few of their speciality drinks and tried our best not to watch the romance in the corner.  After a short time some others joined our room and the area became a lot more lively.  Forgetting dinner, we ordered some dessert and sipped our drinks - happy at last.  What a great way to keep your overhead low - no furniture!

Big Bad Bogota

Colombia has quite a reputation, especially in the US where we are spoon fed fear of the world outside our borders.  Riddled with drug runners high on cocaine and brandishing machine guns to protect their crops and don't forget all those rebels at every street corner, in every town waiting to kidnap every tourist. Ok,  yes there is cocaine and the country's economy may in fact be dependent on it. (Colombia currently controls 80% of the worlds' cocaine market - but who do you think consumes most of this ....) And yes the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) still exists - BUT, and its a very big BUT - these situations are not rampant in every part of the country.  So far we have had no concerns about either the drug lords or rebels.  In fact, just as other travelers had talked about, we found the people of Colombia to be very friendly and truly hopeful that we were enjoying our visit to their country.  Of course, you need to stay on your toes, be aware of your surroundings, and have a bit of suspicion of even the police (who in some areas have allegedly planted cocaine on tourists to get a bribe).  But this sounds fairly routine for most third world countries.  And don't get me wrong, its not like we are about to go strolling around in the jungles, or even in some of the more remote national parks which now may be the "farm" for cocaine growing since in the late 1990s, funded by the US, the Colombian government started spraying poison on known fields of coca (a practice that is sure to have other environmental and social ramifications, like the adverse effects on the health of the inhabitants - but what to do ... a topic for another day.) National parks are exempt and thus many "farmers" moved their crops within the park boundaries.

We have been pleasantly surprised with our travels in Colombia, the people are warm and friendly and the areas we have visited have been fantastic.  Now, however we are arriving in the Big Bad Bogota.  The reports are varied for this capital city.  Some people still seem to find it crime ridden and very unsafe.  After the long bus ride we catch a taxi from the bus terminal.  A taxidriver approached us in the terminal and was directing us to his car when I noticed a line of official taxis outside the door.  When I asked him why his car was not in the line, he was non-responsive.  After asking another security guard where to get the taxi, who pointed to the booth to buy a ticket, we ditched this soliciting driver and headed for the line of official cars.  Who knows what the other driver was up to, maybe just trying to get a little extra fare, maybe something more sinister, but better safe than sorry - we'll wait in line.  The taxi booth was actually the most organized we have seen  They put in your destination and tell you what the far will be. You give it to the cab, and your on your way.  As we drive through the city it looks like most major latin american cities.  Although it is a sprawling and big city, we head for the old downtown area.  After a bit of circular driving and backing down a one-way street we arrive at Hostel Fatima.  Notwithstanding the official invoice from the terminal, our cab driver asks for more money - pointing to the meter.  As the meter is a bit higher we succumb knowing fully that the fare should have only been what was on the invoice.  But it just wasn't worth the discussion.

We check in to what is the smallest, and shortest, room we have had to date.  I can't  even stand up straight!  Unfortunately this is the last room so we need to get use to sitting on the floor or bed, but no standing up.  I feel like I am Alice in Wonderland and have fallen down the rabbit hole!

La Candelaria is a 470 year old historic city center full of the standard fare of amazing churches, cafes, hostels, historic sites and a museum of two. For added spice you have the amazing graffitti walls that adorn parts of the city and a bordering mountain range.  Bogota is at 2600 meters (sorry but I have started adjusting to this metric thing as it seems to be everywhere but  the US - roughly that's 3.25 times 2600) In other words, we are higher up and my puffy has finally been able to come out of the bottom of my backpack  When we made our pit stop in Los Angeles back in April I bought a Patagonia down sweater.  Even though it was on sale it was a splurge, which I justified by letting John cut my hair rather than getting it done professionally.  I love my down sweater!

 We roam the streets of our area in search of a good coffee.  We end up in Parque Santander at a huge Cafe - which only serves beer and coffee - no snacks.  Ok, we grab a coffee and people watch for a while.  The parque is jammed with people mulling about.  Interestingly, there is a wide mix of business people, college students, a few tourists and the random police officer.  Later we find out that this park is also the Emerald Market.  We saw what seemed like some shady transactions occurring, someone pulling something out of his pocket in a piece of paper, the other examining it closely, money changes hands... we of course had no idea that this was the place to go for a good deal on Emeralds -- that is if you knew what you were looking  for; otherwise it was also a good place to get scammed.

Villa de Leyva

Villa de Leyva was highly recommended by other travelers as well as a friend from home. We took a bus from San Gil toTunja where we caught a very crowded collectivo (mini-van filled to the gils) for the 45 minute drive out of town and to Villa de Leyva. We arrive at the bus station and decide to catch a cab to our hostal -Colombian Highlands -as it is on the outskirts of town and we don't really know how far that is. Turns out in the cab it seems much further as they kinda go around the outskirts of town.  We later find out it is an easy 10 or 15 minute walk.We arrive to find a great homey hostal nestled against the hillside with great outdoor courtyards, an outdoor eating area with a pizza oven and a community room, tambien. Our room is cute and cozy. Unfortunately there is a problem with our reservation and we will need to change rooms tomorrow for the bunks - bummer.

The staff here is very helpful and one of the woman's daughter - Carolina - has decided to give us her personal attention - at times we cannot get her to leave our room!

We had read that the hostal offered several tours, included a real full day canyoneering trip for experienced canyoneerers. As it turns out the guide is back home in France getting new equipment! Just our luck. Disappointed we ditch the tour idea altogether and opt for a short hike which starts from the property. After breakfast, someone from the hostal walks us to the path and tells us how to find the trail up to the vista. The trail is well-marked, until we get to the top.  The directions say to cross the grassy field and pick the trail up again on the other side. 

Well we do find another trail but then we can't find the trail heading back up over the backside of  the hill to the final vista.  At the insistence of a local farmer who is clearing brush we just head up the hill - ahh, there is the watertank landmark.  And the Mirador (lookout).  You can see the entire city and the surrounding hills. Spectacular.

The colonial town itself is a picture perfect postcard style town - whitewashed buildings, colorful bougainvillea, cobblestone streets (sometimes more like boulders!) If we had not already experienced the lovely town of Barichara we would be in awe. Villa de Leyva was declared a national monument in 1954 and it has been preserved - in its entirety! 

There is no modern architecture - even the vehicles are restored.

Villa de Leyva is a bigger, more commercialized version of Barichara.  Colombian vacationers flock here every weekend. Upscale hotels and tourist shops line the major streets.

The Plaza Mayor is a one of a kind plaza - there are no trees, or fountains, or park benches - rather it is a huge cobblestone square anchored by the impressive Cathedral.  At night the cobblestones glimmer from the sporadic rain.  During the day, I marvel at the women in high heels navigating the uneven terrain as they cross the plaza. 

It really is picture perfect, all the time.  As you walk up and down the streets its hard to get over how "perfect" the town feels.  A bit Stepford Wife'ish if you ask me.

We spent three days here, relaxing at the Colombian Highlands hostal - which we highly recommend!  On our last day we decided to do a little sightseeing and head out of town to visit the El Fosil museum.  On the way we saw this bike store and thought  - well maybe bikes would be more fun.  Ciclo Shimano - with a name like that they should have some decent bikes.  Well ok, not really.  We stick with the original plan and walk ...6 km one way.

El Fosil is a almost complete kronosaurus - an 120 million year old prehistoric marine reptile which looks like a huge overgrown croc. The walk was predominantly on the road, but that was ok as there was very little traffic.  We found a bit of a short cut back, but figured it was 10 or 11 km overall - which seemed a lot longer than it would have if it had been on a forested trail. 

Final Days In San Gil - Weeping Willows and Hostal Closures

We had become quite comfortable in San Gil - enjoying our coffee and arepas for breakfast with the locals at the corner cafe, hanging out under the huge ceiba trees in the central parque just outside our hotel doors, walking up the neighborhood stairways for a little exercise and a view of the city, and we had even become accustomed to the boisterous sounds of constant traffic outside our windows which had started to fade into normalcy.  But, the time had come to move on - so on our final day we decided we should visit the only real attraction listed in our trusted guide book - the Parque El Gallineral.  Its a riverside park, with various walking trails and a big swimming pool ...which did not really look that inviting...

But the trees are the main draw - they are covered with barbas de viejo - long silvery fronds of tillandsia that create a surreal effect of glimmering shadows of light.  I went a little crazy with the camera action ...knowing that in the days to come the majority of the pictures would start to look alike.

Next stop - a bus to Tunja, and onward to Villa de Leyva.  As we packed up and were headed out of our hotel we noticed a woman walking around, room to room, taping  a notice on every door -- which looked like a closure notice.  Interesting.  We asked at the reception downstairs and he said it was the government demanding more taxes.  He didn't seem to bothered, like maybe it was a normal occurrence.  They shut you down until you pay what they ask for...we wondered if we would have been "evicted" if we had not been leaving or if they would just "close" each room as the guests left.  Well we hope they sort it out as we liked this hotel and would hate to think we were the last travelors who were able to stay there.

Soaring with the Birds Over San Gil - Parapenting

Eenie, meanie, minie, mo. Which adventure sport shall we do?  Seeing how San Gil was the self proclaimed adventure capital of Columbia we felt obligated to sample some of the offerings. I have never been a fan of river rafting, and abseiling didn't seem too unique for us as it was essentially rappelling (something we do often on our own at home) but soaring over the countryside attached by a few strings to big sail - now that would be a new adventure. Parapenting is what they call it here. I think we call it paragliding and we signed up for a short tandem ride over the tobacco and coffee fields near the town of Curiti with views of canon de Chicamocha out across the valley. We were 4 strong, plus our 2 pilots and another assistant. Without much conversation we all jumped into the shuttle van and headed for the hills.

A short walk to the top of the hill and they started pulling out the sails (if that is what you call them.). Amazingly, although the hill wasn't really that high, the wind was blowing. Until now there had been no discussion of what to expect. The pilots just went about setting up and getting ready to fly. John or I had never parapented before so the lack of info was a bit concerning. I was thankful they took the other 2 guys first.

But before I knew it they were calling both John and I over to be strapped in. You stepped into a harness that they connected to the pilot and you sat back, lifted your feet up (I felt like a baby in one of those bouncing chairs that hang from the doorway) and the wind caught the sail and you were off. It happened that fast, no positioning, no running off the cliff, just sit back and the wind did the rest. Instantly you were soaring with the birds, rising, falling, and turning with the updrafts. The area had a lot of wind activity so we didn't need to go far - in fact you land exactly where you take off from. My pilot had 10 years of experience, spoke decent English, and had a new baby at home - something I was pleased to hear as I thought that might mean that he wouldn't take any unnecessary risks.  He wants to see his child grow up - right?

But it was far from a tame ride. In fact we started by turning right, then left, big smooth arcing turns which grew in intensity as they narrowed in diameter. Then we would suddenly drop - and then float back up. We talked a bit about Colombia, his family, my trip but mainly I just sat back admiring the view and enjoying the ride.

Then he started a small corkscrew maneuver.  Since I didn't complain he stepped on the gas and we did a major corkscrew at amazing speed dropping serious altitude. My stomach was in my throat - as I am prone to motion sickness I had to close my eyes for a minute as the trees were quickly approaching and blurring into a green mush. And just as quickly we floated back up. Amazing!

John had seen the whole thing from his vantage point across the sky. As we were both in the air at the same time he tried to video my ride while I tried to get some photos of him.

The ride was about 25 minutes which at first had seemed like it would be too short but it was just right. I landed with ease right where we started. John's pilot was a little less experienced and didn't do as many maneuvers. He also had a little hiccup in the landing - I think he might have "lost" the wind. But it was only a minor issue and they landed a little down the hill from the mark.

Without much further discussion, the pilots packed up and we walked down past the drying tobacco to the van. After a celebratory drink it was back to town.

What a great experience - soaring like a bird! Now when I see hawks catching the updrafts and soaring in the wind it will remind me of San Gil, Colombia and my first parapenting flight!

Barichara via Old Spanish Trail

We want to check out some of the sites but we are also looking for a little exercise so we hop on a local shuttle bus to Guane, a small town about an hour and a half away connected by old trails to the small Spanish colonial town of Barichara which we heard was just amazing. We are dropped off at the town square. Guane is a quaint little town with very few tourists.

After strolling down the dirt and cobblestone roads in this small town and admiring the old stone church we decide to get a quick bite to eat in a local restaurant. Cabrito (goat) is the specialty here, but we are not feeling that adventurous and ask if they have any sopa.  She is perplexed by our request for a small meal of just soup but quickly returned with huge portions of some sort of chicken soup - or was it?  Before we leave we ask for directions to the trail head. As we head up the road we question how wise this was to start the hike from the normal end point. We met someone yesterday who had done the hike and said it was all downhill and suggested we try it backwards from Guane if we wanted more exercise. Gluttons for punishment - here we are but the trail may be harder to locate from this end.

Eventually, after asking a few more locals, and getting the nod from this local goat - we found the old Spanish trail that connects the two towns.

It is essentially an old rocky road originally constructed in 1864.  I am always perplexed by these uneven, boulder based roads - what type of car were they really made for?

What car can survive driving this type of terrain on a regular basis? Maybe that is why it is now referred to as the camino de piedra por caminar or stone road for walking.

After a couple of hours, and a bit of second guessing as to whether we are lost (the trail however was very obvious) we round a bend and boom - we are on a fairly new looking road on the outskirts of Barichara. As we head into the town the Lonely Planet guidebook describes as - a town that Hollywood filmmakers dream about - we are in awe. Every single building is picture perfect. Whitewashed as if a new coat was applied yesterday. Colorful trim and rusty red roofs compliment the stone paved roads. Even the cars look manicured.

John can't get over it - how is this possible? Who pays for this? Is it a cult? The town was renovated over 25 years ago but appears to have been done last year. I hope our house which we renovated a mere 13 years ago can hold up the same.

Barichara has a few hostals and in retrospect I wish we had chosen to stay over night in this ideal town.

But after watching the sun set from a park bench in the Central Parque and taking in the beauty of the Cathedral illuminated with green lights and what little reflection of the sun that remains, we pile into the last shuttle bus back to San Gil along with all the locals.
Luckily we bought a ticket an hcur or so earlier as the bus was standing room only and the road was a curvy mountain road. John practically had some women and children sitting in his lap - they certainly know how to FILL a bus around here. It seems there is no such thing as a  full bus - as there is always room for one more, or two, with or without chickens, bags or boxes.