All posts by bashack
Garden
Another feature of the hostel is a lovely large court yard garden, complete with hammocks, benches, fountain and friendly resident cat. To get to our upstairs apartment, we had to exit the lower floor and walk through the garden to get to the outside staircase to the second floor.
2nd stop in bogota
Yesterday we changed our lodging. We’re now in an apartment approximately a 20 minute taxi ride ($4) north of our first stop. We went from hostel (but not hostile) to an apartment that lacks nothing. Believe this is the hostess’s home but she is/has been out of the country. She (Liliana) manages the property via Airbnb email, and with good relationships with her housekeeper and the doorman. Per Airbnb, she’s a Superhost, receiving all 5- star reviews from her guests.
Liliana had the doorman deliver a bottle of Brazilian red wine and some cheese. Now that’s how you get a 5-star rating. $32 a night. The same price as the hostel, where we paid a premium for location. Thirty dollars seems to be our sweet spot for lodging, though one could pay as little as $25 and up to $45 and beyond.
A list of items in this one bedroom apartment include: coffee pot and all typical kitchen appliances, coffee and basic kitchen supplies, beverages- soft & hard, snacks, washer w/ detergent, fully supplied desk, towels and all toiletries, tv, guide books & maps, you get the picture. A search for commercial lodgings in the area reveals a local hotel for $41 and a Hilton 12 blocks away for $180.
Outside our 3rd floor window ( yeah! Minimum street noice!) and across the street are 6 mini soccer fields – fun to watch. Thinking of you Ben B!
On Bogota streets
Colombians appear to be a very social group, many walking arm in arm, always chatting away. The streets in the La Candelaria neighborhood seemed like one big rolling social hour. These images are from early Friday evening, so maybe everyone was just getting in the weekend and holiday spirit.
That’s different
Every sink we’ve used, in the hostel or in a modern building’s restroom, has the normal two knobs, one of which works and delivers cold water. The shower also has two knobs, again only one works. But….that cold water passes through a water heater in the shower head, and provides endless hot water.
Traffic cop
Hours before the evening Christmas performance (to be detailed later), side streets leading to the Plaza were particularly packed. Cars take the center of the single lane and buzzing streams of motorcycles weave between the cars and curbs, taking every opening given. Horns are used liberally when one doesn’t move quick enough or just to express annoyance at the situation. It’s not unlike New York, except these street were built 200-300 years ago.
Such a traffic hot mess makes for an entrepreneurial opportunity for some brave fellas. At this intersection, a block from us, traffic from the right has the right of way. Moving so slowly that there are no openings, the traffic from their right can’t advance. Thus enter the self-appointed local traffic cops. He ( in the middle of the intersection above photo) stops traffic and waves a couple of the stuck cars through.
Mr. Traffic Cop then dashes down the street (above) to the cars he’s waved through (they haven’t gone far, traffic is still creeping) and hopes to collect a tip. He then scrambles back to the intersection to again risk his life in the dark for tips.
Our place
In previous travels we’ve booked lodging via Airbnb. Apartments are our first choice as they give you a little room to spread out, but Airbnb also offers private rooms and shared rooms (!). This stop is a little different in that the apartment we have is in a hostel. The goodness is that breakfast is included and it’s easy to connect with fellow travelers and get the benefit of their experiences. The building is “old” and the rooms are oriented around central courtyards which are common areas.
Our street in narrow, so traffic and pedestrian noice carries well up to our street-facing rooms. This is something we were warned about so we came prepared with ear plugs. While litter is a big issue in some of Europe (Madrid!), the streets here are amazingly litter-free.
There are bike tours of the city and I’d suspect one of those tours is in the above photo. Bogota touts a network of 376 km of city bike lanes and on Sundays, 121km of streets are closed to vehicles from 7 a. m. till 2. This is all find and dandy but even being comfortable riding in traffic, I don’t think I’d join in.
The door to the right of me is the hostel front door, and our rooms are the 2 doors/Windows directly above it, plus one more to the right.
Street scenes
Here are a few choice images from our 1st days here.
Where ARE we?
In La Candelaria “neighborhood ” of Bogota.
Yes, you can walk the area in 3 hours but visiting each site can take a couple of days. We’re doing our best.
We’re staying in the circle with a dot in it – chosen for its proximity to the area. As noted, their federal govt. buildings are here as well as the president’s palace. Lots of security in the area. Make note of the white square- Plaza de Bolivar. Photos to follow.
1st stop – Bogota Colombia
Welcome to a ride-along to Colombia South America. Read the updated “About us” if you haven’t already. Why Colombia? It came down to ease of getting here, the cost to visit, and the climate. Yes, it has a nasty reputation for drug trafficking and violent rebels, but that is mostly in their past. The State Department suggests some caution when visiting, but that truly only applies to some of the fringe areas of the country where the law hasn’t made inroads, and leftover violence and trafficking still occurs on a much smaller scale. Those places aren’t on our to-visit list. We’ve been in the big city 2 days now, wandering amongst some big crowds, and dark streets and haven’t felt any apprehension. But we are taking safety precautions one would take in any large city.
We’re using our usual planning method – figure it out as you go. We’ll fly in and out of Bogota, and we’ve booked our first 10 days lodging (Airbnb) – 5 days each in two different Bogota locations. Bogota is a big city. With a pop. over 8 million, it lies just above the equator at an altitude of 8660′. (That explains my headaches! Laura) Two different lodging locations will let us do more exploring. We don’t plan to rent a car, and especially not in the city. More on city drivers later!