Firstly, when we landed and were in a taxi on the way to our hotel, both DJ and I noticed - pretty much simultaneously - the air. It felt/smelled/looked super clean. Of course it was also very green and one of THE most "forested" big cities I've been in. The weather was near perfect with temps in the mid 60s the 2 days we were there.
That happiness was tempered somewhat by the exchange rate: it was just over 3,800 pesos to the dollar, making "in my head conversion" a challenge and gave DJ a lot of opportunities to say stuff like, "Oh my god, a pizza here costs 30,000 dollars!" lol
Traffic was a bear - esp. once you started getting in to the historic center (we were staying a little north where traffic wasn't quite so bad, but still heavy).
Tons of museums! We went to the Gold Museum (lots and lots of gold, most over 600 years old), and also the Botero Museum. This dude is a trip and one of my new favorite artists, If you missed my pics on facebook, find them. There's "Rubenesque" - and then there's "Boteroesque" which leaves Ruben in the dust. Click HERE to learn more about this dude. He inistsed his museum be free - more reason to like him - and while it's mostly his work, they also had a small collection of masters like Picasso, Renoir, Monet, etc.
Food everywhere! Whila Oaxaca is known as a "gastronomical paradise," I would say Bogota had even more restaurants per square block. It was insane. Unfortunately, ATMs were few and far between - or hidden - so we had to stick with places that take cards. But we ate at a couple of their local chains: Frisby's for amazing fried chicken, and Crepes & Waffles for awesome crepes ( had a yummy chicken, chipotle and cheese while little Mr. Picky Pants stuck with a butter & sugar crepe).
Then there was Calle 53 - AKA Christmas shopping paradise. We roamed about 8 blocks up and down this street and saw - literally - DOZENS of shops crammed FULL of Christmas stuff. Considering what a big Christmas Whore I am, it was EXTREMELY difficult passing all these places by. I didn't even want to be tempted by going in as we couldn't fit anything in our luggage even if he wanted. but I still enjoyed pawing on and oohing and aahing over what we could see in the winodws, sutff out on the sidewaks, etc. Sigh.
The weirdest thing to me was the water issue. Apparently, Bogota has been experiencing a near water crisis - again blowing my mind re: my perception of Colombia as wet and humid all the time. Apparently, climate change has impacted there, as well, as they had a significant drought. Just a reminder to keep water security in mind as I scout retirement options.
I had pretty much discounted Colombia as a retirement option, even though Medellin comes up a LOT on lists, because I assumed it'd be too hot and humid in the summer - my only other time in Colmbia was in Cartagena where it was, indeed, quite hot and humid. But after checking out Medellin's climate I may reconsider. Yes, there's a fair amount of rain, but based on this quick visit, I feel Colombia is worth another look.
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