Larry & I arrived in Bogota, Colombia on Saturday night on a recruitment trip for Oglethorpe University, trolling for new international students. Because we were heavily scheduled with recruitment meetings on Monday (don’t you hate when work interferes with travel?) Sunday was our one day to get out and explore.
Every park is an ersatz soccer pitch..even in the rain.
At 8,612 feet in altitude, Bogota is naturally breathtaking (or breath-gulping) but it’s also a surprisingly easy city to adapt to. Sure, there are 8 million Bogotanos living here– but instead of being caught up in overwhelming traffic and chaos, most of them seemed to be out walking their dogs, taking a yoga class in the park…
… or biking, rollerblading and practicing their high-wire tricks in the multitude of city parks.
Getting a bit wobbly wit it …
Bogota is called The Athens of South America for its plethora of museums (58), libraries (33), theatres (45) and universities (106)– but we weren’t going inside for culture; we just wanted to wander. 
First stop: the Carrefours Supermercado, simply because the fruits on display looked so enticing. Eventually, the polite employees did kick me out for taking photos, but not before I got my fill of exotic tropical fruits you’ve probably never seen in the USA (who knew there were 11 kinds of mangoes??)
Next, we bopped over to the colonial enclave of Usaquen to check out my two favorite words in any language: flea market — a Bogota Sunday tradition and my destination to replace the genuine fake Dior sunglasses I bought in China (duhhh!) that naturally broke in half upon my arrival here.
I’m never buying anything in China again…if I ever go to China again.
We found lots of things to like in the market stalls: a new wallet for Larry to replace his bedraggled one,
and a chartreuse long wallet for me to replace my 25-year old Tumi model. I’m a bit nervous that my new wallet is so bright & pretty, 
I’ll trash it out in a matter of weeks… so knowing me, I’ll just admire it and keep on using my old black indestructible model. (This type of thinking drives my husband nuts.) True to my original mission, I scored a cool pair of shades (not fake 
Dior) to keep me from squinting all day long, and only had to go back and return them once because a scratch on the lens was making me dizzy (my habit of returning things that I just bought likewise drives my husband nuts). Along the way, I fell hard for a beautiful leather purse for Lulu (hope she’s not reading about her surprise here!)….and succumbed to the charm of a super cool juicer that was bought as a present but that now I don’t want to give away (a constant moral quandary that I face when buying adorable things — which also drives my husband nuts).
Hand-painted lemons & a cast-iron frame … how can I part with this?
All that spending (a whopping $75) and resisting the urge to clobber me gave Larry a big appetite — so he treated himself to a gorgeous paella whipped up in a giant wok alongside some delectable sauteed mushrooms ..
…and I demurely dove into a custard cake that was pure coconut heaven.
Fortified and shopping-satiated, we jumped in another cab and headed out to El Campin stadium to watch the Millonarios professional soccer club play. Now that was an experience — aural, visual and physical. First thing you notice: Bogotanos don’t just watch soccer – they jump up and down in place for the entire game (and why NOT take your shirt off, while you’re at it??)
They also those blow non-stop on those insanity-inducing vuvuzelas, bang on timpani and kettle drums that they lug to the game, and holler at the top of their lungs over every play. For my husband, who routinely watches the most obscure games from around the world on GOL TV, it was a trip to paradise and even though that generally drives me nuts, I was a good wife and threw myself into the spirit of the game.
Go, Millonarios, Go! (note my new designerless sunglasses)
Back at our cute hotel, I collapsed from the 6 straight hours of walking & intense shopping/sporting and watched Joan Rivers on “Fashion Police” while Larry went up to work out on the three antiquated fitness machines that make up the rooftop “gym.” We finished with a delicious Italian dinner in the T-Zone at Luna, followed by a quiet stroll through Bogota’s streets.
The obvious question is — “Whoa! Is Bogota really that safe to wander around? ” And the answer is — for the most part, Si! In the 1990s, Bogota was considered one of the most violent cities in the world (an unenviable claim now held by Caracas next door) with a murder rate of 81 per 100,000 people. Today, that rate is down to 17 — a 500% dramatic reduction accomplished by putting a staggering number of policemen on the streets and rigidly enforcing an integrated security policy. I have to mention that there has also been a forceful campaign to ban carried weapons on the city’s streets — and guess what? It actually works.
So far we love Bogota, even if we do now have to go to work. Stay tuned for more Colombian travelogues as we fly on Wednesday morning to Medellin (famed for having the most beautiful women in Colombia — but we’ll let Larry be the judge of that!), then onto Barranquilla on Thursday night. Hasta luego!
What Gives 
Much thanks! It is an great online site.
Ohh I agree with the Bogotanos not to carry weapons in the city!!! I I am convinced that this could be a good way to decrease the temptation to draw a gun to someone just out of whim, anger, insanity etc.
Bogota must be beautiful, the people I know are very nice though and beautiful also!
Have a great trip, say hi to Larry for me
What a fun trip. Lucky ducks. Martha Stewart was just in Colombia too, about two weeks ago. Great stylistic minds think alike! She LOVED it there and did several posts…here’s just one.
http://www.themarthablog.com/2013/04/visiting-with-artists-in-la-candelaria-in-bogota.html
Quick serious question about recruiting students: is there any concern college administrators have that student visas will be cut back post-Boston or with any wording in the new immigration bill if passed?
How beautiful! I would love to go there. You do have to start using the wallet, you know. I hope Larry gave you a bite of his Paella and that you shared just a tiny bit of that custard cake. My middle kid is going to China this summer- I will warn her against buying sunglasses.
JM — happy to report that I did trade Larry some of my luscious cake for his mushrooms, and it was a good exchange! As for your child going to China — SERIOUSLY advise her not to buy sunglasses, fake Uggs, fake Beats, fake luggage, fake anything (and it’s all fake, unless it’s twice the cost in the USA in which case it’s imported) …it falls apart immediately so you’re really better off just avoiding the disgust you’ll feel at yourself for spending the money to undercut our own industries. Not to be a sourpuss but we got home and hated ourselves for being so dumb!
You’ve rekindled my lifelong desire to visit South America. Great writing and beautiful images, as always, Betty. And that chartreuse wallet — those orange things look like airplanes. I’d say it was designed just for you.
Oh, now I am totally going to love using my airplane wallet — taking off!!!
I love it when people can do yoga in the park and not care if anyone watches them. That wallet is beautiful. As as your new shades. But oh my god that custard cake… 😀
Mr F told me that the Mayor of Bogota (I think it was Peñalosa Londoño) brought about some simple changes to the cities roads that made Bogota the most bike friendly city in the world.
Mr. F is right — as usual! Bogota has horrendous traffic but on Sundays, they close most of the streets and people go out and walk, bike, run, stroll, eat and shop in little mercados that spring up — plus, there are tons of little parks everywhere with nice simple equipment where people can work out — it’s extraordinary! (Which is good because I could eat that custard cake every single day!!) … And yes, how about that yoga class outside?? I was thinking of YOU, Yogi Rosie!
Hey Betty,
This was so much fun to read. I realize that reading your blogs opens up the world for many of us who cannot travel as much as we’d like. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your beautiful photographs.
J
Thanks so much, Judith — you know I missed you as my travel/shopping companion!!!
USE THE WALLET, silly girl! Don’t keep the good nightgown and bone china for only special occasions. Duh. LOL. The new designerless glasses are fab. I want to have the two of you over for dinner when you get back!
Yes, we’d love to come! And Yes, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and USE my new wallet. My mom always saved
the good stuff for special occasions — and surprise, surprise! … never used half the things she really loved. And I’m my mother’s daughter — but will override that instinct, as per your suggestion! xoxoxo b
Eat shoot & leaves—–marvelous–you’re inspiring me to go to
Columbia—-What obnoxious thing were you doing to get thrown out of the super market? Are you sure it was fruit you were photographing?But I loved your reportaje……Amy
Amy, you’d love Colombia!! I haven’t even been out into the countryside yet, but I’m still fascinated by the culture and people… as for Carrefours asking me to leave their pretty store — well almost any retail operation will prohibit you from taking photos of their store .. I guess it’s proprietary information, even if it is just fruits and vegetables! Thanks for your cute comment!!!
Love your purchases!!!!!!!!! I am so jealous.I am very glad to see Bogota from a different aspect. I still thought of it as violent!! I just love it love it love it gun control working. I still have trouble understanding the resistance to registering your guns. People register, license, and insure their cars and don’t scream about loosing their freedom!!
Oh, amen to that gun safety comment — and if Colombia can do it (and Australia can do it) and realize tremendous reductions in homicides and mass shootings, then why are we hanging on to our “freedom” to arm ourselves to the hilt, and suffer these tragedies?? Bogota is actually quite a clean, progressive and affluent city from what I’ve seen (which is admittedly precious little) and I’m always amazed when a country moves from so much violence and turmoil to relative law & order. That always inspires me a LOT! Thanks for reading, Deb!!!
Sounds like you’re having a fantastic time! The wallet, custard cake and your new shades got my attention!
The coconut custard cake was something I will remember with GREAT fondness for a long time… and here’s hoping the wallet will have a good long life, too!! Have fun in NYC!!!