We stayed in Bogotá for two nights at the start of our stay in Colombia and an additional four nights at the conclusion. We flew in from Cancún after our stay on Isla Mujeres and went to a supper club promoted as an AirBnB experience. There were nine guests and two hosts. Wine flowed and we tried aguardiente, a Colombian anise-flavored liqueur. We had some appetizers before moving to the dining table for dinner. Wine continued to flow, and the host brought out two microphones for some karaoke. People got pretty into it. The party finally broke up between 1 and 2a.
We took a funicular up Monserrate, a peak overlooking Bogotá with a church on top (of course). Bogotá averages 2640m above sea level (8660 ft) while Monserrate rises to 3152m (10341 ft).
It was a mostly cloudy day, and Bogotá is generally smoggy, so the pictures reflect that. But you still get the scale of this city of 8m residents.
After enjoying the setting for a while we decided to head down. It was Sunday, so it was crowded, and the line for the funicular was estimated at two hours! We decided to take the trail down. It’s a short trail, but it descends over 400m, so it’s very steep. We took some more pictures as we descended and you can see the city a bit more clearly through less smog.
On our second swing through Bogotá we took a guided walking tour through the heart of the city, a neighborhood named La Candalaria. Our guide was a Colombian historian with lots of great information. I even took some notes on my phone.
Before getting into history, we talked about the climate here. With its location just 5 degrees from the equator, but at an elevation of 2640m, Bogotá enjoys temperate weather all year round. The temperature averages about 16C (61F) and the highest temperature recorded in Bogotá is 25.6C (78F). Yes, it’s never hit 80 degrees F here.
New Granada, comprised of present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama won independence from Spain in 1819, Bolívar became the president of the newly named country of Gran Colombia. He remained president until his death in 1830. After his death, Venezuela and Ecuador separated to become sovereign countries. No blood was shed. The present-day flags of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecaudor are all very similar. The yellow represents gold, the blue represents the sea, and the red represents the blood shed to gain independence.
Panama, incidentally, declared its independence from Colombia in 1903 with the backing of Teddy Roosevelt and the United States as the US took over construction of the Panama Canal.
We visited the site of the assassination of Jorge Gaitán on April 9, 1948. He was a far-left presidential candidate; Colombia has never had liberal leadership. He was gunned down in the street outside his office while giving a speech to his supporters. A riot broke out. The assassin was killed and his body desecrated to the point that he could not be identified. There are three primary theories on who was behind the assassination: 1) the conservatives who feared losing the presidency, 2) the center-left who thought Gaitán too liberal, and 3) the CIA.
The assassination started a period of violence in Colombia, giving rise to paramilitary (conservative) and guerilla (liberal) forces. The Cuban revolution inspired Communist forces as well, but they have never succeeded in taking power.
We learned about present-day Colombia. It’s famous for three “C’s”: coffee, chocolate, and yes, cocaine. But the top exports actually start with two other “C’s”:
1. Crude oil
2. Coal
3. Flowers
4. Coffee
5. Gold
A city of 8m residents is a lot of responsibility for one mayor, so the city is politically divided into 21 neighborhoods each with their own mayor. La Candalaria is the smallest with just 27k residents. In contrast, our guide lives in Suba which has 1.5m residents. Colombia has a population of about 47m people. About 85% are of mixed race, with another 10% of African decent and 3% indigenous. The African population is the third highest outside of Africa, after the US and Brazil. The population is 95% Catholic, 3% agnostic/atheist, 1% Jewish and 1% Muslim.
We stopped to try chicha, another Colombian drink. Chicha is an indigenous drink made from spit out corn kernels and water. This is then fermented. We got to try some. It smells like sour stale beer and tastes like sour apple cider. Honestly, it’s not bad! We tried some at 4% ABV. A long ferment can make it as strong as moonshine. The guide was impressed that everyone tried it before learning that the corn kernels in chicha are now hand mashed. No chewing involved.
The tour continued into an area of La Candeleria famous for its graffiti and street art. Our guide told the story of a prominent graffiti artist who was killed by the police about a decade ago. He was caught doing his art, and the police shot him in the back as he ran away. About a year later, Justin Bieber visited the city. Accompanied by a police escort, he made his own graffiti mural depicting the Canadian flag amidst a cannabis leaf. The case caused a lot of introspection in the city, and policies towards graffiti have dramatically shifted. It’s now tolerated, and even celebrated as part of the city. There are several thousand graffiti artists here and many are trained in graphic design and art.
We visited an art museum with a gallery of paintings by Fernando Botero, a prominent Colombian artist. He donated all of the works with the stipulation that entry be free and that they cannot be displayed outside of Colombia. In his works, Botero distorts the human (and other) figures, intentionally changing proportions and making oversized bodies. His version of the Mona Lisa was on display.
Since Colombia was colonized by the Spanish, much of the architecture has Spanish influences. And Spanish architecture, in turn, has Moorish and Islamic influences. The water garden at the entry of the art museum is very similar to Islamic water gardens we saw in Marrakech.
The tour continued to the main plaza of Bogotá, ringed by a church and government buildings for Congress, Justice, and the city government.
The tour concluded at the Gabriel García Marquéz Center. Marquéz was a Colombian author who won the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature. We saw some dancers performing.
After all that walking and learning, it was time for a pint!
