When we arrived at our hostel, we had our first really
positive interaction. The cabby asked
for $21,000 Pesos (about 10 USD), and I only had two twenties. Instead of trying to rip me off, he just took
$20,000 and bid us farewell with a smile.
This was the first taste of a city much more friendly, open, and jovial
than rumors and bad press had lead us to believe.
The following day, we united with a couple who live in an
area of town called Candelaria (basically, the original settlement and current
historical district and tourist area).
The couple, Chantelle (from South Africa) and Andres (from Colombia) had
found us on Couchsurfing.org and invited us to stay at their place. We met them in the evening, and found them
incredibly kind-hearted, and eager to share stories and experiences. Our visit coincided with a meeting set up by
an Italian gentleman named Massi, who has started a project called Sustainable
Couch. 8 of us met over some wine and
snacks and discussed ways to make sustainable projects (such as organic
farming, community development, etc.) more accessible during Couchsurfing
visits. Massi was a really inspiring
guy, and the meeting had Claire and I excited about our future visits to
organic farms, and our stay with this wonderful couple in their house nestled
against the Eastern Mountains of Bogotá.
.jpg) |
| Our CS friends: Andres and Chantelle are immediately left of Claire |
The following days were filled with activity, challenges,
and triumphs. Anyone who has traveled to
a new culture knows the rollercoaster of adjustment. When Claire and I left Zambia,
we left a place we knew well, people we loved, a language in which we were
competent, and a culture which we had embraced almost enough to blend in (we
are still Musungus, of course)… When we
arrived in Bogotá, we were met with new challenges. In many ways, I had pictured in my mind quite
a naïve situation: My limited Spanish
skills, and small knowledge of Latin culture would put me right at home in this
new city. In my mind, I skipped past the
difficult interactions which define adjustment, and make traveling fun (and
challenging): the hesitancy to converse
in an unfamiliar language with unfamiliar people, the trepidation that sets in
as rapidly-speaking locals attempt to learn more about you, the difficulty of
realizing you don’t know how to function on a daily level without struggling
through the embarrassment of being a spectacle.
This struggle empowers any hardened traveler, and we quickly found that
people were (as they most often are), patient, interested, kind, and helpful.
After a few days of wandering, bumbling, and being generally
lost, Claire and I had found our bearings with this language and city. We journeyed through the largest market on
the Continent (called Corabastos, a place – we soon found – very few ‘gringos’
visit). The market bustled with
thousands of people selling their wares and purchasing vast amounts of
goods. The roads were unpaved, trash lay
strewn about the sidewalks, and people of every shape and size scrambled about,
playing their part in the first of many steps in the distribution chain for
goods to every corner of Bogotá. The same day, we also visited the pristine
Botero Museum, and this tranquil place with its beautiful paintings and
well-manicured gardens opened to us the contrast of the city.
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| Pareja (the pair) by Fernando Botero |
We were guided eloquently by our host Andres around some
sights in the city, and learned some of the History of Bogotá, starting with
Spanish exploitation and continuing through the present-day expansion (the city
is one of the largest in South America, stretching beyond sight in all
directions, and covering the entirety of the vast valley in which it
sits). We also joined Andres and
Chantelle (who are starting an Ecotourism business) on a tour of a local
waterfall with about 30 other guests. We
journeyed through some of the poorer neighborhoods on the Eastern side of the
city, up to the mountains along a creek which has been rejuvenated by a local
project which empowers local people to restore the watershed. We were followed by about 10 police officers,
although it was not clear whether they were necessary, or just really excited
about getting to do the tour and see something new. In the end, the police served quite useful as
a local girl waded over her head in a deep pool in the stream. One chivalrous young officer jumped in
fully-clothed to save her, ruining his cell phone in the process.
Afterwards, we went to a local bar in the
neighborhood and played a game of Tejo (a local, lower-class game involving
heavy metal discs, mud targets, and small amounts of dynamite) – add the beer,
and with such a combination, how could we not have fun? It was uplifting and inspiring to be with
Andres and Chantelle, who are helping bring attention and local pride to some
of the many restoration and community building projects occurring around the
city.
We climbed Monserrate, a daunting peak to the east of the
city reaching 3,152 meters
(10,341 ft). From there, the city
stretched as far as the eye can see: from the clean blocks and skyscraped
buildings of the financial district in the North, to the vast expanse of
smaller buildings filling the valley center, to the shanty houses grasping the
uneasy foundations of old mining lands in the South. The city is home to some of Colombia’s
richest people, but – like many cities – it also contains poor, desolate areas
where people struggle to survive. The
view served as a reminder of how truly fortunate we are.
We also met with a
friend of mine – Dario - from my Master’s program in the Netherlands. He is a native of Bogotá and had many
wonderful things to show us. He drove us
to Chingaza National Park – an expansive, high altitude environment (El Paramo,
in Spanish) with some of the most diverse plant-life in the world.
Dario is a biologist, and he did research in
the park for his undergrad. He left our
heads spinning, trying to grasp just a bit of his knowledge. He also served as a wonderful Spanish teacher
– patiently wading through our mistakes and strong accents to carry
conversation with us, and gently correcting us when it was necessary. On our return, we tasted some of the local
delicacies (including Fritanga - a Colombian meat dish consisting of pork, cow
intestines, plantains, and potatoes).
Us with Dario in the Paramo
Dario also took us to the cloud forest in Chinquaque, one of the most
amazing natural places Claire and I have ever been. We hiked through dense forests rich in trees,
flowers, and bird species all new to us.
As we hiked down, the mist would occasionally clear, opening vistas of
lush green mountains and sheer, rocky cliffs.
We crossed pristine, babbling brooks, and even chanced some Llamas on
our rain-soaked return up the mountainside.
We also had dinner
with Claire’s ‘uncle’ Caesar and his wife Martha. They are a wonderful Colombian couple who
hosted us graciously in their home, enriched us with Spanish conversation, and
told us heroing tales of their lives in the countryside of Colombia. They were so warm and welcoming, we felt at
home once again in their apartment, as we had before with Chantelle and Andres.
Us with Martha and Caesar
The final night was
completed with a visit to Claire’s friend Loon’s house, an easy-going, witty
Malaysian-Australian guy who is dating a fiery, clever Colombian salsa teacher
named Audriana. After a traditional
dinner of Ajiaco soup, we headed to the Salsa bar and received complimentary
lessons on the crowded dance floor, overlooked by locals who swayed with the
rhythm as naturally as branches in the wind.
In the end, people had a few laughs at the Gringos, and Claire was a hot
item – she received many lessons from the local guys, eager to strut their
stuff.
After just ten days in
Bogotá, Claire and I have made many friends, found several new homes, and
gotten a taste of the culture and language of this wonderful place. Now, we are headed to a Finca (farm) in Santa
Marta, in the very north of Colombia, where we will volunteer in any useful way
in exchange for the fruits of nature in the pristine community, and a place to
set up our tent. As marvelous as our
experience here in Bogotá has been, we look forward to finding a new home for
ourselves in the paradise of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, living off the land,
waking with the sun, and overlooking the vastness of the Caribbean Ocean.
The next destination: Finca la Fruta
