Bogota
Yesterday I met with Denisee who I met on the plane from Panama to Bacu. Denisee is Bacuan living in Bogota. I don’t think I mentioned our plane encounter before. She was sitting next to me and for half the flight I did not bother to talk to her. I had some concerns about what I was going to do without a hotel reservation and everything supposedly booked so I eventually I asked if she spoke English and it turns out she is an English teacher! Denisee filled my head with all things Bacuan and helped me get through the airport securing money and a hotel. She told me that they treat Bacuans living abroad like crap and that seemed to be what I witnessed. She was my guardian angel that day and I appreciated it immensely. Upon arriving in Bogota I contacted her and we met for coffee. We discussed my experience in detail. I was a bit embarrassed because I knew I did not have much positive to say, but I don’t think I told her anything that surprised her. She confirmed and clarified many things. Meeting her dragged me away from the small La Candelaria/El Centro section of Bogota that I was staying in and it was nice to see some of the sprawling neighborhoods. As I said, this is a sophisticated city with seven million residents so you can imagine how little I was able to swallow in 72 hours.
Today I planned to visit some of the churches and the National Museum, but the museums are all closed on Monday and the main cathedral was closed, too. Oh well, I walked around enjoying the warm sunshine and spent time trying to figure out logistics for Peru and Ecuador. I like the energy and feel in Bogota. The women were very dressed up today for work and this was a first for me in Latin America. In all of the tropical places I have visited, the women have very little clothing unless they are indigenous. They also have small bodies for the lack of clothing. Bogota women in comparison wear nice clothing which covers most of their bodies and they have very healthy figures. I am headed to Cartagena right now and I expect to go back to little bodies and clothing, but we will have to wait and see. Bogota is a very friendly city and I would recommend it to any traveler.
The only thing that is a bit disconcerting is all of the security. But I have grown accustom to this in many places and given how much safer the military and police presence has made Colombia, it was more comforting than frightening. Plus I found the armed men to be quite friendly to the civilians and visitors alike. You certainly don’t worry about crime when there are so many people with guns about. Speaking about guns, I knew I was in a US favorite trading partner’s country because the automatic rifles are M16s. The AK47 is the choice of weapon world-wide except when they are provided by the US government. You know, foreign aid is what we call it. At the international airport, I witnessed more of this “aid” in the form of big, grey hulking transport planes with US flags on the tail. The M16s and the cargo planes were the only signs of the war on drugs that I saw, but I am sure there is a lot more around given the amount of “aid” we provide Colombia each year. The war industry must love the war on drugs and terrorists and any other open-ended, impossible to win “war”. I will report every country I see M16s. This was the first, but I probably missed them in Panama and maybe Mexico. Bacu? I don’t think so! The world is full of future opportunities for America’s favorite export goods.
My plane has arrived and the area is filling with passengers. A few minutes to smile at all of the beautiful women… Ciao…
Tags: colombia, south america, Travel
vagabondrick
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