Bogotá Days 3 & 4

Beautiful graphic design found at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Lovely exhibition found at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Juli and I at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Me goofing around with a plastic mustache at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Beautiful colors in the streets of Usaquén.

Juli and Cata outside a Mexican restaurant at Usaquén.

An amazing façade of a store on a side street at Usaquén.

What's not to <3 about it?

These were probably the best two days I had in Bogotá. On Saturday we headed to a small town called Usaquén , best known for its many stands and markets for antiques and crafts. It has many bars and restaurants that have retained the colonial architecture of its time, and it's widely known as the "land of the sun" -a bit ironic though, because it rained the whole day!-. If you're in the lookout for souvenirs and local artisans, you can't miss Usaquén. I bought a beautiful pair of pre-Colombine gold earrings that are to die for, and I bargained a good price for them. One thing I've learned while travelling: you can always bargain! (If you're ever going to Egypt, this is an absolute must!) We had lunch at a local restaurant called Balsámico, where I had the typical Paisa which is a plate consisting of rice, beans, plantains, meat, egg and salad. I could only eat like a third of the dish, but it was quite tasty indeed.
At night we went out to a couple of places, first to Wings (a pub-like bar/restaurant where we saw a soccer match), then to a cute lounge/bar called El Árbol, and finally and most awaited-for: Andrés Carne de Res D.C.
Now Sunday, I have a fond memory of. We went to a local design market that's done every month or so, called Las Puertas del Cielo. Here you can find a great deal of AMAZING stuff ranging from jewelry, to clothes, to bikes, food, etc. Everything is very artisan, a great deal is hand-made and if not, they're small business owners looking for an audience. If you're looking for a young bohemian crowd to hang out with, this is certainly the place!
And to finish off our weekend, we went to a BBQ held by a group of French, that fell in love with Bogotá and decided to buy a Hostel in La Candelaria street. They've recently finished with their remodelling, and wanted to launch a small get-together to get in tune with the locals and make a bond with other internationals roaming the streets of Bogotá. It's important to remember that not until the recent years (I dare to say months) that Colombia has started seeing tourists more often than usual. Given their political status and lack of safety because of their guerrillas, tourist have over-looked Colombia in the past. However, after my experience, I can surely say it's absolutely safe to travel. Although, as in many countries worldwide (especially ones in Latin America), you have to be careful with the obvious: never leave your things unattended, travel in groups, research which are the sketchy neighborhoods and/or streets, always know the emergency number (not all countries dial 911), try to always have a phone nearby and, in Colombia's case, don't take taxis on the street, rather call for one to pick you up.

Bogotá Day 2

Photo via cabezas

Photo via TripAdvisor

Our group -1

Photo via Por Descubrir

So, I know I've been out of the loop lately, but I've had a hard time trying to keep up with my life in general. I know usually this isn't the things I write in my blog, but still I feel like I have to. I had a bad break-up...there, I said it. I was completely and utterly in love, and then the world clashed at my feet. It's been four months now, but I must say that not until know I'm starting to recuperate. And to be completely honest, I had no idea what a real break-up was until now. I didn't know how it felt to be heart broken. And I must say...it physically hurts.
Anyways, that being said...on with the blog.
On Friday I woke up with a bit of a jet-lag. It's not exactly a jet-lag, but quite similar. What happens with Bogotá is that it is located on a high altitude above sea level, so your body gets more pressure from the air...hence, you start feeling short of breath, dizzy and in some cases you might even faint. I never got to that point, but I was definitely tired. So in the morning we slept in and started preparing for a dinner Juli had arranged with her friends. We went to Unicentro, one of the most famous malls (not that there are many) in Bogotá. After some browsing and a bit of shopping, we went back to prepare dinner and some sangría, and at night we went to Andrés Carne de Res in Chia. Now, here is where the fun comes in. Andrés Carne de Res is a very famous both for nationals and tourists in Bogotá. There are two "clubs" at the moment, plus one restaurant/market. The first one that opened was the one in Chia, where it competed with Augusto Carne A Su Gusto, both being small diners where people stopped in the middle of a remote town (Chia) to get some "pinchos" (skewered meat or beef kebabs). Now, Andrés was a lot smarter and started placing chairs and tables for people to seat, whereas Augusto was a bit cheaper and thought his business was doing fine without any accommodations...and here is where Augusto went down and Andrés triumphed. Andrés Carne de Res in Chia is now this humongous restaurant/bar/disco, and it has also opened in the DC area (at the "Pink Zone" in Bogotá, or Zona Rosa...although the younger crowd calls it "The T" or La T).
Word of advice: if you're planning on a night in Chia, make sure you hire a cab with your group (never go alone) and pay him/her for the night...so he'll wait for you until you're ready to come back. It's a good hour drive, so you really can't think of going by public transportation. Also, it's said to be a good night on Thursdays and Saturdays, especially on Saturdays when it gets heavily crowded- that is if you like crowds!

a beer's world

I know I've taken a while to finish my Bogotá posts...but this only proves the amazing fun I had over there and little time I had to write about it! So, before I continue with the pics and recommendations, I wanted to make a little commercial break. On my last day, I went to the Pomona supermarket to bring some supplies back to Costa Rica, when I ran into series of beautifully colored beer bottles, and of course had to buy one. So I went on to research, and it turns out they were designed by Colombian Lip Ltda inspired by the brewery's icon of an Old Ford Truck that delivers beer to your home. The brewery, Bogotá Beer Company (BBC), now has this truck along with strong typography features in all its graphic identity works. One of the things I found extremely beautiful in Colombia are the names of places, which I think have some sort of fun combinations that make up catchy names...and in this case, BBC names each beer after a city or place. And, the best part? For me definitely is that the bottles capture the country's essence with the colors used in each tag...colors that you'll find in Bogotá walking through the city center, especially through the streets of La Candelaria and more specifically, El Callejón del Embudo!

Bogotá Day 1

Walking through La Candelaria (my friend, Juli, at the right).

A balcony / Iglesia de San Francisco

Walking towards the city center, through the University of Los Andes area (me).

Montserrate markets / Toasted ants (packaged for eating) / Coca leaves tea.

La Calle del Embudo magic.

I embarked on the most recent adventure yesterday dawn, on my way to visit a dear old friend in Bogotá. My real first day was yesterday since I arrived at noon, but we went to do some shopping (get it out of the way--- although I've learned that you can't really do that here, everyday is a shopping day!). We went to Andino, El Retiro & Altantis, three shopping malls that are very close together in the T ("la T") in 85th Street. So today was my first tourist day. We started our day in Montserrate, a mountain that dominates the city (they call it the lung of the city, and it's now forbidden by law to built in it) where there is a church with a shrine devoted to the Fallen Lord. You can reach the top by aerial tramway or fornicular, or if you're into pilgrimage you can find a climbing area. After our mountain-top destination, we walked down to the city center, known for it's culture-filled streets, cobbled streets and colorful buildings. We first stepped foot into three beautiful churches: La Iglesia de San Francisco, Iglesia de la Veracruz & Iglesia de la Tercera (iglesia means church), all located a very close walk to the Gold Museum. After our religious start, our stomachs starting getting a bit loud so we headed to the all-time famous Crepes & Waffles, a Colombian restaurant that serves what the name spells out: a huge variety of sweet and salty crepes, as well as delicious waffles for dessert. With our stomachs full and quite happy, we headed to La Candelaria, the place where Bogotá was founded in 1538. After taking some pictures of the colorful houses and famous balconies (and not to miss- eating an arequipe Oblea, a waffled-thin crust cookie filled with caramel) , we continued our way to El Chorro de Quevedo located in La Calle del Embudo, the most ancient street of all Bogotá where it's believed it all began. I couldn't believe the beauty of it all, the vibrance of the city center, the colors of the people that explained their saturated decorations. Definitely a place not to be missed when in Bogotá, where you can chill with a chela (beer) or have a very traditional meal.