Bogotà 🇨🇴

Extremely chill and pleasantly warm days are behind us, stuffed with tacos we now go to Bogotà!

Already the approach to the airport indicates how high this city is located, the runway appears directly in the clouds and of course there are turbulence. Jackpot. But we made it! After about 1 hour at immigration, we somehow manage to get to the la Candelaria neighborhood with the regular bus, which is the backpacker area and also the oldest neighborhood in the city. It looks awesome. What immediately stands out are the huge amount of really cool graffiti on almost every corner. I knew that there was a lot going on here, but I didn't expect it to be that strong. So of course, the next day we do the Free Graffiti Tour, which is really worth it. The whole talk about graffiti culture is a bit too much for me, but for people who don't have much understanding of it, I think it's a good start and maybe it will change the perspective on this topic for some.

It is worth mentioning that the current mayor lets paint some walls gray to "beautify" the city again, posts the walls including location on Twitter, and thus gives the local scene the opportunity to make a contest about who can paint the wall the fastest.

Another very nice story is when Justin Bieber did his South America Tour, he drove through Bogotà to his hotel and spontaneously decided that he also wants to make a wall. Accompanied by all TV stations and escorted by the authorities, it happened and was broadcasted live on all channels at the same time.

The scene from Bogotà was of course not very thrilled about this action, as they always have to be on guard and have to pay fines if they are caught. So about 200 artists gathered in protest and beautified the whole main street of Bogotà for a total of 25 hours. Including support from the residents in the form of food, paint, etc.

The cops were helpless and Bieber's lousy graffiti lasted only about 30 minutes. Awesome action!

After the tour, we go up the mountain to get a view of Bogotà from above. Passing by some people lying on the ground, we reach an altitude of 3200 meters above sea level. A really cool panorama of the city and on the other side of the mountain, the jungle begins. So you can imagine that you can disappear here very quickly.

On the second day, we go on a bike tour with Luis from Venezuela and get to know a total of 5 neighborhoods of Bogotà. Extremely rich to extremely poor, government district, old town, and the banking district. Definitely interesting, but the best thing is actually watching people and cycling through the city. In addition, it's a really cool thing that every Sunday all the streets in the city are closed off to cars, etc. so that people can ride their bikes there. Apparently, this is common in some countries in South America, I didn't know that. But I like it.

In addition, we visit the bullfighting arena of Bogotà and with some bribe money, we are allowed in. The building is impressive and after a year of pause because the students of Bogotà managed to stop the bullfights, the season of senseless killing will start again soon. Somehow this place has something mystical about it.

Generally, there are simply an incredible number of bicycles on the streets, which I did not expect, but at the same time, it feels like every 50 meters there are people lying on the roadside who have fallen off. 😄

In the national park, especially kids and teenagers with their mountain bikes are primarily riding on one wheel, I know that from somewhere.

We have just arrived when it crashes. One of the dwarves has fallen pretty badly on his head and is shaking because he is unconscious. The only thing that happens is that everyone looks. After a few seconds, I decide to help, there is a language barrier, but somehow it works. Stable sideways position and stuff. Anyway, the little guy is fine, what surprised me in the situation is that no one had any idea how to help him, no one thought of calling an ambulance, and worst of all: adults were staring out of the windows and balconies of their villas instead of simply helping. We also prevented the pitiful attempts to just get him back on his feet.

Furthermore, it's interesting to see all the guys from Venezuela who work in the hostel and many who seem to be wandering the streets are also refugees. Everyone has a story and some of them are really tough.

Great city, great people, highly recommended. And also the local dish Ajiaco is delicious, it costs about 2€ including everything you see in the photo, just ask to be shown where.

On the last evening, we have a few beers together. To then fly with a hangover from another planet to Leticiar in the Amazonas region. I'm very excited!