Guarded by the Andes Mountains, Bogota, Colombia is a traffic-filled valley city with a whole lotta dimension. Our group landed on a Saturday night. I was eager to get right in the mix of things but was bombarded by silence as I arrived to my new neighborhood. We weren’t in Mexico City anymore. The next day it seemed like 90 percent of businesses in our area were closed in observance of the Sabbath and my curiosity grew. Where was the energy, where was the culture, where were the people?
Chico Norte appears to be residential but by 8 am each day the streets are flooded with people coming from God knows where to my sleepy streets to do…well, I still don’t know. Carts of arepas and candies line the nearby blocks, dogs seemingly walk themselves and Colombians everywhere begin their intense exercise regime, including push ups in the park and zumba. There was a life out there but where did it go after 5?
The first days here have proved hard to leave my comfortable digs and venture out into a city that seemed so far from me. Every day I’d stare out my bedroom window; it seemed like a cheesy backdrop with dramatic clouds, tall-ish, modern buildings and then BAM, mountains coming out of nowhere. And the first few nights I slept with my blinds open, staring off into the sky for hours, realizing I couldn’t remember the last time I saw stars, twinkling ones at that.
If there were emotional steps to longterm traveling I was in the hiding phase. The people who crowded my streets told me there was life nearby but the vast sky made it seem so far away. The next weekend I found myself in a uber touristy walking tour and I was swept to La Candelaria. An area 30 minutes away in traffic seemed to transport me to a totally different Bogota. People were everywhere: skateboarding, eating food and making out (which seems to be the norm in Latin America.) The streets became color-filled with murals and architectural differences and stories of histories of each block. The city was alive and I felt like I was a part of it for the first time.
Bogota could be Washington, D.C. or Dallas or Denver. There is so much to experience but you’ve got find it. You’ve got to get lost. You’ve got to wander. I’m hoping to keep this spirit throughout my month in the city, take the time to walk aimlessly, and soak it all in. And in times where things are quiet and there isn’t much going on, I want to remember that I could be anywhere in the world but I’m right here and that is amazing and purposeful enough to be glad.
Gone Girl Travels 