Wednesday was a low point. Thursday started with renewed optimism. We went to downtown Bogotá in search of bikes. Lonely Planet pointed us to a street in the south of Bogotá as the ideal place to purchase a bike. So off on the Trans Milenio we went. Bogotá is on a grid system, so it’s relatively easy to get around. It’s a narrow city, so the vast majority of traffic flows on latitudinal paths. The Trans Milenio only goes from north to south and back on a single dedicated route, but it’s the backbone to public transport here. We arrived in the south relatively quickly. Northern Bogotá is obviously the posh part. It’s a similar standard to European cities, except with additional traffic. Southern Bogotá is chaos. There are street traders and people in every direction. It’s great to experience, but not something I’d enjoy on a daily basis. The Lonely Planet guide delivered – several bike shops within a small area and we picked up spanking new bikes for about €60 each. Things were looking up ...
The cycle back was dangerous. There are 300km of cycle paths in Bogotá, but unfortunately we weren’t on one for the early part of our trip back north. We stopped off at Parque 93 for coffee & ice cream – an upmarket business spot with associated expensive shops & restaurants. Think of ISFC in Dublin and you’re getting the picture. We also found a good gym close to home – a no brainer to sign up for €40 for a month. Time to get the fitness back and I can always use the treadmill if I good running routes elude me.
On Friday I went for a jog along the river side. At last, a good running route. Perfect in fact – seemingly endless cycle path with no traffic in sight! Yes, I can definitely train well in Bogotá. There is also a huge park to check out, so perhaps it is an ideal training city. Sunday was my first Ciclovía experience. From 7am to 2pm each Sunday Bogotá closes over 120km of street to traffic and opens them up to non-motorised transport. It’s mainly cyclists & runners, so ideal for me to get the weekly long run in. 24km was my target, with 8km hard. I ran the first 15km easy, enjoying the Ciclovía – it’s something every city should duplicate and some have started. It’s a fantastic way to get a city exercising – there’s probably a million people exercising simultaneously! People typically cycle to the nearest park for a free aerobic class. For me it was just a way to run without worrying about traffic. Altitude is a huge factor in Bogotá. 2600m is higher than I’ve ever attempted to train before and it’s certainly taking its toll. The first 15km were fine, but when you start to run hard you realise something is wrong. Normally I’d be able to hit sub-6 minute miles easily enough, but not in Bogotá. 6:30 miles were as fast as I could manage. After 8km I was exhausted – 1km easy and home at last. When I arrived back I couldn’t believe the toll the run had taken. I had aged at least 5 years in less than 2 hours! I was a little burnt, but the bigger problem was it looked as if all my body moisture was sucked out. Thankfully after some rest and about 5 litres of water I was back to myself again.
Bogotá has a lot going for it. The people are very friendly and will go out of their way for you. People are everywhere - most buildings have full time security and there always seems to be more staff than customers in shops. If you like shopping you certainly won't be disappointed - shops everywhere. It's relatively cheap, although not as cheap as I was expecting. Think Spanish prices you're on the right track. The range of restaurants is impressive from cheap eats (about €3.50 for a 3-course meal) to top class restaurants. The Colombians like to party - great athmosphere at night. I'm not here to party, but it's there if one wanted to. The weather is good at a consistent 20 degrees, but unfortunately to date there has been at least one heavy shower daily. When it rains it buckets - at least it's never prolonged. Amazingly the mini floods seem to disappear within minutes. Is this drainage or heat? I suspect the latter as humidity increases dramatically post showers. The setting of the city is impressive - effectively it's a huge valley within a massive mountain range. It needs more outstanding landmarks, although maybe I'm selling it short here as I haven't seen some of the main sites like Simón Bolívar Park. In terms of safety there are absolutely no concerns with Bogotá - I'm actually amazed with how safe I feel. There don't seem to be many tourists here - we can count on one hand the tourists we've encountered - very surprising. The only problem with Bogotá is the traffic and associated road rage. There aren't really bus or taxi stops - they just stop whenever they want much to the frustration of the majority of drivers. I've taken 3 bus journeys and already have been in one accident - a small one between 2 buses, but you get the idea - it's manic here. In fact I've just heard a crash outside while writing this blog! If you could take away the cars if would be somewhere I could live indefinitely. They manage it once a week for the Ciclovía, but more is required to curb the traffic and associated fumes. A tram system like Dublin could help.
So all is now well in Bogotá. I get to train, catch up on all the things I’ve been meaning to do for years (including this blog), enjoy the finer things in life, and watch some TV. I’m not normally the TV type – typically too busy to fit in anything bar the odd movie. I never really got the TV series phenomenon, but I’m starting to understand now. Our current show of choice is Dexter, the friendly serial killer. Two seasons down after only a week – we must be addicted. I would highly recommend it. It has its annoying points, but the plot is excellent and strangely I find myself associating with the main character – not the serial killer parts, but his logical way of looking at life. Perhaps it’s a wakeup call to pay more attention to my emotional side J
The cycle back was dangerous. There are 300km of cycle paths in Bogotá, but unfortunately we weren’t on one for the early part of our trip back north. We stopped off at Parque 93 for coffee & ice cream – an upmarket business spot with associated expensive shops & restaurants. Think of ISFC in Dublin and you’re getting the picture. We also found a good gym close to home – a no brainer to sign up for €40 for a month. Time to get the fitness back and I can always use the treadmill if I good running routes elude me.
Bogotá has a lot going for it. The people are very friendly and will go out of their way for you. People are everywhere - most buildings have full time security and there always seems to be more staff than customers in shops. If you like shopping you certainly won't be disappointed - shops everywhere. It's relatively cheap, although not as cheap as I was expecting. Think Spanish prices you're on the right track. The range of restaurants is impressive from cheap eats (about €3.50 for a 3-course meal) to top class restaurants. The Colombians like to party - great athmosphere at night. I'm not here to party, but it's there if one wanted to. The weather is good at a consistent 20 degrees, but unfortunately to date there has been at least one heavy shower daily. When it rains it buckets - at least it's never prolonged. Amazingly the mini floods seem to disappear within minutes. Is this drainage or heat? I suspect the latter as humidity increases dramatically post showers. The setting of the city is impressive - effectively it's a huge valley within a massive mountain range. It needs more outstanding landmarks, although maybe I'm selling it short here as I haven't seen some of the main sites like Simón Bolívar Park. In terms of safety there are absolutely no concerns with Bogotá - I'm actually amazed with how safe I feel. There don't seem to be many tourists here - we can count on one hand the tourists we've encountered - very surprising. The only problem with Bogotá is the traffic and associated road rage. There aren't really bus or taxi stops - they just stop whenever they want much to the frustration of the majority of drivers. I've taken 3 bus journeys and already have been in one accident - a small one between 2 buses, but you get the idea - it's manic here. In fact I've just heard a crash outside while writing this blog! If you could take away the cars if would be somewhere I could live indefinitely. They manage it once a week for the Ciclovía, but more is required to curb the traffic and associated fumes. A tram system like Dublin could help.
So all is now well in Bogotá. I get to train, catch up on all the things I’ve been meaning to do for years (including this blog), enjoy the finer things in life, and watch some TV. I’m not normally the TV type – typically too busy to fit in anything bar the odd movie. I never really got the TV series phenomenon, but I’m starting to understand now. Our current show of choice is Dexter, the friendly serial killer. Two seasons down after only a week – we must be addicted. I would highly recommend it. It has its annoying points, but the plot is excellent and strangely I find myself associating with the main character – not the serial killer parts, but his logical way of looking at life. Perhaps it’s a wakeup call to pay more attention to my emotional side J
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