Bogota
It felt strange writing a blog about Colombia and not including a section on the capital, Bogota. However, as I have really only visited the inside and outside of the airport and viewed the enormous city from the sky above I am by no means in a position to write anything particularly insightful… So I thought perhaps some facts would suffice instead. Bogota has in the region of 8 million inhabitants making it one of the 30 largest capitals in the world. It was founded in 1538 by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada and was originally named Santa Fe De Bogotá. This was shortened to Bogotá after Colombia gained independence from Spain in 1819. For a Scandi like myself it is interesting to note that the city has more than 35 libraries and the largest bicycling network in the world! For a proper overview of the city, its history and places of interest I would recommend a visit to wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1
Beer
Living in London there is currently two main camps of beer drinkers, those who favour the traditional pint and those on the lookout for enticing new craft beers. I position myself somewhere in the middle of the two, a pint of craft beer anyone? In Colombia, the beer market is still very much led by home-grown brands, such as Club Colombia, Poker and my personal favourite Aguila. Aguila makes a ‘light’ version which contains less alcohol and is perfect for a sunny day in the tropics! And don’t get me started on the price… which is dangerously low. One great thing about Colombia (and particularly smaller towns) is that time seems to be going slower allowing greater opportunities to relax and enjoy the day. In my case this often involves going to the square for a visit to local bar Troya watching the world go by whilst indulging in a cold beer and some conversation. Perfect day!
Watching the world and his dogs go by…
Beer in Troya, obviously a little bit too early in the day, as obvious from the lack of other customers…
BMX
All types of cycling are national sports in Colombia and the country has had huge international successes on the cycling scene. Although, I will dedicate a later blog post to cycling I really wanted to take the opportunity to highlight the domination of Mariana Pajon in women’s BMX. Pajon is one of the greatest BMX cyclists in the history of the sport. She is the winner of 14 world championships, 2 national championships in the United States, 9 Latin American Championships and 10 Pan American championships. She also won Gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. Her achievements have earned her the nickname Queen of BMX, which is really rather cool!
Charlotte Willowtwig's Wonderful World of Travel 