I figured that since I started off with Barcelona, it only made sense to do my next blog post on Bogota…. my second destination in life abroad (although I have so much to say since this is my home now… so this will be the first of many blog posts).. So I’ve decided what better way to start off than with a few random tidbits about Bogota, some things I’ve learned about the city so far, and life in Colombia.

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Plaza Simon Bolivar – The main square in downtown Bogota

Life in Colombia is great. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Spain, but also in a lot of ways it is so incredibly different. The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming. In fact that’s one of the most common things you could hear about Colombia, how amazing the people are. (& I couldn’t agree more)

The food here is great, especially the fruits, they are as fresh as you could possibly imagine. The thing is, there are so many different and diverse climates across all of Colombia, this leads to the perfect environment for growing so many different types of fruits and vegetables. I’ve tried so many fruits that I have never heard of until I came to Colombia. And the coffee… oh don’t even get me started on how amazing the coffee is…. liquid gold.

One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned so far is that the weather here is very unpredictable. The people of Bogota joke that you can have all 4 seasons in one day…but I’ve begun to learn that is definitely not a joke. Rule #1 – never leave the house without an umbrella… seriously. One moment it’s so sunny out, and literally five minutes later (I’m not exaggerating) a dark cloud rolls in, the skies open up… and it’s pouring rain. Rule #2- if the suns out… you will probably be sweating. Bogota is 8,675 feet above sea level… meaning we are that much closer to the sun… meaning that it’s completely brutal. But when it’s a sunny day here… it’s a perfect day (providing the sun actually lasts throughout the whole day). Overall, I would say that the climate here is actually quite comfortable. The temperature never goes below 50 (at night) or above 75 (noon on a sunny day). No one here has heat and no one has air conditioning, which basically sums it up. It never gets bone-chillingly cold nor unbearably hot. Not so bad! You’ll just need to be prepared for all four seasons in one day: chilly mornings and nights require a scarf and jacket; midday sun requires a t-shirt (and you’ll still break a sweat); and rain at any time requires an umbrella.But this unpredictable weather is something I’m growing accustomed to, and learning to appreciate (I mean hey, at least it doesn’t snow here!).

Another cool thing about Bogota is that the city is bordered by the Andes mountains, making a spectacular backdrop to the city. There so beautiful to look at, and beautiful to overlook the city from. (we spent one Sunday hiking a trail in the mountain… will write about that soon). Also these mountains serve as an amazing guide to navigating the city… rule of thumb … if the mountains are on your right, you are headed North, something that’s somewhat helping me get oriented so far….

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Bogota – as seen from the mountains.

The traffic, oh the traffic… I thought that I knew what traffic was… that is until I moved to Bogota. Sure, all cities have traffic, but you haven’t really experience life in Bogotá until it’s taken you half an hour to go five blocks… (I wish I was being dramatic). Sometimes (most of the time) it’s better just to walk….

There are soooo many public holidays, it feels like almost every weekend is a “puente”. Only beaten by Argentina, Colombia has the most public holidays in the WORLD. There are 18 public holidays and an average of 15 paid vacation days. (not too bad, eh?)

One of the coolest things about Bogota is the surrounding towns. As I mentioned before Bogota is 8,675 feet above sea level, and if you leave the city you start to go down the mountains and lower and lower in altitude. Well… as Colombia is so close to the equator, when you go down to a lower altitude .. it starts to get warmer. So you can drive just a few hours outside of the city and be in a warmer climate. Colombia has a really diverse terrain, and is filled with so much natural beauty… so far that’s been one of my absolute favorite things.

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Anapoima – a nearby village where we spent a weekend with some friends.

While I’m still new to Bogota (today marks exactly 3 months here!) … I know I still have a lot to learn & a lot to experience. But so far this country has made a great impression for my second destination abroad… keep checking back & subscribe for more stories & photos




 

44 thoughts on “Bogota

    1. Actually I moved here to live with my boyfriend! He’s colombian … I might look into teaching English here, I did it for 2 years in Barcelona ! ☺ thanks for checking out my page

  1. A life well traveled is a life well lived, in my opinion. It’s lovely that you’ve had the opportunity to explore all these cultural, historical and lively places!

    Thank you for sharing those adventures with us! I’ve traveled to 3 continents, and about 10 countries, but not Columbia (yet)

    I look forward to seeing more of where your travels took you!

    Steph
    http://www.socialspying.com

  2. I love Bogota and cannot wait to return. Soent one whole month there and it wasn’t enough. I agree. The traffic! OMG, never have I experienced traffic like that. No wonder there are so many shopping malls. You need to entertain yourself for the 6 hours or so of bumper to bumper. And this every single day.

    1. I know, my boyfriend warned me about the traffic before I moved here.. honestly I thought he was being over-dramatic..when actually in fact he was downplaying it a bit.

  3. Your post made me realize how much I miss Bogota. I’m currently trying to relocate to Bogota if I can find work. Recently I have been touring Colombia by Moto and can highly recommend visiting the Andes until you reach the coast! Especially the nature around Bucaramanga !

  4. Very interesting. I’ve never given Colombia much of a thought until now. The weather is very much like my city of Melbourne in Australia, it’s known for having 4 seasons in one day, although we have extremes of heat and cold, so uncomfortable at times. A lovely story, thanks.

  5. Can’t wait to get to Bogota and the rest of Colombia! It’s been promoted to the top of my list of countries to visit ever since episode 1 of narcos! 😉

  6. Bogota sounds amazing. That photo from the hillside-it looks huge!! Thank you for discussing the weather- equatorial places get lumped in to “tropical,” but this sounds dreamy.

    1. I know! Everyone is always shocked when I tell them I wear boots & sweaters all the time… when they think Colombia they automatically think warm & tropical!

  7. I have wanted to visit Colombia for a long time. There may be other more popular cities but Bogota is of interest to me. Would like to stop by the Laguna de Guatavita, surrounding waterfalls and Villa de Leyva. Thanks for sharing your impressions!

    1. It’s great living in a city, you learn things that you wouldn’t learn as a tourist. These things were so unexpected to me… I had to share them!

  8. This is great, loved reading your description of Bogota as an expat. The joys of discovering a new place by living there is amazing. I hope I can visit Bogota someday 🙂

  9. Bogota looks beautiful! I was laughing when you were describing the weather. It’s exactly the same here in Ireland! I guess some countries are more similar than we think they are ☺

  10. I was in Bogota this March as well! I wander if we ever crossed paths. I really enjoyed seeing your photos/ Bogota through your eyes. The street art really was amazing.

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