La Candelaria in Pictures
SUMMARY: Brief profile and pictures of the famed neighborhood, La Candelaria. Crazy murals included.
Why I Hate Downtown Bogota
SUMMARY: One day’s events that highlight why I hate / despise / loathe being in downtown Bogota and La Candelaria.
Political Correctness Disclaimer: I would like to use the term ‘panhandler’, but it doesn’t read well. I am sensitive to those truly in need, which there are many of in Bogota due to displacements from the war. But I’m going to use the word ‘bum’ because it reads better, it saves space, and it doesn’t describe genuinely needy people so much as it describes professional panhandlers, stick-up kids, drug addicts, and hybrids of those three.
Rosa visited me in Bogota for the weekend (Rosa was my first girlfriend in Peru). As will be the case for any tourist that visits me here, I had to show her Monserrate, La Candelaria, Plaza Bolivar, museums – points of interest unfortunately located downtown.
We took the TransMilenio from Chapinero… Read more
Crime and the Bogota Mentality
DISCLAIMER: This post shouldn’t dissuade tourists from visiting Bogota. It’s a great town, but crime is a problem. I got mugged my first week. Sections include The Suit in La Candelaria, The Bogota Atmosphere, and The Bogota Mentality.
Introductory Anecdote: The Suit in La Candelaria
One night before moving out of La Candelaria, I was watching the corner from my 3rd floor hotel room around 8:30 pm. At this particular corner, there’s always a vagrant or two going through bags of trash, asking passersby for money, or something like that.
Down a hill to the west, I saw a young Colombian gentleman in a suit carrying a briefcase walking toward this corner. Heading down the same hill away from the corner was a dirtball. Dirtball may not have been a panhandler or a stick-up kid, but he obviously didn’t work for a living. Dirtball didn’t ask The Suit for change. As soon as they passed each other, The Suit jerked his head around to keep an eye on Dirtball. … Read more
My First Mugging in Colombia
SUMMARY: I tell a few stories about crime and danger in La Candelaria, including my first mugging in Colombia. I have decided to find an apartment in a different, safer neighborhood. Because I am a big pussy. Sections include Perpetual Begging, The Brick Incident, My Easter Sunday Mugging, and Leaving La Candelaria.
After staying in La Candelaria when I was in Bogotá last year, I was convinced that I’d live in the neighborhood if I ever moved to Bogotá. After a week in the neighborhood this time, I’m convinced I won’t stay. The bums, drug dealers, shadetree operators, thieves, scoundrels, and sketchballs are too much for me to take. I’m leaving.
Perpetual Begging
Not only am I harrassed for spare change by panhandlers, I’m also offered drugs daily. It’s always a persistent sell. They try to shake my hand or call me “my friend” and ask where I’m from. They run the line about the bus or food or whatever. One time a bum stood in the middle of the street and acted like he hailed me a taxi that was going to stop anyway. Then he asked for a tip. … Read more
Wild Weekend in Bogotá
SUMMARY: I meet Dennis for a weekend in Bogotá. The weekend is wild. Sections include The City, The Play by Play, The Women, The Aftermath, and Pictures. Long story.
TEASER: So this should bring us to where I left for the brothel. Your favorite hapless romantic had been dreaming and drooling over the women all weekend long. This was my last night and there was only one kind of place open. Plus, Dennis had made out with four women by this time. If we were competing, I’d be losing 4 – 1. A perfect storm developed of my insecurities in losing the game combined with a strong desire for these Colombian women, combined with the fact that I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to bed at 2 am after two nights drinking until dawn.
The taxi took me to the curb and pointed out the door. A mustached man dressed in a suit came to the cab and opened the door for me, gesturing me in politely and confidently. This mustached man came to be my primary caretaker in my time here. Resembling a Latino version of Borat, he ushered me into the place, sat me down at a booth, and brought me a Heineken. … Read more
