Bogotá, you treated me well. You showed me kindness and honesty, reminded me of the importance of friendship, and taught me that there really is more to life than the one I was living. I leave you with a heavy heart, but bid you not a sombre 'Adios' but instead a optimistic 'Hasta pronto'.
From the day I arrived, the city shattered all preconceptions and unfair media stereotypes that I had in my head about Colombia. The locals were honest, and didn't all try to rob me; in fact, the only crime I was a victim to in Bogotà was a taxi driver that charged me three times the normal fare late one evening, when I stumbled into the back of his yellow car after a little too much aguardiente. Likewise, Colombians are not all drug smugglers working in the cocaine industry; indeed, the only time I came into any contact with the countries white powder in Bogotà was when Karl the English volunteer stumbled into the gents toilet in a salsa club to find someone shovelling it up his nostrils, seemingly without a care in the world for who saw him.
I never felt unsafe in Bogotà, even when walking the streets late at night by myself, and was indeed surprised to discover that the police and military presence in Colombia's capital is in fact far less than it was in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, and indeed most of the countries I have visited so far on my travels. Colombia's political focus on security in recent years is clearly working.
Unfair stereotypes of a drug and crime-ridden city dismissed, there was much to like about Bogotà. I definitely liked that there was so much to do, and so many things to see. The city launched an extensive new tourism advertising campaign whilst I was there, and it certainly didn't surprise me; the tourist attractions in and around the capital are as varied as those in any big city I have visited around the world.
I also liked the people. A lot. I liked that the locals liked to help extranjeros looking bewildered at Transmilenium bus maps in their first few days in the city, and I liked that the female of the species liked to dance with me in Salsa clubs, even when I stood on their feet. I didn't like that a few of them thought I was a Gringo.
I liked that Bogotà's high altitude location means there is really only one season all year round and that it is generally never too hot nor too cold in the city, although I did dislike that I could be getting mild sunburn one minute, and soaked in a torrential downpour the next.
I liked that I could travel across almost the entire city by bus for less than fifty pence, and that cheap taxis were everywhere and there was no charge when the yellow vehicles inevitably got stuck in a traffic jam. I liked the modernity of the transport network (and that a Bogota Metro system is coming in the future), but also that the occasional horse and cart could still be seen riding alongside the Transmilenium bus lane. I liked that all car commuters are forced to take public transport into work two days a week, in a civic bid to cut down traffic congestion in the capital, but didn´t like that it wasn´t really working, and still resulted in overcrowded buses during peak rush hour. I liked that certain roads shut down to vehicles each Sunday across the capital so that cyclists, runners and roller-bladers can take to the city centre streets to exercise safely, and I liked that the mountain range, and Monserrate in particular, acted as a point of reference whenever and wherever I was walking on foot, making it difficult even for extranjeros with a terrible sense of direction from getting lost in the city sprawl.
I liked the fairness in the wealth system, that rich people have to pay more for their electricity and water bills than poor people, a subsidy system based on the geographical location of the household resulting in luxury apartments in upmarket areas paying more more than the poorer people living in the outskirts of the city.
I liked the lively restaurant and bar scene in Zona Rosa, but I also liked that you could sit and drink a cheap beer (for the equivalent of 50 pence) in the equivalent of a British corner shop, across the entire city. And I also liked that the shop owner wouldn't collect any of the empty bottles from your table until you finished drinking, paid and left, although I did like less that a lot of the tables in the poor areas of Soacha were often overflowing with bottles by 11AM.
I liked that a trip to the cinema cost 4500 pesos (GBP 1.50), but I didn´t like that my Scottish bank card was not accepted by many Colombian bank ATMs, and that the ones that did decide to give me money took a 5% commission. That said, I did like that you "entrar y retirar" your bankcard in Colombian ATMs, so there is no chance of your card disappearing forever when you forget your PIN after too much aguardiente.
I liked that the Juan Valdez coffee chain is the most popular caffeine fix in Colombia (and that Starbucks doesn't get a look in), and I definitely liked that I could enjoy a high-quality meal in Crepes and Waffles for a similar outlay to the extortionately priced Golden Arches. I also liked the laid-back Sunday market at Usuquèn, although I did like less that you could buy a cute puppy out of a holdall bag.
I liked that the Juan Valdez coffee chain is the most popular caffeine fix in Colombia (and that Starbucks doesn't get a look in), and I definitely liked that I could enjoy a high-quality meal in Crepes and Waffles for a similar outlay to the extortionately priced Golden Arches. I also liked the laid-back Sunday market at Usuquèn, although I did like less that you could buy a cute puppy out of a holdall bag.
And of course, I liked my volunteering in Bogotà with Emerging Voices. There was genuine pride in wearing the orange 'voluntario' t-shirt or green Soacha gilet when I left the volunteer apartment in the morning, and a real sense of pleasure in arriving at the school or orphanage and having children running towards me with a smile and a shout of 'Ross' or 'Hola Profe (teacher)'. The volunteer work I have been doing in Bogotà over the last few weeks has definitely been as personally rewarding as anything I have ever done, and the experiences, particularly those at the orphanage, have reminded me of many things that have been missing in my life, and taught me many things that I had not known or thought to learn.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in Bogotà, and take away some wonderful memories. The slogan underpinning a current Colombian international tourist campaign is that 'the only risk in the country is wanting to stay', and after only six weeks in the countries capital, this is something I can definitely relate to. Leaving Bogotà is hard, but I know I will be back before too long, after a few weeks seeing the rest of the country. I currently have a reason to come back, and someone to come back for. Only time will tell what, if anything, lies in store for me and the special Colombiana that I have spent a large part of the last few weeks with, but I am certainly looking forward to finding out.
