Miss List...Bogotá

Things I’m going to miss about Bogotá

Manicures at Super Wow. Four months later and I’m still talking about them. I got a manicure in nine different cities along the itinerary and Super Wow wins for best manicure in the world. I loved Super Wow so much it got its own post (see Super Wow).
Friday night tejo. The tejo hall was the place to be Friday nights in Bogotá! By Friday nights I’m usually so tired from the week that the farthest I get is my couch. I came to find that I liked having a Friday night activity. You don’t have to be skilled to play, it’s social, there’s drinks (if you want them), it’s fun and a great way to meet locals! Oh and did I mention explosions?!
The flower stalls. One of those slices of life from Bogotá that I will miss. I passed through a park on my daily commute that had multiple flower stalls lining the sidewalk. I would stare at each just long enough before someone could ask if I was interested. I treated myself to some after a rough Friday at work and came to find out the price was right. At less than $4 a bunch, they became a weekly treat to spruce up our apartment. On the road, the little things go a long way in helping make a place feel like home.
The evening commute. Walking home from work through the park at sunset are some of my favorite memories of my time in Bogotá. No matter how good or bad the day, the walk home would would give my mind processing time. I was ready to simply soak up my surroundings and head home a little lighter by the time I reached the park.
Street Addresses. At first it was like deciphering a new language, but once I understood the logic behind how addresses are written in Colombia, I wish other places would follow suit and give me the nearest cross street too! Colombia is on a grid system of calles (east and west) and carreras (north and south) that run perpendicular to one another. The address Calle 11 #4-41 tells me the street (Calle 11), the nearest cross street (4) and the building number (41).
Cata & Diego. Our incredible city team who added so much to my time in the capital city. Cata has an infectious energy and a light that she brings to every room she enters. Diego immediately imprinted on me with his gentle kindness. We didn’t connect until the farewell party but that connection was genuine and heartfelt just like him.

Things I won’t miss about Bogotá

The weather (and those cold showers). 10 months on the road basking in eternal spring/summer ruined me. Bogotá is known for a consitently cool climate: temps vary between the mid 40s and high 60s. A polar vortex it is not, but I was unprepared. The lows made for some cold nights in a city where heat is not a thing.
The Colombian peso. I had six weeks to get familiar with the COP between Medellín and Bogotá. Between the additional decimal places and the “mil” confusion (mil means thousand in Spanish, yet I couldn’t help but hear mil-lion) I never got fluent in Colombian currency conversion.