And another adventure begins.

In preparation for flying to Bogota I went to the Dr. to get altitude pills. This was a just in case measure to prevent the symptoms.And did some searches on the internet on what to do ( or what not to do). And talked to some people in Bogota about the same.
First ALWAYS if possible have the place your at call a cab for you (hotel, restaurant , bar etc) and ask the place for the normal price so you can ask the cab driver BEFORE entering the cab.

Ok, Flying into Bogota is easy ( at 8380 feet above sea level). Immigration and customs is a breeze entering. At the customs area there will be a place to exchange money ( didn't use them so I don't know the exchange rate) . When you walk out of the custom area to the outside make a right walk 20 feet make another right . There will be a window ( maybe a line) where you tell the person your destination. They will give you a double receipt one for you , the other for the cab driver. This is for a no nonsense set rate for the cab fare. It was 28,500 CPO to my hotel in the Santa Barbara area ( north). My hotel was 4 months old but in an area by itself. Next trip I am going to book one about a half mile away on Avineda 15 close to Unicentro ( large American type mall). The temperature varies from 48 deg. F to 75 deg. F. So at night short winter coats and scarfs are the norm. During the day long sleeve shirts to jackets are worn. And since it was the rainy season alot of people carried umbrellas as it rained daily.

To finish up on transportation. Buses are abundant . 1,300 CPO per person. Most cab rides cost between 3,000 and 6,000 CPO, rates are higher in the evening and on Sundays. And taxis are available by the hour, around 18,000 CPO per hour. However IF the cab driver thinks you are a "gringo" prices can be higher. So ALWAYS ask the rate first.

The people are very friendly and are always willing to help. Some might seem standoffish, but I found out it was really shyness because they didn't know some English. Many children go to private schools because public schools are not supposed to be that good. The private schools are like German/English, French/English, Dutch/English etc so the children learn 2 more languages from their native Spanish.

Places visited, La Candelaria district near centro Bogota is a step back in time. Narrow cobble stone hilly streets. You can find artists, bars, restaurants and more here with buildings 250 years old. Lots of nightlife. An owner of one bar/restaurant taught at one of the university's during the day and ran the restaurant at night. And was very versed in Classic Rock and Roll.On Sunday I took a trip to Cerro de Guadalupe this is a Church and Saint statue about another 2000 feet above Bogota. The church was built around 1645 the statue later ( it is kinda like the statue on the hill above Rio de Janerio). There are food vendors, candle vendors, souvenirs vendors etc at this altitude. People come to pray to get healed and other reasons. The view of Bogota is spectacular.
Close to my hotel was the Santa Barbara Mall. It had many restaurants, bars ( Bogota Beer Co. ( sign in English)) and a small park with beautiful Christmas lights. Also close to my hotel was the Unicentro Mall, very large American style and products mall. As this was a business trip I didn't have time to do much sight seeing.

As I like to talk on the plane come to find out the man next to me worked for a large energy company in Bogota. As over the years the FARC was pushed south and vast reserves of coal and oil were found in their old area. So Colombia now has alot of energy. And the airport of Bogota is doing a MAJOR expansion and will be the number 1 commerce airport of South America. The economy is going "gang busters" Lots of building construction and highway construction. They have dropped many trade tariffs for US goods and the US has done the same. So I see Colombia as an "up and coming" nation in South America. Flowers is a big export and with all the available workforce many large corporations are moving offices/manufacturing there.


Academics: Lots of theaters, many Universities and many sports arenas.

Many of the things I did (ie going by myself to restaurants, shopping) most of the local people didn't do 10 years ago because of safety issues. Now there is a very noticeable police and military presence everywhere. So safety is less of an issue now. But I always carried my passport and is needed at most of the money exchanges and if you are buying something by CC. Carried my wallet, camera etc in my front pockets. Kept a few pesos 20 mill and less in my pocket so I didn't have to get out my wallet. Remember you are in a city of 8 million people. Money exchanges usually give you 50 mil bills. Ask for some 10 & 20 mill bills as some places don't have change for the 50's ( especially cab drivers).

When you are leaving ,at booth 19 in the airport you show your passport and get a voucher for not paying the departure fee. Then get in line at the check in counter. Security is the same as TSA in an American airport.

Another page stamped up in my passport , Wendell