Wherever I lay my Sombrero

I made the decision to return to Colombia party because I wanted to the focus on my business. Although I had been involved in it for a more than year I had not enlisted any real energy or money and the business had been moderately successful. I was offered employment opportunities whilst in the UK but I tentatively turned them down because my instinct was telling me that the chance to both be my own boss and do something I am passionate about is precious. The reason I started this blog was because I wanted to tell people about Colombia. Nearly two years later I'm doing it in a much more physical sense. I became involved with Tours of Colombia and Tours of Bogota because from the first time came here I knew that tourism was taking off in a big way, all of the indicators were telling me that Colombia is a country on the move. Check out this interesting blog written by a fellow Brit http://www.colombia-politics.com/ it gives an insight into why my business has been flourishing and why we have taken on the role of providing 'the best tours for Bogota and beyond'...

Colombia - The pursuit of happiness

I should start by saying that this could be my very last post on this blog. The reason is that in a few days from now I will be flying back to London on a one way ticket, not knowing whether I will return to Colombia anytime soon. I have been reflecting on the up's and downs of the past years events of raising a family building a house and running a business here. Along with my visit home I will try to clarify the facts in order to decide whether or not I should stay in the UK or come back to live in Colombia.

Bogota's tourist train

A few snaps I took of Bogota's single working steam train which is used only on Sundays and holidays to take tourists out through the city to the salt cathedral in Zipaquira. The country once had a rail system but the tracks and stations have been sadly left to decay. Take a look at the inspiring story at Mike's Bogota blog of a fellow Englishman and train enthusiast called Steve, who has taken the initiative to purchase one of the old dying trains and is restoring it to its former glory.

Lets go fly a kite

I have often been told that Bogota does not have seasons and that the weather is the same all year round. Back in April however when we had a lot of rain I heard people saying it was winter, I had heard during the recent sunny spells that we were now experiencing summer. Well I have now learned that the month of August is windy season and officially the month of Kites!

This weekend wherever there was a park or a hill the skies were filled with hundreds of brightly colored kites or 'cometas'  The ever resourceful street sellers are out in force selling all sorts of kites by the roadsides, and families have come out from all neighborhoods to be together  and enjoy some windy fun. In some places they are holding festivals and kite flying competitions. This was the scene this morning in my local park.

My first time being nearly robbed in Bogotá

Glossary of Colombian slang: Dar papaya- (literally to give papaya) meaning don't draw attention to yourself or make yourself a target.

Estar pilas - (literally to be batteries) to be aware of what's going on around you.

Street robberies are common in Colombia, almost everyone I know  here has had some kind of experience of being threatened for money or their cell phone and now it was my turn...

A little bit of home in Bogotá

When living abroad one's thoughts often turn to home and little things you miss. Shortly after moving to Bogotá I was surprised to learn that the city has a lot of architectiure built in the English Victorian style and even has an English cemetary. The cemetary is located right next to the Bogotá's central cemetary is the city's second largest. Unfortunately the gates are permanently closed now as the land is owned by the British embassy. It was given to the English government in gratitude for the British legion's support in the liberation from the Spanish and I am told that the cemetery's gates were made from melted down muskets and bayonets. It should be noted however that the English had their own motives in aiding the revolution against Spain. (mainly to gain channels for trade)

One of the area's in Bogota which features a lot of English architecture is the barrio of Teusaquillo, this was once Bogota's most desirable neighbourhood until the wealthy eventually moved further north. Another is the 'La Merced' barrio which was built by the British petroleum company in thge 1930's to house their workers.

Very few of these buildings are homes nowadays as they are mainly used as restraunts, bars and for other comercial use. For lots of pics of English style buildings in Bogotá see this link:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=739182

In a metropolis of eight million where there is always a shortage of cultural spaces I feel that it would be nice if the British embassy would unlock the cemetary for the benefit of local people and Bogota's growing expat community.

Colombia - Picture of the week

 Exercising in the park - Bogotá

No more stars on the roads

In Colombia they paint a yellow and black star on the road to mark where someone has fallen victim to a fatal traffic accident, unfortunately you don't have to travel very far to see one. They say that if you can drive in Bogotá, you can drive anywhere in the world; here you have to look out for traffic lights, pedestrians, motorcycles, holes, trucks, the bus which randomly stops, the taxi passing through a red light, among many other things. I have been driving here for a while on my UK driving license, previously when stopped by police I would smile and say “No Espik Espanis” this would usually confuse them enough to leave me alone. However I recently gave in to pressures from my family to apply for a Colombian license, and here’s how I did it...

Arepa: Colombian Cornmeal Patty Recipe

Arepas, how could Colombians have lived without them?! Of course not. Arepas are for us Colombians as croissant are for the French, bloomers for the English, Rice balls for the Japanese, and the list could go on and on...

Arepas were a staple of the Timoto-Cuicas, an Amerindian group that lived in the northern Andes of Venezuela. Other Amerindian tribes in the region, such as the Arawaks and the Caribes, who live in Colombia. These peoples widely consumed a form of the Arepa known as Casabe made from cassava (yuca and type of root). With the colonization by the Spanish, the food that would become the arepa was diffused into the rest of the region, known then as La Gran Colombia (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama).

This is Colombia - This is Bogotá

This is a collection of clips taken at various locations around the city, I jumbled them together into a view of Bogotá and her beautiful people...