Today I have a late start as I hear the rain splashing in the little patio outside my room. Eventually I decide to change my warm and cosy bed for the luke-cold shower and after some basic restauration work I feel ready enough to brave the rain and take to the bus terminal. I had planned to take the bus but Bogotá´s complicated and erratic public transport system makes me change my mind and so I find myself in one of the gazillion tiny yellow cabs. The local taxi drivers don´t seem to believe in even the most basic traffic rules and so these six kilometers turn into a real adventure, but I get there and after catching my breath I´m ready to shop around for a bus ticket to Pitalito, a few hundred kilometers to the south. One of the omnipresent friendly and ever so helpful policemen helps me out with valuable insider knowledge ("You really don´t want to go with them, believe me...").
A comparably mellow taxi driver takes me to a nearby mall, where I have a look around, only to learn that prices for most anything are either similar or even higher than back home. So I´m a good boy and don´t spend all my dough, just buy a bargain pair of pants (trousers), a novel by García Márquez and provision for tomorrow´s trip.
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| At Plaza de las Américas mall |
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| What a car... |
Outside the mall I meet with Francis and her stepfather Pedro and we walk to their apartment, which is only a couple of blocks away. We talked a lot and things got even livelier once Pedro´s old friend Víctor and his daughter arrived, too. We all decide to have lunch back at the mall, in a Colombian restaurant chain called "Crepes & Waffles". Unfortunately half of Bogotá seems to have had the same idea but eventually we are assigned a table and soon I feast on Crepe Stroganoff and fresh Guanábana juice and finish this delicious meal with brownie and ice cream. Yummy!
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| Francis and me |
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| Pedro (right) and his friend Víctor |
Back in the apartment we the conversation is still in full swing and even more so when more guests arrive. We spend wonderful, relaxed hours happily chatting away. Colombians say that Bogotanos are the coldest, most reserved and rude people in the country. If this is true, then my trip here will become absolutely unforgettable (in a positive way), because I find the Bogotanos friendly, witty and warm...
I somehow don´t want to leave and almost wish I didn´t "have" to... This city has been a very positive surprise and I´ve been enjoying myself so much - especially thanks to the people. Anyway, I´m also looking forward to seeing more if this huge country. And now it´s time for me to switch off the lights - tomorrow at 6:30 am my cell phone alarm will wake me and then it´s time to get to the bus terminal.
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