. . . Bogotá! (markets, mountains, and animals)

Kelly and I made it safely to Bogotá!

We were immediately surprised to learn that the place we reserved is one of the more high-end parts of Bogotá: Usaquén. Bogotá is bordered on the east by the Andes mountains. Usaquén is situated on this border, and our hostel/airbnb is literally at the very edge of Usaquén.

This is the view from our rooftop balcony.

We also learned that neighborhoods in Bogota are separated into six different social strata: one is the lowest and six is the highest. These strata were apparently created for the purpose of regulating utility costs within each neighborhood, but they also have had the unfortunate consequence of differentiating people into social classes. Usaquén is in stratum four, which is a middle class to upper middle class.

That said, Usaquén is beautiful. We could see plenty of green wildlife outside of our windows, which is a rarity in the sprawling, traffic-dense, car exhaust-filled city that is Bogotá.

Here is the inside of our hostel/airbnb.

In our backyard:





On Sundays in Usaquén, there is an all-day flea market (i.e. Mercado de Pulgas). It's pretty big. Kelly and I had fun roaming around the flea market on our first day. This is a small portion of it.

There were puppies

And beautiful vistas

And plenty of street performers

including this older gentleman who found a way to make money by dancing in the street all day. He and Kelly shared a dance.

And this man who played the harp beautifully. He had a Beatles album. I should have bought it.

Later that day, Kelly and I went to Cerra de Monserrate (i.e. Mount Monserrate). Monserrate is a mountain in the southeast part of Bogotá that overlooks the city. We took a cable car to the top. On our way to the line to go up, Kelly made friends with this llama.

Going up Monserrate by elevated cable car

And pictures from the top that do not do the real view justice.

(The red trees are from a recent fire)

(Kelly's green horn)

(Sleepy dog living on top of the mountain)


This isn't from top of the mountain, but I found Simon Cowel's Colombian cousin. You have to zoom in a bit to find him.

The next day, Kelly and I took multiple buses to a small town north of Bogotá called Chia. We had to transfer buses at one point. I wasn't exactly sure where to go, even though I enlisted the help of a local while on the first bus. Kelly and I step off of the first bus and we are immediately bombarded by young men shouting "Chia! Chia! Chia!" Seeing that we are disoriented, they escort us to a small bus and tell us to sit in the front with the driver. Front row seats!

We went to Chia to visit an animal sanctuary called Juliana's Animal Sanctuary. It is South America's first animal sanctuary, and the only one in Colombia, so we had to check it out. It was a small operation, run by Juliana and her husband. They had dogs, cats, cows, a horse, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. They also had a newborn human child, but they treated all of the animals like their own children. They let me and Kelly pet them and give them their afternoon snacks.

The sanctuary

The animals

One of their pigs (Polo) was enormous. It needed help getting out of its homemade mud pit.

(Me mixing Polo's all-natural slop)

And then there was this little bundle of energy.

And one of his friends, who also enjoyed carrots.

And the baby, whose translated name was Soul Fox. He and Kelly had a moment.

Juliana and her husband were extremely nice, and they sincerely cared about their animals. Our trip to Chia was a relaxing little respite. (The bus rides back--not so much. Very crowded and confusing!) The next day, however, was packed with adrenaline rushes and adventures: driving across rural Colombia, river rafting, and zip lining. Stay tuned!