How do you know you are in Bogota?

Welcome to a land where the men receive manicures, and not only on their wedding day, where dressing for three seasons in one is a climatic requirement and where stepping out onto a zebra crossing may lead to an untimely demise.

Personal Grooming in Bogota

Perhaps this is a nationwide phenomenon and not limited to solely Bogota, but, Colombians, you may have noticed, enjoy dressing up, revel in looking good and are intricate in their personal grooming. Therefore, to see gentlemen in downtown Bogota receiving manicures is not a stretch of the imagination, indeed not, it is a reality. Clothes are immaculately pressed and ladies (perhaps Arts students are exempt from the rule) dress for work better than some of their counterparts in Europe or the US may do in order to go out for a fancy meal. So, backpackers and visitors to Colombia, you have been warned, you will be noticed in your rattiest travelling clothes, it will be mentioned and you will be considered as the great unwashed.

Bogota’s Climate

Given that we are up here in the highlands and at an altitude of 2600m above sea level or 8530 feet, just about anything climatic can happen. Short of receiving a snowfall, Bogota is hammered by rain, buffeted by strong winds, enjoys a betraying high altitude sunshine that burns terribly and suffers chilly nights. And recently ferocious hailstorms have paralyzed the city by inundating underpasses. So, when visiting Bogota it is worth remembering to have light moderately formal clothing (shirt and trousers…no shorts!) for use up until midday, then have a raincoat at the ready for after midday when the rains traditionally fall and some heavier knitwear for the bitter evenings in your digs which generally don’t have central heating.

Bogota’s Traffic, Yes, You Might Die

Passing through Customs and Immigration into the US at Miami the unusually jovial official asked me how I liked Bogota. Before I could reply he spoke of how his wife is from the Colombian capital and only recently they had been visiting family with their infant son. His exact words, no exaggeration: “Bogotanos are the most polite and well-meaning people, but put them behind the wheel of a car and they turn into lunatics. I won’t return” And it’s true. How far has the city regressed since the years under former Mayor Antanas Mockus when he employed mime artists to ridicule drivers who failed to stop at red lights or to let pedestrians pass at zebra crossings? Far enough that in the traditionally chaotic city of Cartagena even taxis pause to let the tourists cross! Anyhow, please look several times before crossing the road, in particular at traffic lights and formal crossings, or you may leave as the Immigration Official, several days early.