Further Adventures of the Bunbling Turisto
Back to Bogota
8/11/2017
It was a rainy day in South Florida when my buddy Leo drove me to the train station.
From there it was a brief hour and change to the Miami airport where the locals seemed
to know I was heading for South America...as they all seemed to be speaking Spanish.
Boarded the 4 hour flight around 6pm for a 6:30 departure. The flight was good
and the best part was my first bit of luck in the form of the guy sitting nest to me. His
name was Alvero and he was from La Paz, Bolivia, my final destination on this series of
flights. He was also laying over for 17 hours in Bogota. As his wife was rather motion
sensitive...she had opted to sit in the center of the jet, putting Alvero next to me. He
turned out to be a good guy and a fountain of information as far as La Paz and it's
surrounding countries. He told me of a huge festival in Cochabamba on August 14. It
just so happens that his brother lives there and he said he would be glad to show me
around during the festival. This was one day earlier then I had planned to leave La
Paz...but hey, I'm flexible if it's a big event and I've got a friend I haven't met yet. He
and his wife were leaving for Uyni salt flats the day after they arrived in La Paz so he
would not be there. His wife Yenis, graciously invited me to come along to the salt
flats with them, but I have already been to the salt flats in Salta in northern Argentina.
Now I'm no expert, but it seems to me if you've see one massive salt flat...you've seen
them all. I mean it's a salt flat right? They are flat and made of salt. Perhaps I may go
anyway if I'm in the neighborhood. We spoke of many things and became fast friends.
I had asked both on the phone with Avianca airlines and in the Miami airport if I
could just check my 22.5 Kilo (50lbs) bag through to La Paz with out having to take it
with me during the 17 hour layover in Bogota. I was told “no” on the phone so I was a
little surprised when they said OK at the airport. Not really believing them and
expecting my bag to be on the carousel I waited there for awhile just to be sure. Alvero
and his wife were waiting on a bag as they were staying with relatives there so I waited
with them. When they were all set we bid adieu until the marrow when we would be
catching the 3:30 flight to Lima together. About now I realized that I had packed my
day bag with the intention of getting m big bag in Bogota. This meant that I had only
the clothes I was wearing for the Bogota adventure. Fortunately I had packed an
adequate toiletry kit and my Nemo memory foam inflatable pillow as well as a down
jacket just in case so I was OK at the hostel. I'll be the first to admit Jack Reacher I am
not...but for today I am following his dress code. In truth it felt pretty good to have a
very small pack to curse around town with.
The next adventure was getting to the hostel. It was called...wait for it...El Pit...I
kid you not. I had gotten really good reviews and was under $10 a night so I simply
could not resist checking it out. The bumble part now ensues. I had printer problems
before I left, so not wanting to spring for a new printer and have it sit idle for months I
just toughed it out figuring I could get the address with my old Clario cel phone sim
card once I got to Columbia. Humm...didn't work...who knew these cards expired? It
had only been two years. Once I landed I pulled up the image of the Hostel on the cel
phone using the airport wi-fi. I was headed for the taxi stand when a guy asked me if I
needed a cab. He wanted 50,000 Colombian pesos...roughly $30 us. After
negotiations we settled on 32,ooo or roughly $11. Quite a deal for a 45 minute cab
ride...or so I thought.
He took me up a flight of stairs and made a deal with the ACTUAL taxi driver...I'm sure
he got his share. The driver said he knew where it was. We chatted for a while and was
actually able to carry on a conversation of sorts in Spanish...who knew?
When we got to the Candellaria district he admitted he did not know where the
hostel was...and as I could not get the phone to work I could not look it up. We resorted
to asking people at random. No one seemed to have heard of it. Not a good sign, not a
good sign at all. Finally we asked a guy outside a bar to look it up in HIS phone. This
he graciously did. Turns out it was not in the district at all but in the (again, I kid you
not) the Macarenia some twenty blocks away.
Armed with this new information we proceeded down some really twisty streets.
At one point when he thought we were close there was a ramp which was closed and
coned off. I guess he saw something down the ramp as he said something like “I'll be
back” and proceeded to leave me in the cab and took off running down the ramp.
Humm...was this a stolen cab? I can't imagine any cab driver doing this anywhere in the
USA with the possible exception of the Midwest. After about five minutes he returned
and seemed to know how to get there. As I could not see down the ramp I don't know if
he consulted a crystal ball...or perhaps a crystal skull...or maybe just a policeman. At
any rate it wasn't long before he was backing up into traffic then trunin to go up hill the
wrong way up a one way street. I guess this is a version of a Colombian shortcut.
Whatever...it worked in in just a scant few minutes I spotted the hostel as I remembered
it from the picture...so long ago.
He got out of the cab and ran up to ring the bell of the hostel. No response...after
a couple of minutes a nice young guy who we had obviously woken up came to the
door.
He asked if I had a reservation. I assured him I did...and if he had internet I could bring
it up for him. Then he said not to worry about it as the computer was not working
anyway! Meanwhile...back at the cab...the driver was still there lending moral support.
This is actually quite something considering it had been an hour and a half since we left
yet he seemed content to wait for me to be all settled. I figured that he would now ask
for a large some...but when I asked him how much...he said it was still the same amount.
I gave him 35,000 and he was smiling...when I tipped him another 5000 he was
beaming. I was really being a high roller...my brother would be proud. In reality I gave
him and additional $1.75 but that's beside the point. In his mind I was still a generous,
magnanimous gringo touristo.
When I got in the hostel it was OK. Rather old woodwork and all the traditional
hostel stuff on the bulletin board. He took me upstairs and as I was sharing a 4 bed
hostel I was concerned about waking the others up. As it happened...luck was with me
in one regard...I was the only one in the room! Yea. The less than good part was that it
was a street front room and traffic was still heavy. Oh well...that's why one packs one's
earplugs and sleep blinders. A quick brush of the teeth and off to dreamland in spite of
the traffic for a solid four hours ...until the morning rush hour began around six. Tossed
and turned for an additional hour then gave up and went down stairs for the included
breakfast which consisted of first...two cups of coffee, then two slices of toast, one egg
a few slices of banana and some papaya chunks. All in all not a bad deal total value for
the
$11.00us I guess the extra dollar was for the towel.
Grabbing my ultra light 15lb pack I headed out on foot toward the center of
Bogota, which I vaguely remembered from two years ago. With map in hand I strolled
out into the drizzle of a 50 degree day. Glorious compared to the 90 degree heat and
humidity I fled from in Florida. I was in search of my chess buddy who I played
frequently a couple of years ago. Alas...our rematch was not in the cards today.
After wandering around a couple of hours I had various street eats and actually
managed to navigate to the hostel I had stayed at two years ago on the first attempt.
Curious. About now I began to think about a real lunch. I asked a fellow who was
bounding a soccer ball off his head to his son back and forth for a recommendation. He
said to go down the street to the Olympic...so I did . When I got there it was a
supermarket...I was about to leave when I asked a lady working there if she knew of a
place to eat nearby. She simply pointed upstairs. Went up and found a small cafeteria
with lots of local favorites. I opted for the roast chicken. They gave me a plate heaped
with three checken breasts and a thigh with wings and some potatoes. The whole plate
cost $3 and I wound up giving the rest to a guy who looked really hungry. He was a
traveling poet. Interesting fellow and appreciative, From there is was off to the bus to
get to the airport. More to follow.
Kevco
