Safe arrival in Bogotá
Last evening at 5.53 PM (17.53) I hit the ground in Bogotá. The descent with Avianca’s 767 was somewhat quicker than the ordinary, since the Colombian capital is situated at 2.600 meters…
The airport of this 8 million city isn’t big - but quite ok. Passing the passport control was pretty smooth. After that, my first impression were men in elegant uniforms who’d like to help you with the luggage. I guess they have a lot more customers during summer and christmas holidays when Colombians abroad travel home.
The customs check was kind of different, since I had to put the suitcase in the X-ray screener entering the country… Then I had to open it up for a manual check. Asking what they were looking for, they answered “doláres, euros…”. Sorry, don’t have much.
The taxi ride to the private home where I’m staying took some 20 minutes. It was already dark, but there was a lot of traffic and we passed some international companies that have their offices close to the airport.
I learnt there are some environmental problems due to the traffic caused by 8 million people. A smell of sulphur was quite noticable - reminding me of winterdays in Poland and Slovakia.
The welcome last night was hearty, with lots of people, food and cake, topped of with a three-man-band ordered home to play some folkloric bayenato (vallenato) music!
Having slightly recovered from the jet-lag it’s now time to pack the bags again. We’re going to a touristy place a couple of hours outside Bogotá. That means leaving the moderate mountain climate with day temperatures of some 20-22 degrees and chilly nights. Instead we’ll be able to enjoy the tropical sun.
Stay tuned - I promise to be back with my own photos within short!
Anders