We landed in Bogota without knowing exactly what to expect from the city; maybe as our first act of letting the adventure take us instead of us trying to take the adventure.  Both of us knew what we’d been told however; and whatever 90’s era, dangerous, drug and corruption laden preconceptions Americans might have about Columbia, we’re overdue to get past them because this country is incredible.  The next trip you’re planning to take to New York, or Miami, or LA; do yourself a favor and go to Bogota instead. 

The first thing anyone would notice about Bogota isn’t actually the city itself, but instead the sheer expanse of mountains sprouting up from it’s edges.  Spattered with a few high-rises, many of of which are completely empty; “se vende” banners streaking the apartment windows, these buildings are just one of the indicators that this city was going to be different.  The buildings that do have tenants in them at a minimum have a few private security guards strapped with .45s; while those who live better merit fully uniformed military patrols with their fingers curled around automatic rifle triggers.  As if just to make a point of the city’s dichotomies, only the cloud white cathedral of Monserrate caps the mountains at almost two miles high overlooking the city below. 

The second thing you’ll notice about Bogota is that this city has a pulse.  New York has an energy to it, and Paris has it’s romantic je ne sais quoi, but Bogota throbs and pounds.  The city’s current intensifies when the sun goes down and it doesn’t stop throughout the night, no matter what day of the week.  Music from every bar, restaurant, and club hums with Bogota’s beat. Women’s heavy, and very high, heels quicken the pace as the night goes on.  And during the day,  Bogota’s endless walls of street and graffiti art throw color everywhere the eye can see.  Their painted images resonate a modern history that give us a better understanding of this city’s persistent edginess.

We were continually reminded of two Bogota’s.  One, the edgy, alive, thrumming city of young people; and then the other Bogota that they party so hard to forget.  A city that used to look a lot like the one US American’s mistakenly think it still is.  These two versions are the reason Bogota has a pulse.  One that you’ll find, before long after being there, starts to beat inside you.