Peace Summit

Maybe it’s the well-thought-out urban structure, the grid design inherited from its colonists: Calles running perpendicular to the eastern mountains and Carreras running parallel, all numbered consecutively, making it rather difficult to get lost.

Or maybe it’s the ‘place for everything and everything in its place’ syndrome. Everything seems clearly delineated—the wealth and the poverty, the glamour and the grunge, the safe and not-so-safe. There are over a thousand barrios (neighbourhoods) in Bogotá, each clearly falling into zones that symbolise different socioeconomic strata.

Then again, maybe it’s just the natural surroundings—the immense mountains that skirt the city, always within sight, the lush greenery, the mild climate.

The peak of Monserrate, 600m above the city and a five-minute cable car ride up, is the perfect place to survey the urban sprawl of Bogotá. Atop the peak is an interesting church, and plenty of other distractions; my favourite being the cafe with a beautiful view and Tamal con Chocolate—a fantastic preparation of corn dough, meat and rice, all wrapped in a plantain leaf and accompanied by butter-soaked bread and steaming hot chocolate. After I’ve had my fill of fresh air and views and food, I trek back. The walk down takes a couple of hours, slowed considerably by rain and pit stops at little shacks selling beer and snacks, their radios on full blast.

Next stop, La Candelaria, oozing five centuries of Bogotá’s history. As you walk through the narrow cobblestone streets, legends seem to come alive in the old Spanish-style buildings. Today, this vibrant neighbourhood overflows with government offices, museums, restaurants and bars. I stop for some Vino Caliente, a wine drink brewed with fruits and served hot—just the thing for a typical cold and wet Bogotá evening.

Downtown, there’s Avenida Jimenez—a broad cobblestone strip flanked by old and magnificient historical buildings, hidden away behind the chaotic jumble of traffic.

Usaquen is another favourite in the northern part of the city, with its pretty buildings, great restaurants and shopping. Usaquen really comes alive on Sundays—a hippie flea market, jugglers, street theatre and great street food like platanos, empanadas or good old corn on the cob.

Colombians are wonderfully polite and hospitable folk. Image-consciousness is apparent everywhere. It seems like everyone’s putting their best foot out all the time, regardless of income levels—clothes, make-up, hair gel, the whole deal. Peluquerias (salons) on every street, well-tended lawns and gardens, pretty flowers on display, gleaming cars. The average Bogotán is also proud. It’s not uncommon to see people wearing the yellow, blue and red of the flag on their wrists and speaking of the future of their country with great optimism.

Bogotá is the quintessential big city: Skycrapers, upscale communities, shanty towns, traffic, mayhem, massive malls, fantastic nightlife—it’s all here. But while it may be a big city where everyday, like everywhere else, is a fight for survival, a rush against time and a play for power and money, it seems to me that people here haven’t forgotten how to live.

There’s always time to say hello to your neighbours, to chat with the taxi driver, to get a pedicure, to gossip with friends over a fine cup of coffee, to let go and dance the night away. Idealism hasn’t gone out of fashion here, community is still the centre of existence and laughter is only a shot of aguardiente away.