Taking You to South America – The Colombia Chapter (1) Capital Bogota
Five hundred thousand Colombian pesos
In 2016, the decision to travel to the Andes Mountains in South America led to abandoning Colombia, as it was then embroiled in civil war.
During the summer of 2018, I successfully obtained a Venezuelan visa and planned to visit these two countries together, whichever one first.
From Cancun, I took an airport bus to T3 terminal, where I was constantly greeted by Colombians, who showed me their tickets and said they were also going to Bogota. Some directed me to the terminal, while others told me to go to B1 Gate to prepare for boarding. The flight manifest only had Spanish-language immigration forms. A boy proactively used English to translate for me. At 2:00 AM, we landed at Bogota Airport.
I initially exchanged some dollars for local currency. A driver persistently approached me, negotiating a price. When I saw the car wasn't a legitimate taxi, I declined to take it, and the driver showed me his Uber registration, asking me to verify the license plate number. It was late at night, and the driver didn't seem malicious, so I took a black car. The driver was very polite, and he wouldn't even open the car door for me; he would hand my luggage directly to the hotel staff. This gesture was quite customary and different from some other South American countries. Overall, the Colombians' actions gave me a good impression.
However, Colombian money is formidable. At the airport, I exchanged 50 dollars for 143,000 pesos. Later, I learned that the approximate exchange rate between dollars and pesos was 1:3150. I struggled to keep track of the numbers. The Colombian peso cover, this isn't 50 individual pesos but five thousand, 50 thousand meaning. It seems that when the currency value becomes more stable, Colombia will also remove three zeros. This is better in Belize, 1:2, regardless of small stalls, hotels, shops or restaurants, it recognizes Belizean currency, if none, then dollar.
Bogota, the capital of the Republic of Colombia, is located at the eastern end of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range in Colombia, at an altitude of 2640 meters. Although this city is close to the equator, its high altitude results in four seasons throughout the year, with an average temperature of 14°C. The population is approximately 6 million. Bogota was founded in 1538 as the cultural center of the indigenous Chibcha people. During the Spanish colonial rule of Colombia, it served as the capital of the Captaincy General of New Granada. Since 1860, it has been the capital of the Republic of Colombia. Due to its location in the heart of Colombia, it retains a wealth of cultural heritage and is known as 'South America's Athens'. The universities, museums, observatories, and churches built in the 16th and 17th centuries are still well-preserved.
