This post has a mishmash of photos taken during my outing in La Candelaria yesterday. Sunday is a good day to roam around Bogotá. There’s less traffic, the streets aren’t so crowded, and people are more relaxed and easy-going. Again, the light wasn’t good for taking photos – blame the sky….
These pictures don’t do justice to the colonial buildings. Many are on narrow cobblestoned streets making it difficult to find a good vantage point for taking photos.
The presidential residence occupied by Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, President of Colombia, was cordoned off. Pedestrians weren’t allowed to walk on the sidewalks surrounding the palace. Armed guards were all over the place with toy soldier looking ones positioned in front of the residence.
Last evening I may have missed THE photo opportunity of the time here in Bogotá. At dusk the setting sun cast a bright white spotlight on Monserrate where it sits perched on a hill above La Candelaria. The surrounding clouds were a gorgeous pink cotton candy color! I spotted it walking back to the hotel and it was spectacular – but I didn’t have a camera with me….
It’s been difficult getting to know Bogotá and just as I’m warning up to it, adjusting to the climate, and feeling more comfortable getting around, it’s time to move on to Cali. I was doing my usual mindless wandering yesterday checking things out and taking photos when a Colombian woman with a distressed look on her face approached me and said, “Tenga cuidado señora! Este es un lugar muy peligroso para estar caminado solo!”
She was warning me that I had wandered into a dangerous neighborhood where it wasn’t safe to be walking around alone taking pictures. She suggested I go back to the more populated public squares guarded by police. I thanked her and was grateful she pointed this out. Bogotá can be dangerous if you aren’t alert and sometimes I get distracted and don’t pay enough attention to where I’m walking. It was sweet of her to intervene and help. She likely saved this gringa from a bad experience!
Adiós por ahora!
