Happy Birthday Bogotá

Michael:  Today, August 6, 2013 Bogotá, Colombia celebrates its birthday. Four hundred seventy five years ago Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesado founded the city under the name of Santa Fé.

This makes Bogotá older than any city in the USA. Saint Augustine began 27 years later in 1565. Jamestown, Virginia and Santa Fe, New Mexico started their life in 1607.

I thought this is a good time to provide information about what Colombia's capital city and one of Latin America's largest really is.

Bogotá is History - Even before the Spanish arrived Muisca Indians inhabited the area and made it an important area for commerce and more. Since then Bogotá has seen battles, endured change and grown to a modern city.  Many old buildings show and attest to its annals. We already wrote about Candelaria, the old part of the city. To discover more of it's 19th and 20th century history a visit to the National Museum is recommended. The many newer buildings, Transmilenio transportation system and modern shopping areas attest to the city's place among the modern cities in the world.

Graciela:  Bogotá is museums - There are over 20 interesting museums in the city. The most visited is the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum). Others include the National Museum, the Botero Museum , and the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá.

Michael:  Bogota is safe - I want to that this contention out of the way immediately. If we consider numbers then you have an almost four times better chance of being murdered in Flint, Michigan than you do in Bogotá, Colombia. I have lived here for eight years and am not only still alive, but have never been kidnapped or mugged.

Graciela:  Bogota is shopping - Yes we have malls. Centro Comercial Santafé is an excellent place in the North of the city. Titan Plaza is our newest mall with many unique stores. Hacienda Santa Bárbara in Usaquen is considered very unique by visitors. Unicentro is across from the Estelar La Fontana hotel where many people stay for weddings as it has a chapel on the grounds. But besides a large number of other malls, we have small shops. For instance Zona Rosa and Zona T areas feature many designer clothes shops. There is no place like Usaquen on a Saturday and Sunday to find original art and craft items.

Michael:  Bogota is restaurants -  Sometimes I believe that I travel on my stomach. However it makes no sense to me to travel to one country to eat food from another country. Therefore I recommend when in Bogotá that one tries all the Colombian dishes. And in the city there are places representative of all areas of the country. Smaller restaurants often serve the best typical food. Colombians do meat very well. The fact that the cows are grass fed helps the taste. But it is enhanced by slow cooking over a wood fire. This places are called parrillas. Look also for restaurants with the typical Colombian ajiaco. Graciela and I wrote about that very tasty and filling soup.

Graciela:  Bogotá is Spanish language - It is widely accepted that Bogotanos speak the best Spanish in Latin America. This is the place to listen and learn.

Michael:  Bogotá is coffee shops - Really what else would you expect from a country that grows the best coffee in the world. No Starbucks here,  we have Juan Valdez and Oma coffee shops. There are many smaller places that take great pride in their brews. Every panaderia (bakery shop) seems also to serve coffee.

Graciela:  Bogotá is Culture - We are known for being friendly and helpful people. We love music and dancing and many of our places show it.

Michael:  Graciela and I cover Museums, restaurants, coffee shops, the people, history and more about Bogotá on our web site of www.MichaelandGraciela.com. We are adding more each day. If you have a question there is a form on our "About" page. Please take and look and we hope that you visit and enjoy our city.