A view of Bogota from the hotel window

I was surprised how much traffic there was on this main thoroughfare, Calle 26, all night long. We have yet to determine if there is any cooling system in this hotel, but suspect not so we opened the small window to let in fresh air. From the 10th floor we look out on an amazing array of mountains circling the city and as the sky clears, and the sun peeks through, the mountains are coming into focus.

We are in a neighborhood close to the university and also close to an agricultural fair that is currently taking place. The skyline is a mix of old, two and three story buildings and newer high rises.  In the distance you can see clusters of apartment buildings and homes.

Tomorrow is independence day in Bogota and today one side of the highway appears to be closed to traffic except city buses. There are many people out running and on bicycles. The sounds of this city remind me of Taipei.

6:30pm
Esperanza arrived at 10am this morning and I was so surprised to see her mother with her. I was nervous to ask about her since Esperanza hadn't mentioned her, but she is 90 and sharp and funny. Well, funny to anyone who speaks Spanish, but the change in her expression when she says something that humors her says it all. We sat in the hotel lobby for a while as her mom explained that she couldn't walk much because her knees bother her. She agreed finally to join us at the Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum) for a snack. We got all the way to the cafeteria where there was a coffee bar and she decided she didn't want anything so she just sat while Esperanza and I had lattes. As we stared into the gift shop from our table she told Esperanza she should buy me something since I had brought her a scarf and bag from the Met in NYC. So we got up and went shopping, but I assured her as we skimmed along the cabinets filled with gold (what else at the Gold Museum?) that there would be plenty of time to buy a souvenir. I'll see her again in two weeks. Her name, I now know, is Adela Parra.

The cab driver was waiting for us and it turns out that he often drives Esperanza around the city. He took Adela home and we left to visit the museum and walk around the city. The museums are all free on Sunday so we visited this one and then stopped at the Iglesia Museo de Santa Clara, Catedral Primada, and my favorite, Museo Bortero, a collection of Fernando Bortero's works and an assortment of other modern and impressionist painters and sculptors. We also hopped on a Tranvia and toured the Candelaria with a stop at Simon Bolivar's home and garden.

President's residence

    Gardens at Simon Bolivar's home.

I didn't know I knew Bortero's work, but I have loved three of his bronze sculptures in NYC without realizing they are his. It's obvious to me now. The two huge figures in Columbus Circle and a fat cat sitting outside an apartment building. Among my favorites today were this portrait of Bortero painting a portrait and Monalisa.

View through the second floor entrance to a gallery at the Bortero Museum

We ended the afternoon with a very late lunch of traditional Bogota chicken and potato soup dish, ajiaco, served with a piece of corn on the cob, an avocado slice and a scoop of rice.

Other sightings around Bogota:

Man atop a buildingPigeon in a hole in the wall of the Santa Clara Museum

Ceiling detail at the museum

Sweets