Bogotá

6. December 2016.
Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota.
Bogotá ultimately proved to be true; in terms of population (they claim to have 8 millions) I can say it's 4 times more real than Slovenia. I quickly got used to this new reality, so I now begun to doubt about the existence of Slovenia. I was somewhat forced into it by a communication disaster. I admit, I am the last of the Mohicans on this planet: I don't have a smartphone. I had a device called cell phone, but curiously it did not work. Public telephones exist in Colombia, but international calls are so complicated that even the trained staff can not cope with it. E-mail requests a verification code, which is - of course - sent to your smartphone. As a last resort I envisaged sending letters or postcards with kind regards - but even these do not sell any more, and post offices, where you should buy a post stamp, are as rare as white rhinos. Do I really have no other option than to get a smartphone, take it out of the pocket every free second and stare at it like a person with special needs?


Iglesia del Carmen.
Bogotá is a megapolis at the altitude 2600 m. Although there's a lot of traffic, the city is bravely occupied by cyclists. There are many cycle paths with mobile bicycle repair shops, where you can get help with smaller, essential repairs. Every sunday all roads except major arteries are closed to motor traffic and cyclists reign. Even on tuesday when I was on my way to the south I was accompanied by a number of riders equipped to the latest fashion. Hat down to their dedication when they have to wade through 35 km of metropolitan traffic to come to tranquil roads for a training and then return back to the city chaos.


Mobile bicycle repair.
The descent from the mountainous Bogotá to the lowland lasts just a few hours and soon you find yourself in the heat of the tropical environment. There a sign of a hotel with a swimming pool may tempt you to finish the ride a bit earlier and take a refreshment. At night you awake to the sound of the tropical storm that lasts forever and in the morning the whole hotel complex is under water. Eventually even the roof didn't hold up and I had to find strategic locations in the bed, where there was no dripping.

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