Week 4 (and last) in Bogota
Bye Bye Bogota. I write this blogpost on the flight to Buenos Aires, just crossing from Bolivia into Argentina. It’s a 6.5 hours flight almost directly south from Bogota. In the last week in Bogota I was ready to move on. Bogota is fun and there are many reasons to stay here, but I feel that I got a grasp of it, and I am ready to see a new place. It did help that the last week in Bogota was rainy most of the time.
If I need to summarize Bogota (and I don’t need to since you read every word I wrote), it was a positive surprise when it comes to safety, food, liveliness , people, costs, and weather. It was somewhat of a disappointment when it comes to tourist attractions and hiking in the city (see below).
While at the airport, I was following Hapoel Haifa cup semifinal game against Hapoel Raanana, that went into overtime. As the game moved into penalties, the plane started to move along. Just few minutes before it actually took off, I got the message that we won and are going to the final! I somehow contained myself in a plane full of Messi and Hamez supporters. I know that some of you are thinking now: how — after so many years of upsets — he is missing the end of such a great Hapoel Haifa season? And wasn’t he living in the US and missed the 1998/9 Championship season? Well, think again. Do you really think all of this would have happened if I was around to see it? It’s a paradox…
This last week had also two events: my bday and Lel Haseder. For my bday Tal went out and got a bday cake with candles and all, and we did a small family celebration. Then I took the time to respond to the 60-something “happy bday” messages on whatsapp. What did people do before whatsapp? How did they wish happy bday? Oh, there was email. What did they do before email? Phone? F2F God forbid?
With Tal around this week, we repeated some sightseeing, mainly to downtown Bogota, La Candeleria, the Paloquemao food market, and Simon Bolivar Plaza. And Tal spent a lot of time coding, getting her github green, preparing for interviews. The amount of material she covered and the technologies she learned is amazing. Python, MEARN, json, MongoDB, React to name a few. I wish I knew half of the technologies she uses.
Sightseeing
Hiking in Bogota
Nature Hiking in Bogota is not an easy thing to do. For some people — me for example — it is actually impossible. There are few nice hikes that go from several streets in the east of Bogota and up the mountains for a view of the city. Albeit, for safety reasons, these hikes are only open for hiking up and down between 7–9am when there are policemen scattered across the trail. Later in the day, there are policemen standing in the beginning of the trail and will not allow people to go up. Those of you who know me understand why 7–9am hike is not a reality. Still, we were able to hike the streets of Bogota till the beginning of the trail and see the beginning of the trail. See photos.
Experiences
Lel HaSeder
We celebrated Lel Haseder in Tony and Shani’s house in Bogota. We had a lot of fun, reading the hagada all the way to shulchan orech (שולחן עורך) in a fashion that was similar to what we do at home. Tony’s family is from Turkey, and my dad is from Thessaloniki, so not a lot of difference. Other than Tony, Shani and their 4 kids, we also met an Israeli who is a local restaurateur with his wife, a Colombian Jewish friend, and a longtime friend of Tony from Florida. As usual in lel haseder, there was an impossible amount of food and no chance to finish everything. WE brought wine that Tal selected, and humus that I made, with personal advice from Abu Maron over whatsapp.
Street numbers and addresses
Unlike Israel, the UK, and few other places around the world where it is really important to name streets after people and make sure there is no way you can find an address without Waze, in Bogota — as in much of the modern world — they don’t call streets Shderot Rotshield or Bond street. They simple use numbers: Carerras (avenues) go north-south and Calles (streets) go east-west. So when you need to go to carerra 14, house #77–61, you know that you are going to carerra 14, somewhere between calles 77 and 78, and you can navigate there w/o a map or Waze. It’s even more accurate than that: carerra 14, house #77–61 means that the house is on carerra 14, 61 meters after the junction with calle 77. Now go find Alkalai street in Raanana.
Watching Football
For Colombians, when the national football team is playing, everyone is watching. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly game. They will watch at home, in bars, restaurants, local grocery stores and anywhere where there’s a TV, many of them wearing the shirts of the national team.
Food
Eating Healthy
When you put together a 29-years old and a 61-years old, who would you think will eat healthy and who wouldn’t care (or care less)? In the Bogota branch of the Yaacovi family, Tal is simply amazing: she doesn’t eat anything that is not healthy. Only non-processed food, no sugar whatsoever, nothing with preservatives, she drinks nothing but water and wine. Her self-discipline is extraordinary. On the contrary, her dad can’t survive a day with chocolate and/or ice cream, at least half a liter of Pepsi max (or Coke zero), and this is just the beginning. Something turned upside down here.
Real Coffee
While Colombia is one of the coffee grwoing regions of the world, go find black coffee with hel (cardamom) in Bogota. So while last week introduced Tahini back to my life, this week introduced the coffee with hel. And it wasn’t simple. I had to sit thru a whole ceremony of a Colombian lady (with the shirt of the national football team) making it.
Other food
