The city

Bogota is a vast city of about 5 million, maybe including the suburbs. Surrounded by mountains, rather oddly placed for a capital city. The northern part of the city is very wealthy and around the snazzy mall up there it really looks like the US. There's even a Blockbuster and a TGI Friday. Foreign students often live up there, frightened away from the much cooler center of town by people who have hardly ever set foot there. It's kind of like moving directly to the Marina after getting to SF.

The city is quite polluted. It would seem that few people have their own cars, but the streets are dominated by taxis and colorful but diesel-exhaust-belching buses. It's painful to see how much smoke is coming out of these things. Taxis are the best way to get around, and they're ridiculously cheap. A 100 block, 45 minute ride cost 8000 pesos: $3.20.

I haven't seen much of the place but I'm gonna get a bike and wander around the place (keeping away from the nasty areas, of course).