ShonTron
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- Joined
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Note: almost all the pics are from Flickr,and are only 500 pixel widths. Feel free to see all my pics here in all sizes:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7119320@N05/sets/72157623333173027/
I got to go to Colombia a couple of weeks ago for my cousin's wedding. Forget all the stereotypes (except those about the second most-famous crop, coffee, which is amazing there), I found it to be an interesting, safe (by South American standards) and friendly place. The wedding was in a lovely, preserved old Spanish colonial town called Villa de Leyva (the NYT Travel section had a profile on it not long ago).
The security situation improved dramatically over the past 10-15 years, though driving outside the cities, the military maintains a very visible presence, as a deterrent and a sign of safety to travelers.
Below, I present a good selection of photographs of Bogotá. I got to ride the famous BRT system, TransMilenio, which I will describe, and was in town during one of the two car-free days, and on a cycling Sunday.
On the whole, the city reminded me a lot of Los Angeles: a gritty, but interesting downtown core, commercial and office decentralization, but dense, surrounded by mountains and semi-arid plains, severe income stratification.
I will start with the mid-upper class neighbourhood our hotel was in, around Parque 93, a nightlife district:
Note the side-of-road bikeway.
Above were pictures on a "car free" day - only buses, motorcycles, taxis were allowed on the streets. Below, a normal day:
Note all the private mini-buses. They are still the most common form of public transit, though TransMilenio pulled hundreds and hundreds of them off the roads. The city restricts automobiles by licence plate number on an alternating-day basis. Also note the licence plate numbers on reflective vests warn by motorcyclists and moped-drivers.
There's no Starbucks in Colombia. The largest cafe chain is actually called Juan Valdez Cafe. The coffee is good - note I can drink it and enjoy it without any cream or sugar.
On Sundays, streets and lanes are closed for cyclists. Here's some shots in a northern commercial sub-centre:
Despite a large middle class, the south side of the city is the poor section - practically everything south of the Centre.
The downtown core: the old city (which serves as the government centre), and the commercial hub.
Plaza Bolivar - and the Capitol in the background:
The National Cathedral:
The Supreme Court:
The Presidential Palace:
And other Old City shots:
The Downtown:
Note the token preservation of the narrow-gauge streetcar tracks, now TransMilenio buses fly over them.
The view from Monserrate, where there's a chapel on the top. Accessible by path, cable cars or funicular.
And what would a Bogotá photothread be without gratuitous shots of TransMilenio?
TransMilenio is a really interesting BRT system, more complex than I thought. There are dozens of routes, where a letter corresponds to the zone the bus terminates, while the number corresponds with the service pattern (every day, weekday peak only, express, line-haul, short-turn service, etc.). The stations are simple, but are large, with up to three different fare booths, and RFID-card entry system. The buses, with off-side, high-platform doors meet sliding glass platform doors. Despite all the stairs to cross the Autopistas and arterial roads (though streetside entrances are not uncommon), ramps and even elevators make the system 100% accessible.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7119320@N05/sets/72157623333173027/
I got to go to Colombia a couple of weeks ago for my cousin's wedding. Forget all the stereotypes (except those about the second most-famous crop, coffee, which is amazing there), I found it to be an interesting, safe (by South American standards) and friendly place. The wedding was in a lovely, preserved old Spanish colonial town called Villa de Leyva (the NYT Travel section had a profile on it not long ago).
The security situation improved dramatically over the past 10-15 years, though driving outside the cities, the military maintains a very visible presence, as a deterrent and a sign of safety to travelers.
Below, I present a good selection of photographs of Bogotá. I got to ride the famous BRT system, TransMilenio, which I will describe, and was in town during one of the two car-free days, and on a cycling Sunday.
On the whole, the city reminded me a lot of Los Angeles: a gritty, but interesting downtown core, commercial and office decentralization, but dense, surrounded by mountains and semi-arid plains, severe income stratification.
I will start with the mid-upper class neighbourhood our hotel was in, around Parque 93, a nightlife district:
Note the side-of-road bikeway.
Above were pictures on a "car free" day - only buses, motorcycles, taxis were allowed on the streets. Below, a normal day:
Note all the private mini-buses. They are still the most common form of public transit, though TransMilenio pulled hundreds and hundreds of them off the roads. The city restricts automobiles by licence plate number on an alternating-day basis. Also note the licence plate numbers on reflective vests warn by motorcyclists and moped-drivers.
There's no Starbucks in Colombia. The largest cafe chain is actually called Juan Valdez Cafe. The coffee is good - note I can drink it and enjoy it without any cream or sugar.
On Sundays, streets and lanes are closed for cyclists. Here's some shots in a northern commercial sub-centre:
Despite a large middle class, the south side of the city is the poor section - practically everything south of the Centre.
The downtown core: the old city (which serves as the government centre), and the commercial hub.
Plaza Bolivar - and the Capitol in the background:
The National Cathedral:
The Supreme Court:
The Presidential Palace:
And other Old City shots:
The Downtown:
Note the token preservation of the narrow-gauge streetcar tracks, now TransMilenio buses fly over them.
The view from Monserrate, where there's a chapel on the top. Accessible by path, cable cars or funicular.
And what would a Bogotá photothread be without gratuitous shots of TransMilenio?
TransMilenio is a really interesting BRT system, more complex than I thought. There are dozens of routes, where a letter corresponds to the zone the bus terminates, while the number corresponds with the service pattern (every day, weekday peak only, express, line-haul, short-turn service, etc.). The stations are simple, but are large, with up to three different fare booths, and RFID-card entry system. The buses, with off-side, high-platform doors meet sliding glass platform doors. Despite all the stairs to cross the Autopistas and arterial roads (though streetside entrances are not uncommon), ramps and even elevators make the system 100% accessible.
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