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March 11, 2005
Lunch time
Don't try to reach anyone in Bogota between 12 and 2 p.m. The city stops for two hours every weekday to give workers time off for lunch. Bogotanos take their lunch seriously. They often walk out of office buildings in groups and stroll side by side, taking up the entire width of the sidewalk and blocking the way of fast walkers like myself. It used to aggravate me at first, but I'm getting used to it now and, like bogotanos, enjoying the daily break I'm forced to take.
I had lunch at Salto del Angel today, a tony restaurant in tonier Zona Rosa, one of the wealthiest sections of Bogota. The service was incredible; there were three polite young men waiting my table, and every other table for that matter, before you think I had extra attention because I was a woman having lunch on my own. For Colombian standards, Salto del Angel is an expensive place to eat. They play bad American music and charge $27,000 pesos for New York Strip Steak. I found it to be an outrage to pay so much for food, for lunch has cost me no more than $12,000 pesos a day. I ordered a salad, then, and it was only on my way to an interview that I realized that $27,000 pesos is no more than $13 - a bargain for good steak.
For people with dollar in their pockets, Bogota is a cheap city and a great place to buy shoes (I can see my husband cringe as he reads this line). I haven't bought any yet. After all, I'm a fellow on a stipend!
Tomorrow, I'll meet the leftist mayor of Bogota, Lucho Garzon, a former union leader and the son of a Colombian maid abandoned by her husband when Lucho was only 7 years old. Today, I met ex-mayor Enrique Penalosa, who was born in Washington, D.C., graduated from Duke University and has a an office on the 11th floor of a building on the edge of Zona Rosa, where one has a panoramic view of Bogota.
The two mayors represent the paradox that's so real in a city where a disarmed paramilitary soldier walks the same streets as someone who fled the violence of the war that rages in the Colombian countryside.
Posted by Fernanda Santos at March 11, 2005 06:03 PM
Comments
Fernanda, Thanks for keeping us informed about your whereabouts, Stay safe!
Posted by: Mariela at March 12, 2005 02:19 PM
Fernanda,
I found your blog thru a friend who is on a reporters fellowship in Mozambique. I lived in Bogota when I was 13 in the late 80's (not exactly a good time, maybe even more dangerous than now due to my Father's business - I attended Colegio Nueva Granada a school home to expats and wealthy Colombian children) I never would have dreamed of taking a taxi! My how things have changed. I did want to recommend a local dish Ajiaco. It's an AMAZING potato-based chicken soup that is served with avacado. Quite delicious! Enjoy Colombia - it can be a beautiful and fascinating place.
Posted by: Katherine at March 12, 2005 09:45 PM
Hi Fernanda:
This is, again a proof of your special character, proof of sensitivity and humor. This, your blog, is a great idea. I only wish there were pictures (well maybe you have because I have not finished everything yet).
In Haiti also the hours between 12 noon and 2:PM are dead hours for any business except restaurants.
I'll have Ray take a look when he gets home. Sorry we did not respond to your last e-mail. This month has been extremely busy. This past week only we had something going on everyday, including a black tie diplomatic reception at the White House (a photo op with the President and Mrs. Bush) and a festival "de la francophonie" at the French Embassy, where I catered the Haitian table for about 300 people! It was great.
Keep on bringing happiness.
Lola
Posted by: Lola at March 21, 2005 02:01 PM