How I spent my first million…
Colombian Pesos!
But before I get to that, let me fill you on on how my first week has gone.
While I had a hotel reservation for my first couple of nights, I didn’t actually give any thought to how I was getting there from the airport. I didn’t check the Uber situation, or any ride hailing apps that they may use here. Luckily, I had already exchanged money in London just to make sure I had cash, local currency for that matter, on arrival. So my plan was just to walk straight to the taxi rank and show them the address.
Luckily, I told the girl next to me on the plane and she told me that Uber works here. Phew! The only unfortunate thing was that the airport wifi was free for only 30 minutes. And of course, my time ran out just as we were trying to locate each other. Anyway.. I found my driver and we chatted.
He did not speak a word English, the taxi ride really forced me the break the ice with my Spanish. He was very friendly and genuine. He was telling me some of the history and structure of Bogota. The differences between Rolos (migrants/2nd generation Bogotanos) and Cachacos (pure Bogotanos). The parts of town where the clases altas and clases bajas live and that my hotel in a hip area called Chapinero which is lively and LGBTQ+ friendly.
Before leaving the taxi he made sure to give me some advice in regards to navigating Bogota with the number one piece of advice being:
No dar papaya
In other words, don’t be flashy. Anything that is of value, leave it behind and be cautious with jewellery and having your phone on show. Other pieces on advice included:
Don’t walk alone at night, especially in the historic area of La Candelaria
Join a tour to familiarise with the city
Pace yourself with the street food and don’t eat it in excess. I would be better off eating in restaurants for the first couple of days
When hailing taxis, ensure that it is the yellow taxi as they are registered and make sure that the charge is by the meter. When ordering Ubers, make sure to verify the vehicle and driver before getting in
That don’t eat in excess part.. especially the use of the word excess reminded me of my mum. I really appreciated the warm welcome I received from him.
Arriving in the early hours plus my body still being 6 hours ahead meant that my body was no where near ready to sleep.
My first mission of the day was to figure out how to get a simcard. I have to love blog buffs for this, because travelling blogs made it really easy for me to know which network and which package to go for. There was a 10GB valid for 15 days which I thought would come in handy until the I was recommended to go for 55GB which was valid for two months. The cost of this was equivalent to £6.00. Can you imagine, the UK could never!
Having spent my first day walking around the area, it didn’t actually sink in that I was in Colombia. That I was finally here.
It wasn’t until I went to Mercado Paloquemaio that it really hit me. Like really. Paloquemao is a massive indoor-ish market with fresh produce. If there is something you should about me is that love markets. It is extremely busy and has narrow walkways. So you can imagine the swarm of people I was met with when I arrived. The hustle and bustle in what seemed like a very compact maze. I sat down to have an empanadda and to my surprise the couple next to me bought a cannabis plant. Like a domestic houseplant. I was so confused, but it is clearly legal to own the plant.
Throughout the week, I continued to explore by foot as much as possible. I went to Montserrate which is either an hour of climbing stairs or a cable car. I am sure you can guess which route I took. The views of the city were phenomenal. I also visited the Museo del Oro (Museum of Gold) and tried the comforting ajiaco, a Bogotano soup, after being beaten by rain.
Just when I thought I escaped bipolar weather, it has followed me here. One minute you’re sweating, next minute it is pouring it down and you’re left shivering. I am sure this constant weather change is what contributed to [what I believe to be] my chest infection. But I kept it pushing.
As my body clock was adapting, I realised that there will be a time during my daytime that my people back home are going to be asleep and I will really be alone. My sister recommended I start searching for friends on Bumble BFF which I thought was a great idea.
Fortunately I matched which a lovely person who I got on with pretty instantly and we decided for our meet up to be an Airbnb Experience. I have to say that it was by far the best day I’ve had this week. It was my first time doing one and it did not disappoint. After the experience, my new buddy and I continued walking , talking and window shopping from Zone G (gourmet) to Zone T (quirky shops) and ended the day with dinner. It was a very natural and wholesome day.
Now the juicy bit..
1,000,000 COP = 193.20 GBP / 221.43 EUR / 234.76 USD
It has taken me 5 days to spend a million pesos. What I’ve listed is what I have spent since arriving and I am pleasantly surprised with how money stretches. I understand what Ben meant in terms of first world living, third world prices. Let me not bother compare it to the UK but Ghana could never.
What I particularly find interesting is that with the number of expats that around, they have not inflated the prices to align with its western equivalent value like some countries do. I hear this is the case in Medellin though but I am yet to find out.
For example, the 14,000 COP I spent at Paloquemao got me, an orange, orange juice, empanada, avena (milky drink), augergine and chilli pepper. I am an economics graduate, I know how currency works and I know cost of living is in relation to average wages. But the cost of certain raw materials are aligned on a global scale.. so why do things have to cost so much in the west. The discrepancy is a lot. Anyway, this is a conversation for another day. I don’t want to get carried away as I will be here for a while. Also.. I am also very conscious of not allowing lifestyle creep to get to me. You know what they say, when in Rome..
