Saturday, September 15, 2018

Bogotá - Parques, Museos & Cervezas

For day two in Bogotá, we decided to spend some time outdoors in the morning and hit up some museums in the afternoon. The weather was lovely, a mix of sunny and cloudy in the mid 60s - perfect for jeans and a light jacket. We had this weather for most of the trip. We started with breakfast at the hotel. There was a large group of performers staying in our hotel for some sort of carnaval or event, which added a festive atmosphere. After breakfast we took an Uber to Parque Simon Bolivar, a large park on the western side of the city. There were a lot of people out and about jogging, biking, and flying kites. We walked around the lake in the middle of the park, and then crossed the street to Salitre Magico, a small amusement park. Paul got a roller coaster credit (only his second in South America) and we rode the Ferris Wheel for views of the city and surrounding mountains.

Some of the performers getting ready outside our hotel.
Breakfast on the hotel terrace. A lot of places had these partially open, partially glassed-in eating areas.
The lake in Parque Simon Bolivar, with skyscrapers in the distance.
It's a nice big city park.
Salitre Magico!
Salitre Magico has one of the first modern looping coasters, originally built in South Carolina in 1975.
Unfortunately this unique French-built coaster wasn't operating.
Great views from the Ferris Wheel.
David isn't the biggest fan of heights....
Skyscrapers and mountains.
After spending some time at Salitre Magico, we took an Uber to La Macarena district for lunch at Chibchombia, a restaurant specializing in typical Colombian cuisine. We tried Bandeja Paisa and Ajiaca, two popular local dishes, both delicious. Next we walked to the National Museum, just a few blocks away. Unfortunately large portions of the museum were closed for extensive renovations, but what we did see was great. It's housed in a former prison, so it has really interesting interior design that highlights art inside former cells. After strolling around for a while, we took a break at the museum cafe and had some tea. Another general truth is that museums outside the United States have better cafes; something we've come to experience on multiple trips. Here we discovered that té nevada means a frappe. Something we didn't forget later on the trip.

The cool interior of Chibchombia.
Bandeja Paisa, a dish with all kinds of meat.
David with the first ajiaco of the trip.
View toward a business district. There were several large modern skyscrapers under construction throughout the city.
The National Museum, housed in a former prison.
A recently renovated exhibit. Cool mix of paintings and projected photos.
The museum has nice interior design.  You can tell where former cells used to be located.
Mixing impressionism with realism.
Some more Botero, because Colombia.
National Museum courtyard.

After touring the museum we took Bogotá's bus rapid transit system towards the city center to visit another museum and a shopping area called the Pasaje Rivas. The bus system, called Transmilenio, functions somewhere between a train and bus system. The station near the National Museum is underground and looks like a train station. You get a transit card and tap to enter the station. once inside you line up at the door with the bus number you want to take. When the bus arrives, the gates open and  you enter flat as if you were boarding a subway. The bus then comes out from underground and generally operates in it's own exclusive lane, with the only delays being at cross streets when there's a red light. Overall, this system is held up as a great example of how you can build a reliable transit service without the immense cost associated with building a subway system.

Pasaje Rivas is an interesting artist market. There are tons of stalls with different art, handicrafts, tourist knick-knacks and food. The market is located in a bustling part of the city near some of the other major tourist attractions, like the Museo del Oro; which we visited right after exploring the market. The Museo del Oro is a modern museum that houses numerous exhibits of crafts produced by pre-Columbian people in the Andes and coastal plains of Colombia. The museum does a good job explaining some aspects of the culture of the indigenous people through their craftsmanship. The well manicured exhibits highlight some really spectacular pieces of art and the museum is worth a visit, as it doesn't take too long to explore.

The Transmilenio station near the National Museum.
Bustling streets near the Pasaje Rivas.
Museo del Oro exhibit.
Lots of gold here, obviously, but also exhibits detailing the history of the pre-Columbian period.
Candelaria area at sunset.

After walking around the city center a bit, we took an Uber to a beer bar called Dos Carreras. Our Uber driver was very friendly and he told us he collected US quarters. We were bummed we didn't have any on us to contribute to his collection.

Bogotá has a small but burgeoning beer scene. There are lots of little beer bars and pubs popping up around town and it seems to be more common than wine. That said, the beer scene isn't quite as diverse or well crafted as many other places we've visited. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. After getting a drink at Dos Carreras, we moseyed a few blocks down the road to another bar called El Mono Bandido Quinta Camacho (The fifth monkey bandit Camacho) - weird name. The bar had a really cool industrial interior vibe, some good snacks, beer and cocktails. Overall, one of the better bars we visited in Bogotá.

Afterwards, we stopped by the neighborhood grocery store on the way to the hotel to relax a bit. A little later that evening we went out because David was hungry. We found a little Mexican fast food chain restaurant called Taco Loco - where David got some nachos - and then swung by a small park near our hotel called El Parque de Los Hippies (weird, right?). The park had a bunch of people hanging out, drinking and socializing. All in all a great way to end a fun day in Bogotá.

The beer at Dos Carreras.
Most beer in Bogotá looked exactly like this - not much diversity in style yet.
Paul's always excited to try new beer places!
El Mono Bandido had a neat industrial interior.
Cool theming as well. The little crocodile was tied to our bill, so we just handed that to the register to pay on the way out.
Probably one of the least nice meals we had... but nachos are always delicious.
LGBT pride sign in El Parque de Los Hippies
We spent two more days in the city, coming up in our last Bogotá post.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Leo - A Culinary Journey Through Colombia

When planning our trip to Bogotá, we decided to make a reservation at a nice restaurant. We've had some great experiences doing this in other countries, including Central in Lima and Dulce Patria in Mexico City. After some searching we decided on Leo, Rated one of the best restaurants in Latin America. It's named for the chef, Leonor Espinosa, who was recently was named the top female chef in Latin America. The experience was an 11-course tasting menu paired with local alcohols, utilizing food from all of the different regions of Colombia. Here's a short video about the restaurant:


Our meal included all kinds of unfamiliar plants, and animals ranging from ants to caiman. Definitely a unique experience! We took a picture of each dish, so join us on our food journey across Colombia:

The unassuming exterior of Leo.
They menu had a list of ingredients and what biome they were from.
Starting with guava wine.
Seasonal white fish with paramo leaves and copoazu. This was kind of like ceviche; the leaves were from the high desert with oil from a rainforest fruit. Nice fresh way to start the meal!
Achira (a type of arrowroot) bread with super fancy butter.
Next was Paul's favorite dish, which was multi-part. On the right is yogurt cheese with limonero ants on blue potato crisps; on the left is crayfish with mandarin lemon leaf, pepper, and coconut milk. The limonero ants eat lime tree leaves, and have a really tart citrus flavor. Delicious and unique!
The crushed limonero ants were amazing, pairing well with the salty chip and tangy cheese.
The coconut milk was a pallet cleanser under the crayfish dish.
Next was albacore tuna with santander ("big butt") ants, pepper, and molasses.
The next dish was steamed coastal fish and sea snails in a plantain leaf with coconut rice. Coastal and tropical flavors.
Caiman tail with peach-palm and an amazonian black pepper flan. The savory flan was great, and yes, the caiman tasted like chicken.
For scale, you can see that most food was just a few bites. We were still very full by the end!
Next was perhaps the most unique dish, which the waiter described as "three types of cold." It had Pirariucu (a river fish that can grow up to 10 feet long), cacay (milk from a rainforest nut), sour yucca, and ojo de pez pepper. It was topped with shaved ice. Unlike anything we've ever eaten.
Our food was paired with various Colombian alcohols. This was a fermented coca drink.
This was David's favorite dish. Kapeshuna (a type of cowpea), native red bean, santamaria de anis (an herb) and mushrooms. It was very earthy with strong flavors and a great texture. You smash the bean truffles and eat them together.

Is it a taco? Kind of! Duck on corn flatbread. A nice flavorful bite.
If there's anything you should know about Paul, it's that he loves duck! This one came with a fruit wine.
A really interesting looking dish came out next. Stuffed tallo leaves with a three-meat gravy (beef, pork, and chicken) and andean tubers. The leaf was bitter and the gravy was savory.
Never eaten rodent? We have! This was ponche (capybara) chicarron with native red bean. Paul liked it! David, not so much.
The first dessert! Oro miel (gold honey) pineapple, pote chesse, masato (fermented yuca), and coquindo (a medicinal plant). A surprisingly savory dish.
Fermented coffee alcohol infused with cascara (tea made from coffee fruit)
Second dessert - shredded heart of palm, sabajon (Colombian-style eggnog), and feijoa. This dish had a neat texture.
The final dessert was Tumaco chocolate. It was a really thin shell with cold liquid inside. Delicious!
Leo was a fantastic experience. The food was unique, and every dish had something we'd never tasted before. It's not food that Bogotános normally eat; rather it's a talented chef's skillful use of native ingredients. It should definitely be on your list if you're ever in Bogotá.