other travel

bogotá: architecture

City view, from Atlantis shopping center, Bogotá

Bogotá’s growth as a city seemed to be outward rather than upward. Its relative lack of tall buildings point to the fact that acquiring new land was more economic than tearing down older structures & constructing taller ones in their place. Also, the fact that the region is prone to earthquakes made building low a priority. Good examples of colonial buildings dot La Candelaria. The biggest wow for me was the Franciscan Iglesia La Tercera, with construction beginning in 1760 & full of exquisite Rococo carvings… probably of walnut, very dark & sensual:

23 March 2010
3 Comments
other travel

The Colombian capital evidently receives little tourism —odd since bogotanos are ultra friendly, the city sits in a privileged spot, the food is excellent, public transportation is easy & it’s an active & vibrant place. After seven days I felt I’d seen a good portion of the city, but there’s definitely more to explore for a second visit.

31 May 200102 May 2026
25 years ago, other travel

My second year of tour guiding began with yet another assist on the Best of Europe II tour, this time with Dave Hoerlein as lead guide & mentor. He had so much good advice —just like Mary Carlson during the previous year— and gave me the confidence to become a lead guide myself. I still remember many people in this group & hope some of them will stumble upon this post!

The selection above comes from six rolls of film taken during the May portion of this trip. I can tell my composition is improving, but I’m still not able to handle exposure as much as I’d like. All in due time…