Adapting to high altitude and other Bogotá, Colombia Warning Or Danger Tips

Remember that Bogotá is quite a high altitude, 2800ish m. Montserrate is ~ 3200ish m. if I'm right. So upon arrival in Bogotá (if you're from a much lower altitude place), take it easy the first few days, don't go on super walk-abouts. Things will feel a little lighter at first (your baggage) as your blood adapts to the different oxygen level in the air. Also don't eat too much at first. Of course, on your trip DO stick to bottled water EVEN THOUGH THE COLOMBIAN PEOPLE will claim that their water is among the best in the world.

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Don't go just anywhere in the city on your own or even with whom you're traveling. Be wise about where you choose to venture / have a connection(s) there if possible so have someone trustworthy with whom you can consult about places to see / go.

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There are busy places full of street vendors and lots of people not to mention full buses and marketplaces including flea markets. Of course no matter where you go at any time especially where there are lotza people be careful for thieves. Keep your stuff to yourself, or your bag in front of you. One thing that I also didn't do was pull out my camera in a place I felt I shouldn't and/or mi amiga recommended that I did not ~ kept away from spelling myself out as 'tourist'. For those places I sometimes used a disposable camera instead of my good one.

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There are lots sidewalks in Bogotá, and plenty of them have plenty of holes one to two feet deep in sidewalks. There was even one in the sidewalk right in front of the door to my friend's place. See the nice cover on the sidewalk in the picture? Well that one has its cover, but many of those covers are missing in sidewalks, so they're not just little holes!

On holes not so big as that size, it seems some people will try to fix the hole by putting a rock over it. It really does not solve the problem, so look out for rocks in your path too!

And don't miss uneven sidewalks. There's no use in getting bruised and banged up shins and knees on your trip!

Get this-- I was told that those sidewalk hole covers are in many cases stolen (what would someone want with those?) The other side of the story is that the stealer becomes the supplier and the city apparently buys them back. So the answer I guess is that they want money. Crazy. it's another one of those Latin America things, that just makes you shake your head.

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