The Pope Is Causing Me Anxiety

Monday, Sept. 4, 2017--Bogota

First thing for today was more travel planning.  I decided I needed to find a place to stay at my next stop after Medellin which is Pereira.  I looked at hotels first, but they seem quite expensive with a surprising number of them NOT offering free WiFi.  So I went to Airbnb to search.  I found 3 possibilities for apartments and wrote questions to each.  One answered shortly afterward, another answered in the mid-afternoon, and the other never responded.  Anyway, I booked with the conscientious one that answered first, but I didn't commit until mid-afternoon when I realized only one other was writing.

It was 10:30 before I got away for sightseeing.  I headed to the center of town which I still had not seen.  It's a long walk there with very busy sidewalks the whole way.  But when I got there this time, Bolivar Plaza was open to the public unlike last Friday when it was closed for protests against peace with the FARC rebels.

It's a beautiful square with the Cathedral on one side, the Palace of Justice on another, the City Hall on another, and the Presidential Palace on the other.  It was the Cathedral with its white and gold interior that was a beehive.  It was filled with people and had lines going for blocks.  Why?  Because of the Pope's visit on Wednesday.  I think all those people waiting in line were doing so to go to confession.  There was no mass occurring at the time.  The line was headed down the main aisle, but anyone could walk in and out the side doors.  I walked in and got all the way to the front of the church were ropes and guards kept anyone away who wasn't entering from the lineup.  I got good photos of the crowds, the workers dusting the whole interior, the huge bouquets of white flowers to welcome the Pope, the choir which was singing songs, etc.

Out on the main square, more workers were cleaning.  Some were power washing the pavement, some were sweeping up dust, cigarette butts, etc., that had accumulated along the curbs, etc.  I walked 1 1/2 blocks away to see Iglesia de Concepcion which the guidebook recommended.  It was full of people, too!  It's smaller, but actually prettier inside, I think, than the Cathedral.

From there, I walked down a closed street (had to have my bag inspected) lined with government buildings.  Each looked as if it had been power washed, too.  Everything was spic and span, and people were coming and going in a rush all apparently in anticipation of THE VISIT.

I stopped to see another church, St. Augustin, then I toured a small museum, the Archaeological Museum.  There wasn't much to it.  The guidebook had said it was worth visiting to see the old house that is its home.  I thoroughly agree that the exhibits weren't worth the effort, but I'm not even sure the house was worth it either.

Some of the nicer original homes of Bogota are on Calle 10 going uphill from Bolivar Plaza.  From it, I turned onto Carrera 2 which is a street with lots of students and, therefore, lots of small restaurants and shops and which led to a wonderful square called Plazoleta Chorro de Quevedo which had fascinating shops and restaurants at it and on the narrow streets leading away from it.  One of the shops on that small street was offering coca tea which I assume is a tea made from coca leaves.

I was far from home and had to walk back.  Before leaving that neighborhood, though, I stopped at a small place offering "pizza y gaseosa"--pizza by the slice and a soft drink.  The slices were huge (about the size of a slice at Costco) with a nice, crispy crust.  I got an all vegie one with lots of spinach, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mushrooms, etc.  I was surprised that the gaseosa (soft drink) wasn't a choice; they brought a small cup of the Colombian version of Big Red.  Wow, did it taste sweet!  But that was quite a meal to have been only $1.65 US.

Back at the room, I had more planning to do.  I am worried about the Pope's schedule interfering twice.  Things were so busy today in advance of his Wednesday arrival that they may be worse tomorrow.  I have decided to take the bus toward the airport 1 1/2 hours before I need to be there.  Normally, it is a 42 minute bus ride from here, but I don't want to take a chance of traffic jams or of buses passing me up because they are already full.

But my worries about the Pope continue in Medellin.  I will arrive at the airport rather than the bus station since I am flying, but I feel I need to get to the bus station and buy my ticket for Sunday, since the Pope's visit there will be on Saturday and pilgrims coming to see him from the countryside may fill every bus leaving town on Sunday.  But my research showed that it was a 1 hour cab ride to the bus station or 1 1/2 hours of walking.  Fortunately, I finally found I can take the metro all the way except for a 20 minute walk at the end, so that's what I will do Wednesday morning and buy me a ticket to leave on Sunday.

I spent probably a total of 6 hours planning this morning, late this afternoon, and this evening!  It's frustrating to have to spend so much of my travel time doing that.  But now I am okay for a few days.  I want to enjoy Medellin and maybe make a day trip out of it to one of two possibilities.  Oh, if I do that, I will have to plan how to get to the OTHER bus station, since the buses leaving for either of them will go from the north station, and my bus Sunday will go from the south.  Maybe I'll just stay in the city and enjoy it.