Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [53]
Peperepe tejo hall
Cuadra Picha
Parque Simón Bolívar (above)
Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao (right)
Maloka (right)
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A kilometer south, and a short walk from the bus station in the planned neighborhood of La Salistre, Maloka (Map; 427 2707; www.maloka.org, in Spanish; Carrera 68D No 51; museum/cinema/both COP$8000/10,000/17,000; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat, 11am-7pm Sun) is a kid-oriented interactive center of science and technology. Lots of kids in uniform amble about the eight rooms – using physics to lift a car, or playing in the life-sized toy-block park. There’s also a high-tech Cine Domo cinema, which plays 40-minute films on a huge dome-ceiling.
A bit closer to the center, Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao (Map; cnr Av 19 & Carrera 25; roughly 8am-1pm) is a real-deal, messy Colombian market.
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ACTIVITIES
If you’re looking for a place to kick around a football or go for a jog, try the Parque Simón Bolívar (left), or just go for a climb up Monserrate on weekend mornings.
Bogotá rock-climbers head off to nearby Suesca, but if you want to hone your skills in town, there is a towering climbing wall at Gran Pared (Map; 285 0903; www.granpared.com, in Spanish; Carrera 7 No 50-02; per hr with equipment & instructor COP$16,000, without instructor COP$12,000; 10am-9:45pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5:45pm Sun).
Higher-priced hotels frequently have gyms. One popular exercise spot for locals into the exercise-bike regime is Spinning Center (Map; 636 0590; Calle 94 No 14-47; day/10-day ticket COP$20,000/100,000; 5am-10pm Mon-Thu, 5am-9pm Fri, 7am-5pm Sat, 7am-3pm Sun).
For real biking, nothing beats Bogotá’s incredible 300km network of CicloRuta – separate bike lanes that cross the city. Or Ciclovia, when 122km of roads open for bikes and pedestrians only on Sundays and holidays from 7am to 2pm. Even if you’re on foot, there’s a big open jazzercise session at the Parque Nacional Herrera (Map; cnr Carrera 7 & Calle 39) on Sunday mornings too.
Sadly, there are presently no rental bikes available in Bogotá. You can buy a cheapie for about COP$100,000 at shops on Calle 13 between Carreras 17 and 20.
If you don’t want to buy a bike, there there are a few agencies that run tours. Cyclota (www.cyclota.com, tomascastrillon@unionelementl.com) is a new outfit run by a young English-speaking biker who leads personalized mountain rides or Ciclovia rides, as well as a ‘Ruta Verde’ ride from Parque Nacional Herrera to Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis. City rides cost US$65/55 per person for a group of two/three, including bike, helmet, hotel pick-up and a snack. Cyclota also helped organize a new bike race Cordillera (www.cordillera-colombia.com), a 300km ride scheduled for November 2009.
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COURSES
Spanish in Colombia comes with a clearer pronunciation than some Latin American destinations. Ask at a hostel or drop by a PIT location Click here to find out about Spanish-language tutors. A few schools with organized classes follow:
International House Bogotá (Map; 336 4747; www.ihbogota.com; Calle 10 No 4-09; 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm Sat) Offers group Spanish-language courses in La Candelaria (US$200 per week for five four-hour mornings) or private tutors (US$29 per hour).
Nueva Lengua ( 861 5555; www.nuevalengua.com/spanish; Universidad La Sabana, Km21 Autopista del Norte, edificio G, oficina 109) This language school offers a number of study programs – also at its branches in Medellín and Cartagena. A 25-hour week with a private teacher costs US$460, a 20-hour week in a small class is US$180, and a four-week (minimum) study-and-volunteer program, including work at an orphanage or hospital, is US$460.
Universidad Javeriana’s Centro Latinoamericano (Map; 320 8320, ext 4620; www.javeriana.edu.co; Transversal 4 No 42-00, piso 4) Bogotá’s best-known school of the Spanish language,