ColombiaMap
January Drugs and armed bandits roaming the streets are about as common in Colombia as bears and balalaikas are in Russian cities. The reality is that it’s an absolutely wonderful and welcoming country. ![]() A “No Honking” sign (just like the one in Peru). ![]() A “Road Work Ahead” sign. ![]() A “Road Work” sign. ![]() “Children.” The older boy is always holding the little girl by her purse. ![]() “Children Playing.” ![]() “No Littering.” The sign shows a trash can being emptied out onto the street. ![]() “Boom Gate.” ![]() An ingenious local sign for a dangerous intersection. It’s immediately clear what the danger is. ![]() I love anti-corruption campaigns and posters. They always appear in countries where bribes are readily given and accepted. ![]() The hotel hallway has glow-in-the-dark arrows on the baseboard to indicate the location of the nearest fire exit. ![]() The country has several mobile network operators. Calling a number on another network is more expensive than calling one within the same network, which is why there are people selling mobile minutes on every corner. You pay them and use a phone with a SIM card for the network you need to make your call. The cellphones are often chained to the carts. ![]() A license plate. ![]() For security reasons, all commercial vehicles, from taxis to trucks, have stickers with their license number on their sides (like in Peru, Bolivia, or Burundi). The stickers here are usually a detailed imitation of an actual license plate. ![]() Unlike neighboring countries, here the license number is also displayed on the roof of the car. This makes it easier for police helicopters to track cars in the event of a chase. ![]() BogotaMapOne half of the city consists of slums of varying degrees of slumminess. ![]() The other half consists of wonderful cozy green neighborhoods with excellent brick buildings. Everything is neat and pretty—no air conditioners on the facades or self-installed window units with plastic frames. ![]() Occasionally, a horse-drawn cart will pass by. ![]() Or, more frequently, a bus. ![]() The city has a bus rapid transit system called TransMilenio (see Curitiba, Guatemala City, Lima, or Quito). ![]() The stops are easy to identify by the conglomeration of stairways leading from the roadside to the center of the highway, where the bus-only lanes are located. ![]() In addition to the rapid transit system, there are also regular city buses. These are easily recognized by their incredibly hideous front end. ![]() A traffic light. ![]() A waterworks hatch. ![]() A hydrant. ![]() Box junctions are marked with diagonal criss-crossing lines on the road surface (hello, USA, Northern Cyprus, Romania, Hong Kong, and Belgrade!). ![]() A wayfinding sign. ![]() A neat local feature: all signs on buildings use distinctive dancing lettering. It’s incredibly original and stylish. ![]() Street name signs. ![]() The building numbering system was recently changed. The old numbers have been crossed out with diagonal red lines. ![]() Monuments are bundled up in sheets for the duration of road repairs so that they don’t get ruined. ![]() A view of the city from the mountain. ![]() A young man does push-ups with his girlfriend on his back for extra macho points. ![]() The city commissioned a cableway from Switzerland, but calculated the slope angle incorrectly. The Swiss manufactured the cable cars to specifications, so the doors ended up not quite perpendicular to the ground. ![]() CartagenaMapCartagena also consists of two parts. One is a sort of local luxury resort with high-rises. Reminds me of downtown Panama. ![]() The only interesting thing here is the red payphones. ![]() The other part is a very charming colonial town. ![]() With pretty wooden bars over the windows. ![]() With fruit sellers in the streets. ![]() With stupid tourists. ![]() With a woman who untangles her yarn by wrapping it around her big toe. ![]() With laid-back vending of string bags. ![]() With flowerbeds protected from being crushed by behinds. ![]() With an old Spanish cannon roped off with yellow plastic tape. ![]() With a fire hydrant. ![]() With an old British post box, securely welded shut lest anyone get the temptation to slip in a postcard. ![]() With plastic bottle recycling containers in the shape of plastic bottles. ![]() With tile street signs. ![]() In short, the city is extremely charming and completely underappreciated by European travellers. ![]() |
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january 2013
Columbia
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