Traditional Bogota Food Tour (Virtual and Free!)

Instead of paying for a food tour in Bogota, I am going to guide you through a virtual food tour for free! 

Take this tour when you arrive in Bogota and find the best local food secrets. Let me know what you think!

Below are some of my favorite traditional Colombian food that most foreigners tend to like. I will recommend the dish and places where you can find them. 

2.       Ajiaco - Potatoe & Chicken Soup

      This soup is a meal in itself. With origins as the local soup of Bogota, this soup includes a cream of various

      potaoes, shredded chicken, and a side of rice, avaocado, and corn. Top it off with sour cream and capers! It is very rich, creamy, and filling. For this dish, I recommend a restaurat called Sopas De Mama y Postres de Abuela. It is a local restaurant that has become popular for its traditional dishes. 

1.       Morcilla – Blood Sausage

A sausage made with blood, rice, and sometimes vegetables. They mix everything together and make a sausage out of it. It is delicious! Typically eaten a long other cuts of beef, potatoes, aji (hot sauce) and guacamole to complete a meal. This is an excellent meal for meat lovers. With this, it is typical to drink a cold beer or refajo (a mix of beer and a soda named Colombiana). For the best quality of meats, go to Andres Carne de Res. It has a great traditional and modern atmosphere for the elite of Bogota. If you eat late, dinner is likely to turn into an all-night dance party – without leaving your table.

3.      Bandeja Paisa & Empanadas

      Start off with a crispy and delicios appatizer of empanadas - a corn pastry filled with a mix of potatoe and beef or chicken. Eat with aji for extra spice. The main dish, Bandeja Paisa, is probably the most well-known dish. It was featured on the Anthony Bordain travel and gastronomy show when he visited Medellin, Colombia. It includes steak, rice, beans, friend egg, chorizo, and avacado. These dishes are typically very large because lunch is the main meal of the day Afetr this, there is no need to eat dinner as you will be full for the rest of the day. For most foreigners it is hard to finish the entire dish at first. Eventually, you will learn to eat like a Colombia - small breakfast, large lunch, and no dinner. A great way to save some money! Try this meal at a local restaurant that looks like a traditional Colombian farm home: Restaurante Las Acacias

Colombian Culture: Colombianadas Video

Living in Colombia has a unique appeal that is hard to descrbe to someone who has never visited. For people who can manage the courage to visit, usually the trip goes like this: first will be shocked, then pleasantly surprised, then drunk, and then in love. After the trip, they usually go home with wild stories, raving about Colombia. However, some never decide to leave and this is where the new ad campaign slogan for Colombia came from, ¨The only risk is wanting to stay.¨

This campaign expression is no exaggeration, it is true! For those who are bored with living a the normal everyday life of a first-world country, the only cure is a visit to Colombia. It has been known to even cure depression! There is a documentary on how a trip to Colombia has cured depression for many young Japanese youths who were on the verge of suicide before that participated in a exchange program where they stayed with families in the poor Southern side of Bogota. It is an amazing story of how money does not guarantee happiness. In general, Colombia can be a cure for many things because it gives visitors a feeling f freedom, fear, and excitement all in one.

In order to explain the unique qualities to people who have never visited, there is a video or Colombianadas on YouTube. Basically,Colombianadas means things that are only found in Colombia. They are usually pretty silly,humorous, and somewhat cheesy as seen in the video.

Learn Colombian Slang

You may speak Spanish well enough, but if you decide to move to Colombia, you will notice new words that were not taught in school. This is because these words are slang and regional terms local to Colombia. There is almost no way to learn these terms until you visit Colombia or talk to Colombians.

To help you blend in with the locals, you can use the following slang terms below. Keep in mind that these are specific to Bogota and will change from region to region.

• Rolla/o – A person from Bogota
• Costeño – Someone from the coast of Colombia
• Gamin – A street person or beggar
• Gomela/o – An upper class person, usually negative connotation
• Cascar – To hit someone or scold them harshly
• Guaro – Aguardiente
• Pendejo/a – Silly girl or guy
• Pola – Beer
• Hartar – Drink a lot
• Plon – A joint of marijuana 
• Echar un plon – Spoke a joint
• Porro - Weed
• Noño – Nerd
• Lo vamos a pegar – We are going to get drunk (Literal translation: We are going to hit someone)
• Marica – Gay or term like ¨dude¨ among male friends
• Huevon – Similar to idiot

Advice on Paying Bills

Once you have finished being a tourist and have decided to live and work in Bogota, you will experience a whole new set of challenges when it comes to daily routines. For example, even going to the grocery store can become an adventure.

Paying bills is one of those adventures of living in Bogota because it is so different from the way that bills are paid in the United States. Most of it stems from the fact that Colombian culture does not trust online payments and prefer to pay everything in cash. Therefore, expect to pay all of your bills in cash. This is were the hassle begins. Each bill that you pay will require that you go to a different location in order to pay each bill as cash payments are only accepted at certain banks, grocery stores, and utility offices. For example, you may have to go to Bank A to pay one bill and Bank B to pay another one. Not only is it a matter of making it to several locations to pay separate bills, but also consider the time it takes to wait in line, fill out forms, and travel via public transportation. When you have at least 5 different bills to pay every month, it becomes a lot of work - especially considering that all of this could be avoided by paying bills online.

My advice is to try to pay as many bills as possible at one location or go to a mall where you can find most banks near each other. Most bills can be paid at a CADE or go to a mall like Unicentro or Andino where there are seval banks open after hours. Fortunately, since there is such a high demand for people to pay their bills, banks are usually open late. Unfortunately, the lines are long, forms confusing, and you can never find a pen. In addition, customer service in general is much worse than customer service in the United States, so don´t expect it to be the same.

Best Hidden Restaurants In Bogota

By no means have I been able to try all the restaurants in Bogota, but from the ones I have tried, this is my list of the top 3 restaurants so far. In this list, I am making an effort to go beyond the typical chain restaurants that are popular in Bogota. For example, if you ask a local, they are most likely to recommend Crepes & Waffles, Wok, or Harry Sassons. To me, theses are average, so I am recommending something different that most people aren´t aware of.

Flor de Loto: An Indian restaurant with great food and ambiance. Here you can find most traditional Indian dishes. It is decorated with Indian art and even has a traditional alter. The service is very good and friendly which suites the calm and quiet environment. I believe the chef is American and ingredients are imported. Cash only, but excellent choice for a romantic date.

Agave Azul: The award-winning Mexican restaurant is exclusive because of the dishes and size of the restaurant. It can be considered a boutique restaurant as it is highly stylish and very small, fitting about 5 tables at the most. There is a set menu each night that ncludes tapa style portions, but with at least 5 courses made for sharing. Small servings are fitting for the cocktail options, so it is rather satisfying because of the amazing fresh and unique flavors. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for something different.

La Taperia: A Spanish tapas restaurant with a great variety of dishes. Tapas servings are bigger than average and one of the few places you can find a variety of imported European beers. They have live music like Flamenco and DJs at least one a week. The environment is like a lounge/bar, but with a great art selection and murals.

Things on a Bus in Bogota

In Colombia, the bus is a big part of the culture. Since most people use public transportation, you can understand how it is a major part of almost every Colombian´s daily life. Taxis are too expensive and Transmilenio is not convenient. So, here comes your local bus on its daily route, dependable, cheap, and relatively safe.

 As such, it seems that Colombians are so used to the bus that it is an extension of their home, allowing for an easy-going attitude about anything that happens on the bus. Ironically, even though you are surrounded by strangers, there often is a feeling of community when it comes to interacting with other passengers. Whether it is passing money from the back to the front of the bus or providing directions, you can rely on a friendly ride. Passengers also will hold bags for each other.

Another interesting part about taking a bus is that it is an adventure – you never know what you will see! Below are some of the random things that I have seen on a bus. I encourage you to comment on other things you have seen while riding a bus in Colombia.

Random Things on The Bus:

•  Dogs on the bus.
• Drinking beer on the bus.
•  Live acoustic guitar and singing on the bus.
• Hip-Hop performance on the bus.
• People begging for money on the bus.
• Open mic poetry on the bus.
• People selling pens, candy, peanuts, books, and more on the bus.
• Partying on a bus with drinking and dancing (Chiva Party).