Healthy Sundays...

Bogota started a great trend that has caught on across much of South America and beyond.  

On Sunday mornings and holidays, the city holds Ciclovia.   This Spanish term means "cycleway" and the ritual does just that.  From 7am to 2pm, the city closes off some main driving streets in the city to create a 121km cycling, running and walking path for the community to get out and use.  And they do!  Even on a rainy Sunday like we experienced, lots of sporty people were out making the most of the trail. 

In addition, many entrepreneurs took advantage of this weekend event by setting up food and drink stalls along the way.

The traffic still had nearby roads to use although, admittedly, they did seem quite backlogged.  But from what we understand, traffic is always bad in Bogota, often requiring 2 hours to get across the city. Perhaps these biking and walking trails actually allow people to get there faster?!? 

Our destination that Sunday was Usaquen, a delightful part of town with high-quality independent restaurants and an innovative weekend craft market.  Unfortunately, the market had to compete with rain and a Colombian football game that day, making it much quieter than usual.  But what we missed in action at the market was made up for in the nearby square where hundreds of locals, wearing patriotic yellows shirts, had gathered to cheer on their beloved football team in the Copa America championships.     A sporty city that loves its sports...