Safety

Solo female travel in Latin America: my experiences and why you should go for it!

March 1, 2018 // 3 Comments

Solo female travel - Perito Moreno Glacier

About this time last year, I found out that three women writers I know in Bogotá would be compiling a book of tales about solo female travel in Latin America. Although I didn’t submit a tale of my own, it did make me start to reminisce about my own solo travel experiences as a young woman. I thought I’d write this post to encourage women who feel nervous [more]

Petty crime in Bogota: the day I witnessed a phone robbery

July 24, 2017 // 7 Comments

People often contact me asking about safety and crime in Bogota. One of the things I say is that if you are careful, you can decrease your chances of becoming a victim of crime. For example, don’t wear an expensive-looking watch or jewelry; always pre-book taxi cabs; avoid using your phone on the street or on the bus; in short, don’t ‘give [more]

10 Bogotá anecdotes which made me Bogo-smart!

November 3, 2015 // 4 Comments

When I first arrived in Bogotá, the experience of living abroad wasn’t new to me; I had lived in Latin America before. But I wasn’t yet ‘Bogo-smart’..! What I really needed was a Bogotá for Dummies guide! Fast-forward two years and I am now a well-weathered expat/Bogotana; so what pearls of wisdom do I have to impart? Well, I thought [more]

Bogota Safety Tip: don’t give anyone a papaya!?

January 13, 2015 // 1 Comment

Colombia has received a lot of bad press over the last few decades, so it’s natural that people are often concerned about whether Bogota is safe. Last week I received a message from one of my Colombian readers saying that the best Bogota safety tip is not to ‘dar papaya’ :). Now, ‘give papaya’ doesn’t mean anything to us English-speakers, but it’s a [more]

10 tips for taking a taxi in Bogota

December 1, 2014 // 44 Comments

Taking a taxi in Bogota can be a bit of an ‘adventure’ to say the least; an un-seatbelted adventure which can leave you silently praying for your life, as most taxis do not have functioning seat-belts for the back seats. If you’re taking a taxi in Bogota, keep in mind the following tips, which include common scams and typical taxi driver behaviour: 1. Always [more]

The Bogota Transmilenio bus system: problems and solutions

October 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

It’s rush-hour. I’m on a Transmilenio bus and it’s busy. People are standing elbow to elbow and as usual the driver is driving like a maniac over pot-holes and cracks in the road; the standing passengers are swung from side to side, trying to grab onto anything they can as they fight to keep their balance; the seated passengers hold on tightly to [more]

10 Smartphone apps I couldn’t live without in Bogota

October 27, 2014 // 5 Comments

When people move to a new country, they’ll often buy a cheap phone with a local SIM card to use while they’re there. This is fine if you’re just visiting for a short time, but if you’re in Colombia for the long-haul, a smartphone will be a really useful tool. Here are the (Android) smartphone apps that I use regularly, which I really [more]

1 2 »