Chorro de Quevedo, Bogotá
NileGuide Expert Says:
Bohemia and history collideAddress:
NileGuide Expert tip:
On a Saturday afternoon, come up here, grab a potent canelazo in a nearby bar or skip around the corner to moody Gato Gris bar.Description:
Tackling the steep hills of the Candelaria that leave you breathless if you have failed to acclimatize appropriately might just make one keel over, perhaps this is what the Spanish Conquistador Gonzalo Jiminez de Quesada was thinking when he decided to pitch camp and allow his horses to drink from a brook. It was at this very spot in 1538 that the Spanish settlement of Bogota was created.Now a bohemian haunt situated about a small, albeit dry, fountain, on any day of the week the plazoleta is teeming with students. Political graffiti takes the luster from the area but there are some nice cafes and eclectic bars situated round about and the overall feeling is one of profound historic importance.
The chapel on the southwestern corner is rarely opened but if you do pass and see the doors ajar as it is a perfect replica of early colonial constructions of this type. And come by here on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoons and watch the cuenteros or storytellers regaling the crowds.
A word of warning: watch your personal belongings up here and do not stay late into the night since the area has some security problems. By day you are fine though.
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