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Home » Destinations » South America » Colombia

Friday Night In Bogota's Zona Rosa

Modified: Sep 24, 2021 · Published: Feb 7, 2009 by Dave Lee |

Inner courtyard of Hostel Fatima

Juliana's parents were coming for a visit, so Laura and Herman dropped me off at Hostel Fatima in the central La Candeleria district of the city I visited the first day.

I was surprised to have found the several hostels I called before them to be fully booked.

I settled in around mid-morning while my bunkmate Steven (Australia) was still asleep.

I made solid use of the free and fast broadband internet access located within the inner courtyard. Later, when Steven awoke, we got to talking, went out for lunch, played chess, and generally got along well.

He had previously met a guy named Todd (California), who he planned to go out with in the evening.

I had plans to attend a birthday party of Laura's friend, but they never materialized. Lacking a cell phone has only been a problem when it comes to coordinating social activities.

Pizza pizza

Todd arrived at the hostel while Dominic (England), on the older side of the backpacker spectrum like me, enjoyed a drink in the hostel bar.

We started in La Candelaria by going to a bar and getting some pizza.

Both places were packed with young people, predominantly students, enjoying the start of their Friday night.

Next, we hopped in a taxi and rode north to Zona Rosa, a district densely populated with bars and clubs.

We met up with one of Todd's lady friends, her sister, and a few Colombian guys at a bar.

I believe it was here that Nasser (Florida) joined the crew and another older American guy who lived and worked in Colombia.

(from right) Nasser, Steven, Colombian beauty, me

We had a few beers and shots of Aguardiente, Colombia's favorite anise-flavored liquor, before heading off in search of a club.

This turned into an unnecessarily long ordeal—the kind of situation which results from too many people trying to agree on a consensus.

We eventually entered a bar with a dance floor and some lounge-like seating. It was packed but not overcrowded, and I liked the vibe.

The male consensus was that every woman in the place was beautiful! 

As is typical in Colombian bars and restaurants, bottle service is standard, so we got a few small whiskey bottles (I think). 

Unfortunately for me, the Colombian company we arrived with didn't speak much English, but it didn't matter too much once we were dancing.

In the street after the bar closed

The bar closed down at 3 am, and we meandered into the street where typical end-of-the-night nonsense and chatter occurs.

One Colombian guy started screaming ¨Billy Corgan¨ in my direction, taking my photo.

Dominic, Steven, and I shared a taxi back to the hostel, where I faced a flight to Medellin the next day.

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About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Comments

  1. Aur says

    February 07, 2009 at 4:54 am

    Ahah I love the "Billy Corgan" :)

    I would have rather called you "Robert Post"
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=iwRugINGUOk

  2. Aur says

    February 07, 2009 at 9:54 am

    Ahah I love the "Billy Corgan" :)

    I would have rather called you "Robert Post"
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=iwRugINGUOk

  3. Ms. Missive says

    February 07, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Billy Corgan! Brilliant! And I can totally see the resemblance now.

  4. Ms. Missive says

    February 07, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Billy Corgan! Brilliant! And I can totally see the resemblance now.

  5. The Worm says

    February 08, 2009 at 3:17 am

    Dave,
    sounds like you are having quite a trip. Whatever happened to work???

    worm

  6. The Worm says

    February 07, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    Dave,
    sounds like you are having quite a trip. Whatever happened to work???

    worm

  7. Karl (from Dewey) says

    February 09, 2009 at 7:10 pm

    You should have screamed back, "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a CAAAAAAAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" :lol:

  8. Karl (from Dewey) says

    February 09, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    You should have screamed back, "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a CAAAAAAAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" :lol:

  9. cabin inwestYellowstone says

    February 18, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    Hi Dave you always have a nice trip.. I love the places you've went and also the foods.. Hmm.. that pizza makes me hungry.

  10. cabin inwestYellowstone says

    February 18, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    Hi Dave you always have a nice trip.. I love the places you've went and also the foods.. Hmm.. that pizza makes me hungry.

  11. Alex says

    March 14, 2010 at 5:49 am

    Don't know about the pizza, but Nasser (photo beneath pizza, guy on the right) definitely makes me hungry! MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

  12. Alex says

    March 14, 2010 at 11:49 am

    Don't know about the pizza, but Nasser (photo beneath pizza, guy on the right) definitely makes me hungry! MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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