Day 7: End of Week 1 — La Ciclovia— Teddy’s packing list MVPs

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It’s the end of the first full week of our adventure and our last day in Bogota — a city that has surpassed all of our expectations. We have loved our time here. Huge thanks to Ari and Camilla Wancier and their three kids for being such great hosts. We will miss you guys!

What happened today:

  • Relaxing morning. Both of us got workouts and we managed the 3rd consecutive day of home schooling. Our current plan is to to do some schooling on all days that aren’t travel days or have other conflicts, even if it’s a weekend. Today we did some journaling, a few math games and some individual reading. It hasn’t been easy. My respect for great teachers grows each day.
  • Sundays in Bogota are famous for The Ciclovía. Big avenues are closed to cars and are packed with bicyclists, runners and walkers of all ages. Vox called it, “the world’s most successful mass recreation event.” Ari organized bike rentals and we joined the Wancier family and the Bogota masses on the streets. We got off to a slow start: James is always hesitant with new things and he freaked out about riding a scooter that was almost identical to the one he loves back in New York. But he finally calmed down and it turned out to be a really fun experience. We biked down Carrera 7 to beautiful Parque de Chico, hit the jungle gyms, then got burgers at Home Burger — sort of like a Colombian Shake Shack.
  • Margaret made a successful shopping excursion with Camila and found a few gems from Colombian designers. Now she has to figure out where that stuff will go.
  • We met Margaret’s former SJR colleague Oriana and her husband Martin at Primi for a really fun last delicious meal in Bogota.
  • Packing up tonight, flying to Cartagena in the morning.

Seen on the streets:

  • At most intersections you’ll encounter someone trying to make a buck. But they aren’t just begging. Many are offering gorgeous flowers (a major Colombia export) or performing Cirque du Soleil-style for stopped cars. One guy was spinning and flipping 25 feet in the air using long fabric hung from a tree, another was juggling sticks with fire coming out of both ends.
  • We quickly stopped by on of Ari’s “Deli” bakery and pastry shop. (“Deli” meaning short for delicious, not an American sandwich shop). He’s the CEO. They have 60 locations across Bogota and Medellin.

Packing List MVPs

  • I promised myself I would purge a few items from my overstuffed bags before moving on to our next destination. But I just packed for Cartagena and nearly every item made the cut once again. Need some more time to learn what I don’t need.
  • A few pieces have been surprisingly valuable thus far. Here are my nominations for packing list MVPs after one full week:
  • Our packable day packs: Our 35L backpacks we use as carry on luggage are too big to carry around the city and have stuff packed in every possible pocket. We use small backpacks that can be shoved into themselves on travel days. I have the 19L Tortuga Setout and Margaret has a similar one from REI. We have them on our backs all day.
This is a backpack

  • Tiny Polka Dot math game. 16 different fun math games for all ages in this little box. Their favorite game right now is “21 or Bust” which is hilariously a kids version of Blackjack.
  • Boogie Board drawing tablets. A late addition to the list and recommendation from cousin Jen Barlow (Thanks Jen!). They are super light and thin and come with us to nearly every grown-up restaurant. We also use them for random lists, notes, etc. during schooling since we don’t have a lot of paper.
  • The stroller. Our McClarren umbrella almost didn’t make the cut since James hasn’t used a stroller for months in NYC. But it has been a savior during airport immigration lines, our Thursday city tour and during one Friday afternoon when we needed James to take a snooze to fuel up for a late-ish dinner.

Off to Cartagena!

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