Bogota Roads.

One of the things thats been obvious since arriving in Bogota is the amazing driving skills of the local populace. There is almost no room for error with kerbs at the side of the road usually being between 10 an 12 inches tall, making cutting things a little fine a great way of remodelling your door sills. I mentioned in an earlier post that the roads were pot holed and this picture should give you a fair idea.

The drop depth of the middle right pothole is about 5 inches and the large crater on the far side is approx 4 inches over its whole area. So apart from private security being a main employer it must also be worthwhile training in shock absorbers and tyres as there must be a huge market in annual replacements. Taking into account this is the Carerra 140 one of the Main Roads in the Northern part of Bogota a noted better off area.

Funny point of the day I did some retail therapy after walking along the roads, I went into a shop called panamericana, which stocks everything you can imagine. I obtained my items went to the checkout impressed the cashier with my faltering spanish and before I could take a breath he immediately launched into a vocal information dump that left me standing totally lost, he smiled, I smiled and the transaction was complete. This would have been fine and I could probably have left with some semblance of dignity left, had it not been for my colleague and fellow teacher Amy rolling around the floor in hysterics at the look on my face. Note to self...go to cashier before Amy finishes her shopping in future.