By Miguel Angel Rodriguez
In Bogota we have seven private squash clubs and four public ones. The best club is where I train—Club El Nogal (www.clubelnogal.com). It is all in a big building with all the facilities you might want except tennis. Colombians like to work out so it is normal to see all gyms centers packed.
The coolest thing is our culture. We are very friendly, happy, and we care about others even if we don’t know them. We have the best food due to the different weather in the country. People love to go out—there are so many beautiful people and we know how to dance to Latin music. Finally we don’t have snow, as we are on the Equator.
We have a church up on the mountain at 9,000 feet which has the most beautiful view of Bogota. You can get there by cable car or walking. A few people get there by running. I did it once in 21:26.
I bicycle in La Calera every Sunday. It’s a big hill, just a few minutes from town. You can see lots of cyclists and runners going up in the morning. My first time running years ago was 38mins; now my record running is 29:15 and by bike is 23:55.
My favorite restaurant is Andres Carne de Res. There are eleven dining areas, two dance floors and a climbing wall—in this place you are able to eat lunch and dinner, dance and party. The meat is the principal dish but the menu is enormous: they have everything you can imagine. Of course the typical food is arepa, mazorca, ajiaco, bandeja paisa. Coffee is good at any place in town. Nice flavor and really tasty no doubt about it.
My favorite bar is at Andres, but also discos called Kinky, Maroma and Matilde Lina. I also like to spend my time at home with my parents or at my squash club with my friends.
The best place to shop is the Zone T. I like to walk around and meet people. It’s full of restaurants, bars, shopping centers, pedestrian-only streets—just a great atmosphere.
The best time of the year that I never miss is December. Christmas is a time when all the families and friends are together for parties, special dinners, and prayers. All avenues and streets are decorated with lights, and there are events every day like concerts or bike day—a day without cars—and the shops close at midnight.
If I am free for a day, I start by having breakfast at Crepes and Waffles, a popular restaurant chain, then go karting with some friends or my family. I have lunch either outside of the city or at Zone T. Later I go to the cinema, a shopping mall or a casino to play black jack. At night I go to Andres for a party, or I go for a nice romantic dinner in La Calera with a great view of the city.
