We would watch the old tourist train which came past twice a day, and generally fell into a routine of sorts. We discovered several chains of supermarkets, all of which were infinitely better than the best Caracas had to offer, and boasted things we had almost forgotten, like clean, wide, well-lit aisles, debit card facilities, salad bars, friendly and efficient service, and a whole range of new fruits and vegetables to explore, in addition to pretty well everything which had been available in Venezuela. It was quite a shock suddenly being faced with a choice of ten different types of arepas , and indeed with a much larger choice of everything. The prices, however, as with almost everything, were substantially higher. Despite the chaos of the traffic, there are several other respects in which Bogot is noticeably more first world than Caracas.
Stores miraculously open over lunch time, and on Sundays.
Our hotel was just opposite the huge Hacienda Santa Barbara shopping Hacienda Santa Barbara, Bogot , Colombia. Within a short car trip are two or three more large and well-maintained shopping malls, featuring everything from live music to free child strollers and guarded parking. Really not what the name Bogot conjures up. One benefit of having Maritza living with us is that we can go out in the evenings with hardly a second thought. On my birthday, for example, we had a lovely civilised evening in a classy Italian restaurant in the Zona Rosa.