Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 491

5 COLOMBIA'S FESTIVAL PLANNER

Colombia knows how to party and does so year-round. You can join in the following:
January Carnaval de Blancos y Negros.
Pasto's un-PC celebrations dating back to
the days of slavery, with revellers with
whitened and blackened faces throwing
chalk and flour over each other.
February Carnaval de Barranquilla.
Second-biggest carnival in South
America, complete with parades, dancing,
drinking and music, held forty days
before Easter
March Semana Santa. Holy Week celebrated
with nighttime processions by the faithful;
particularly impressive in Popayán and
Mompox

June/July Rock al Parque. Massive free
thee-day pop/rock/funk/metal/reggae
concert in Bogotá's Parque Simón Bolívar.
August Feria de las Flores. Medellín's big
bash, culminating in a parade of peasants
bearing flowers down from the mountains.
September Festival Mundial de Salsa. Cali's
salsa festival, with the hottest moves on
show at the Teatro al Aire Libre Los Cristales
November Reinado Nacional de Belleza.
Cartagena crowns Miss Colombia amid
parades, street dancing and music
December Feria de Cali. Epic street parties.
March 21 St Joseph's Day (Father's Day).

tollbooths and some tourist offices, has
excellent maps, as well as potential
road-trip routes and extensive local listings.

follow the same pattern. Banks open
around 9am and close at 4pm. Casas de
cambio stay open later.

MONEY AND BANKS
Colombia's national currency is the peso
(COP) , divided into 100 centavos. Coins
are for 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 pesos
and notes for 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000,
20,000 and 50,000 pesos. At the time of
writing, rates were: US$1=COP$1800;
£1=COP$2700; €1=COP$2300.
Changing large notes can be problematic
outside big cities.
ATMs are plentiful, with at least one
even in small towns. For changing
money , casas de cambio offer slightly
better rates, have more flexible hours
and provide quicker service than most
banks. Travellers' cheques can also be
exchanged at casas de cambios and
banks, but few businesses accept them.
Using moneychangers on the street is
not recommended.

Bogotá and
around
Colombia's capital, BOGOTÁ , is a city
that divides opinion. Its detractors cite
poverty, gridlock traffic and crime,
as well as depressingly regular rain,
and with 7.6 million tightly packed
inhabitants and some decidedly drab
neighbourhoods, Bogotá rarely elicits
love at first sight. Given a day or two,
however, most people do fall for this
cosmopolitan place with its colonial
architecture, numerous restaurants and
raucous nightlife. Besides, love it or
hate it, odds are you'll have to pass
through it at some stage during your
travels in Colombia.
Situated on the Sabana de Bogotá ,
Colombia's highest plateau at 2600m,
the city was founded on August 6, 1538
by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in
what was a former citadel belonging to
the Muisca king Bacatá , from whom the
city's name is derived. For many years,
Bogotá's population did not expand in
step with its political influence, and
even in the 1940s the city had just
300,000 inhabitants. That all changed

OPENING HOURS
Shops are open 8am until 6pm, Monday
to Friday. Many businesses also often
open on Saturdays until mid-afternoon.
Outside Bogotá many businesses close
at noon for a two- or three-hour siesta.
Commercial hours in cities in warmer
areas such as Cali often get started and
end earlier. Government offices often