Police are everywhere. I feel a strong sense of fear and relief at the same time. These aren't great feelings to be having on day 1. They say even the police do shakedowns on tourists. Sniffer dogs are everywhere. And not for narcotics. The god damn dog jackets say "explosivio". My hotel looked lovely (for a budget hotel) on the internet. But I'm the only one staying here. I wonder why? To get in, you have to ring the buzzer, which is inside an iron grill. Have people ran away with the buzzer before? They don't give you a front door key. Good job I'm staying in tonight. The manager is very nice. I needed to get money from an ATM this morning and I asked her where to go. She told me I could come downtown with her or try one of the three banks on the avenue around the corner. But it was really up to me. She said I should go and see for myself if I felt safe enough there. I had read never to withdraw from an ATM on the street. These were on the street. I did it anyway. Never have I felt more afraid using an ATM. Is this all a huge exaggeration and an abundance of caution for the tourists? I don't know. But it feels scary. It makes me want to check into a luxury hotel with a gym and a spa!
On the good side, the weather is lovely and I checked out two Spanish schools today. The staff were very friendly at both places. I will give the city a chance. There is lots to do here. To understand the sheer size of the city, consider that Mexico City and New York City are the only North American cities larger than Bogotá (source: wiki travel). It has almost nine million inhabitants - a minor fact that I overlooked before coming here.
If all else fails, I will study Spanish for the week and check myself into a very nice hotel!
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