How I Nearly Got Kidnapped In Colombia

Where am I? I walk outside and look around me. The area I am in looks pretty dodgy; the buildings are run down as if even they have given up. Graffiti stretches across them as though reaching out for me.People give me glances and know I’m not a local. Next time I’m leaving the cowboy hat at home.

I feel like I am in a horror movie with a crazed killer ready to spring out and hack me to death with a rusty machete. WHERE THE FUCK AM I? It’s early in the morning you can see the sun blistering outside- strange because Bogota is usually cloudy. I head down the street and talk to the guy on his “moto.” He tells me in Spanish “You are in the Southside of town.” I ask him where La Candelaria is and he tells me I need to walk 45 minutes to the right. Having only a ripped 2,000 peso note in my pocket, and being able to say that I walked through the ghetto of Bogota,I head down the street.

The sweltering sun beats down on me as I meander past the locals. Better the sun then any hockey mask wearing hobo.I walk past parks and schools wondering where in the world I am. I continue walking and finally see a police officer in the corner of the street…

I ask him where La Candelaria is and he points me to the right. I continue walking for what seemed ages. As I continue walking, the buildings look more and more run down. This can’t be good. The homes start to look more and more like shanties and I become pretty scared. Fuck this, I’m getting a taxi. But, there are no taxis in the area. With no other choice, I continue walking. I see a sign that says Candelaria, but this is definitely not the center like I had asked the cop previously.

After 20 long minutes I spot a yellow cab. I explain to him that I have no money and had to get my ATM card from the hostel. It takes some talking but at last he agrees. In the cab, he tells me that I am in the new Candelaria in the Southside of town. I am very far from where I need to be.

He almost drops me off because I had no cash on me. I convince him to keep going and he tells me about how needing collateral. He also explains to me that the area I was in was extremely dangerous (people get stabbed for no reason in that area) and how I was lucky that nothing bad happened to me. We continue to talk and he shows me a photo of him serving in the Colombian Police Force. I start to feel better…

Then he starts asking me how much money I have in my bank account. I immediately gave him a false number then he asked me if my parent’s had a lot of money and if they owned land. I almost thought about jumping out of the cab at that very moment. The guy was literally freaking me out. After answering his questions, he asks if I can get the money from my friends staying with me. I run into the hostel and grab money.40,000 pesos. It was an extraordinary price but I just wanted to give him his money and forget about all of this. Thank god I didn’t get kidnapped. I walked back into the hotel and yelled “I survived.”