Canine Tejo!

'This is how you play tejo, boy.'

During our bike tours, we usually stop for a tejo match. Today, this young couple had brought their dog, a your and lively creature. The dog chased the tejo, which is a heavy iron disk, but naturally could not grab it. Each time a mecha exploded, the dog ran outside - but then soon returned.

Here you go!

'Go get it, boy!'

I'm gonna catch me a tejo yet!

 By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Pit Bulls and their People

A young couple and their happy pit bull. 

 Pit bull owners invaded La Ciclovia today to 'make others aware that these dogs aren't vicious'. Some pit bulls are definitely vicious, but those apparently stayed at home. These animals seemed happy and playful. But even so, don't get too close.

Walking pit bulls on La Ciclovia. 

Pit bulls on La Ciclovia. 

A pair of pit bull pups playing in the Parque Nacional. 

Don't discriminate against pit bulls!

Pit bulls and friends. 

Pit bulls and bicyclists. 

Sit down and smile!

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Four Legs on Two Wheels On La Ciclovia

I couldn't help posting this picture I took on today's Ciclovia of this four-legged cyclist.

Usually, of course, it's the person who's on two wheels, with the canine companion running alongside.

Perhaps this is a case of dog-walks-man.

This kid also had it good, thanks to hard-trotting parents. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A Day of Demonstrations

Canine protesters walk their humans thru the Plaza Bolívar.

We saw three different demonstrations today along La Ciclovia - for very different causes.

On La Plaza Bolívar, canines walked their humans - or perhaps the reverse - in protest against a muzzle law. Muzzles are already required for many breeds considered dangerous, such as pit bulls, so I'm not sure what this change might be. Pit bulls are popular pets here, but I've never seen one act vicious.

Other big, tough dogs, such as dobermans, are often used by security guards. But I've only seen these dogs in action once, when some university security guards used them to savage alleged teenage muggers while the guards led them to a police station.

Further north on La Ciclovia a marchers protested against corruption. This woman was handing out masks, which they seemed to be using to symbolize their cause, perhaps because the corrupt try to disguise themselves. This woman's shirt says 'No More Indifference, Silence, Disrespect.'

¡No more corruption!

Right now, Bogotá's mayor is suspended from office and is headed for trial and his brother, a senator, is already in prison, all because of a corruption scandal involving expansion of the city's Transmilenio express bus system. The two were allegedly receiving kickbacks from the construction contractors. The administration of ex-president Alvaro Uribe is also besieged by several corruption scandals, including the alleged use of agricultural subsidies to benefit political allies and spying on court officials.

Requirements to be a politician: Pay for votes, promise lies, make money from contracts. 

My grandparents: War of the Political Parties.
My Parents: Wars of Narcotrafficking and guerrilla.
Us: Shamelessness of corruption.

In the Parque Nacional and later in the Plaza del Chorro, indigenous people demonstrated in defense of water resources. One of the demonstrators told us that, whereas much of society considered water a commodity, for indigenous peoples it is a 'living thing.' Booming gold, coal and other mining industries, as well as agriculture, also pollute water resources.  

A girl waves an indigenous nations flag on Plaza del Chorro. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Mooching Mongrels

Good master or exploiter, this homeless man in Chapinero found a way to turn these stray dogs into a profit stream. Unfortunately, I suspect that the coins this guy collects go to wine or drugs, and that the food that he and his four-footed friends eat comes from the garbage cans.

I've seen variations on the theme in Bogotá, including one set of dogs trained to carry bowls in their mouths and approach diners in outdoor restaurants. But I was once approached by a guy leading a dog with a festering sore on its side and begging for money for the dog's medical treatment. That beggar was too delicate, I guess, to mutilate himself. More photos of human-canine relationships here.