Quebrada La Vieja

This guide to the Quebrada La Vieja trail in Bogota follows forest guard Jose Portela, who has spent decades answering hikers' questions about why this Andean creek carries the name of old women. It traces the stream's second life as a water-utility asset the Roca Paris family donated in 1947 to supply the growing Chapinero neighborhood below. The intake crews who once tapped its water for the city taps now spend their days watching for fires and pointing out the frailejones and hummingbirds along the path.