About once every two months, Plaza Bolivar, Colombia's center of government, experiences a radical makeover and turns into a Mercado Campesino, o Peasant Market. Peasants from all over Colombia come with their fruits and vegetables, jams and jellies, meats and even handicrafts. The goal is to hike campesinos' incomes by enabling them to sell directly to the consumer, rather than letting a middleman take much of the profit. The market also, for at least one day, gives central Bogotá a taste of the countryside.

Have some chicha! A traditional fermented drink, chicha is usually made from corn, sometimes from rice or quinua.

The campesino market, with the Cathedral in the background.

Try some cheese, please.

Hand-harvested honey.

Many products, including tea, crackers, soft drinks and even wine, made from coca leaves are legal as long as the leaves are cultivated on traditional indigenous territories.