Welcome to Part 2 Colombia!
DAY 10 MONTEVIDEO TO BOGOTA (COLOMBIA)
I had the room to myself last night, which made getting ready this morning easier. At 3.30am, I didn't have to stay in the dark, or keep the noise down. I finished packing, checked out & went to wait for my transfer.
The drive was quick, given the streets were empty. I dropped my bag, went through security and immigration, then hung out waiting for my flight.
When we boarded, it was nice that we had a pillow and a fluffy red blanket. I was so tired that I ended up nodding off. I was very confused when an announcement said that we were flying over the Andes and would then begin our descent. It was meant to be a 5hr flight but it had only been less than 2hrs. Did I get in the right plane? Was I asleep that long & I have miscalculated time zones? They then told us the in-flight service would be after the Andes. They wouldn't serve food if we were landing.
We got some great views over the Andes.
Breakfast was served after 3hrs of flying. I was starving by this point. All I had eaten was a cold empanada & a coffee. We had a hot ham & cheese sandwich, granola biscuits & a drink.
We landed in Lima early, then I had to go to international connections and find my next gate. It was a fairly quick process. Peru is probably the country I am most excited to visit. I wandered through the shops, and realised I need to lock my money away. I wanted everything! They had the softest, cutest llama teddies. I'm definitely getting one, but hopefully cheaper then airport prices. The big one was about $140AUD! Yikes! I also want some alpaca clothing (very expensive) and lots of llama souvenirs.
The next flight departed on time, and it was 3hrs to Bogota. We arrived early, and immigration took no time at all. I has estimated 1.5hrs for my airport transfer, but I was out and ready 1.25hrs before my pickup time. Fortunately, the driver wasn't far away and picked me up. He spoke little English but did point out a couple of things along the way.
Check in was easy, and I have a single room here with shared bathroom facilities. It was nice to have my own room. This place is actually owned by an Aussie, and they have Vegemite toast on their breakfast menu. I got some advice on where to get cash, nearby supermarkets and where to get arepas for tea. She then told me my phone & wallet need to be stuffed down my pants into the waistband, otherwise someone will steal it from my hands. That's not ominous at all!
The streets were very busy. Walking around, I was feeling overwhelmed with the worry of having my things stolen and the sheer volume of people. I found my way to the supermarket & ATM easily enough.
Then I went in search of food. Originally, I wanted to get arepas, as they are a Colombian specialty. It’s a folded dough with filling in the middle I think. On the corner near my hostel was a burger place that was absolutely pumping. So many local people getting burgers. Must be good when the locals eat there! I saw that they had something caked mazorcadas. A quick Google search told me that was corn with toppings. I love corn! So this is what I got. Grilled corn kernels, crispy shoestring fries (like the little French Fries in the chip packets we have back in Aus), chicken, mushroom, cheese & bacon. I took it back to my hostel to eat. It was delicious! Doesn't look the most appetising but the taste was great!
I went back to my room, had a shower then curled up in bed to watch some TV shows. It had been a very long day and I was knackered.
Here's hoping tomorrow is a great day.
DAY 11 BOGOTA
Annoyingly, I woke up at 6am and couldn't get back to sleep. I ended up playing on my phone for a while and eventually put a movie on in the background. I knew many places wouldn't open early so there was no rush to go out.
After dropping clothes at reception to get washed, I went in search of coffee. I had found a local independent coffee house, that has its own coffee farm, and I wanted to try it. Unfortunately, at 9.30am they weren't open yet. Instead, I went in search of a souvenir shop and took a walk around the streets.
La Candelaria is the historic post of Bogota, and is filled with graffiti/street art. The murals are beautiful, and they are all over the place.
I went to Plaza Bolivar, a big square with had a market being setup. There was also something happening with lots of big school bands. It wasn't very busy even though it's nearly 10am.
I ended up walking along a pedestrian mall which had lots of food & market stalls along it. Then I headed back to the Jaguar Coffee House to see if they were open, and they were!
They are an independent bean to cup specialty coffee producer and I would rather go there than a chain coffee place. One of the baristas came and explained the 4 varieties that they serve. I chose Exotica, which is a blend of 4 different types of coffee beans. It’s their most expensive, but when in Colombia, why not have the best! He asked how I wanted it made and I let him choose. He selected the V60 method, which is a drip method. It took a long time as everything was done by hand, including grinding the beans after meticulously weighing them. I was served my coffee in a beaker with a ceramic espresso cup, and the coffee was a good temperature. Not boiling, but drinkable. It is designed to be drunk black, but you cm add sugar if you want. I tasted it, and it was amazing. Very smooth, flavourful but not bitter. It didn't take long to drink, but it was definitely an excellent coffee. I decided to buy a bag to take home. The coffee was about the same as I would pay for a latte back in London. My 250g bag of beans cost 85,000COP, which is £16 or $31AUD. Totally worth it.
Then I kept walking the streets and went to another souvenir store. This didn't have what I wanted so I went back to the first one. It was much busier in the streets now. I got my shot glass, got a coconut lemonade, mayonnaise flavoured chips and went back to my hostel.
At 1.15pm, I went to Reception and waited for my food walking tour. The guide turned up, and it turns out we were a group of 5. A couple from Texas, a girl from Switzerland, a girl from Chicago and me.
Our first stop was to have fried yucca filled with cheese. It was delicious and probably my favourite stop.
Next, we went to a place for ceviche with a juice made from a local cherry type fruit. As I don't like fish, I had a patty made from a dough like texture and taste like it had caraway seeds in it, along with the juice. It was good!
Then we went to a mercado and had obleas, which are 2 round wafers and have a variety of toppings in the middle, generally dulce de leche (caramel) and grated cheese. Ours had this and jam as well. Not my favourite.
Next was tamales. All countries, and regions, have their own take on tamales. Apparently, they are huge in Chicago. They are made from a corn paste which is put into plantain or banana leaves, and have things like chickpeas, chicken etc added in. They were huge! We had 2 to share. They were pretty good.
A rooftop terrace was next, where we had these ball things. It’s plantain, stuffed with cheese, covered in scrambled egg and then deep fried. As the guy can't eat cheese, she also got beef empanadas. These were a fried version, not oven baked like Argentina. The plantain cheese ball was good, once you got over the surprise of very salty mixed with very sweet. The empanadas were not my favourite though. Too much dough, not enough filling. The view from the yards terrace was good though.
We were all getting full by now, but we still had 2 stops to go. Capybara’s are the world's largest rodents, and there are some places which sell capybara meat. This was our next stop. We got a plate with capybara, potato, avocado and plantain. I do love fried plantain! The capybara was delicious! I think it had a taste & texture like pork or turkey.
Our last stop was for ajiaco soup, which is a Bogota specialty. It has potato, chicken, corn and a local herb. It is served with avocado, capers, sour cream & rice on the side. The soup was really good. The best bit? The avocado! They are huge and super sweet! I can’t remember the name of them, and Google is failing me, so they will just be called huge avocado.
The girl from Chicago wanted to try the
local spirit, aguardente, which is made from sugarcane. It is drunk as a shot.
All 5 of us decided to try it too. They served it to us in a shot glass (a big
shot glass!) sitting in a glass of ice with a slice of lime. We shot it down (I
needed to do it in 2 glass there was so much of it), then sucked in the lime. It
has an aniseed flavour, much like ouzo and sambucca. It was pretty bad, but I
hate aniseed flavour. Except for Darrell Lea licorice of course. The couple
paid for our drinks, which was very kind of them, then we all walked back to
the hostel. Everyone went their separate ways as I am the only one staying here.
I got my laundry from recruiting and headed back to my room. I discovered I got a touch of sunburn today! It wasn't even sunny for most of the day! The high altitude clearly increases the effects of the sun. Also, I've walked almost 12km today in this small section of Bogota.
Tomorrow, I have a day trip to a cathedral made of salt, which will be interesting. Will definitely need to take sunscreen though I think!
DAY 12 BOGOTA
I went to bed with a headache, not knowing if it was early altitude sickness, or just a normal headache from lack of sleep, stress, that alcohol shot etc. I hoped sleep would help. Alas, I woke up at 4.30am with the headache still. I decided to take paracetamol and fortunately, when I woke up again at 7am, it was gone.
I
had a day trip booked to a salt cathedral
that I was looking forward to. I went to Juan Valdez coffee shop (like a
Colombian Starbucks I was told), and got a volcan macchiato. It is made
from coffee beans grown in volcanic soil. Volcanic regions
are very good for growing coffee due to the rich soils. This coffee was
very
strong, but very nice. My coffee tastes have come a long way from the
17yr old drinking weak International Roast instant with 2 spoons of
sugar just to warm up in winter!
I found my bus and after a few more people turned up, we went to the second pickup stop. Lots more joined us, along with a guide who spoke good English. Turns out there were only 3 of us who spoke English & 12 Spanish speakers. It was about 1.25hr drive to the town of Zipaquira.
Zipaquira is a big salt rock. Huge actually. Hundreds of years ago, the Indigenous people started extracting the salt from the rocks. As technology changed, the locals began building a mine to extract more salt. The first 2 levels of the mine were constructed with pillars and chambers. The 3rd level was constructed in 1995 and consists of long rows, which made the mine more stable. This level is 180m below the surface. The rows are so big an aeroplane can fit in them!
The 4th level is the working salt mine, and here they have created huge vertical wells. They pump high pressure water in, which dissolves the salt & is then pumped out. These wells are big enough that the Eiffel Tower can fit in them!
Anyway, we went to the entrance, and the 3 of us English speakers were given an audio guide, as the tours are only conducted in Spanish. This was actually great, as it meant I could explore at my own pace. The cathedral has 14 chambers with crosses in them.
Then you come to a huge dome in the ceiling, which I think was 11m in diameter.
Then we went down to the 3 naves. They are huge. Like ginormous. Each one has an altar and is used for services.
They have salt chandeliers.
There is a large number of shops & food outlets down here too. My group were given a free coffee at one of the cafes, which was nice.
I wandered around, and watched the movie about the history of the mine. It had English subtitles so I knew what was going on.
I also went to the spa and had a free hand salt scrub and got given a free sample of salt crystals for the bath.
I decided to head back to the surface and wait for my guide. I met the other 2 guys, who are from Canada and talked to them for a while. We then went into the town for lunch.
We went to a BBQ restaurant, and I ordered the BBQ baby beef. It came with a potato, arepa (corn dough with cheese) and plantain. It was really good!
We then went for a walk through the town, which was nice. There was a funeral going on for someone very important. There were lots of formally dressed military men out the front of the cathedral.
After a while, we boarded our bus & headed back to Bogota.
I have a flight to Medellin in the morning so I had to repack my suitcase. I chilled in my room & sorted out some photos.
I'm looking forward to going to Medellin. Bogota is nice during the day, just avoid it at night.
DAY 13 BOGOTA TO MEDELLIN
I had a couple of hours to kill before checkout and my airport pickup so I went and got a coffee, started watching a movie and slowly packed the rest of my things.
I checked out just before 9am, and didn't have to wait long for my transfer. The driver was an older man who spoke no English. That didn't stop him from talking non-stop the entire drive to the airport. At one point he used Google Translate to tell me that I have to be very careful of my belongings, especially my passport, in Medellin. He kept telling me to be careful & he also told me that Cartagena is very safe. He was friendly and trying to help, which was nice.
I dropped my suitcase at the bag drop and had a walk around. It's just a domestic flight so I stayed landslide and went in search of food. I ended up having a good old Maccas brekky of bacon & egg muffin, hash brown & coffee. Cheap & always good.
Then I went through the security (no queues) and sat at my gate. I'm not sure if I booked my seat, but I don't think l must have, as I had a seat on the premium section. I wouldn't pay for that, especially on a 55min flight. I had lots of leg room and just after take off, we were given a pack of trail mix and served a drink. Then we were literally landing. It was a very fast flight! Driving between Bogota & Medellin is about a 9+ hr drive though, and the flight was pretty cheap. Better use of my time.
I had booked a transfer with my hostel, who had arranged a taxi for me. The guy called me & spoke not a lick of English. I had no idea what he was saying. In the end, he hung up & sent me a photo of himself & his taxi, and someone he works with and speaks English sent me a message to give me information.
The drive from the airport was about 30mins, so not too bad. It is very hilly around here! My hostel is located in El Poblado, which looks like a hip young area. Lots of cafes & restaurants, and very lush with tons of plant life.
I couldn't check in yet (2hrs early) so I went to the rooftop bar and had a drink while I waited. I ordered a mint lemonade, which was delicious.
At 3pm I went and checked into my room. There were 2 French girls in there already. I put my valuables in the locker, grabbed my credit card and phone then went out to explore the area. One of the girls at reception told me that the situation was the same as Bogota: everything gets stuffed down your pants, and if you choose to put them in your pocket instead, your hand needs to be in your pocket too. She even said I couldn't take photos on the streets without risk. And she told me that when I'm out past midnight, I need to Uber back. I was like, yeah nah I’ll be in bed long before midnight!
I found a souvenir shop and got my shot glass, then went to the big supermarket. This is more like a department store. It has groceries, alcohol, baby clothes, TVs, heaps of food outlets, pharmacy, phone providers and more! I walked around for a while, then bought some snacks for the next 2 days.
Back at the hostel, I started looking for options for tea as I was getting hungry. I chose an avocado place. Everything on the food menu has avocado in it. It was 2 blocks from my hostel so nice and close. I decided to have the avo burger, which has an avocado for the bun, with beef patty, tomato, lettuce, cheese & sauce. It was really good! Very filling too, and probably a thousand calories with all that avocado!
I headed back to my hostel and the streets were much quieter now. It was actually really nice and I felt much more comfortable taking photos.
Back in my room, another girl had turned up so the are now 4 of us in the dorm. I sorted out my stuff and packed my backpack for tomorrow. I have a very exciting activity booked, but I'm not going to tell you what it is yet!
Then I watched a few TV episodes and went to bed.
DAY 14 MEDELLIN
This morning I woke up very hot. I turned the fan off during the night as I was worried the noise would disturb the other girls when they came back (they all went out partying last night). I got ready & went down to wait for my pickup.
My guide’s name was Sebastian, and he was spending the whole day with me as it was a private tour. This activity was something I was very excited for. I had booked something called "Dream hammocks, ziplines & waterfalls". Waterfalls and ziplines are self-explanatory. Dream hammocks is where you lay in a hammock in the middle of a zipline!
The drive to the eco-parque took about 1.5hrs. Most of it was nice smooth road and we passed through a cute town, but when we got right into the mountains, it became a very bumpy & steep dirt road.
I had brought a lot of things with me (they said lunch was not included and needed to be brought, and to bring a full change of clothes including shoes, sunscreen, water etc). Fortunately, Sebastian told me that I don't need the change of clothes if I don't want to, and lunch is served in the restaurant for an extra charge, so I left my clothes, shoes and some snacks in the car. My backpack was much lighter now!
We first went to the restaurant to get organised, then went down to an observation deck, which is just a short walk downhill from the restaurant. Here were some fabulous views of the mountains & valleys! Sebastian pointed out where the hammocks would be, where the ziplines were and the hike to the waterfall. The hiking didn't look THAT bad. Boy was I about to be wrong!
We first headed down to the platform for the hammocks. This was a steep, loose gravel trail, and I knew I was going to have to come back up. At the platform I was briefed and harnessed up. I was only taking my GoPro, phone and a bag of lollies with me. I was going to be completely alone out there for about 20mins. I was connected to the crew member, who was on the second wire. He pulled me out to the middle, setup the hammock on my wire, then helped me get into it. Then he left. I was totally on my own! I was told I could move around as I pleased, hang my legs over the side etc. So I got my GoPro and phone and started taking photos & videos, moving around and enjoying the view. You have 2 waterfalls in the background. It really was a spectacular view. Sebastian took some photos from the side of the mountain of me. Can't wait to see them!
After I was brought back to the platform & put my shoes back on, we began the hike to the first zipline. We had to go back uphill for a bit and man was it hard! We are at 2400m altitude, it was hot & sunny, and it was very steep. Then we went downhill to the platform. This was slow going so I didn't fall but I was looking forward to the zipline. I absolutely love ziplines! Flying through the air over beautiful scenery is an amazing feeling.
At the zipline station, we had to wait for another guide, and it was nice to sit for a bit. The zipline is 700m long and 330m high. I got my GoPro ready when it was time to go and took a video of the ride. My videography skills clearly need improvement though!
At the end of this zipline is a bar. We didn't stop here, except to admire the view, as we had decided to wait until after the waterfall hike.
The hike to the waterfall started off easy enough, through some farms & backyards. Then it went down. Very steeply down! I would estimate that the gradient was always a minimum of 45°, and at times, up to maybe 70°. There is a rope line to help, and the trail consists of gravel, dirt, rock steps, boulders, tree roots and formed concrete steps. I had to step carefully, put my feet sideways (hiking trick I learned years ago), use the rope and scramble with my hands to get down. We finally made it to the base of the waterfall. We left our stuff on the benches provided, then went around to the waterfall. It was so powerful that it produced an intense mist. It was crazy! Just like being back at Iguaçu Falls! I took photos & videos, then went back to dry off a bit.
Then we began the hike up. Literally up. He said it was about a 600m elevation gain over the 1.6km trail, with the last 500m or so much less steep. To say I struggled is an understatement. I'm in relatively ok shape. I go to the gym 4 days a week at home & eat well, but I died. Breathing was hard, my legs were tired, I felt nauseous when I walked & dizzy when I stood up. I had to stop frequently and it took over an hour to get back to the bar.
I was absolutely shattered when I reached the bar. I went straight to the toilets as I was still feeling very nauseous, then went and got a drink. Sebastian said they grow & process their own coffee, and it is very good, so I got a bottle of cold brew. It was pretty good. I also made up a bottle of Hydralyte, and sat enjoying the view, drinking my coffee and sipping my electrolytes. FYI, the strawberry lemonade Hydralyte is delicious! I also had a couple of strawberry wafer biscuits and peach rings. Sugar, caffeine & salts to recover. Perfect!
After a little while, it was time to get ready for the zipline back across the valley. This one started at the same spot of the other one ended, but finished below the first zipline. Plus, we had to climb a spiral staircase to reach the zipline. My poor legs! I got clipped in and off I went. This one was 600m in length and just as fun at the first one.
Once we were both back on the other side, we began the uphill hike. It was really steep and tough to get to the first zipline platform, and then we took a longer but less challenging (less steep!) trail back to the restaurant. We had a rest at the platform before continuing on the second part of the trail. It was noticeably easier, although still hard. Then we got to the lookout platform that we had visited at the start. By now, my legs were cramping badly in the quads. Every step was painful. And we still weren't back at the restaurant!
After a final push, I made it back to the restaurant. I had decided not to eat as I wasn't sure if I would be feeling ok, so I went and laid in a hammock while Sebastian had lunch.
Then we began the long drive back to Medellin. It was about 1.5hr drive, with plenty of traffic along the way. I was so relieved to be sitting down and not need to use my legs for a while! I was completely exhausted.
The hammocks were the highlight of the day. Absolutely amazing. They do run the trip as a private tour only though, so it cost a fortune ($295USD, which connects to nearly $500AUD!) but I'm glad I did it. I am shocked at how poorly my body handled the hike, although I do acknowledge that it was a very challenging hike, and most people would struggle. I’m very glad I did it though, and very much looking forward to receiving the photos from Sebastian when he sends them to me. Makes me wonder about the Inca Trail hike, although the gradient is much less steep I think.
Back in my room, I showered and rested for a bit, then went down to the restaurant connected to the hostel. I decided to have something healthy for tea, so I ordered the chicken bowl (pesto quinoa, grilled chicken, broccoli, corn, cucumber & avocado) and a coconut lemonade. Everything was delicious. Really, very good! At 7pm, I used my welcome cocktail voucher and received a nice strawberry aguardente mix. Not too aniseedy which was good.
Then I went back to my room to sort out my stuff for tomorrow's day trip and pass out. I have to be at a nearby church before 6.45am tomorrow so that means I'm going to be up at 6am. Definitely sleepy time for me now!
DAY 15 MEDELLIN
I had to wake up very early this morning at 6am. I made sure my backpack was packed last night so I would just have to dress, brush my teeth etc.
I walked to a nearby church and met with my guide. He sent me to a waiting bus (there were multiple groups meeting there and going on different buses). It was very comfy! Gradually more people boarded, including a big group of young people from the US who were very loud! A young Asian girl sat next to me as there were very few seats left and she was the last to board. Our group was an English speaking group and had 35 people.
We departed just after 7am for the town of El Penol. The guide Marlon gave some information about the day, then the girl next to me went to sleep
It took about 1.5hrs to get to the first stop: a restaurant for breakfast. The views were amazing! We had scrambled eggs, toast, arepa, cheese and a drink. I sat with a couple from Germany, a couple from Switzerland and a couple from Australia. The German & Swiss couples were both travelling for 8+ months, and the Aussie couple were travelling for about 2.5 months.
Next stop was the El Penol rock. It is the third largest rock in the world, with Uluru being the largest. There are 780 steps to the top of the rock, which is 200m high, with the promise of amazing views. It is also located at a reservoir, which is a man-made hydroelectric dam. It is not high season at the moment, but it was very busy! Marlon told us that in high season (Dec/Jan), they have 20,000 people climb the rock each day!
The rock is privately owned, and costs 25,000 pesos to climb (~$10AUD). Marlon got our tickets and off we went. The climb was slow going as there were a lot of period climbing. It's a zigzag concrete staircase and they very kindly have the number of steps marked every 25 stairs. You start off ok but by the halfway point, you're breathing hard and you need a rest!
There is a lookout just under the halfway point, which offers a nice view. Then I kept going. There are 2 parts at the top. About 680 steps, you have the main observation area, and there is a small observation area, which is about 100 very narrow concrete spiral stairs higher. There are also multiple souvenir stalls and food/drinks stalls.
The views, as promised, were amazing. We also had incredible weather. The islands in the reservoir were really pretty.
I walked around for a bit, bought a souvenir, took a ton of photos then began the descent. This was also slow going as there was a very slow person ahead, and you can't overtake unless they stop at one of the U-turn parts. This is a different staircase to the ascent one, and is inside the crack in the side of the rock. It’s sheltered from the sun and much cooler.
At the bottom, I looked in some shops then went back to the bus. Our next stop was the town of Guatape. This is the most colourful town in Colombia and I think he said Lonely Planet declared it the second most colourful town in the world.
It was only a short drive, and we first headed to the main square. It is Colombian Independence DAY today, so there was a huge ceremony & celebration going on, with a matching band, speeches, dancing etc.
Marlon took us for a short wall to explain some of the features & history, then set us loose. I walked all over the main part of the town, taking lots of photos. It certainly is extremely colourful & very pretty!
I also walked to the Guatape sign for a photo.
Then we boarded the bus again and headed back to the first stop, the restaurant, for lunch. We had rice, salad, beans, plantain and a protein. I chose chicken. We also got a traditional lemonade. It was really good!
Next up was a visit to the replica of the church from the original El Penol village. There were also some shops and food outlets. A few of us just sat down in the shade.
Lastly, we had a boat ride on the reservoir. We were given life jackets and boarded a boat with several other groups (English & Spanish). Our little group sat on the second level, open air but covered. There was pre-recorded information given in Spanish, and then in English. Unfortunately, by the time the English one came on, we were past the place that it was talking about. This was particularly annoying when we went past one of Pablo Escobar’s old farms. No idea which is the place they were talking about, so I took photos of everything. After we passed the place, the English came on and told us which building.
The next place of interest was the house belonging to a Colombian national football/soccer player James Rodriguez. He has a big property by the water with a black glass house and a white house. I think they said he lives in one and his ex-wife in the other. It’s worth a few million USD.
The only other feature pointed out is a cross in the middle of the water. It is built in the place that the steeple of the original church stood. The village was destroyed when the government flooded the area to create freshwater lakes.
Then we boarded our bus and headed back to Medellin. I had 2 seats to myself as the Asian girl had earlier moved to sit with the American people. It was nice to stretch out.
Back in Medellin, I decided to go to a nearby burger place for tea. I got the corn gratin with chicken, bacon & cheese, and a red fruit soda. It was yum.
Then I went back to my room to pack as I have to check out early tomorrow morning, before I head out on my morning activity.
I went to bed fairly early as I was tired from all the walking uphill the last 2 days!
DAY 16 MEDELLIN TO CARTAGENA
The Spanish speaking girls in my room all got up at 6am today, turned on all the lights and made so much noise for the next hour, talking at a loud volume level, showering, packing day packs etc. They even opened the glass doors, which let in all the street noise! I had wanted to sleep in since I had 2 early starts, but no, these girls were very rude and didn't let me. I was not happy at all.
At 7.30am I got up after realising I wasn't able to get back to sleep. I finished packing all my things, checked out and went out for breakfast. I needed good food to make up for the bad morning.
I went to a little brunch place around the corner and got a Nutella iced latte and eggs benny. The latte was very good. The eggs benny was not too bad. The muffin had the consistency of a bagel though, which was not to my liking, and the asparagus didn't have the woody ends removed. They did give me a free entrée though, which was quite nice. Don't know what it was.
After breakfast, I went to the metro station to meet my guide. I had decided to do a history & graffiti tour of Comuna 13. It used to be the most dangerous place in all of Colombia, and now it is one of the major tourist attractions in Medellin. There were 9 people in our group, with 5 from the Netherlands, 2 Americans, 1 Swiss and me.
We took the metro train to one station, changed and took a different one to San Antonio. Here we boarded the cable cars to the middle station. We had nice views over the Comuna and our guide gave us a history lesson. Colombia used to be a very dangerous place, but now it is significantly safer, for locals and tourists.
Then we took the cable car back down and boarded a local bus. This bus took us to July 20, which is a street and area. We walked uphill for a bit and came to an alley area with little stalls and small stage. A group of dancers were performing for the tour groups for tips. They were very good.
We continued walking around, stopping at certain pieces of street art, or graffiti as they call it. It is very beautiful, and each piece has a story relating to part of the history of the people.
We got a fruit icy pole from a local shop (included in the tour, most of us had the mango & passionfruit). It was nice & just what we needed as it was quite humid.
Then we kept walking. We fortunately took 3 escalators to higher levels, but we did also have to climb more stairs and ramps. Medellin is definitely killing my legs!
The views were good from higher up. Comuna 13 is extremely big & spread out. There are about 130,000 people living here, but due to the size, it feels significantly bigger then the Rocinha favela in Rio, which has 300,000 people.
We went to a rooftop café where we had a drink (also included) and sat for a bit.
Then we began the descent, boarded another bus back to the metro station & took the metro back to Poblado. The Swiss girl was staying at the same hostel as me so we walked back together.
I went and got a cold brew coffee from a nearby coffee shop, and sat for an hour. It was quite good!
Then I collected my luggage from the hostel, ordered an uber and went to the airport. The Aussie couple from yesterday, who I also saw on a Comuna 13 tour this morning, are on the same flight to Cartagena as me. Check in was quick and then I had a 2hr wait for the flight.
I saw the Aussie couple and had a chat to them. Then it was time for me to board. I'm in group 4, at the front of the plane in row 6. They are in group 6, right at the back of the plane. The plane was an Airbus A320-214, and it had the widest aisles and rows I have ever seen on a plane! On some planes, I brush the seats as I walk down the aisle, but on this plane, it was almost 2 people wide! went also had tons of legroom. The seats had no recline function, and the tray table was the size of 2 hands, but it was a 1hr flight so none of these things matter. It was a really nice aeroplane.
When we landed in Cartagena, we had to disembark down the stairs to the tarmac, then take a very long walking around the edge of the tarmac, and along the outside of the terminal to the domestic arrivals. Before I had even reached the bottom of the stairs, I was sticky! The humidity so bad it was gross. The terminal wasn't air conditioned either, and my bag was one of the last to be put on the baggage carousel.
I got an Uber very quickly fortunately. He asked me to sit in the front, which was fine, and the air con was blasting which I appreciated. Through Google Translate, he told me I need my hostel reservation as the walled city centre is closed off, and only those with reservations can drive in. It was a longer drive then normal as the traffic was terrible. All cars attempting to enter the walled city were stopped by security/police. The driver showed my reservation and we were both questioned. I didn't say a word as the guard only spoke Spanish, and eventually they let us in. Technically, Uber is kind of illegal here apparently, but everybody uses it, and the drivers use some loophole to get away with it.
When we entered the gates, I was shocked at how busy it was. I clearly haven't done much research on Cartagena either, as I didn't realise it was a walled city, nor what the streets would look like. There were horse & carts (the tourist trap animal abuse kind) everywhere with cars and people filling the streets. It took a little while to get to the hostel, weaving our way around the people.
I checked in and was taken to my room. The air con in the room was good! I have a top bunk and there are 8 girls in total in our room.
I met 2 of them, Brazilians, then I went to the supermarket for a drink. I got an apple flavoured soft drink, then had a walk around the streets. I think in the daylight, this place will be very beautiful and I can't wait to see it in colour.
I was so hot and sweaty, so I headed back to my hostel. Urgh, I hate humidity! Every bit of skin was sticky and the sweat was accumulating everywhere. Disgusting!
I had a shower to get clean, and was instantly sweaty again. That's the level of humidity here. 88% according to the weather app on my phone right now. 88% HUMIDITY! I don't think Townsville got that high when I lived there!
Back in my room, I put on my pjs and hung out in the air con. The 2 Brazilians, and a third who checked in not long ago, joined the hostel pub crawl, and I haven't seen the other girls, so I was alone in the room. I watched an episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty, then went to bed.
DAY 17 CARTAGENA
I tried to sleep in, and was able to stay
in bed until nearly 9am. I had no specific plans today, just walking around the
streets. It was lovely!
I got ready and headed out to a breakfast place for brunch. When I got there, the queue was quite long so I decided to go somewhere else. I ended up getting an iced dulce de leche latte from Juan Valdez instead, and just walled around. It was delicious and the cold was exactly what I needed to combat the early morning heat.
I went outside the walls to a park called Centenario Park. I had been told by the Swiss girl in the Guatape tour that this park was great because it has sloths & monkeys, and it's right in the city centre. The park was lovely, apart from all the men trying to sell you stuff. I saw a big iguana chilling in a tree. It was huge.
A park employee came past and said there was a sloth ‘over there’. A family had come to see the iguana too, so we all headed to find the sloth. A local pointed out it to us. He was up a tree, sleeping. It was spotty, not like the solid brown ones in Costa Rica. It was very cute.
Another local told us that the monkeys would be over by the market as they get fed around this time. Sure enough, there was a small group of tourists under a tree. The monkeys were smaller then I expected. They were sooooo cure! The other group were feeding them fresh young coconut. I'm not sure what type of monkeys they are but I want one. I started for a while taking pictures, then headed out.
I went back inside the walls and just walled. A lot. The streets & buildings are very pretty. I would say it is probably the most beautiful city I have ever been to. Of course, this is only inside the walls. Outside the walls, it looks like any other city.
I went for a walk along one section of the wall. There isn't much of a beach here, but the sea breeze was nice. It was very hot!
I got hungry so I went to a café near my hostel. I had a chicken salad with green apple, feta, lettuce, tomato, candied nuts and a passionfruit vinaigrette. And a strawberry juice. It was all absolutely delicious. I love a fresh tasty salad when it's hot & this hit the spot.
I walked around a bit more & went to the supermarket. I got some snacks and drinks for tomorrow's day trip. Then I went back to my hostel for some air con.
I sat there for about an hour, cooling down. Some new girls came in, then went out. One Brazilian girl came back and we had a chat about her day (she did an island trip). She invited me to go to watch the sunset at a place called Café del Mar. It's a famous sunset spot, located in the top of the wall. I decided to go and when she was showered etc. we went and met one of the guys she was going with. He is also Brazilian.
A Swiss couple also joined us, so we became 5, and there were 2 coming later & 3 already there. At the café, there was a queue to get in, but we were seated almost straight away. Helps that the 2 Brazilians can speak passable Spanish. We got the best table, right by the edge with a clear view of the sunset. Cocktails were pretty expensive by Colombian standards. Minimum of 35,000 pesos, which is about $14AUD. We only had one. The other couple, from The Netherlands, joined us as well. It was nice, and it was definitely much cooler with the breeze and no sun.
Then we went to get dinner. The others hadn't eaten since about 2pm, so we decided on a place caked Pezetarian. As the bent suffers, it's predominantly fish, but they had a couple of vegie, chicken & pork meals. I chose the pork gyoza (it was also relatively pricey) which was very nice.
The Brazilian guy wanted to go to a bar that was on the top 50 bars in the world, so we went back to the hostel so the guys could put pants on (dress code for guys) then went to the bar. There was already a queue, even though it was just 9.30pm. Also, the streets were insane already. Crowded with people, horse & carriages, and cars. It took about 20mins before we finally got in. The bar has 3 levels, each with a different style of music, and the third floor was the rooftop. The ground floor was busy so we went up to the second floor. We ordered a cocktail then joined the wait list to go up to the rooftop bar. This actually took ages, around 30mins, before we were finally told we could go up. The music on the second floor wasn't great so this was a relief.
The roof was very pretty, and busy! There are a lot of rooftop bars in this part of Cartagena. The music was much better too. We sang and danced for a bit, some people had more drinks, and enjoyed the fresh air.
I decided to head back to the hostel at 11.30pm as I had to be up early tomorrow and I hadn't packed my backpack yet. I stopped at the supermarket to get a few extra snacks (I ate the coconut wafers already which were so ridiculously good that I want to bring them home!) And drinks. Plus, I got a drink for now as I wasn't going to pay 10,000 for water or Coke in the bar when they are 2,000 or less in the supermarket.
Back in the dorm, nobody else was there! This was excellent because I could turn the light on and make as noise I wanted. I packed & showered and got sorted for tomorrow. I'm heading to the islands for some beach time on the same trip as the others did today, except I'm also staying on the islands in the evening to see the bioluminescent plankton.
I was sitting in front of the air con, cooling down, when the Brazilian girl came back. We had a quick chat, then we both went to bed.
DAY 18 CARTAGENA
I woke up at 6.45am and quietly got ready. I had to be in the hostel reception at 7.15am. There were 2 other guys waiting when I arrived (French Canadians) and 2 other girls turned up not long after (Brits).
A guy from the company came to collect us and walked us to the marina to join the rest of the people. We were given coloured wristbands, ordered our welcome drink & lunch option, then eventually we were taken to the boat. The boats are basic speedboats, with a shelter only over the back half of the boat. The British girls and I had to sit in the exposed front section (literally at the front of the boat) as we were almost last to board, which I knew would suck if the sun came out.
A group of 6 people (5 women & 1 guy) from
the US were the last to board. These women came carrying a six pack of beer.
It’s 8am! Talk about starting the party early!
We had 5 stops today. First was to the fort which was the entry to Cartagena. We had a walking tour from one of the local indigenous people. He was informative, although he was very frustrated with the American group who kept lingering to take a thousand photos for the ‘gram (their words, not mine). We even saw some resident bats! We were a bit shocked to see the Americans already tucking into their beers, given it wasn’t even 9am yet.
Our next stop was snorkelling. We were in the Rosario islands, and the snorkelling is quite popular. The water was warm, but cooling as well. The coral was pretty poor, but there were quite a few fish, including some big parrot fish. I was really disappointed to see our guide, and several other people standing in the reef. That is a big no-no as it will kill the coral.
Next was a beach with a welcome drink. We sat on some chairs, listening to the DJ, drinking our coconut lemonade. This stuff is the best drink I have had in Colombia. You must try it if you come to Colombia. My favourite one was at the restaurant next my hostel in Medellin. By now, the American group had a bottle of liquor that they had moved on to, which we then watched them take into the water.
Then we went to party Island. There were about a hundred boats and hundreds of people already there. There are a ton of tables in the water, some with umbrellas, some without. There are a ton of food stalls, and people walking in the water trying to sell you oysters, jewellery, souvenirs etc from canoes. Our table was in the sun unfortunately, so it was hot, but the water was lovely. The British girls and I just stood & talked. I found out they are both police officers in Wales. One works in child protection and the other in drug enforcement. The American group were now into a bottle of tequila and another brown alcohol of some sort. Boy are they living their best life!
Next was the final stop for the islands, and our lunch stop. We went to Playa Blanco (white beach). This is a very long curved white sand beach that has hundreds of beach clubs along it. We went straight to the restaurant and were served our lunch. I chose the chicken, and we all had rice, plantain and salad. The chicken was delicious! Very juicy & well seasoned. I gave some of my chicken to a gorgeous ginger & white kitten that was hanging around. She was super friendly and clearly very hungry.
After lunch we sat on some beach lounges undercover the umbrellas and chilled. It was here that I noticed I was burnt. I also have a rash all over my legs, which I think is a heat rash.
The guide told me that they would be
dropping be off at a different beach club as I was the only one from our boat
doing the plankton. When it came time to board & leave, we watched the
American girls get in the water to swim! Clearly on island time! The guide was not happy!
The boat drove a short way down the beach & the guide took me into Mambo Beach Club. He told me I could sit anywhere, walk along the beach etc. but that I had to be back by 6.30pm and I would get a drink & snack.
Some people left so I got a Balinese bed, which was nice. I just laid down and wrote this blog, as well as people-watched. I ate my poco sticks, filled with dulce de leche, which, in case you can't tell, I absolutely love. It translates to milk caramel, and is basically caramelised condensed milk. I’d eat it straight from the tub!
At 5.30pm my new guide came to check me in, and gave me my snack. I think it was fried corn cakes with a tomato sauce & parmesan. It was good. He also came back a little later & gave us an iced juice which tasted like orange & passionfruit.
We had prime sunset viewing location, right on the beach. It was a beautiful sunset too.
Afterwards, our guide called us all
together to give us information about the evening. I'm the only one who
required English again, out of 35 people. There was an American from Florida
there with his Spanish speaking girlfriend, and even though he always spoke
English or single Spanish words, he didn't put his hand up for the English
instructions. I definitely felt very much the foreigner & odd one out!
We then boarded 2 low profile speedboats.
Unfortunately, sitting on the side and the low profile meant I got splashed the
whole 15min ride. This meant my bag got wet too. I was worried about my camera getting wet which made me quite anxious.
We went to a bay area where there were already some boats & people in the water. I was so excited for the bioluminescent plankton! Pulling up, I couldn't see a thing. I've seen lots of photos and the water glows a bright blue. The guide jumped in and there was the faintest white glow. Then he started swimming and we could see a slightly brighter glow by his hands and feet. I grabbed my GoPro and one by one, we started jumping over the side of the boat into the water. The further you went from people, the easier it was to see the glow, but it was nothing like I was expecting. It was very underwhelming. I don't think it will show up in my videos, which is a shame. The water was very warm though which was nice.
Then we got back in the boat and went back to the beach. All the boats were going to the same place as there is a big carpark where buses were waiting to take everyone back to Cartagena. Remember, we have literally just got out of the water and are dripping wet. Now we are boarding a very cold air conditioned bus. Brrr!
I got dropped off near the marina and began walking back to my hostel. As I got to the clock tower, I saw a big military marching band lined up. They started playing and marching as I approached, so I followed them through the city walls. I watched for a while with no idea why this was happening. It’s a Sunday night so not like it's a big party night or anything. They played for a bit then marched back outside the walls and left.
I continued back to my hostel, got a towel from reception (mine was wet, salty and smelly), and basically went straight to the shower. I felt gross. All my clothes were wet, I was burnt, I was salty and I was now hot & sweaty. It felt good to be clean!
I went straight to bed afterwards, too tired to do anything.
DAY 19 CARTAGENA
I wanted a sleep in but didn't managed to get much due to the noise. I had a slow, lazy start to the morning, then eventually got dressed and headed out for brunch. I decided to go to a local independent coffee house as they had excellent reviews.
Also, it's a Monday so there were no queues, unlike Saturday morning! I sat at the bar, which was fine, and I got to watch the bartender work.
I ordered a toffee ice latte and avocado eggs benny toast. It was basically smashed avo with poached eggs and hollandaise. The latte was made with dulce de leche, which is fast becoming my favourite sweet thing. Everything was delicious and filling. I also got to talk to the bartender about the 4 types of coffee and smell the different beans. I decided to buy a bag of the coconut coffee beans to take home.
I walked around after brunch in search of a shot glass. I found a street with several souvenir shops in it, and saw some great options. Unfortunately it turns out that there are different sellers inside each shop and the one who sells the glasses does not take credit card. The third shop they said I had to spend a minimum of 50,000 COP, which meant I had to find something else for a minimum of 25,000 COP. I ended up choosing a pencil case as I will need a bigger one in the new school year as we have to move classrooms a lot this year.
Then I went back to my hostel for a bit of air con. After cooling down, I decided to walk to Getsemani, a neighbouring area. It was scorching hot but I needed to do something. I walked along the wall for a bit, checking out the view. When I got to Getsemani, which was only about 15mins, I was surprised by how colourful it also was. There was street art everywhere, lots of flags & umbrellas, colourful houses etc. This also meant a lot of tourists but that was ok.
I walked around the many different streets, then went back through the park and back to my hostel. I was super hot and so was my water. It was wet, but not refreshing. I got a raspberry ice cream on the way back, which was very good.
I ended up being very lazy and spending the next 3hrs laying in my bed. I even had a little power nap! I was hot and exhausted.
Eventually, I got hungry, so I went in search of food. I had decided I needed to try a proper arepa, since the ones I’d had previously were terrible. I chose a place nearby that had excellent reviews, even though it was more expensive than the one near my hostel and the one in Getsemani.
The place was empty when I arrived, but it was air conditioned so I didn't mind. I decided to order the 3 mini arepas combo. It had 1 pulled beef, 1 curry chicken & cheese, and 1 chicken & avocado. Turns out it also came with a natural lemonade. It took a long time to come out, about 30mins, but when I got them, they were so fresh & very hot. They were delicious! Very different to the yellow ones I had in Medellin & Bogota. I really enjoyed them.
Being very full, I decided I needed to walk my dinner off, so I went back to the sloth park. I saw 2 sloths this time, and 1 was moving. I took a few videos as I watched him move from one part of the tree to another.
Then I went back to my hostel. I was done for the day. I talked to one of the girls, who was checking out for a flight to Bogota, and she gave me lots of tips for the Inca Trail. She did it not long ago.
Then I watched a movie in bed and went to sleep.
DAY 20 CARTAGENA TO LIMA (PERU)
Boy did I have a terrible sleep! Even my Samsung Health app says my sleep was bad & needs attention. Some girls came back quite late and made a bit of noise, one girl snored all night, and at 2.40am some new girl checked in and she made a heck of a racket. Took her nearly an hour to sort her crap out. Turning the lights on & off, banging the locker door, rustling plastic, coming in & out of the room etc. I was also feeling pretty average, with a bit of a runny nose, so I wasn't happy at all.
Around 7am, the same noisy girl did the same thing!
Absolutely zero respect for the other girls in the room. Rude. Very rude!Yes, I'm grumpy if you can't tell!
I eventually got up about 10.15am, and fortunately, everyone else had gone out. I turned lights on & off, and could pack my bag as noisily as I wanted. It was great.
I checked out at 11am, collected my laundry & left my bags in the reception area (the luggage store was overflowing, so everyone was just dumping bags around the edges of the walls). I needed food and had decided to go back to Epoca, the same place as yesterday.
I got a seat at the bar straight away again, and the same bartender was on, who recognised me. I ordered a red berry soda (sparkling water with berry puree) and the brioche French toast. It came with cream, strawberries and dulce de leche. It's been a long time since I've had French toast, and this was amazing.
After brunch, I went to a Juan Valdez coffee place and got a jar of dulce de leche instant coffee to take home. This is going to be my new work coffee!
Then I went back to the Netflix lounge at the hostel to chill in the air con. Some people were watching a movie so I half watched and played in my phone. The air con was so good! Even the resident kitten was coming in there. She came and curled up next to me for a while, which was adorable.
After she left, and 1.30pm hit, I went out for my final Colombian iced coffee. Dulce de leche flavour of course!
At 2pm, I ordered an uber and headed to the airport. The drive was fairly quick. Only 1 self-bag tag machine was working so I had to wait a while. Then I joined the bag drop queue. It was relatively short (about 30 people ahead of me), but it took nearly 40mins for me to finally get to the desk. Once at the front, I understood why it was taking 5-10mins per person. They needed proof of leaving Peru before they could finish check in and bag drop. I gave the guy my itinerary, then my bus reservation confirmation. He asked me for an airline reservation code and was confused when I told him I'm leaving by bus. Maybe he is new, but he had to ask several people if this was ok and how to process it in the system. Finally, after about 10mins, he gave me my passport & boarding pass back. Phew! Had me worried for a second!
Immigration & security were very fast with no queues. Apparently, this is one of the busiest airports in Colombia, but it's currently dead. There are 7 international departure gates, all in a very small area (I’m literally sitting in front of them all), 1 duty free shop, 1 souvenir shop and 2 food places. That's it.
I found a powerpoint, plugged my phone in to charge, then sat down to write this. We will be boarding soon, and the flight time to Lima is just under 4hrs.
Colombia has been great! Bogota (La Candelaria area) is great during the day, but not so much at night. Medellin (El Poblado area) is great day and night, once you get over the shock of the chaos. Cartagena (historic walled area) is beautiful. There isn't much to do in Cartagena, but it's nice to walk around for a day and visit the islands. Cartagena is also the most expensive of the 3 places I visited. Very noticeably so. I definitely recommend visiting Cartagena and Medellin. I've really enjoyed my time here.
And now, it's off to Peru, which I'm very excited about.