Amigo Arrives in South America
Hola Chicos & Chicas
So I am back on the air typing this blog of Colombian adventures while I am here in Ecuador!
S.A has been interesting so far and I am enjoying the ride, even though some of the rides in Colombia were expensive!!
Colombia? 3 x the size of France, bordering Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Brazil with a northern Caribbean coast and a western Pacific coast. Unfortunate things that it is famous for are FARC, Nose Candy a.k.a coke and it's most famous drug baron Mr. Pablo Escobar, the ultimate badass drug baron who was killed ... not sure when.
Currency is Pesos and 1USD = 1,800 Pesos, capital is Bogotá set in a valley up in the mountains about 2,800meters above sea level. Lets think about this one, just look up in the sky and imagine a town almost 3km up in the sky, hmm..
Bogotá, 9th - 17th March 03, Hotel El Dorado 20,000 Pesos ensuite rm with tv Landing in Colombia and Bogotá was not planned and I only end up here because it is the cheapest flight I find into S.A, but HEY WHAT
A STROKE OF LUCK WHO-s THE DADDY OF THE ROADS cos it turns out that with it's old colonial town centre, elaborate churches and plazas, Bogotá is muy bonita ciudad amigos! OH si señor, Bogotá is really cool I MEAN cold place, so daily afternoon rains and chilly nights under three blankets are the norm por el dude.
Walking around La Candelaria area, getting a view of Bogotá from up Montserrat, lots of plazas, churches, and nice cafes/restaurants/parks keep me busy for a week. I have a great video of the view of Bogotá from up Montserrat on youtube so please watch it AMIGOS.
Another thing I like about Colombia, soup being one of my favourite foods, they have some nice, tasty, hot chicken, beef or tomato soup all over the place ASI ME GUSTA yummy jummy, lots of roast chicken, steaks, salads all server with salsa Picante hmmm.. It is also nice not to get the runs every other day as is the case here in Colombia and Ecuador, compared to Asia. Gracias Dios...
Cartagena de los Indias, 18th - 24th March, Hotel Viajero ensuite rm with ac+tv 20,000Pesos The bus from Bogota to Cartagena costs me a MASSIVE 138,000PESOS, MADRE MIA, que pasa amigo que haces, ya no me queda dinero... That's almost 70USD amigos, never paid that much in Asia, in fact, I was flying in Indonesia and Phils for 30USD.
Anyway, going up to the Caribbean coast, you can see the change in the locals from white European look in Bogotá to a more Afro Caribbean dark people in the north. The central colonial part of the town has been a UNESCO heritiga site for years and for a good reason. A week of walking, sleeping, eating, going to the beach and just general chilling out follows in Cartagena...
The sand at the beach is dark, almost black and there are big ondas I mean waves so you cant swim which is muy muy mal because I love to swim and I needed to do some excersice...
Salento, Zona Cafetera, 26th- 27th March, Plantation House, dormitory for 15,000Pesos The journey from Cartagena to Salento takes almost a full day as follows
* Cartagena to Medellin 100,000Pesos, 670km 12hours overnight. Medellin is a.k.a The City of Eternal Spring for its weather and also the resting place of Mr. Pablo Escobar whom backpackers honor by doing a line on his gravestone...
* From the northern terminal in Medellin I take a local bus to the southern terminal for 1,000Pesos and
* Medellin to Armenia 20,000 Pesos, 300km 6hrs
* Armenia to Salento is a local bus for 2,500 Pesos, 45minutes.
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Salento being one of the most popular spots to see the coffee producing farms known as FINCAS, it's a must see place. I spend the morning of the 25th March in the Valley of Cocora, which has a great trekking route through rolling green mountains and spend the afternoon visiting two coffee farms. See the photos for an idea of where your cup of gold comes from and please buy some Colombian coffee next time!
Plantation house being an open plan guesthouse, a huge trantula walks in one night and wonders about the place like he owns it, but hey it is ALL YOURS baby. We take a few photos of it (look in facebook fotos)
we put a dustbin over it once it runs into the bathroom and then hide in our bedrooms until the morning. The local guy that comes to take it out of the guesthouse says "No, no, no esta peligrosooo" meaning its not dangerous. Looking at its huge fangs, I ask him does it bite? He says "Yes, it bites, you get a fever for a few days and you shake a lot, but its not dangerous, it does not kill" HAA! Oh it does not kill, ok, hand it over to me so I can stroke its big long hair legs and play with the cute little monster.
Cali, 27th - 4th April, Calidad Guesthouse, dormitory 16,000Pesos Salento to Cali is an easy 45minute local bus to Armenia followed by a 4 hour minibus for 20,000Pesos (i think)
I get to Cali at around 5pm on Friday afternoon, which is allegedly the Salsa capital of Colombia (download a song called "Oiga Mira Vea" cant remember the artist but you can find it), famous for the quality of it's plastic surgery AND also it's results, and head out to shake my thing on the dance floor. They really do know how to dance (it is physically impossible to dance to someone so close)
Not much to see in Cali, but as the hostel is nice and clean, there is a nice kitchen and the weather is nice, i stay for a few days longer - until I get bored basically.
The salsa is good, the bear is average price but, didnt really like the place much.
Popayan, 5th April, Casa Familiar Touristica, dormitory 13,000Pesos The bus from Cali to Popayan is an 2 or 3 hour slog through daytime traffic. I get to Popayan around 6pm and walk to the guesthouse. After staying overnight in the dorm and walking around town the following day I decide to make my way to Ecuador and hop on an overnight bus from Popayan to the Ecuador-Colombia border town of Ipiales.
The bus to Ipiales is an 8 hour overnight slog so I hop on around midnight on the 6th April and get to the border around 9 in the morning.
I take a local bus from the Ipiales bus terminal to the frontera for about a dollar and from there, it is an easy process of getting all the stamps in two separate building, walking over to the bus stand on the Ecuador side and taking a local bus to the bus terminal.
My first stop in Ecuador is Ibarra and I hop on a 2.5hour bus for $2.50. More on Ecuador to follow soon peeps!!!....
PHOTOS-
BOGOTA CARTAGENA SALENTO POPAYAN Dont forget to watch some Dude TV videos on youtube
click here ADIOS AMIGOS
Señor DUDE, Quito Ecuador Over and Out.
Colombia's Flag
Map of Colombia