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Published: July 18th 2011
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Imagine countryside similar to the British isles but more dramatic, gorgeous women everywhere with perfect figures (I hope I come back as a Colombian woman in my next life), everyone is really well dressed (complete contrast to the other Andean countries), jean shops everywhere, great restaurants, good infrastructure, tonnes of colonial buildings, Latino passion and you've got Colombia It's the total opposite to what everyone thinks and I loved it.
Bogotá was a lot colder than expected, it was a lot like Manchester as far as climate goes. It seems to rain all the time. I was staying in the area near the university which is really quirky and full of colourful buildings. There are some really nice plazas, buildings and museos. Every Sunday the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) is open to the public for free, so I decided to go and check it out. It was really good. I had no idea that Colombia was so rich in natural resources and how much gold comes from South America. It was fascinating stuff and I particularly loved the safe like door on the rooms that have to be used to keep all the gold locked up at night from
potential intruders.
I made friends with some “locals”...Dwan (American) and Gladys (Argentinian) moved to Colombia to set up a jeans business. Colombia seems to be the Jean capital of the world. I've never seen so many jeans shops in all my life. I only spent a few days with these two but by the end I felt like I'd known them all my life. We had a blast together. They gave me a crash course to Bogotá so we were eating in all the right places, getting the local buses and getting discounts everywhere. Colombia is fairly rich country and you get pay as much you want to get dinner. The choice of restaurants is endless. There is plenty of cash getting flashed around. We even went to “Rock el Parque” a rock concert. It was unbelievably, 400,000 crazy Colombian bopping away to Spanish rock music. It was a three day festival and at home you pay £180 for the equivalent. The quality of the stages, music, security and everything was on par with the festival we get at home. It was brilliant and the best part was it was totally free.
I really wanted to spend as
much time as I could in Colombia, but I needed to be in Costa Rica by the 20th July so I'm racing against the clock. I spent 3 days in Bogotá and then got a 25 hour bus ride through the countryside to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast to get some sun. My tan was fading fast and I'd spent far too many weeks in the cold. A bit of sunshine makes all the difference. Cartagena is apparently the most beautiful city in Colombia and it really is something special. It was a great place to finish my tour of South America. It's definitely one of the nicest cities I've been to in South America. You can get lost in the old town, it's paradise for any photographer. It was a perfect place to try out my new camera. They're putting a lot of money into the city so I'm sure it will be a popular holiday destination in the future. The Swiss appear to have already discovered it.
I'd been recommended by loads of people to get a sailing boat via the Sand Blas islands from Cartagena to panama, rather than getting a flight. Everyone said it was
time well spent. When I arrived I went straight to another hostel to book it. Unfortunately the boat only leaves once a week and the trip lasts 6 days rather than 4 days to you more time on the islands. In the end I had to cut my stay down in Cartagena and leave a day earlier than I planned.
That brings me to the end of three and a half amazing months in South America. Before I left the UK, I was so nervous but I knew that this was something I was meant to do. I've been fascinated with this continent for so long, it feels like it's been calling me. I'm so glad I took the time out to do it, it is one of the hardest but best things I've ever done. It's been an incredible experience, I've learnt so much, seen so many amazing things and met so many great people along the way. So, so many great memories, thank you South America!
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