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Published: April 5th 2017
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Am halfway through a trip through Colombia with my Colombian friend Jairo. We’re at the Cartagena airport, having arrived from Mompox on a door-to-door shuttle. Expecting the trip to take longer, we now have about 3 hours before our scheduled flight to Medellin.
Arrived in Bogota about 10 days ago. It’s rainy season, so the skies provided a constant sense that a downpour was just moments away. Morning rush hour. Traffic moves at a snail’s pace with my cabbie taking evasive procedures to avoid the worst of it. The about 15 kilometer ride from the airport to my small hotel in Chaparino Alto cost about $10.
Over my first couple of days in Bogota, I came to realize rush hour traffic never ends.
After a short rest, tried public transit to get myself to the tourist center downtown. Walked several blocks to buy a transit card, then tried to use Google Maps to get me on the right bus. A lot of walking without success. Beginning to rain, I resorted to a taxi.
First stop: El Museso de Oro, which covers the history of gold in Colombia. An incredible collection, both from a historic and artistic perspective.
Great examples of gold pieces from all eras and regions of Colombia, all well displayed.
From there, a short walk south into La Candelaria, the colonial center of the city. I’ll be back in Bogota at the end of the trip, so will take more time for the neighborhood then. Just wanted to get a taste. The narrow streets, some still cobble-stoned, are wonderful to walk through. Looking forward to being back to have more time to explore.
Met up with Jairo for a great steak dinner and walk through part of Chaparino. This part of Bogota is the home of several universities and has long been one of the more sought-after parts of the city to live. It is the center of several shopping centers, restaurants, bars and other entertainments.
Next stop: Villa de Leyva, a small colonial town 3-5 hours north of Bogota, depending on the bus company you choose to travel with.
On my 5 hour ride here, having chosen the wrong company, I was once again reminded of a truism of long bus rides. Someone on board always believes everyone wants to hear whatever they’ve chosen to listen to. In
this era of cheap earbuds, why does anyone need to listen through speakers, especially when they’re on a bus full of people? The first half of my ride, the driver was the DJ; after a change of drivers, a guy in the back of the bus played DJ for the balance of the trip.
On arrival into town, I had about a 10 minute walk to Hospederia Villa de Los Saenz, which sits a 3 block walk from the main square of Villa de Leyva. Clean, fairly new, and think I was the only guest. About $30 a night.
Being the only guest was a sign of how empty the town itself was. After a short rest, I had to grab dinner before everything closed. The 3 blocks to the main square were so quiet with only a few tables at the open restaurants along the way occupied and many not open at all. Off-season and many seemed to be taking a rest prior to the busy Easter week which is just 2 weeks away.
Villa de Leyva is picturesque and pleasant to walk through, particularly with so few people around. I understand that weekends can
be crazy, especially during high season, when many from Bogota make the town a day or weekend trip.
Villa de Leyva has been nicely reconstructed with a large cobble-stoned square sitting at its center. It was founded in 1572, has a mild temperature year-round, and has attracted investment from expats and Colombians who have brought in the requisites for a tourist destination: boutique hotels, nice restaurants, cafes and tourist shops. The town is picturesque and pleasant to walk through, particularly with so few people around. I understand that weekends can be crazy, especially during high season, when many from Bogota make the town a day or weekend trip.
Took a bike ride from the main square hoping to reach one of the few wineries in Colombia, sitting about 10 KM from town. About ¾ of the way there, there was sufficient lightening, thunder and darkening skies to convince me to turnaround and head back toward town. Just before reaching the center, it began to rain heavily, so the decision to cut the ride short seemed to make sense. 10 minutes later, the rain had stopped and the skies had begun to clear, but I had pretty much run
out of time.
Chose the right bus company to head back to Bogota, making the return trip in about 3 hours. Again, the ride from the bus station to my hotel in Chaparino seemed a game between the cabbie and Bogota traffic. As we neared my hotel, there was no avoiding it anymore and we crept along at a block every couple of minutes.
Friday night in Bogota, so Jairo wanted to check out the biggest gay dance place in Colombia, Theatron. Though from Bogota, he’d never been. This particular Friday night, cover was about $10, including all you could drink of simple mixes. The place is amazing. A converted theater, it’s now been divided into 13 different zones with different music in each zone, from live performances, to karaoke to club music, latin dance and more. Over 3000 can squeeze in at capacity. Jairo, who loves to dance, couldn’t stop and I was caught up in his enthusiasm. We had a great time.
After a half day of recovery, we flew to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, but not until after another trip through rainy, traffic-ridden Bogota streets to the airport where even normally calm Jairo
was getting a little nervous about us missing our flight. After almost an hour, we made it for a fare of less than $10 with time to spare and a general sense of relief.
Arriving to the warm weather of Cartagena was a great change from cooler, wet Bogota. We headed to the Bocogrande neighborhood near the beach, reminding me a bit of older parts of Miami. A mix of low- and high-rise buildings and eras. The beach here isn’t particularly beautiful, but it was nice to be able to walk to it easily between trips into the historic center of Cartagena.
There are really two historic centers: One the heart of old Cartagena which has long been the tourist center; the other Getsemani, which has been gentrified fairly recently. In the mix, it reminds me of Havana, with some beautifully rehabbed colonial buildings in the old tourist center and, just a few blocks away, a combination of recently well-rehabbed buildings and those that appear to be beyond all possibilities.
Both have their own attractions. Cartagena was a key Spanish port and a center of the slave trade. As a result, it was wealthy and well-defended by
walls and forts. Now it, like many tourist centers, is beautiful, even though it is cobble-stoned street after cobble-stoned street of restaurants and shops.
We arrived into the old town the same day a cruise line made it to Cartagena, so we initially fought the hoards of tours in the various sites, including the main museum, once site of Inquisition tortures and featuring the requisite gruesome examples of torture equipment of the era. As the day continued, the tours returned to their ship, leaving the old town more quiet and attractive.
After a rest on the beach near our hotel, we returned to the old town for dinner. It’s particularly beautiful in the evening and Jairo, having visited recently, knew a great place to eat, where we shared a pitcher of sangria over dinner before heading for another evening of dancing supported by a few rums. Needless to say, the next day began slowly.
After recovering, we headed back to the old town for lunch and a walk to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. It is an impressive structure that was originally commissioned in 1630 and expanded in 1762. It defended the heart of Cartagena from
armies including the British and French, invading by land. It is punctured at various points inside with tunnels for defenders to move well-protected within the fort.
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