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Published: April 21st 2006
Well I've been back for a week now but thought I'd put some more pictures up. I would have done it earlier but the computers were soo slow in Colombia and I didn't have much time to spend in the internet cafes. Better late than never though.
Cartagena was ok but a little dissapointing. After having spent the previous 2 weeks traveling through Colombia and meeting only a small amount of tourists, Cartagena was a bit of shock. This is beacause many cruise ships stop off at Cartagena and loads and loads of package deal tourists spill into the streets. This has created a whole community of locals who follow around these tourists trying to sell things or beg. Being a gringo just trying to see the sights means having to fend off an endless amount of hawkers, beggers, and touts. Cartagena was way too touristy for me but I will say that the city has some great colonial architecture and a variety of appetizing seafood.
I quickly hopped on a flight from Cartagena to Cali which is the second largest city in Colombia. Cali is a verdant city known for its warm climate, salsa, and proclaiming to have
the best looking girls in the whole country although the people of Medellin will be quick to dispute that. While the city doesn't have many so-called tourist attractions, I found it to be quite pleasant and easy to go about the day there.
Palm Sunday weekend I took an hour long bus out to Palmira where I was picked up by my cousin's wife's uncle.....the great Jose Fernando. Jose took me to his ranch in the mountains just outside Palmira in a town called La Buitrera. With a population of only about 2000, it's a nice little retreat from the city life.
La Buitrera was awesome. The small town jovial feeling combined with the surrounding beauty provided for the perfect conclusion to my Colombian trip. I had the opportunity to meet more of Jose's great family that sunday and we had a barbeque and some drinks. I barely made it to my flite back to Bogota that night because of a drink called aguardiente, the local sugarcane derived liquor. Flying back to Bogota I knew I would miss La Buitrera and the rest of the country. I can't wait to return to beautiful Colombia!
Check back
in a day or two for one last entry consisting of a hodge podge of Brazil and Colombia pictures.
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