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Whew man! It´s hot here in San Gil! A huge difference from Bogota, where we were wearing our fleece jackets every day. However, it´s our last day here because tonight we will take an overnight bus up to Taganga, a hippie fishing village on the Carribbean coast. It´s supposed to be even hotter there, but at least we´ll be on the beach!
Over the past couple days, we...
...Have been rafting down the Rio Fonce - this is the river that flows through the center of town. It has level 3 rapids. We went with some Belgian and French guys from our hostel. Our guide looked like he was about 17 yrs old, but he was good and has been a river guide for about a year. We dumped us all out into the river in a calm area and we got to go for a swim for a while. One of the French guys got popped right out of the raft during the biggest rapid and he floated about 50 yards away. But we went and got him back in the raft, no problem. Good times.
...Took a walk through Parque Gallineral and went for a dip in
the natural pool there. This park is full of really huge trees called Ceibas. They have a massive base and grow incredibly tall. They have moss that hangs off of them in super long tendrils. There are some photos of these trees in my last posting. The park is slightly touristy, but really beautiful.
...We made friends with two local guys, Rolfi and Elkin, at a bar. These names don´t really strike me as traditional Spanish names, but apparently they are very common in this area of Colombia. We went for a drink and they were sitting at a table next to us. I asked them something in Spanish and they invited us to come sit with them for a drink. 4 beers later we were great friends. They were really nice, and super friendly, just like all the Colombians we´ve met so far.
...Went for a very short hike up to this giant cross that is lit-up at night. It´s on the mountain that borders this town.
... I got a $4 haircut yesterday, and it actually looks decent! It´s so hot here that I had to get some of it chopped off. It´s mostly just
more layered now, not much shorter really.
We went grocery shopping yesterday so that we´d have food with us when we go camping later this week in Tayrona National Park. Anyone who has ever traveled outside the U.S. should know that grocery stores in other countries are nothing like our Safeways and King Soopers and Publixes. We made a list of things to get and ended up getting just a few things on the list, but many things that were not on the list. You have to compromise because the stores are tiny and the selection is small. So we ended up with bread, cans of tuna, crackers, cookies, granola, grapes, pears, yogurt, and a couple cans of veggies. We were hoping to get some peanut butter, but this is very difficult to find down here. Oh well!
Something that I am still trying to get used to is throwing toilet paper into the trash can in the bathroom instead of in the toilet. I´ve never been anywhere where this is necessary, and I ALWAYS forget. The plumbing isn´t good enough to withstand much t.p. but I constantly end up forgetting and tossing it in. So far, I
haven´t caused any overflowing toilets though, and I´m trying to get better about remembering.
One of my favorite things about Colombia so far is the lunches. You can go into almost any restaurant for lunch and pay about $2.50 for a meal that consists of soup, a grilled meat, several side dishes (usually rice, beans, veggies, plantains or fried banana), salad, and a fruit drink that is ALWAYS fresh squeezed. It´s AWESOME. And so far they have all been really tasty. I told myself I´d go off my dietary restrictions while I was here, but so far I haven´t been able to bring myself to eat beef or pork. So, I´ve been eating mostly chicken and turkey. And on the Carribbean coast, the most popular dish is, of course, fish so I´m excited to eat the food up there.
I´m going to try to start a new layout for my blogs. I´m going to start with what we´ve been up to, then go into detail about cultural things, then I´m going to list where we´ve been staying and where we´ve been eating so that I don´t forget and so that other travelers who might be coming to the
Internet cafe in San Gil
Ryan gettin´his email on! same cities can have some advice. So, here´s where the official blog ends and I will start my list.
Bogota - stayed with Leon Corkidi Cardenas, a guy from couchsurfing.com. Good food at Crepes & Waffles.
Villa de Leyva - stayed at Posada Don Blas, a very beautiful, clean, quaint hospedaje that costs 30 mil a night ($15) for a private bedroom & bath. All the rooms are on the second floor and ours had a great view and a small balcony. The girl who works there is very nice. There is hot water. The beds are very hard.
San Gil - Hostel Santander Aleman, super friendly and helpful owner named Ivan. Clean, very centrally located, walking distance to everything, close to good restaurants and 2 blocks from the Plaza Central. Great outdoor patio, outdoor cool shower as well as indoor hot shower. Laundry facilities, free use of kitchen/refrigerator, TV/movies. Rooms do not have AC but do have a fan. It gets hot and very loud in the front room next to the street. Bring earplugs. Eat at Azahar for good, super cheap food. El Pierrot for good Italian food, medium priced, and La rana que canta for a
great and cheap set lunch.
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Michaela
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Living vicariously through you guys!!
I am loving the updates! Brings back some memories from our travels, and is really giving me the itch to join you! ha ha. I love the stories you have shared and have seriously laughed out loud a lot! Enjoy the beach and thanks for being such a diligent blogger! Can't wait to see what else Columbia will offer you guys! ~Michaela