Town hopping through the Andean Region to Bogota

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From the moment I arrived in Colombia I’ve heard nothing but the piano accordion. Colombians love the piano accordion! They absolutely pump the piano accordion Best Of on every bus in the country and we’ve recently had to endure numerous hours of it aboard the various buses taking us on our journey south to Bogota.

Following on from my previous entry, where we said goodbye to Chris, Berni and I left Taganga and headed back to Cartagena. The return trip took a lot longer as we stopped briefly in Barranquilla, Shakira’s hometown – now I’m not sure if you know this about Berni, but he is a huge fan. Once back in Cartagena we walked straight to Hostel Amber on Calle Pacoa in Getsemani. Berni and Chris stayed there briefly before I arrived and both raved about the hostel’s owner William who would do just about anything for you. Hostel Amber is a small, family run hostel with a chilled out central courtyard, pool table and tidy but basic accommodation. We spent our first night in a dorm room as there weren’t any doubles available. We paid 15,000 pesos each (so about $8.00 AUD), very cheap. Once settled in we commenced operation Crepes & Waffles! For those unfamiliar with Crepes & Waffles, it’s a Colombian restaurant specialising in crepes and waffles (you guessed it) of both the sweet and savory variety. Also, apparently it is staffed entirely by single mothers. This fact remains unconfirmed but if you choose to believe, it makes going to Crepes & Waffles a guilt free experience as you are supporting single mothers who mightn’t otherwise have work. Anyway, when we were first in Cartagena we had heard rumours that there was one in the old town but unfortunately we never found it. This time around we were determined. However, in the end we stumbled across it before we had even really commenced our search. It’s very discrete with only a small Crepes & Waffles logo giving it away. Needless to say, it was delicious and we felt very satisfied with ourselves.

The following day we planned to get a boat to Playa Blanca on Isla de Baru about 20km southwest of Cartagena. It is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches around Cartagena. We left our big backpacks with William at Hostel Amber and walked to the wharf. Instantly we were approached by touts trying to sell us a boat ticket. After a slightly confusing conversation with one of the touts we ended up with two return tickets aboard the Beguia Eagle for 35,000 pesos plus 12,000 pesos for port tax each. This included a stop at an aquarium on one of the islands and lunch at Playa Blanca. Now the Beguia Eagle was a big beast and subsequently really slow. There were other speedier options but the price went up significantly for a return ticket. On the plus side we were lucky enough to endure some of the finest Colombian piano accordion and even some light entertainment. The Beguia Eagle’s MC conducted a contest which involved two lucky contestants racing up and down the boat collecting as many hats, tops and bottoms from other willing passengers until Berni and I were left sitting surrounded by semi naked Colombians. Then to top things off (like it wasn’t crazy enough) it further involved pole dancing, cross-dressing and karaoke. Only in Colombia! Finally, we arrived at Playa Blanca and it was as beautiful as the guidebook said. We had our free lunch, menu del dia style (menu of the day) with the usual fish, rice, patacon and a small salad. After lunch we walked along the beach looking for accommodation for the night. This is where we met Orville. At first we were extremely wary. With the huge number of tourists around there were probably the same amount if not more of pestering touts shoving their wares under your nose. Orville sold beaded jewellery, as most of the touts do. He also worked for his brother who had accommodation called Los Corales. We decided we liked Orville. He spoke a little bit of English and didn’t put on the hard sell. He also said “don’t worry be happy” like he owned it. Los Corales was also further along the beach away from the main tourist area. The accommodation was basic and consisted of hammocks with mosquito nets, a locked shed for your belongings and simple amenities. We paid 8,000 pesos each for the night. During the afternoon the various tourist boats left and so did the touts, leaving us pretty much alone. We lay about on the beach drinking beers and a coco loco (a potent cocktail served up in a coconut shell) as we watched the sunset. If you are thinking of doing a daytrip to Playa Blanca I would definitely recommend staying the night as a better option. The tourists leave at 4.00pm and you have till about 1.00pm the next day to enjoy the beach in peace and quiet until the boats start arriving again with a fresh load of day trippers. Orville joined us for a beer and his brother even teed up dinner for us. His mother owned a restaurant further along the beach. After dinner the brothers invited us to their cousin’s birthday drinks. We were slightly concerned about where we were going, but turns out their cousin owned one of the bars close to Los Corales. Nothing dodgy, so we relaxed and enjoyed a birthday drink. Once I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer we made our excuses, offered to pay for the beers (…but no, they were a gift) and went to sleep in our hammocks. The next morning Orville’s brother staggered in around 8.00am having not slept and cracked another beer, must have been a rager. Berni and I ate fresh fruit for breakfast and relaxed on the beach until it was time to head back to Cartagena. The ride back was equally as entertaining with the previously mentioned MC making a costume change midway and dancing a choreographed routine to Michael Jackson.

We spent the following few days in Cartagena relaxing in the courtyard of Hostel Amber. We also visited Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (the imposing fort built in 1657 overlooking the old town and spent more time exploring the wonderful stone streets and colourful architecture. Then from Cartagena we got our first overnight bus to Bucaramanga. We chose to go with Expreso Brasilia as we’d heard good things. It was a 13 hour journey to Bucaramanga where we boarded another bus to San Gil, another 6 hours. San Gil is the adventure tourism centre of Colombia. If you are keen for white-water rafting, San Gil’s Rio Suarez has some of the best Grade 4+ rapids in South America. This means nothing to me, but I take it to mean scary rapids. We arrived around 2.00pm and checked into Hotel Abril. We paid 45,000 pesos for a double with ensuite… and it had hot water! I couldn’t believe it… my first hot shower since the morning I left Australia. Since leaving the Caribbean and climbing to 1300m above sea level we had definitely noticed the difference in temperatures. That afternoon we decided to check out Parque El Gallineral. We found this quite funny, here we were in adventure tourism centre of Colombia and we spent the afternoon meandering through a park. In our defense, it was quite an unusual park. The huge trees were draped in long silvers fronds of tillandsia making the trees seem old and haunted. We spent the evening in the main plaza. It had such a great atmosphere. We were surprised there were no tourists and no one trying to sell you anything. Just families and friends sitting around enjoying each other’s company with a beer or café tinto in hand.

The following day we decided to do a daytrip to Barichara, a tiny town of approximately 7000, 40 minutes by bus from San Gil. The bus cost 3,800 pesos each and left from San Gil’s local bus terminal. Barichara is a postcard town, with its 300 year old white washed buildings and stone streets. We spent the morning wandering through the narrow streets and admiring the spectacular views beyond. We quickly visited the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion on the main plaza, then enjoyed a few hours cooling down under the shady old trees and catching up on our journals.

Back in San Gil we still hadn’t done anything too strenuous, or remotely adventurous. So Berni decided we should make the most of what San Gil had to offer and go white-water rafting. We decided to go with Colombian Rafting Expeditions, recommended in our guidebook for being the best equipped and most experienced company in town. Plus it happened to be conveniently located across the road from Hostel Abril. Anyway, as Berni and I were the only two people interested in rafting that morning, we couldn’t go in the standard rafting boat which needed a minimum of four people. Instead we were offered to go riverboarding on Hydrospeeds, which are basically a really thick bodyboard with four handles. I didn’t care very much for the idea because I really didn’t want to be left to my own devices on the river, but Berni had answered for the both of us while I was still in shock from the mention of riverboarding. Anyway, we paid our 30,000 pesos each which included equipment and transport, and then before I knew it I was on my way to go riverboarding. Thankfully we weren’t on the previously mentioned Rio Suarez but the gentler Rio Fonce (Grades 1 – 3). When arrived decked out with life jacket, flippers and helmet we joked that instead of going white-water raftering we were going brown-water bodyboarding. We met our guide, Henry who accompanied us in a kayak. Henry is in the Colombian National Team and competing in the World Rafting Championships in Costa Rica next month. Safe hands! After some quick demonstrations on how to roll the Hydrospeed (and me freaking out… why would I need to roll the Hydrospeed???) we were off.

For the most part it was fun and I really enjoyed it, but there were three sections of bigger rapids which completely knocked me around and had me rolling (not on purpose) my Hydrospeed. I honestly don’t know how I even managed to keep ahold of it while I was being churned around under the water. After recovering from the first set of rapids, there were a few tears and a few I’m going to dies, the second set approached. I successful got over the oncoming first rapid, but another awaited straight after which again had me churning around under water. Berni was in front of me (having an absolute ball) and he told me after he remembered thinking as he hit the second rapid ‘Claire is not going to like this’. Claire didn’t… there were more tears and more I’m going to dies. But after a break to regain my confidence (and to stop shaking) we headed down some gentler rapids before hitting the third and final set. I was a little better with the third set but I was definitely glad to get out of the water at the end shortly after. I was a little bruised and I had cramps in my calves from the flippers (and kicking for me life) but I was happy I accomplished it – and that I made it to the end alive. Berni loved it and wanted bigger rapids. However, I’m officially retiring from brown-water bodyboarding.

From San Gil we got a bus to Tunja where the original plan was to then go directly to Villa de Leyva. However, in true Colombian fashion the bus leaving San Gil was late so when we finally arrived in Tunja we had missed the last connecting bus by a long shot. The backup plan was to stay the night in Tunja and do a daytrip to Villa de Leyva. You always need a backup plan in Colombia. It was late, cold and we were starving, but first we had to find accommodation. There didn’t seem to be any hostels recommended in the guidebook, only hotels. So we chose one of the cheaper ones, Hotel Casa Real which was also in an ideal location – close to the main plaza and also the bus terminal. We paid 70,000 pesos for a triple (there weren’t any doubles) with ensuite. Tunja is a peculiar city, it’s cold and busy - we were now 2820m above sea level. However, we both found the main plaza, Plaza de Bolivar really quite beautiful surrounded by elegant colonial architecture and elaborate mansions. If we mentioned we went to Tunja to a Colombian, chances are they will laugh…why would you go there for? Most people use it as a stepping stone to Villa de Leyva as we had intended to do and then on to Bogota, but we are glad to have stayed a night there. We ventured out for dinner, where we ate surrounded by locals at a popular fast food place called Super Arepa Express. Then found a super cute bar called Pussini on the main plaza where we had a few beers and coffee the next morning.

The following day we arrived in Villa de Leyva, a further 700m above sea level. The bus trip had us weaving through some spectacular landscapes to a place time forgot about. Villa de Layva is a completely preserved town with no modern architecture so you literally feel like you’ve stepped back in time. We did a few tourist walks and admired the Plaza Mayor which our guidebook tells us is the largest in Colombia. Not sure if I believe it, but it was definitely impressive. We had a lovely, relaxing lunch before heading back to Tunja, collecting our bags and then straight onto Colombia’s capital, Bogota.

We arrived in Bogota around 6.30pm after four hours on the bus. From where we got off the bus we thought it would be a quick taxi ride to our hostel, but we couldn’t have been more wrong. Bogota is a seemingly well organised grid of streets and avenues - we got off the bus at the right cross-sectional street… Calle 65, where we needed to be. But turns out we were on Carrera 70 when we needed to be on Carrera 5. A good 30 minute drive later we arrived at our hostel where we were meeting up with Chris again. He had arrived in Bogota a day earlier and had reserved a room for us at La Pinta, a really cool hostel with a good vibe. Berni and I paid 75,000 pesos for a double with a shared bathroom which is little on the expensive side but it included a continental breakfast. La Pinta is outside the historic town, but close to Zona Rosa where most the bars and clubs are. The main backpacker area is in the historical center, La Candelaria. We ended up spending two nights at La Pinta and then three nights at a hostel called Alegria’s House in La Candelaria to get the best of both areas. Our time in Bogota was spent doing the usual touristy things. We took the 50 year old teleferico (cable car) to Monserrate for some amazing views of the city. Berni, who isn’t a big fan of heights battled a little bit but made it up and back in one piece. We also went to the Museo del Oro, the Museo Nacional and the Donacion Botero which housed a collection of works by Fernando Botero who famously depicts voluptuous and disproportioned characters. I loved his version of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The three of us spent some time in Plaza Bolivar, the main plaza, making friends with a group of school children. They were obsessed with the two blonde haired gringos! Berni and I also took a guided tour of the Museo Historico Policia, the lovely ex-headquarters of Bogota’s police force. Our guidebook kind of dissed the tour, but we really enjoyed it. Admission was free and we had an 18 year old, English-speaking guide so we could ask questions. He was six months into his compulsory one-year service with the police.

In Bogota we also spent most nights making party. In Cartagena before I arrived Berni and Chris made friends with the lovely Carolina, a Colombian who lives in Bogota. We met up with her most nights and she took us to some really cool places. One night we went to a bar called La Coq. It played indie music and oozed trendy. It was also super expensive… we paid 20,000 pesos for a gin and tonic… double what we’d pay in Australia! Lucky we had pre-drinks! Another night Berni, Chris and I ventured to a suburb outside Bogota called Chia to go to Andres Carne de Res, a crazy restaurant and bar which there aren’t any word to describe. It was like a themed restaurant, but without any particular theme. It was just ridiculously decorated. The food was amazing, you probably gathered from the name, but the mixed grill was the house specialty. Another specialty was the Mojito with seven shots of alcohol. It came in a bowl. We had to share it as it was too much for one person to go it alone. On our last night in Bogota, Carolina took us to a gay club. It was called Theatron and it was probably the best club I’ve ever been to, even with the clientele. It was a 5 level club with different music and a different theme to each level. Carolina and I were only allowed on three of the levels as it was strictly men only on the others. We paid 23,000 pesos each cover charge which included all you can drink spirits. Collect your plastic cup at the door. Now, I’ve realised two things about being in a gay club… one, there was no line for the ladies toilets. Berni and Chris had to wait in line for 20 minutes, going in pairs for security. And two, I got completely overlooked at the bar when trying to get drinks so the boys had to get my drinks all night, both pluses in my books. Then as we were leaving the club we were lucky enough to see one of the scheduled shows, drag queens doing their thing. Overall it was an awesome night, definitely one of the best of the trip so far. It was a late one too. We awoke the next morning, early… and bleary eyed. We were heading to the airport to fly to Leticia on the Colombian-Brazil border, so stay tuned for my next entry, the amazing Amazon.

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Photos

Coco Loco
Enjoying cocktails on the beach at Playa Blanca

A Caribbean Sunset
The beautiful colours of Playa Blanca at sunset

The imposing fort of San Felipe
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

Built for short people
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

The hauntingly beautiful Tillandsia
At Parque El Gallineral in San Gil

The streets of Barichara
Barichara, overlooking the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion and the mountains beyond

Riding the Rio Fonce
Brown-water bodyboarding, the Hydrospeeds in San Gil

Plaza Bolivar, Tunja
The main plaza at night

Villa de Leyva
The grand Plaza Mayor in Villa de Leyva

Bogota
The amazing view from Monserrate

Bling
Intricate gold pieces at the Museo del Oro

Botero's Mona Lisa
At the Donacion Botero

Berni, Chris and Rhys James
Chris's Rhys James t-shirt... look Rhys you're in Bogota

Berni and Chris's biggest fans
Hanging out in Plaza Bolivar, Bogota

Andres Carne de Res
The crazy restaurant in Chia... priceless

Chris at home in the gay club
Theatron

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[Marisa Miller]

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