Nearly everyone I've met who has traveled to Buenos Aires comments about how it feels more like a European capital than like a South American one. In the regional context, this seems like a cultural disappointment, but as Latin American capitals go, the only ones that I've been to that compare (or that even are tolerable) are La Paz and La Habana. The city is enormous (the population of LA), and each section is visually (and apparently culturally) unique. The guide on the mediocre historical walking tour pointed out how the predominantly Italian and French architecture are fused with other styles, and this extends to the atmosphere in the traditional bars and cafes, which I thought to be the best experiences in the city: Wandering the streets near the docks to tentatively enter a cafe that ... read more

The $80 ferry-bus combo to Montevideo was more expensive than I'd hoped, but it was a fairly comfortable 3-hour trip. It rained nearly the entire time I was there, though it was unseasonably warm, so I still got in some nice walks and runs, especially along the Rambla, the road and trail that follows the coastline and then Rio de la Plata where it mixes with the sea. The miserable weather met my expectations and reminded me of home. There's a nice locally owned hostel called url=https://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotel_Review-g294323-d9787262-Reviews-Buenas_Vibras_Hostel-Montevideo_Montevideo_Department.htmlBuenas Vibras in a residential neighborhood, but still only a half hour walk to the bus station or city center, and only about 5 blocks from the beach. There are small museums with narrow scopes, like the '1972', which is all about the rugby team that crashed in the Andes ... read more

Flying from Medellín to Bogotá took 31 minutes, as opposed to 9 hours by bus. The next morning I took a 3-hour minibus (it should have only been 2; we drove around Bogotá for an hour trying to find more passengers) to Tunja (which looked like an interesting small city with hiking options in the hills), and then another hour to Villa de Leyva, touted as one of the prettiest towns in Colombia. It certainly is attractive- the well-preserved buildings in the town center are so meticulously maintained that I passed several men throughout the day repairing and painting walls that already looked perfectly fine to me. The enormous town square is nice to walk around, though the cobblestone there and throughout the city gets to be a pain to walk on. This is all for ... read more

The 6-7 hour bus journey from Pereira to Medellin was beautiful but incredibly windy- there wasn't a single straight away until we got to the isolated valley where Medellin sprawls up the steep hillsides in a blend of traditional homes with terra cotta roofs, shelters in the poor barrios built with sheet metal, and high rise apartment buildings. It was difficult to capture it all in a photo from the valley. Medellin, the city of eternal spring (not unlike Pereira), was a comfortable place to spend some time in a city and to use as a base to get to Peñol / Guatape (see othe blog entry). While in some ways it's just as hectic as Cartagena, it's cooler, has a clean and efficient metro, and has very few tourists, except in Poblado- and even there ... read more

Cartagena was my first stop in my 2016 summer trip. The only worthy read in this section is the section titled "The Long Way to Baru"; the rest is just my amateur travel reviews. Like I've done with other "14 Places You Need to Visit Now" travel destinations, I visited Cartagena 10 years too late. While the city is still worth a day or two, and while the walled city has been impressively well maintained, the tourist hordes have gotten a hold of this information as well. There are hundreds of worthy restaurants and plenty of picturesque streets, but gentrification has eliminated most of the Colombian ambience, especially in the tourist center. The nearby beaches would be a perfect escape from the stifling heat (index of 44/111 when I was there), but they're just not that ... read more