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Published: December 28th 2016
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The start of our whistle-stop tour of Colombia was a bit traumatic - our flight arrived late, it took us 90 minutes to get through immigration and our pre-booked hotel transfer did not bother to wait for us. As you can imagine, we were a bit stressed out when we finally arrived at our hotel at 2am. Welcome to Colombia!
After a few hours sleep we toured Bogotá's highlights before meeting the rest of our tour group in the evening. Although Bogotá is a huge, sprawling place it didn't take us too long! We took the cable car up Monserrate, a 3,172m mountain that dominates the city centre, stopping to ask the handsome local policemen for directions to the cable car station. The high elevation made us quite breathless (or was it the policemen?). Once back down at ground level (just 2,644m) we explored the Candelaria area with it's cobblestone streets and colonial era buildings. We found the local people we met were all very friendly and welcoming.
Our guide suggested we try one of the local delicacies for dinner - a huge cup of hot chocolate with a chunk of cheese dropped into it.
Villa de Leyva
Beautiful colonial town You then drink it once the cheese has melted. Suffice to say, it wasn't to our liking and we ate something else instead. Another local delicacy that we came across was a whole roast pig, stuffed with rice, peas, onions and spices and then cooked in a clay oven for up to ten hours. It sounded delicious but was actually a bit dry. Just as intriguing was roasted stuffed chicken's neck (the head is still attached). We didn't try it, but were fascinated by those prepared in the cabinets.
50km north of Bogotá is Zipaquira salt cathedral, a huge underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of an old salt mine 180 metres underground. There are only 2 in the world (the other one is in Poland). It made for a very interesting diversion. The cathedral visit was on our way to Villa de Leyva, a beautiful colonial town surrounded by lovely countryside.
Our bus ride back to Bogotá (to catch a plane to Armenia) was a bit of an adventure as half way through the journey the back tyre blew with such an almighty bang we thought we were under fire!Fortunately there
was a garage not too far away and we were soon on our way again, albeit with racing heartbeats.
At the airport we were quite surprised to see an armed guard standing outside 'Dunkin Donuts'. We always thought those donuts were overpriced, but that was ridiculous! There was also a spinal board propped up in the corner of the donut shop. We had noticed this all over the place - it must be a local bye-law that stipulates spinal boards are to be placed practically everywhere in Colombia.
We then stayed at a Hacienda in the Armenian countryside. Armenia is in the centre of the coffee-picking region and during our tour of the local coffee plantation we were informed that the pickers were paid 3,000 pesos ($1US) for a 10kg bucket. However, our group of 16 people only managed to pick 1 kg in 20 minutes – which just goes to show how hard the work actually is. We were somewhat disappointed when only offered 400 pesos for all of our hard work. Only the red coffee beans had to be picked, as the green ones weren't quite ready. This was quite difficult for
Cocora Valley
Hiking among the wax palms David due to his colour blindness. Consequently he only managed to pick one coffee bean, whereas Andrew picked 26! Afterwards we all enjoyed a large lunch and then dressed up as traditional coffee pickers complete with poncho, apron, machete & man bag. A look that we totally 'rocked'!
On our way to our next destination of Salento we stopped to admire the rolling, green foothills of the Colombian Andes. This was the Valle de Cocora, and it is known for being one of the only places in the world to see wax palms in their natural habitat. These slender trees shoot up 60 meters into the sky and are the world’s tallest palm tree. We enjoyed a great hike amongst these impressive trees and their beautiful surroundings.
On an evening out in Salento our local guide Freddie took us all out for a night of playing Colombia's national pastime: '
Tejo' is not just a sport, it is part of
Colombia's cultural heritage. It's a popular pastime amongst
theworking class, involving pucks, gunpowder, and beer drinking. Each player takes it in turns to throw the heavy stone puck at a metal ring embedded in clay. If you
Medellin
The view from Communa 13 hit the metal ring a small packet of gunpowder makes a huge noise as it explodes. We were all rubbish at the game, but the locals were causing explosions all around and the air was full of gunpowder smoke. Unbelievably, Andrew had the highest score of the evening (probably due to a miss-hit) and a fun evening was had by all.
After a full day's driving we reached Colombia’s second city of Medellin. It was once the murder capital of the world with 17 murders every day in 1991. It has since undergone a renaissance and is now one of the country’s main cultural hubs. It is practically impossible to visit Medellin without hearing the name of Pablo Escobar. Often called 'The King of Cocaine', he was the wealthiest criminal in history, with an estimated known net worth of US$30 billion. During our visit to the city we took a 'Pablo Escobar' tour, hosted by one of his drivers. It was morbidly fascinating visiting his grave and the home of his brother Roberto, who invited us in with open arms. Anyone who has not watched the Netflix series 'Narcos' should do so – it is fascinating.
Medellin
Botero Plaza We also visited the Communa 13 district on a walking tour with one of the local residents. Formerly
Medellin‘s most dangerous neighbourhood. Just two years ago this small barrio was overwhelmed with crime. Prominent citizens were assassinated and the streets were in the hands of gangs. But now it has been rejuvenated with Government money and has become a 'must see' as it gives visitors an opportunity to see the real Medellin.
The main square in Medellin is Botero Plaza, a hub-bub of activity that displays 23 sculptures by Colombian artist Fernado Botero. During our visit to the square we were introduced to an interesting local who worked as a prostitute and had done for 35 years. She was completely open and frank with us as she described her life: in a country where the minimum monthly earnings are US$230 she said this was the only way she could earn enough money to support her and her three children.
Our last stop in Colombia was Cartagena de Indias, a beautifully preserved colonial town founded in 1533. A UNESCO World Heritage city, it is a maze of cobbled alleyways, bougainvillea covered balconies &
Pablo
Pablo Escobar through the years massive churches. Although we had been here before, it was still nice to stroll around the old town and remember our trip to a country that still isn't on the mainstream tourist trail. All in all a fascinating country, with friendly people and a colourful history. Viva Colombia!
Here is a link to a short video which covers our trip made by our tour leader Freddie -
Gilly
non-member comment
Green!!!
Hello Boys!! Looks like you had a holly jolly Christmas and I'm very envious -- as always -- of all your amazing travels! Soon there won't be a place in the world you two haven't been! It all looks amazing, esp. Cocora Valley which looks, wow, stunning!! Glad to hear you're still enjoying yourselves, it all sounds like a lot of fun. Chocolate and cheese ... two of my fave things... together though? Hmmm! It's all been fairly quiet in the Grundy house. We've been renovating again and the house has now doubled in price which is a good feeling after all the work that's gone into it. Darrell's studying for a new role in cloud security and I've finished my second novel, it's now out for review with my peers and I'll edit it in the new year before submitting. Hopefully this one will get a bite. We're stuck at home raising Betty but she's coming along and is a little sweetheart. Next year we're planning on introducing her to hiking, gradually building up her strength for 2017 when we plan to walk from Land's End to John O'Groats. Poor little thing won't know what's hit her!! It's all been holly jolly here, and we've had visitors staying from Australia (they're actually American though) for a month, parents for 4 days, and more visitors coming for New Year. Feels like we're running a hotel and with all the rooms booked out, it's a blow up mattress for the next arrivals! But it's all good fun!! Take care you two! See you in the New Year perhaps? Have a happy one! xxx