Semana Santa in Colombia’s Coffee Region

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Standing on the crowded TransMilenio bus sporting my overstuffed travel pack, I might as well have been dressed up as Uncle Sam with the looks the other passengers were giving me. Normally, I can avoid stares by keeping a low profile and keeping my mouth shut, but with my giant gringo travel pack, I wasn’t fooling anybody.

After linking up with two other volunteers, I arrived at the El Dorado International Airport with plenty of time to spare. When it was time to board, the flight staff led us down a short flight of stairs and ushered us onto a bus that took us to where our plane was waiting further down the runway. Although I was slightly taken aback by the fact that the plane had propellers rather than jet engines, I had no choice but to surrender to the will of the aviation gods and board. Thirty-six minutes after takeoff, we landed on a small runway in La Nubia Airport in Manizales, Colombia.

Thus began my Semana Santa in Colombia’s Coffee Region.

Mountain Hostel and Manizales Night Life

Watching the city pass by on the way to the hostel, I could not help but feel that I was back in San Francisco. As the taxi powered up steep hills, passed through tunnels and weaved through incongruent streets, a strange air of familiarity hovered over the city just as the fog often does over the city by the bay.

After arriving at Mountain House, our home away from home… away from home for most of the week, we checked in and got ready for a night on the town. Many of the WorldTeach volunteers from across Colombia had come to Manizales for Semana Santa and were all staying at the same hostel, so I was excited for a mini-reunion.

That night when we went out to check out some of the Manizales night life, I was immediately struck by the differences between the bar scene in Bogotá and Manizales. Whereas Bogotá’s is huge and spread out, the Manizales bars were concentrated in a relatively small area. The streets were filled with college students having a good time, drinking on the streets within plain view of patrolling police. Although much of that night became an aguardiente-induced blur, the highlight of the night was dancing and drinking with friends at a place called Cable Bar.


Read the rest at my TravelBlog

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