Winter 2023/24 Colombia

Medellín, Colombia

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Medellin Last couple of days in Colombia. A guided tour of the Pablo Escobar museum. Unapologetic but interesting short tour. Final excursion to Parque Arvi, a vast wilderness high in the mountains above Medellin. Accessible by a series of cable cars that soar above the densely populated favellas that cling to hillsides. Medellin has several of these cable cars that have brought much needed accessibility to hundreds of thousands homes that ring the mountains above the city. A brilliant end to a wonderful trip.

Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Santa Fe de Antioquia We are leaving the coast for the last time and heading inland towards the old provincial capital of Antioquia. We are on a very luxurious empty coach though it looks like it might well fill up as it seems to be making lots of stops. Leaving Necocli, we travel for a couple of hours south along the flat coastal plain . Soon after though we are heading up into the Western Cordillera of the Andes mountains. The scenery is absolutely stunning. We follow the River Sucio as it cuts its way through a fabulous gorge. We climb higher and higher eventually up to nearly 8,000 feet with the river gorge far, far below. We eventually leave the Sucio to its headlong rush to the sea and head deeper and deeper into the Andes. The weather is scorching and the landscape begins to turn dry and barren. Eventually after 8 hours we catch sight of Santa Fe de Antioquia way down on the valley floor. Another thirty minutes or so and we are dropped off after the most fabulous journey yet. Santa Fe is absolutely gorgeous. We walk into the main square which is lined with outdoor restaurants on three sides and a huge church resplendent in brilliant white taking up the fourth quarter. Unusually, it would seem, the baroque style church just has the one bell tower instead of the normal twin towers you see all over Colombia. The centre of the square is filled with beautiful trees and colourful plants and with a lovely fountain off to one side. Leading off the square are beautiful cobblestone streets lined with lovely hotels and mansions. Again the centre of the old town sits on a plateau and it’s a very steep walk down to our hotel. We have had some very good hotels in Colombia at very reasonable prices (never more than £60 per night and usually at lot less). Unfortunately the Santa Fe del Parque was not one of them. Again we have timed our arrival for a weekend and the place is very busy. We weren’t given the room we booked and initially put in tiny room with one small window. We were then moved to the front overlooking the pool. Big mistake. Music was blasting out at deafening volume. The pool stayed open till last guests left. In this case 1.30 AM after playing loud music since 10 PM after the house system shut down. The next night a couples small child screamed at the top it’s voice until midnight when it’s parents finally took it to bed. We are moving to a beautiful colonial hotel in town after this. Nothing could spoil the beauty of this town though. There are four major churches each with its own plaza and each quite different. Interlinking these beautiful buildings are narrow cobblestone streets of great beauty. Behind the sometimes plain facades are beautiful courtyards with their colonial arches and colourful plants . Many of the major buildings are now gorgeous hotels and most have a lovely pool. Very welcome as it’s absolutely scorching here. Not quite as hot as Mompox but well up in the mid-thirties. Just outside Santa Fe is a a beautiful suspension bridge , one of the first in South America, . The Puente de Occidente crosses the mighty Cauca river which in full flood would be a magnificent sight but now it is dry season and the river is only about a quarter of it’s real width. The countryside around St. Fe de Antioquia is magnificent but very dry and parched. We have one more fabulous journey to make in a rickety old bus to Medellin where our journey ends. The main road winds it’s way up to 6,500 feet in series of elevated bridges built into the mountain sides before dropping down into Medellin.

La Miel, Panama

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

La MIEL PANAMA. There is a set of 250 steps up the hill through the jungle to the border crossing. We have been told to take our passports but there is no one at the checkpoint point so it’s a seamless crossing. The views from the windy hill top are absolutely stunning. To one side the beautiful Sazpurro bay . Look to the other and the tiny tin roof shacks of La Miel and beyond the wild untamed jungle of the Darien and the crashing ocean below. We walk down the steep steps to the town and pay a 3,000 Colombian Peso entry fee (60pence). La Miel is a world away from Sazpurro. For a start it’s got a properly functioning electricity grid even though it’s miles from anywhere else in Panama. It’s busy with day trippers, presumably from Colombia. There are lots of small restaurants and bars all with cold beer along the beach front. The views across to the Darien are beautiful and with its swaying coconut palms and sandy beach it is the first time that this really feels like the Caribbean. A wonderful day out .

Sapzurro, Colombia

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Sapzurro This is a tiny coastal village 15 minutes by boat from Capurgana and about 100 miles away. It could not be more different. We have already checked the place out on a day trip from Capurgana and found a big hotel on the front which as usual is completely empty and booked in for three nights. The tiny town sits in a perfect horseshoe bay surrounded on three sides by thick jungle. There is a boat wharf, three yachts moored at the far end and a tiny beach at the other end. Along the seafront it’s a mixture of a few empty restaurants and some closed down establishments which gives the whole appearance of somewhere that’s been abandoned. Added to this is that the fact that there is no electricity. Everything is run on individual diesel generators. Seems incredible in 2024 a village of this size is without a proper electricity supply. In spite of this the place is wonderful. It’s lovely and quiet. No blasting music. And of course the setting is superb. And it’s only 15 minutes on a very bumpy sea trip from lively Capurgana. We are right on the border with Panama and hence Central America. There is a tiny town over the hill called La Miel in Panama so we will soon be stepping foot in Panama.

Capurganá, Colombia

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

The last but one settlement in Colombia. Having put all our bags in a large plastic bag and sealed it up with sellotape we board the fast ferry to Capurgana. This glorified speedboat is powered by no less than four 250 horsepower outboards and carry’s about 70 passengers plus luggage and freight This immense power pushes us through an extremely rough sea and we are bounced around all over the place. After a brief drop off at Acandi the sea is even rougher with the boat headlong into the big swell. It’s probably too rough further out but we seem perilously close to rocky shoreline. We arrive at the dock in Capurgana with some relief. The waterfront is a mish mash of small bars, half finished hotels and is very busy. We find our small lodgings at Dive and Green . Not bad for the money (£25 per night). It has a well kept and pretty garden. The pool we craved was for training divers only. Somehow that wasn’t mentioned on Booking.com. There is lots going on in town including a fairly steady stream of migrants that seem to disappear into the hinterland in a fleet of three-wheeler moto-taxis. This trade is almost certainly cartel and para-military run once the migrants reach the Darien Gap. but here it looks like they are on some sort of tour. A surprising number of Chinese who must have paid a fortune even to get this far. Capurgana is an enjoyable experience but there is a serious problem with power supply. The municipal power has broken and not been fixed properly so there is only limited power from about 6pm . Apart from the enormous music speakers blasting out at every opportunity the other main sound is a multitude of private diesel generators throbbing continually. This is definitely another side of Colombia . We are at the end of the country here but still a great place to be. There is lots of noisy life. Lots of small boats are pulled up on the beach and the surf is pounding just offshore. The two small wharfs are a hive of activity with boats coming and going all day long dispatching passengers and goods. Outside of the town is thick jungle and rough tracks through it and makes for some interesting hikes. We are going to spend three nights here before heading around the bay to the very last village (or the first) in Colombia and South America.

Necoclí, Colombia

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Necocli. The road ends here. Necocli is a small coastal town about 3.5 hours from Monteria. Once here there is only boat transport across the Gulf of Uraba to the far north west town of Capurgana and the border with Panama . Necocli is all right and has some very nice small streets and a lively sea front. It has also become a major staging post for the thousands and thousands of migrants heading north through the wild and lawless Darien Gap to eventually get through Central America and to the United States . The vast majority have been from Venezuela where over 2 million people have left the country due to extreme poverty and mis-rule. There have been reports of the beaches in town being turned into a tented city of migrants but though there were several encampments around it didn’t feel overwhelming at all. We only have one night planned here as we are taking the ferry to Capurgana in the morning.

Montería, Colombia

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Monteria Not exactly on any tourist itinerary but we are going stay here for a couple of nights anyway. It will break up the long journey to the coast at Necocli. We are not expecting much. It turned out to be a very pleasant two days. We are staying in a bright, shiny, new hotel in a not very interesting and roughish part of town. Monteria has its saving grace in a very nice linear park, the longest in South America, which runs jungle like for 4 kilometres along the river front. It’s well maintained with cycling lanes and pedestrian paths that zig zag through the parkland. There are a few nice turn of the 19th century buildings and a large square with a huge cathedral. There is a small but intense nightlife area with a couple of excellent bars . Back on our street there is a small Zona Rosa with a few clubs and bars which was fun for a night out.

Mompos, Colombia

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Santa Cruz de Mompox. It doesn’t take long to leave the un-lovely outskirts of Barranquilla and we are soon in the flat agricultural plain of the mighty Rio Magdalena. Eventually we leave the river ( for now) and head up into the gentle uplands. It looks for all the world like hacienda ranch country. It is absolutely boiling hot and the landscape looks really parched. As we head back towards the river the land is verdant green once more. Mompos was once completely isolated and only accessible to motorised vehicles by an old ferry from nearby Magangue. Hence its title as the town time forgot. As it’s river port started to silt up the main gateway to this region became Magangue. However a series of huge bridges and a new road have brought the town back to life. Mompos is absolutely superb. The historical centre is only about 2 blocks wide set back from the fabulous river front of about three quarters of a mile long. In this area there four beautiful churches each with its own piazza. The buildings lining the narrow streets are a uniform whitewash with black window guards. Interspersed with these low houses are beautiful hotels and restaurants that open up to plant and tree lined courtyards. There are some very impressive old merchant houses and some in dire need of restoration. The walk along the river front is just wonderful. There are several lovely outdoor restaurants. Taking the steps up from the river it’s not too hard to imagine the conquistadors strolling about these streets and buildings. Our hotel “Aleman con piscina “ is great value at about £32 per night and is right in the middle of town. Yet again we have the place to ourselves. Behind its massive doors lies a plant filled courtyard and a small swimming pool. The heat is astonishing. It’s reading 37 degrees but feels like 43 degrees.Thank goodness for the pool though it’s the temperature of tepid bath water by 1 pm. When it cools down a bit in the evenings the walks around town a wonderful. Whisper it. It’s incredibly quiet. There are not many people about in any case but neither is there any loud music. Mompos has been an absolute delight. It only took six hours to get here from the coast and has without doubt been our favourite place in Colombia so far. We are heading back to the coast to Capurgan right up against the Panama border which is about two days travelling away but first we are stopping in the inland city of Monteria. We thought we had booked a long distance bus for the six hour journey for roughly £18 each, which did seem expensive for these parts. Now we know why. We were put in a private taxi for three hours and then put in a mini bus for the final three hours. Still, it was a pleasant enough journey through the scorched landscape of low hills and cattle ranches.

Barranquilla, Colombia

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Barranquilla ( briefly) We are leaving Minca and heading way inland to the old town of Santa Cruz de Mompos. It’s going to involve an overnight in the big city of Barranquilla to catch a morning bus to Mompos (sometimes called Mompox). We have tickets to Barranquilla central bus terminal but find ourselves dumped on the side of the highway on the outskirts of the city centre. It’s a bit nervous for a while as we can’t get an Uber to pick us up but, as everywhere in Colombia, people are very friendly and someone flags down a cab to take us to our hotel. The hotel is the Genova Central and is a big hotel supposedly in the centre of town. Everywhere around the hotel is deserted, the temperature is in the high 30’s and the whole area resembles a ghost town. Inside the hotel and it’s the exact opposite. There is a large swimming pool and very extensive grounds which are packed with Sunday afternoon revellers . There is music blasting out at ear splitting volume, at least two, possibly three birthday celebrations and the pool is virtually full. We manage to find a table and see what happens. At four o’clock a whistle blows, the music stops and by 4.45 we are the only ones here. For just over two hours it’s blissful peace in very pleasant grounds. At 7 pm the next birthday party arrives and the whole procedure starts over again. We have a quick wander outside the hotel but it’s deader than it was in the afternoon and quickly return. There is a Zona Rosa entertainment area about 20 minutes away by cab so we hop in and check it out. Ten minutes later we get an Uber and return to the hotel. The birthday party is still in full swing when we get back but mercifully packs up at 11 pm. The next morning we head to Barranquilla’s main bus station to get our bus to Mompos. Barranquilla is Colombia’s fourth largest city with a population of 1.2 million. It looks very poor, dirty and run down as we drive to the terminal with some of the side streets little more than dirt tracks. Still, it must have something going for it as it has the second biggest carnival after Rio in South America. Oh and the birth place of the Latino singer Shakira.

Minca, Colombia

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Minca Taxis here are really cheap so it’s not a huge difference between cramming into a minibus or taking a private car for the 45 minute drive up to Minca (approximately £12). It’s a really scenic switchback ride up through deeply forested mountains to Minca. Our driver is jabbering away non stop and we have no idea what he is talking about. We get dropped off at the minibus stop and then down an incredibly rough track to our hotel, the El Paraiso. It’s a beautiful little gem . We have a fully equipped bungalow with a wonderful patio. A small pool, very welcome as it’s very hot up here. The views are absolutely stunning include glimpses of the highest mountain in the whole of Colombia high up in the Sierra Nevada. We are and will remain for the entire four days, the only quests. Very strange. Surprisingly, there are no restaurants anywhere near so it’s a rocky 15 minute walk back to Minca where there are lots. Minca is by no means a picturesque hill town but it’s setting is fabulous with magnificent views everywhere. It’s mainly a base for various activities in the region. The Main Street is full of tour agencies offering bike tours, trekking, bird watching , off road quad bike tours etc etc. It’s very busy and a fun place to be with lots of bars and restaurants. A fantastic 4 day break from the coast in lovely little resort all to ourselves. And relatively quiet except for one night where the resort next door has blasting music bouncing off the hillside.

Taganga, Colombia

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

We are heading back to Taganga as we have treated ourselves to a fancy hotel, Bahia Taganga, high on a hill overlooking the bay. What to make of Taganga? Scruffy and dirty in places but more than made up for by it’s beautiful setting in an enclosed bay surrounded on three sides by steep mountain sides. It’s a real local’s place with very few, if any foreigners. There’s a beach at the far end packed with locals , a dozen or so straw hut eating and drinking joints on the beach and lots of other restaurants and bars. There are several very nice whitewashed apartments and small hotels clinging to the steep hillside. At the other of the bay there are over a hundred boats either pulled up on the beach or at the water’s edge and there is a constant stream of packed boats going backwards and forwards to the various beaches in the vicinity. It is really a very nice place. It’s also incredibly noisy. We arrived on a Sunday with a public holiday on the Monday. The pounding music went on until 4am on Sunday night and was at the most incredible level. The bass beat of this appalling racket was so loud it was coming up from the floor and vibrating off the walls of our hotel room. Sleep was impossible. Nobody complains about noise in this country. Apparently music played at a deafening volume is Colombians expressing their love of life. After six weeks here it’s beginning to wear a bit thin. However sitting on the balcony watching the lights coming on over the town and up the steep hillsides is truly magical. The holiday season is over and after the madness of the last few days the town is now much quieter. Taganga has been a slow burner but as we have spent a bit more time here it has become more enjoyable. It is very real Colombian beach town. It will soon be time to say farewell to Dean and Michele as they are heading back to Cartagena and home while we are heading inland to the hill town of Minca for a few days before deciding where to go afterwards.

Palomino, Colombia

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

The beach town without a beach. There are blogs on You tube which show the beach completely eroded and washing away the beach front restaurants. We will soon find out. Coming off the main road, the wonderfully named The Trans Caribbean Highway, it’s an incredibly bumpy, unmade sand road to our beautiful little resort with two small pools and a live music bar and restaurant next door. Home for 4 days. For the first time in Colombia this feels like a backpacker hang out with more foreigners here than we have seen in the rest of the country. Mind you, once we get to the beach it’s back to the typical Colombian beach day out. It’s absolutely packed. What’s left of the beach doesn’t have much space left. Everyone cheek by jowl and with sound systems blazing . The main track leading to the beach is full of the usual restaurants, bars and hostels and is very busy. Our hotel, The Eden Villa Resort , is by far the nicest resort in Palomino. Dean and I hire a little moto scooter for the day and head off to find a waterfall about 25 km away. Once out onto the main highway it’s fine but getting to it is crazy. There are huge pot holes , some filled with water and mud all along the sand road. When we we get to the turn off to the waterfall we hike for about 25 minutes through the jungle but following the river bed so not too strenuous. The Valencia Waterfalls are absolutely stunning even though this is dry season and water levels are very low. The water cascades down from the way up high on the mountain filling several beautiful and refreshing pools on its way down to the river below. What must it be like in full flood? The following day is tubing. Tubing simply involves a gentle stroll along the river bed, jump in an inflated lorry inner tube and drift back. Wrong in every way. First we set off on three motorcycles, the driver carrying one tube and us the other over our shoulder. After 20 minutes of the most hair raising journey over narrow tracks with rocks, sand and huge ridges, up and down steep hills and all this with huge 4x4 ‘s in both directions we finally arrive at what will be a 50 minute trek through the jungle. It really is venturing into deep jungle. Trekking up a very steep hillside to the top of one ridge. Then precipitously back down to a river bed before climbing to another ridge, back down then over the next one till eventually, finally and exhaustingly we get to put in the four tubes which our guide has been carrying for the last hour. It’s not a gentle drift by any means. Though the river level is pretty low there are still several exciting rapids to negotiate and we are pretty soon soaked to the skin. It’s a fabulous two and half hour journey down river to the sea. The jungle clad mountains are nothing short of spectacular. An exhausting trek but well worth the nearly four hours we were out. All for about £12 each. We were dropped off just before where the river meets the sea and walked back along the beach to Palomino. It’s very busy and the sea is very high with very big waves crashing ashore. Shortly we will be leaving Palomino and heading back to Taganga for three nights before Dean and Michele head home and we carry on our journey through this crazy country.

Santa Marta, Colombia

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 16:50:00 -0500

Santa Marta. It’s New Years Day and we need to get to Santa Marta. The only buses running today are small Transit size tourists busses. By a stroke of luck the bus depot is a hundred yards up from our hotel. The prospect of heading back to the main bus terminal is not very enticing. It’s a pleasant enough Journey of about 3.5 hours with very light traffic as it’s New Years Day. We get to a very hot Santa Marta mid afternoon and there doesn’t appear to anybody around and everything closed down. After a few fruitless minutes going around in circles we get a cab to our hotel. It’s on a narrow street in the Centro Historico and looks totally underwhelming from the street. It doesn’t even have a name outside. There are a few people sleeping on the street but nothing too threatening. Once we finally get someone to let us in, the place is transformed. There’s a lovely courtyard with a tiny pool. The rooms are on three levels with a penthouse at the top . Its a lovely little hotel a short walk to the busy barrs and seafront. Stretching along the front are several large hotels and apartments which look like Santa Marta’s answer to Bocagrande in Cartegena. It’s a strange place. A very busy container port. Some down at heel hotels along the front. A historic centre that’s a bit seedy (this was the first Spanish settlement in Colombia). There is a swanky marina and we take a sailing schooner trip along the coast to a beach near to Tayrona National Park. The beach looks great and is enclosed by green jungle clad mountains. Any hope of a nice quiet day relaxing on the beach is soon dispelled. There are maybe ten or fifteen high powered sports boats pulled up on the foreshore. Each one has its own massive sound system blasting out Latino Pop. These beautiful boats are all equipped with enormous outboard engines of up to 750 horse power and are packed with Colombian revellers. The noise is incredible. Still, this is Colombia and peace and quiet just doesn’t exist here. It’s a quite choppy sail back but the mountain scenery is stunning and it’s a great day out. The next town around from Santa Marta is Taganga which was a very crowded 25 minute bus ride away. It’s very scruffy. The usable section of the beach at one end of the bay is absolutely jam packed. The rest of the beach is full of small boats jammed together. There are lots small bars full of locals each one blasting out yet more music at maximum volume. However the setting is absolutely superb. The little bay is almost completely enclosed by steep mountains with a few fancy hotels clinging to sides and small small residential buildings creeping up the mountains. Rather than suffer the crowded bus back to Santa Marta we get four young guys on motorcycles to give us a lift. It’s a hair raising white knuckle ride back over the mountains dodging in and out of the traffic but great fun. The next stop is going to be the beach town of Palomino, about a two hour taxi ride up the coast.

Cartagena, Colombia

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

CARTAGENA. After Christmas we are heading to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Cartagena. We have a nice hotel just outside the Walled City within walking distance of all the attractions . Cartagena old city is simply stunning. It’s completely encircled by huge walls and ramparts There are fabulous palaces, top end hotels, beautiful churches including a huge cathedral and some stunning piazzas and squares. A walk along the huge walls gives fantastic views out to sea . Unfortunately it’s not car free and it’s pretty choked with traffic. There’s hundreds of little yellow taxis everywhere. We are meeting up with Dean and Michele just before New Years Eve but they have missed their flight and won’t be here for a couple of days. This gives us a chance to scope the place out and report back. The city feels perfectly safe . The biggest worry is dodging the traffic. The area of Getsemini is more grittier with some fantastic wall murals and lots of bars, restaurants and small hostels. There are plenty of tourists around especially when the huge cruise ships are in. There are huge celebrations for New Years Eve including several cordoned off squares where huge events are planned. Several streets are closed off for street parties with the inevitable massive sound systems blasting out Reggae at ear-drum bursting volume. There has been absolutely no respite from this racket since we arrived and it’s starting to wear a bit thin. (As I write this in Taganga outside Santa Marta the volume of the music being played is off the scale. We are in a hotel on a hill overlooking the town and the volume is coming up through the floor. It’s such a cacophonous row that it could be coming from one huge sound system or several all playing different music at once. There are thousands of people in Cartagena for New Years Eve and we get a pretty good view of the fireworks from the city ramparts and there several different displays going on all over town. This city is absolutely incredible but after several days we are heading up the coast to the coastal port of Santa Marta.

La Bomba, Colombia

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

Isla La Bomba It’s only an easy couple of hours to Cartegna by bus from Rincon. Cartagena bus station is busy and absolutely chaotic outside. We get an Uber straight away to take us to the boats to Bomba . Three hours later and having covered no more than 10 miles we arrive at Bocagrade to catch the boats to the island. Bocagrande looks very impressive. Tall, brilliant white, high rise apartments line the seafront. This is Miami transposed to Cartagena. It’s a complete madhouse as the place is packed with shanty restaurants that line what’s left of the beach. Overdevelopment too close to the foreshore has caused the sea to lap up against the restaurants. Shouldn’t think it will be too long before the whole seafront is flooded. This place looks like typical Colombian day trip island. They come over in their thousands each day carrying as much food and booze as they can carry and settle in for the day. Once the day trippers have gone the place is virtually deserted and all the restaurants close up. Luckily our hotel is just by the boat jetty and this will be home for four days over Christmas. It’s fine but appears virtually empty and spread over a large plot. We have a nice room with a balcony overlooking the grounds which appear well kept. It’s mainly all inclusive but there’s little in the bar which in any case closes at 7 when they have run out of everything. The dining room looks like a works canteen from seventies. There is a much better hotel next door with a beautiful pool, a well stocked bar and really nice dining deck looking over the ocean with a fabulous view of Cartagena in the distance. There doesn’t appear to be any small shops in the vicinity so we hire a couple motorcycle riders to take us to the other side of the island to stock up for Christmas at a supermarket. It’s an incredible ride through the most deeply rutted path that would be difficult to even walk on. The little village is very, very poor and dirty. A few ramshackle buildings, a terrible road through town and once again the sea has broken through what little defences there are and flooded large areas of the town. Later we found a little shop about 10 minutes away. Still the moto taxi drivers had nice day out for which they were lavishly rewarded. Isla La Bomba has been a great little escape for Christmas, mainly for the use of the lovely resort next door. Might have been a bit grim without it.

Rincón, Colombia

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

Rincon del Mar. Everyone we have spoken to has never heard of this little beach town on Colombia’s northern coast. It’s pretty difficult to get and involves a gruelling overnight bus journey of at least 12 hours from Medellin. The bus isn’t full so there a bit of space to spread out. Once we arrived at San Onofre it’s another 45 minutes by taxi or tuk tuk to Rincon. A good (?) sign that things are changing and tourism is on the up is when a decent road is being constructed to the town. Once at Rincon though it’s a different story. There is no road, just a deeply rutted sand track with pot holes that could swallow a car. The incredibly bumpy journey into town takes us past tiny houses and shops, several run down hostels , a few places advertised as restaurants but don’t seem to serving anything and several dive shops. Our hostel is the Blue Sea Coral and we have a pretty nice sea front room with a balcony for about £27 per night. This town looks like a typical run down Caribbean village you might have seen 50 years ago. We take a walk along the beach and it’s just completely ramshackled. There has been no effort by the restaurants to put out any nice tables or chairs, just a few tables and benches scattered around and no indication that they are even open. Still, there’s plenty of little kiosks selling beer and cocktails and the place has a lovely un-developed charm to it. There are some substantial buildings being developed along the sea front and a tourist boom is probably coming soon. Colombia is a gem of a country and without doubt the next big tourist hot spot. There is one very posh resort at the far end of town called Dos Aguas with a cool bar and on the nicest stretch of sand which seems to be permanently full. Halfway down the front there’s another nice hostel on a wider stretch of beach with some well organised bars and restaurants with a proper menu and unlike the others actually has its prices listed. The rest of the beach is full of boats pulled up on the foreshore so this is really a working fishing village and not a tourist trap yet. Behind the beach on Main Street could well have been transported from the African coast. The vast majority are Afro Caribbean with hundreds of little kids running around and playing in the street. There are ancient black ladies sitting gossiping on the porches of their tiny houses and young men on motorcycles negotiating the rutted roads. There are few decent vehicles but the majority are the most beat up pieces of junk imaginable. It’s not a poverty stricken village by any means. The houses, though tiny, are well kept in general. The people, though not unfriendly, just seem indifferent to visitors to be honest. It’s certainly not south-east Asia where kids are shouting “ hello mister “ everywhere you go. The major problem in this town is flooding from sea. One street back from the beach and some parts of the town are under water. This brings in all kinds of rubbish and it looks a bit like a disaster area. Whether the beach has been badly eroded or rising sea levels have caused this who knows.Probably only going to get worse though. There are boat trips out to three islands. It’s a cheap day out at only £14. The first island, Mucura, is a strange one. The boat drops off just outside the tiny village but to enter you have to buy a drink at one of the many stalls if you want to go in. There’s a beautiful walk through dense mangroves and a heavily forested trail. The second is Isolte de Santa Cruz which is supposedly the most densely populated island in the world. Over 500 people live on an artificial island about the size of two football pitches. We take a little tour of the island for a small fee that involves a swim in an aquarium with huge fish, turtles and a completely docile nurse shark. The third island is the most developed, Tintipan, which is a typical day trip island with dozens of stalls and bars and lots of local tourists on the nice beach. After 4 days in this undiscovered Caribbean backwater it’s time to head to Cartagena which is only a couple of hours up the coast.

Guatapé, Colombia

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

Guatape The final town we will be visiting in the Andean region is Guatape. It’s about a couple of hours out of Medellin and a million miles away. The bus journey is spectacular as an excellent dual carriageway takes us way above the huge sprawling city. Guatape is a beautiful little lakeside town on the edge of a huge flooded valley. It’s a real tourist town being so close to Medellin but it’s still fabulous. We take a party boat out onto the lake where the locals are having a great time drinking and dancing to the usual Latin beats. We are the only non Spanish speaking couple on the boat but it seems the on board DJ has everyone up for a party. We have small hotel right in the middle of town just off the main square and leading everywhere are the most delightful small streets and alleyways crammed with bars and restaurants. It’s very busy during the day but quietens down once the day trippers have gone. A major draw here is the Penon de Guatape, a huge granite monolith that looks like Colombias answer to Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio. It’s possible to climb the 700 plus steps to the top but not for us this time. It looked like it was absolutely jam packed as there must have been 30 or 40 coaches parked up at the base. The lake is just fabulous. There are million dollar homes scattered around the dozens and dozens of coves, inlets and promontories. It should be a boater’s paradise but as it’s a flooded valley the banks are extremely steep so doesn’t really lend itself to mooring very easily though there are several marinas around. So that’s it for the Andes so far this trip as we are heading to the Caribbean coast by way of a 12 hour overnight bus journey. But first we are heading back to Medellin for one more night and a day . We are staying in a very nice small boutique hotel in the trendiest residential and entertainment area of Laureles. Set in a lovely quiet street we are paying £19 per night. Including breakfast, the cheapest and best bargain yet!

Medellín, Colombia

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

It’s a comfortable 30 seater bus that leaves from Salento’s small and efficient bus terminal at 8am for our optimistic 6 or 7 hour journey. Again the scenery is stunning and the road is excellent. We stop after about 4 hours at a packed roadside bus rest-stop. It’s now getting very warm . Our driver indicates 30 minutes to be back on the bus. He arrives back an hour later. From then we are stuck in the most appalling traffic hold imaginable. Due to constant roadworks the system is to hold the traffic in one direction for up to 50 minutes. Then let that direction go until the next set of roadworks and repeat the procedure again. We arrive at Medellin at 7 pm. Eleven hours since our departure. We are staying in the upmarket area of El Poblado . Our hotel, The Hotel Stanza, is right slap bang in the main tourist entertainment district. There are hundreds of restaurants nearly all of which are pumping out Latin Music at maximum volume. Our first room is on the ground floor right on the street. It’s a spartan, windowless, concrete shell devoid of all character though the hotel itself is quite pleasant. The music pounds on and on until 5am and sleep is impossible. Luckily we were able to move the next day to a much quieter and bigger room. First impressions of this area is not very favourable to say the least and is an assault on the senses after the beautiful coffee region towns. Not that they were quiet, peaceful backwaters. Everywhere in Colombia has music blasting out from nearly every establishment. After a few days you just get used to it. So far everyone has been really friendly and the Colombians seem to really grab hold of life and enjoy it to the maximum. Medellin is a modern city nestled on a valley floor surrounded by mountains. There are densely populated high rise apartments climbing up the hills above town as well as the inevitable shanty town favelas clinging precariously to the mountainsides. Remarkably Medellin has completely transferred itself from one of the most dangerous cities in the world into a vibrant metropolitan city . The most popular tourist attraction in Medellin is a visit to Communa 13, a favela above the city. It was once one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world as the area was taken over by rival terrorist groups and drug gangs who fought pitched battles with each other and government forces. Eventually the government forces launched one final assault and eventually kicked the various factions out. Coupled with the eventual killing of the drug lord Pablo Escobar the area began to be transformed. A cable car and escalators greatly improved accessibility and communa 13 began a renaissance. Today it is packed with restaurants, bars small shops and vibrant street art. The setting of course is fabulous as the tiny streets and buildings cling to the mountainside and give amazing views over the city below and the mountains above. We take a very enjoyable tour with a knowledgeable young female guide. Getting there involved two metro lines, a cable car and a bus so going on a tour is probably best . Our next stop will be to head out of the city to the lakeside resort town of Guatape.

Salento, Colombia

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 16:50:00 -0500

Salento and Filandia, Coffee Country. We are leaving on a long distance day bus to Armenia and then onto one of the most popular towns in the coffee producing area of Colombia…. Salento. Bogotá lies in valley floor at 8,000 feet and is surrounded by high Andean peaks of 12,000 feet plus. Our journey is absolutely spectacular as we we make our way up and over the first range of mountains. There’s a few delays due to roadworks and heavy traffic leaving Bogotá but generally the road is excellent. After crossing one mountain range we drop down into the next valley where we are only at less than 1,000 feet and think we have finished with the Andes for now but the best is yet to come. After just over six hours of mountain driving our driver finally pulls over at a rest stop. The next part of the journey we climb into the Central Cordillera, finally reaching a height of an incredible 10,750 feet before dropping down to Armenia. There has been a huge infrastructure on part of the highway that finds our eastbound direction following the old twisting mountain road and above us a series of flyovers and tunnels take the traffic westbound . It’s an easy connection to beautiful Salento which sits surrounded on four sides by beautiful mountains. The main square sits on a small plateau in the centre of the town and reached by a very steep climb up the incredibly colourful narrow streets. Every building seems to be painted a colour of the rainbow . There’s a beautiful church on the square and there are bars, restaurants and small shops on every corner. Again every building painted a seemingly different colour. There’s lots of outside dining tables and Colombian music pounding out from various bars. The main activity for the locals in the evening is drinking and dancing at the many bars. There are a few western tourists around Salento must rely on inbound tourism at the moment . However there is going to be a huge boom in tourism to Colombia as it finally seems to have put its dark history of constant civil war and narco-terrorism behind it. We have a small hotel right on the main square with thankfully a room at the back but with a huge terrace that looks over the back of town and to the mountains beyond. There’s plenty going on around here . Mainly outdoor pursuits like trekking into the mountains and visiting coffee farms. The main transport are the dozens of brightly painted Willys Jeep’s that line the main square and head off into the hills and surrounding towns and villages. We take one to Filandia for a day trip which is Salento on a smaller and quieter scale. Again in typical style, a central square on a plateau surrounded by brightly coloured houses, shops, bars, some beautiful hotels and restaurants. Filandia is beautiful but doesn’t have quite the mountain views of Salento. After four days we are heading to the vibrant , modern city of Medellin There is a direct bus leaving at 8 am and we hope to be in Medellin by about 3 or 4 pm . The timetable states 6 hours minimum and distance of 110 miles. We shall see!

Bogotá

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 20:40:00 -0500

I don’t think Bogotá is going to make it onto many peoples favourite city but we have arrived and are staying in a very nice upmarket part of town called Chapinero. Within this neighbourhood is the entertainment area of the Zona Rosa and Zona T and our hotel, the San Simon, is right in the middle of it. There are dozens of restaurants and bars, two large shopping malls and everything you could need to isolate yourself from the real Bogotá. The central historic district of Candelaria is a very cheep £4 to £5 Uber Taxi in spite of being at least 30 minutes away. The Plaza Bolivar is the main square and where Bogotá began. It’s surrounded on four sides by impressive Spanish colonial buildings and the usual huge cathedral.. The cathedral itself is quite austere and doesn’t really have silver and gold idolatry of other Cathedrals in the Americas. Leading off the main square are some delightful streets lined with boutiques and restaurants and several top class museums in some beautiful buildings. Right in the middle of the Centro Historico, a three course Menu del Dia can be had for less than £5. There are very few foreign tourists around but plenty of local families so everything feels very safe. Not quite so at night when the tourists have departed when the whole area becomes very dark and quiet which is why we are staying out in the wealthy northern suburbs. The centre is absolutely choked with gridlocked traffic and it proved impossible to get an Uber or even a taxi prepared to take us back. We have been told not to hail a taxi in the street and only to use a ride share app but there was no choice and eventually a cab was prepared to take us the thirty minutes back to Chapinero at twice the going rate. Bogotá sits at 8,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by 10,000 feet plus Andean peaks. On one peak is situated Monseratte, a church and pilgrimage site accessed by a funicular or cable car. The views from the top are spectacular as the huge sprawling mass of Bogotá sits in the valley below. The height is over 10,000 feet and consequently the air is extremely thin and makes any activity extremely laboured. So we have really enjoyed Bogotá. The setting is spectacular and we never felt unsafe in any of the areas we visited. We will be leaving on an 6 hour ( in reality 8 hours) bus journey to the coffee country of Salento.

A very novel concept….