Colombia

July - August 2018
Traveling with friends Mary Lou and Robert in Colombia for 3 weeks.
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  • Day 1

    Colombia Days 1 and 2

    July 26, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    Arrived this afternoon in Bogota Colombia. Traveling with friends Mary Lou (ML) (nurse I worked with at Santa Rosa Kaiser) and her husband Robert. They left a couple days before me and spent 2-3 days in Mexico City, the half way point of a flight from San Francisco to Bogota, Colombia. I took a red eye last night, leaving San Francisco at 11PM, arriving Mexico City at 5:30AM their time - 2 hour time difference from SF. Met ML and Robert at the airport and after a 2- 3 hour layover, on to Bogota. All via Aeromexico, uneventful and comfortable flights. I do not sleep much on airplanes but finally did get at bit of sleep after we left Mexico City about 8:30 this AM.

    On arrival, after through all the usual protocols, we were met by distant relatives of Robert's who live here in Bogota - Carlos and Claudia. Robert had arranged this and they are a delightful couple who are happy to show us around Bogota!! How lucky is that. We had booked a Bed and Breakfast in the City and, after some "rush hour" traffic woes, found our B & B the Bogota Bed and Breakfast Inn. It is lovely and hosts are so very gracious and helpful. We did just bit of settling down and then had a lively cocktail hour over a bottle of Chilean wine, in their lounge with the 5 of us. Carlos speaks fairly English, Claudia not much, Robert speaks quite good Spanish (that is going to be a blessing), Mary Lou understands more than I do and I catch a work, phrase or 2 during the conversation. :-( Got a local typical Colombian restaurant recommendation from our hosts and we all went to dinner - lots of conversation, did not hit religion but, of course, did hit politics. I had a typical Colombian fare - Canzuela Montenero (not exactly sure that is right) - pork, chorizo, plantains, beans in a hearty broth with rice and avacado on the side. Along with Sangria and a lemon yerba buena combination - non-alcoholic - and like a slurpi (very good) - we are all ready to crash.
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  • Day 2

    Colombia Day 3

    July 27, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    A "get organized" morning. Late breakfast - this is a really great B & B - breakfast at whatever time you ask and whatever you want. :-) Mary Lou not feeling great - she brought a bronchitis/asthma condition with her from the US and its not getting better. Robert and I out to the closest ATM for some local money. Colombia is one of those countries with a lot of pesos to the dollar - around 2,880 pesos to the dollar!! The math gets complicated but still not as bad as the old Italian lira. (I think I am dating myself) Next to get SIM cards for our phones. Robert and ML have 2 phones and the acquisition was quite a process so mine has to wait until tomorrow as our friends had arrived to escort us around for the day. The B and B folk found an MD for Mary Lou who would come to the B and B !!! House call was $30 US!!! We went to the Museo Nationale while ML waiting for MD. A very interesting museum - some English but not in all areas. My Google translator was on overtime. The museum was a combination of Colombian history and art. The museum (not the building it is in) was just started in 1999. All of their history is so very recent - they really just united the country in 1991. Lots to learn in this country as I really have not paid much attention to Colombian history.
    Back to the B & B to pick up Mary Lou - stronger decongestants prescribed. (and the pharmacy delivered the drugs to the B & B) !!! Off to the La Macherena section of the city for dinner - and a walk around the upscale area before dinner. A wonderful restaurant, Santa Fe, recommended by our hosts. Good Chilean white wine and wonderful food - wonderful white fish cerviche and salmon carpaccio for appetizers. Great service and even serenaded by a saxophone player during dinner. A really fun experience and again - lots of lively conversation.
    Back to B & B around 8PM. ML "beat" for the day. I went to do this blog downstairs in the lobby with a cup of tea and after a short while, new guests arrived. As it turns out, they had been guests at this B & B last year so knew the hosts and I spent the next 2 hours with the hosts and the couple from France talking about everything in the world - it was just wonderful. And the conversation was in English !! :-) Now getting the blog done and soon time for me to crash.
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  • Day 3

    Colombia Day 4

    July 28, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    Another late start this AM. Mary Lou feeling lousy and decided to stay home today to get some sleep and see if she can kick this nasty stuff. Carlos and Claudia having car trouble so arrived a bit late. Robert and I out for a walk in the area - mainly residential and small tiendas (stores). Walked to a park and watched some "football". (ie soccer) Off to Plaza Bolivar and the La Candelaria area - the primary tourist center in Bogota. The very large plaza is primarily government buildings, churches and palaces - replete with the obligatory pigeons. Then a stroll down 7th Avenue :-) - all pedestrian, filled with mimes, craftsmen selling their wares, music from all directions, llamas and on and on............... Lots of fun, people and highly colorful. Some necessary phone work (more minutes, new Sim card) and a "coffee break" with pastries to "rest" from tourism.

    Using Uber/Taxi today as Carlos's car has a problem. Very easy,convenient and cheap. Back to pickup Mary Lou who is feeling some better after a day of rest. Chose a Tapas restaurant that we had seen last night for dinner. Tapas Macarena - tiny restaurant (3 tables) it was full so they took across the street to a "larger" restaurant (7 tables) and they brought the food across the street !!! A fun, lots of conversation in 2 languages with lots of laughter and making new friends. A great travel day.
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  • Day 4

    Colombia Day 5

    July 29, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    A lazy AM planning and conversation with a French couple who are staying here. They came for the first time last year and spent a month traveling the North of the Colombia and back this year for another month to visit the South of the country. All the people we have met here just love this country and the people. Our friends, Carlos and Claudia, have made this such a great experience and have helped us to understand that you really can (and should) talk to anyone, they truly want to be helpful. Carlos has said that, if you have a problem and are in a crowded room, just stand on a table and holler - I need help - and everyone will try to help you - and after 4 days, I believe him.
    Sundays are special in Bogota. Every Sunday 76 miles of City - the Bogota Ciclovia - streets are closed for bicyclists, runners, roller skates, walkers and any other type of exercise you can imagine. ML feeling better and the 5 of us decided to join the tradition. Our B & B host got us 5 bikes and off we went. So much fun and entertainment!!! The routes are full of other activities and things to stop and see such as Zumba, dance, martial arts, yoga, music, food and drink along the way. Just a great way to get all out and doing something for exercise and health. Lots of people, in some areas too many - had to walk the bikes due to crowds. I had not ridden a bike in about 2.5 years but as the saying goes "just like riding a bicycle". Back to the B & B for an afternoon snack and conversation.
    Montserrate is a monastery and church on a mountain that looks over Bogota. You can see it from all over the city. Website below. We thought we would go there today but our hosts warned us that on a Sunday it is very crowded and recommended the mountain next to Montserrate - Guadalupe - higher and even better views of the City. So off we went to Guadalupe. As it turns out today was an celebration of some sort and hundreds of vehicles were up on the mountain - all decorated and providing a significant traffic jam on a very small mountain road. Had to park about a half mile from the top - we are now at over 10,000 ft and climbing !! And ML with her already existing problem of not being able to breathe - and now we do this to her. Made it to the top - 10,800 !! Amazing. Just like Rio - to our surprise a huge sculpture of the Virgin Mary and all kinds of food and people. The view of Bogota - a city of around 8 million - were terrific. However weather at the top of the mountain quickly turning rainy and cold. A few pictures and back down the mountain. the
    Off to dinner - all agreed we were hungry for Italian so off to a new area of the city. Good dinner @ Di Lucca with lots of wine - nice to have someone else driving. Said good by to Carlos and Claudia - they were so terrific to take us everywhere and help with everything we needed - and were so much fun to be with. An experience I will remember for a long time.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monserrate
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  • Day 5

    Colombia Day 6

    July 30, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    The husband half of our hosts provides tour services as well so they are an "all inclusive" B & B. Have had several discussion with him and decided to do the Nemocon salt mine. ML very tired of not feeling great but ready for today's adventure.
    Off around 10:30 for Nemocon and the salt mine. Nemocon is a small village about 1.5 hours NE of Bogota. Scenery along the way - first, getting out of Bogota, anything you read about this city is the horrendous traffic. It is true. Usual story, too many vehicles - not enough roads. Started to thin out in about 45 minutes, then lots of green, many colorful towns - all with the Northern Andes as a backdrop.
    Arrived at Nemocon Salt Mine and had an English speaking tour. Quite fascinating, a non-working mine since around 1970. The tour was very good thanks to our driver Rick who has done it so many time and has all the details. A very interesting history with displays throughout. A short stop in the very colorful village for an empanadas from a bakery - very different as they are baked (not fried) and filled with chicken and mushrooms. Cost $1.00 😀 A stop at the local supermarket for a few things and off to Guatavita.
    "Interesting" roads thru the countryside - long section of dirt and very bumpy. We are in a refurbished 1973 VW van!! First stop along the way - Sesquile,. Small town with a pretty town plaza and a church. A very short stop as it was raining, a couple of pictures and back in the van. A short drive to Gutavita along a very large lake Embalse Tomine - which is a reservoir as well with a hydroelectric plant at the South end.
    The town of Guatavita is a lovely whitewashed colonial architecture town on the lake with a wonderful church and lots of open plazas with amazing brick and stone work. We walked the plazas admiring some unique water features. A photo shoot for a bride with a lovely Spanish gown was special. Town was very quiet but Rick says on holidays all year around it is very busy. A stop for a beer and our way to Zipequira.
    Dark by the time we got to Zipequira so just a quick walk around town - lively town plazas. A very tourist oriented town due to the famous Salt Cathedral there. (a different and more popular tourist salt mine to visit than the one we did this AM as it is closer to Bogota) Then to dinner in Bogota to the very tourist oriented restaurant - Andras. A very large uniquely decorated restaurant with eclectic decor. Much fun, meat oriented, and the food was very good. An added bonus with really good jazz music the entire time. Home after a long day of tourism.
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  • Day 6

    Colombia Day 7

    July 31, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    A rainy catch up AM and some rest for Mary Lou. Off to explore the La Candelaria area in more detail today. Using Uber most of the time for transportation within the city. First stop, the Teatro Colon - could not get in so only a picture. Looked to see if we could attend an event there while we were here but only a play going on, they also do symphonies,opera and ballet but not this week. Wandered around the pedestrian streets for awhile, checking out the stores and wares for sale. Tried to go to the Museo Botero but it was closed on Tuesdays. Fernando Botero was a Colombian artist know for painting fat figures. So off to the only 3 star attraction in Bogota - the Gold Museum, Museo del Oro. A very well done museum with a lot of gold as well as interpretive movies on the making of gold designs and other metallurgy work. Definitely worth a stop. ML and I out to thee the San Francisco church listed in the guide books. A stark reminder of all of the catholic churches that I had seen in Ecuador and Peru - walls of gold - and very poor parishioners. Not my favorite thing to experience. A light snack and a beer at a cafe and home for a late afternoon rest.
    Out for dinner locally at the recommendation of our hosts. El Barrio - a neighborhood Colombian restaurant - just OK - dinner for 3 - $45. (only 1 beer in that for me). Early evening home for ML to get some rest. Off to Pereira tomorrow.
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  • Day 7

    Colombia Day 8

    August 1, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 64 °F

    A travel day. Bogota to Pereira - just a quick 1 hour flight - as opposed to an 8-10 hour bus ride. Pereira is a city of about 1M due west of Bogota. We are outside of the city about 6 miles at a lovely spa hotel in the middle of the coffee district. La Colina - rolling hills, lush jungle follage and lots of coffee farms. Arrived here around 4PM. A "nesting" time and a glass of wine while discussing what to do for the next 2 days. The hotel owns many acres of land around - including a real trail thru the jungle up a nearby mountain, which of course I wanted to do immediately. An elevation gain of around 700 feet in less than a mile (very steep)
    Lots to experience and see along the way, About a quarter of the way up the hotel has an outlook structure replete with hammocks, benches/beds with places to lie down and look our over the scenery. Higher up there are other overlook spots with structures made from bamboo to look out over the jungle and the hills and mountains below. At the top a tower with steps to the top to see all of the area. Really a short but terrific walk in the jungle.

    Back to rooms - mine has a deck replete with fireplace, a vine covered area with table and chairs and a hammock. Quite the neat place. Dinner here of paella and lots of wine. Life is good.
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  • Day 9

    Colombia Day 8

    August 3, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    A sunny beautiful warm morning. Leisurely breakfast with good food - lots of fruit in this country. Sold on all street corners, pineapple, oranges, passion fruit, dragon fruit and many fruits I have never heard of. Planning on a coffee tour in Santa Rosa (believe it or not) today along with other sites along the way. Not leaving until 1PM so Robert and I took a couple mile walk down the road from the hotel/spa. Lush jungle countryside with lots of flowers and hundreds of different colorful birds everywhere. Anything grows here - rains/showers most every day and constant year around temperatures in the 70's daytime. Reminds me of a more rustic Hawaii.
    Off at 1PM with our guide for the rest of the day, Alex. Alex lived in the US, Florida, for about 12 years and spoke excellent English. He is now back in Colombia and has 3 girls under 6. Off to Santa Rosa de Cabal, a city of about 70,000, a 45 minute drive from our hotel. Roads are mostly dirt and quite bumpy until you get to main roads that are quite good. So lots of bouncing around in the car. We stopped to take pictures in the main plaza of the town - the obligatory church, vendors, restaurants and bars all around the pleasant plaza. Then off to find the coffee farm - some road work so detour over more rutted dirt roads.
    The coffee farm Fincadelcafe tour was really great. Only one other young gal, Carolina, from Chile - a dental student, besides us in the group. About a 3.5 hour "conversation" about coffee from beginning to end. The young fellow, the coffee process expert, only spoke Spanish so Alex and Robert were our translators. A long walk through the coffee field to see all of the processes up close and personal and to see all of the other things that they grow there - flowers and fruits. A finish with "home made" (roasted in a skillet, hand ground, placed in a burlap sack and hot water poured over it) coffee. All of this for someone who never drinks coffee!! The finca had a small 8 room boutique hotel replete with swimming pool so we decided to have some wine before we left. Lovely environment on a great afternoon.
    Back to Santa Rosa for dinner - the city is know for its chorizo so Alex said this was the best chorizo restaurant in town. Picture of my food below. Dinner for 4 - $22 !!!
    Then the final entertainment of the day and off toTermales Santa Rosa - the hot springs and baths. It is now almost 9PM until we arrive - 5 more miles of dirt roads to get there one comes out into this oasis of cars and people. You need to walk about a half mile to get to the bath houses,restaurant, bars and the pools. Hundreds of people there all having a great time. Bath houses spotless, rent a locker, change your clothes and go for a soak. Lots of fountains pouring water in the pools and, though too dark to really appreciate, the landscape was a huge rock side to the mountain with a dozen separate waterfalls coming down. Lots of fun. Home over the same road with one last crisis for the day - our guide Alex ran out of gas (or something happened to the car - about a 1/2 mile from our hotel. So we walked the last 800 meters at 11PM !! A really fun day.
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  • Day 10

    Colombia Day 9

    August 4, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Pretty much a "day off" from tourism. Some catch up communications and internet stuff, breakfast and out for a walk. Did about 3.5 miles, a lot of up and down along the road that leads from the hotel. Colorful birds are everywhere here. The barranquero is the most local and they are beautiful. Bright red, lots of deep yellow and blue birds. Much fun to see so much color.
    Back to hotel for some pool time and a swim. Lovely large pool and all of the amenities to ourselves. Other people here but they must be out and about today. Decided to go into Pereira - the city near by - to see some Botanical gardens at the local university (University of Technology Pereira) that ML had found in her reading. Tour guide was a little gal who was studying environmental ecology at the university. A different type of botanical gardens as it was a cloud forest that we walked through and heard all about the different types of trees, plants, reptiles, birds and animals in the forest and how live in the forest/jungle together. We must have walked about a mile and a half thru the jungle - mostly a paved path and lovely bamboo stuctures - bridges and viewing platforms. Robert was our translator as our guide did not speak English.
    Back to hotel for dinner and early night for a change. Off to Medellin tomorrow.
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  • Day 11

    Colombia Day 10

    August 5, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    A travel day, flight at 2PM. First breakfast at the hotel and then ML and I for a facial and foot massage !! Lovely spot in a bamboo canopy on the edge of the property with the green hills as a backdrop. Alas all of my wrinkles are not gone but she tried. :-)
    A settling of accounts - would have been impossible without Robert's Spanish skills. Off to airport for quick 40 minute flight to Medellin. However flight was not so quick with a 2 hour delay which was just the beginning of the woes for the day. Could not get any cash out of the ATM at the airport and I am out of money. :-( Arrived Medellin around 5PM and, with some difficulty, found our apartment. Apartment was on 4th floor - no elevator. Apartment was lovely, large however, unbeknownst to us, had several others living there as well as the host !!! As Robert said, it was like an exclusive hostel. :-( So we are staying here tonight and will look for another place tomorrow. We drowned our sorrows with a great, expensive dinner and some very good Chardonnay. Argentinian beef -the best steak I have had in years!!! The joys of travel.
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