World Trip Cont... (Colombia)
In and around Colombia
Colombia get a bad rap, but from what I have seen things have changed a lot in the past few years after the election of Alverez Uribe. You can't be sure that it is sustainable, or if it is actually real, but after traveling here and all the conversations with Colombians and travelers, everybody is happy and optimistic about the changes.
Colombia is a beautiful country with lots of different landscapes. There are mountains everywhere making traveling around quite difficult and sometimes uncomfortable. The weather is also quite varied from way hot on the Caribbean coast to freezing cold in the mountains. Most of the cities in the interior have been relatively comfortable.
The thing I am most impressed with in Colombia is how nice the people are. They are always starting a conversations and curious about where you are from, what you have seen, and if you are enjoying yourself. Typical phrases I hear all the time are:
Que te parece de Colombia - what do you think about Colombi
Al a orden - at your service
con mucho gusto - my pleasure
que te vaya bien - that it goes well with you (godspeed)
... and many more genuinely nice things.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Mike_E
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Bucaramanga
Friday June 16 After being with other travelers for the past few weeks, I decided to head off on my own in a direction not many travelers go. T... Continue reading » -
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San Gil
Monday June 19 I woke up in the morning, had breakfast at my favorite little restaurant near then hotel. Scrambled eggs mixed with sausage tomatoes an... Continue reading » -
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Back To Bogota
Sunday, June 25 I woke up this morning in San Gil, and caught a bus to Bogota, a 7 hour trip. Another last minute decision. I wanted to go to... Continue reading » -
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Zipaquira
Went on a day trip outside of Bogota, with 4 new friends I met the night before at the hotel. The day started by trying to navigate the very... Continue reading »
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Back from visit Home (Bogota)
After a 3.5 weeks at home, I returned to Bogota to continue traveling. Even though I have been in Bogota a couple of other times there were s... Continue reading »
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Cali and around
My man Samir invited me to his house in Cali for a little camping, salsa dancing and sight seeing... and he'll regret it forever. Just kiddin... Continue reading »
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Salento
After leaving Cali I backtracked a bit on a recommendation, and went to a town called Salento, in the coffee region. There was nothing in my... Continue reading »
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Coffee Plantation
The final day in Salento we went to 2 coffee plantations. One was a small one-man operation, which I guess is who produce most of the coffee her... Continue reading » -
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Ladrilleros
After being in the mountains for about a week I wanted to go to the coast, to a village called Ladrilleros where groups of humpback whales ar... Continue reading »
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Cali Again
After spending enough time in the mountains and by the pool, it was time to go back to Cali, and enjoy some nightlife... and what a better time to... Continue reading »
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Popayan
After leaving Cali I went to Popayan just as a stop over. I walked around the colonial city and went up a small hill to get a view of the city a... Continue reading » -
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San Agustin
The next day I was off to San AgustÃn. It must have been the worst bus ride I have been on so far. It was 6 hours of mostly unpaved road.&... Continue reading » -
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Popayan Again
After the long horrible bus ride again, I went back to Popayan to relax and catch up on some Internet time. Again my friend Samir helped me o... Continue reading »
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Silvia - Market Day
I decided to do a day trip to a small town outside of Popayan called Silvia. On Tuesdays there is a day market that brings out all of the igneous p... Continue reading »
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Tierradentro
I decided to go to another archaeological sight called Tierradentro, the only place in the America with burial tombs dug into the ground. It was ag... Continue reading »
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And again in Popayan
After coming back from Tierradentro on Thursday, I went out with Claudia, Martha, and a friend of theirs, David (who I found out was a Captain in t... Continue reading »
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Purace Volcano
I finally reached the summit of a mountain in Colombia after too many attempts.
Purace is a small village in the mountains about an hou... Continue reading »
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Popayan (last time!!!!)
Again, I was back in Popayan, for one last weekend. Even though my feet were hurting still from coming down the volcano the day before, I sti... Continue reading »
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Pasto
Chelsea and I arrived in Pasto a bit late but were still intent on going out for a little. We found a great bar serving pints of beer instead... Continue reading »
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Laguna La Cocha
On Monday I headed for the Laguana La Cocha. It was also not so spectacular as I had hoped. There were lots of people hassling to take... Continue reading »
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Ipiales and Las Lajas
After leaving Pasto, I headed for a town called Impeales close to the Ecuadorian boarder corssing. After staying a night, I visited the pretty impr... Continue reading »
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