Thewesternprovinceblog

As I ready myself to leave Colombia it’s once again time to wrap up another chapter of the Journey.

Colombia has been I would say has treated me reasonably well and has by no means been the worst leg of this Journey though it has not been without it’s ups and downs, part of the negative experiences here I feel were at least part my fault because of how I approached and dealt with situations others just from being targeted. That said we’ve made it through without being mugged or scoped etc so that has to count for something. My one regret of this leg was probably not talking to and engaging with the locals as much I had done on previous legs, however that said I have generally been treated fine.

Colombia is a vast and geographically diverse country and there is just about something for everyone here. You want beaches? Go to the Northern Coast. You want cities? Go to Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena etc. you want Mountains or hiking, go to places like Salento, Jardín etc. Colombia even has snowy mountains in places. Whatever you are looking for you will find your vibe somewhere in Colombia.

The food here has also been very good, very filling but not very good if your vegetarian or vegan since everything here is meat and lots of it weather it be bandeja paisa or street food arepas. I think I’ve done well there apart from getting food poisoning in Coveñas.

Overall despite many of my experiences here being mixed at the time I think I’ve enjoyed Colombia. Would I come back here again? Yes. As much as I have seen there is still a lot more places I would like to do. I would not be surprised if I find myself back here someday.

Summary of places visited:

I think it is best to split the Colombia leg into 3 distinct parts

Part 1 – The Carribbean coast.

To be honest I sort of flunked this leg having ended up skipping quite a few of the supposed best places in the country out past Santa Marta such as Minca, Tairona and Palomino. My experience of the north was probably overall the worst in the country and didn’t leave the greatest of first impressions though luckily that generally got better the further south we went. To sum up each destination:

• Cartagena de Indias – Cartagena, the first stop in Colombia and in some sense the gatwway to South America. This place is a complete circus when you land, especially if you stayed in Getsemani or the Historic part of town, firstly when you land expect a long time waiting in line, then when you get out and into the city be ready to be thrown into a busy place with lots of touts hassling you – seriously you couldn’t cross one side of the road to the other in the historic part without someone getting in your face trying to sell you something. Where there is this much touring there’s also plenty of pretty scams to get hit with – see my first 2 blogs on the place, I got hit with 3 (Uber driver app glitch scam, guy begging for money saying he got jumped and robbed and a bar putting extra drinks on my tab that I didn’t order). What else to say? Cartagena is quite expensive compared to the rest of Colombia being a tourist circus so expect to get ripped off at least a few times here if visit. With the bad things about it out the way what was good? Well it is a very beautiful historic walled city being the main port of Spanish Colombia back in the day, as such you can walk through the city and many parts of the historic centre still look like they are in the 1700’s. You can also walk the walls and visit fort San Felipe to learn the history of the many battles that took place in and around Cartagena. I would also recommend a free walking tour through the historic centre and Getsemani; it is a very colourful neighborhood with lots of street art. Another thing to mention is that much like everywhere else on Colombia’s northern coast it is very hot here, you might want to splash out on a place with AC here. While I didn’t personally get to them there are meant to be some nice islands to go do day trips to if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Despite all the nonsense Cartagena was okay and could do a revisit one day.
• Santa Marta – Santa Marta I only spent one night at before promptly getting an early bus back to Cartagena and going to Coveñas instead. Was a sort of split second decision though doing that I did miss out on Minca, Tairona and Palomino which are apparently some of the best parts of Colombia and ate sort of a mini hippie trail. Santa Marta itself wasn’t much to look at, the whole place had the vibe of an American version of Benidorm, just an ugly city with lots of apartment blocks by the beach. Did do a decent tour of the historic part though I didn’t stick around. I was mentally in a slump at the time I got to Santa Marta and also part of the bail decision was because I had met quite a lot of idiots who were just looking to score drugs and figured there would be lot more of that nonsense if I did carry on up into hippy country. I later learned people only use it as a jumping point to go further into the north which explains it. Maybe I’ll come back one day and do the hippie trail.
• Coveñas – This one is quite off the beaten track for Gringos as I found out when I got there – after bailing on Santa Marta and everything that way I decided to try this place out. The only reason I knew about it was because of talking to the owner of the last hostel I stayed in back in Cartagena and she mentioned this place as an alternative to Santa Marta, so off I went after bailing on SM. Coveñas is a nice chill little beach town and a cool place to have some R&R and that is exactly what I did for about a week. There are some trips you could do but I personally didn’t as I was recovering from my first real point of burnout on this trip. All I really did was go swim in the sea, siesta and have a few drinks in the evening, rinse and repeat. Coveñas was super cheap and that is because while it is a big tourist destination it is a tourist spot for Colombians mainly from Bogotá, Medellín or other cities inland – I was the only Gringo here when I visited but didn’t get any trouble. The only trouble I did have was getting food poisoning on my last day here because as you can imagine food standards here are a bit more ‘loose’ shall we say than more international spots out here. Still was a good place to rest but you need to know Spanish here, I also don’t want to be that dickhead who puts it on the Gringo circuit and spoils it for the Colombians so take it as you will though I enjoyed.
• Montería – Montería was another place off the beaten track I visited in the north, mainly because it was the last major stop on the bus route between Cartagena and Medellín and I wanted to travel by day so I could see Colombia. Montería’s economy is very much based around agriculture; it is the main hub where everything farmed in the north goes to get traded, apparently it is also one of the most poorest cities in Colombia. It did look very rough around the edges and plenty of areas did look sketchy from the obvious poverty one can see here. I did walk around by myself at night here but same time didn’t push my luck i.e. stayed near my hotel and didn’t stay out too late and had no problems but once again being the only Gringo in town here.Montería does have a river (the Sinú) that runs through it and on the banks on the southern side where the main city ia there are some pretty parks and you can do an hour’s river tour in the evening for £6 if I remember. It does get Colombian tourists visiting there usually coming and going from the towns around Coveñas. Overall it was a rather basic place, didn’t hate its a one day and done kind of place.

Part 2 – Central Colombia Overall was a decent experience with some very notable lows. Overall though I enjoyed central Colombia and there is a lot here I didn’t get round to seeing or doing simply because of time and logistics.

• Medellín + Guatapé – So Medellín was a bit of a weird one as I ended up staying in a Blink Spanish School there for 3 weeks including Christmas and New year. I did enjoy it but because of how the schedule worked out it meant I had a rigid routine which meant I couldn’t do much free exploring between the classes, homeworks and extra activities such as the Salsa classes and mini tours to miradores etc.I did get out on the weekends and done the must do’s such as Comuna 13 and a full day excursion to Guatapé, which were both very much worth it. Comuna 13 to see the darker side of Medellín’s history during the Escobar era and how it’s transformed since those times have passed. Guatapé was a very cool day trip and very cheap having been sorted through the school. I forget the name of the company but it was sorted through the school. Guatapé is very much worth the visit with the big rock and the town itself is very pretty and colourful and a nice place if you want to get out of the city for a bit. Might have stayed here a few days if I wasn’t in the school. All in all was not the most exciting time here but was okay for what it was, all in all I played it safe and didn’t do anything too crazy out here and didn’t see as much of the city as I would have otherwise. Should I revisit Colombia another visit to Medellín would be on the Itinerary.Meanwhile if you want to check out the Spanish School here is the link to their website: https://blinkspanish.com/
• Manizales – Manizales was interesting. Although I only stayed here 3 nights the place had a good feeling to it. It is a city about 1800 meters up into the mountains and it has a very similar climate to that of Wales in Spring or late summer – low 20’s in degs C and a tendency to rain suddenly and rain a lot. I was actually there during their annual Feria which takes place in the 2nd week of January and as such when I rocked up everyone was all dolled up and out and about, I didn’t go to the concert had no interest in that but it was a decent vibe out and about and could see it all set up from above on the cable car ride in. While I was in Manizales I went and checked out an ecoparque which was turned into a fairground because of the feria and also went and visited the tallest church in Colombia there which is quite the experience. Overall I liked Manizales and could go visit it again.
• Bogotá + Zipaquirá – So Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city was okay in my opinion, I had spend a decent bit of time in La Candelaria, the historic part and Chapinero, the more up market northern part of the city. Overall while both parts were okay there was a bit more going on up in Chapinero i thought.Bogotá felt quite relaxed for a capital city though that is probably because I was a tourist there. It has some pretty bad traffic so moving round is rather slow. That said I did do a fair bit here.In Candelaria I went to several museums including both the gold museum and the casa de moneda. Both were worth a visit in my opinion. I also visited Monserrate, which is a monastery and pilgrimage site 3000 meters above sea level on a mountain top overlooking Bogotá. You can hike it or take the cable car up for a few quid each way. In the northern part I mostly chilled out but did do a collectivo excursion to Zipaquirá – this is another small colourful town like Guatapé but it has the salt cathedral which is about 200 meters underground into the mountain. It very much resembles scenes of out The Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings. It is a bit expensive to get in but very much worth it. On return here back in February before flying to Lima I did try to find a bus to go to Guatavita but proved to be too much of a faf the day before a flight so bailed on that and had a look round the botanical gardens and a few parks, which were nice and relaxed. Overall I think I quite liked Bogotá and would stay a few days if I visit Colombia again.
• Ibagué – I will keep this one short as Ibagué was just a bloody weird and awkward experience from start to finish staying in that family place – See ‘Kindness comes with a service charge’ blog for the full rundown there. While there is some history and good natural beauty to see about an hour’s drive north of it but you’d probably have to rent a motor for a day to get out there.Ibagué itself was quite hot and humid and not an easy place to get around needing to take Ubers or local buses. It’s also apparently the musical capital of Colombia but where we went there was not music playing! Personally I would probably give this one a miss unless I was traveling with a vehicle.
• Salento – Salento is probably the place I would say was the favourite of this leg because it was very nice in several ways. Firstly the town itself is a cute little place high up in the mountains, high up and climate mild enough not to have mosquito’s about which is always a plus. Salento is another very colourful place and very relaxed. It was also pretty cheap to stay and feed yourself. Only real downside to it is most places shut quite early even on the weekend so it’s not a place to go if your looking for party but if your looking for chill it’s the place to be.In and around it you got some good places to visit. Firstly a slow day exploring the miradores on the edge of town is very much recommended for the views of the town and the valleys around it. Another thing to do is Jump into the Willie Jeeps and do a tour of one of the coffee finca’s nearby and learn all about ‘the fine art of making coffee’ which I did an long blog post on. But pack the mozzie repellent because while in Salento itself there’s none you drop about 400 meters in altitude going to the finca’s and that puts you in their ideal breeding ground – I was getting bitten to death and watching red blobs form on my arms in real time while I was there! Still very much recommend! For hiking you have the main attraction of Salento, the Valle de Cocora. This is a quite a. Challenging hike where you again take the Jeep to and then do a long uphill hike round in a circle. It is about 10k of hiking with an optional additional 8k if you go and do the hummingbird trail as well – see my ‘Hiking the valle de Cocora’ blog for the full thing but it has some lovely views and is the native place for giant 60 meter palm trees that you see across Colombia. Overall I absolutely loved Salento and if there was one place I would consider living in Colombia at that would be it.
• Honourable mention – Jardin – I will close this part with a mention to Jardín, which is 3 hours south of Medellín which is meant to be very similar to Salento, however I never got there as while it is easy to reach from Medellín It is not from Manizales or Salento and given timings and logistics I simply never got there. It is one for next time if I revisit this country

Part 3 – Southern Colombia – My exploration here was largely limited due to the fact that by the time I got to Popayan the decision to skip Ecuador had to been made and plans redrawn to get back to Bogotá, however of what I seen I overall quite enjoyed the southern parts of Colombia and much like central there is still a lot of places I never got to. To talk on what I did do:

• Cali – Salsa Capital of the world 💃💃💃. Need I say more for this one? I’ll refer you to my ‘All things Salsa’ blog post for the full rundown but to sum it up almost everything there revolves around Salsa be it day or night. Outside of Salsa there wasn’t much to do. There are some out of town tours but didn’t go on them as we’re a bit expensive.
• Popayán – The White city and ‘Jerusem of the Americas’ was quite interesting and also a cool place climate wise, there wasn’t that much going on in Popayán itself though it was interesting to learn it’s history and see the white buildings. It initially felt sketchy but after learning why people don’t go out at night much then you realise at least the historic part wasn’t too bad. That said an ugly modern city has grown around it and doesn’t look too nice. Much like Cali there are places out of town you can go but at that point I just wanted to move on from Colombia so skipped on them, among them the archeological site of San Augustin, which is meant to have some great indigenous artefacts but is also a long way from Popayán, maybe one for next time.
• Neiva & The Tatacoa Desert 🏜️ – Last but most certainly not least was my detour to Bogotá via Neiva and the Tatacoa desert. I won’t elaborate too much on this one as did 3 posts to cover this leg which included the mad bus ride from Popayán to Neiva and both the Red and Grey Tatacoa deserts and the tour I did through the hostal. Check those posts out if you want the full story. The only additional I would say is I did not explore Neiva properly, though from what I did see of it I didn’t miss too much, looked like another hot and sweaty kind of one and done city much like Montería but it was however super cheap to go out and eat out there.

If I do another trip to Colombia I would like to include these places in the south on the itinerary:

• Pasto – 5 Hours south of Popayán, apparently has rivers going through it and canal house boats despite being 3000 meters above sea level.
• Ipiales and Las Lajas sanctuary – The last town before the Ecuador border which while the town doesn’t look too nice the Sanctuary; a Gothic church built into the valley on a bridge looks epic. Probably my only regret of Colombia was not getting here.
• Leticia – You have to fly to get here but it is a small town on the border with Peru and Brazil and from it you can take boats into the Amazon. I did consider going here and taking a boat to Iquitos to get around Ecuador but it still looked like you would have to fly from there so bailed on the idea. Let’s be honest I’m getting fed up of getting bitten by mozzies……..maybe next time I come to South America we do a full Amazon trip!
• Caño Cristales – Its a waterfall of many colours but not an easy place to get to from anywhere on the route I did and only very recently is the area around it safe to travel because of guerillas operating where it is.

That wraps this one up. You can see the photo montage reel below. Below that I will also include some photos. Onwards to Lima and Inca country