Day 1
Had one last happy hours with a friend of mine and started my south bound journey.
First leg was 4hrs, but due to timezone change by the time I landed in ATL it’s already sunrise already.
Needless to say I was extremely tired due to lack of sleep on the plane (I just don’t sleep well above 10,000ft)
Random photos in the airport
It seems ATL actually took the touchless to the next level. SEA is more touchy.
I arrived at around mid afternoon and the national election was just about to close. (I learned that from my InDrive taxi driver, I wish I spoke more Spanish. He’s very eager to tell me just about everything)
Chilled at my hostel for a brief moment before heading out for dinner.
That’s a lot of food for one person. I hadn’t eaten for more than 24hours properly, I forgave myself for indulging a bit.
Had a quick beer at my hostel with another American traveller. Unfortunately, going from sea level to almost 3k meter level isn’t a great when comes to drinking. I had a headache throughout the evening. Part of the reason I went for a drink was that I thought my body was well adapted at that point since I’ve had two “cocktails” over dinner.
Day 2
Had a quick breakfast at my hostel.
After breakfast it’s the old city walking tour.
Since the guide for the walking tour and the food tour are the same person, I decided to just have her taking us to lunch at her favorite place.
My guide ordered a sour milk based soup.
It was well more food than I planned on consuming especially before a full on food tour.
We were offered the baby cow as well as an exotic animal called Capybara:
Next was this cheesy hot chocolate
Legend said it was invented to hide the alcohol taboo during prohibition time.
Our very last step was this Syphon coffee
Some other guests ordered latte with hand drawing
Later we went to the all free museums in town – Botero
Coin and money museums
It’s been a long day, and went back and called it a night. (I still managed to explore a craft beer store before bed)
Day 3
The most exciting day is yet to come. The biking tour
We toured a coffee roaster – great experience to sample all the beans (good beans are sadly usually for export only)
Just as we were about to hit the fresh fruit market, the rain shower started.
We got to sample for like 12 fruits! I just to say how exciting and affordable entire Bogota is (the tour was only $55k that’s $14USD! Too bad good things don’t last, the later Caribbean side of the country is a let down, not better than Mexico’s Cancun strait)
I think what’s interesting about the market is it’s not the typical wet market you’d experience in Asia. I am quite impressed about the standard (even higher than Peru at least comparing to 4 years ago when I last visited)
Fun fact, Colombian water is considered as portable.
After lunch, we headed back and fared well to everyone.
Perfect time to see the gold museum (6k)
Since it’s a Halloween night, we decided to go out at the same restaurant I ate at the previous night
Since we had to set up Dani (the blue hair-ed the girl) with Daniel (our bike guide), we decided to take some shots. That’s where I realized I’ve been drinking mocktails this whole time.
(the story plot – since we decided to to eat lunch, Daniel decided to borrow the chance to get everyone’s contact including Dani’s. Dani had a crash on him already and later he liked her instagram posts, which prompted us to encourage Dani to message him. The rest is history. We probably had more than 10-12 shots to make it work.)
Day 4
Layback day, well not quite that layback after all. We decided to climb Mt. Monserrate in town. Dani decided to “miss” her flight to join us, well secretly we know her heart already was taken by Daniel
We got a quite late start not because Dani was hangover, she actually woke up at 6am.
The climb was intense (only 2.2km, but with 400m gain) especially at already 3k meter base line plus mild hangovers.
Finally the cathedral was in sight
I found a restaurant next to the the cable car station that offers decent food.
Since Colombia has free museum hours wednesday afternoon, we decided to pop in to the Museo Quinta de Bolívar
We debated for hours for what we should the next day. I ultimately decided to change my mind and stay an extra day and join Dani in the Caribbean (since she paid for her hotel room already, and it’s a twin bed that she’s generously kind enough to let me stay for free)
Day 5
Let’s say we didn’t get a fast start since Brainden was really picky about his breakfast after 2 restaurants, we just decided to part our own ways.
Dani joined me for the National Museum. On the way, it started to downpour, we just popped into a coffee shop. As soon as I saw beers for sale for only 2k COP, I was like I can’t resist. 2 beers down, I was quite drunk. but hey, it’s less than $0.5usd a beer.
The national museum has lots of goodies, we were just too tired to appreciate everything
We decided to throw away our phone and use our 6th sense to pick a restaurant
Our server was really sweet trying to use Google Translate to communicate with us. He even went to get us a bottle of aguardiente from a nearby store since the restaurant doesn’t serve hard liquor.
Dinner was a simple fried chicken nearby since I decided to get up early to fly to Cartegena
Day 6
Off an early start to catch a cab to the airport (20k only)
From 60F to 90F as soon as we land in Cartagena was overwhiming
It’s very chaotic that everyone wants to sell something, most often than not, trying to sell you “white coffee” and various controlled substances while police was nearby. The city noticeable feels dirty and smelly, the vibe is very similar to the Mexican side of the Caribbean. I also didn’t feel that safe in town.
After a quick shower, I decided to do a walking tour while Dani did a prebooked food tour. (I thought $40 was a lot for a food tour judging by the Bogota’s standard). Cartegena is just massively inflated just like Playa del carmen
After the tour, I was left in a questionable part of town which I was really nervous walking back alone. I really think tour should have ended in where we started. (40k for the tour)
Dinner
Food was alright, got to try Caribbean food at least. It’s good, I prefer the grilled stuff better. Leave the creamy stuff to the Europeans
Photo collections for the free walking tour.
Dani went out and ended up hooking up with a Mexican. I decided to stay in. The hostel vibe where the Pub Crawl started just didn’t resonate with me well.
Day 7
Woke up and decided to show Dani what I learned from my walking tour. Well, turned out she hadn’t told me then that she’s been there with her “hookup”
A few animals in the park, fun.
I went to the only free museum in town while Dani rested for a bit
Later, we joined together for the Mud volcano tour. It’s very fun, not too expensive. We also met this Colombian couple who were in town to celebrate their 9th anniversary. Yes, love is real. We immediately clicked and added each other’s contact.
We were given advise to not bring anything but our phones in which we had helpers to watch and take photos for us. The reason why was the money grab or forced tips… keep that in mind, we already pay entrance fees which they all get dividend every 15days.
I had a great massage. I didn’t end up asking what he asked for – since we were told the massaged was complimentary
Just as we arrived back in town, the sun was setting
I decided to tip our tour guide, he’s a full time student pursuing a university degree while part time guiding. He deserves the money.
We had some Ceviche for dinner
As we had trouble finding our way back to the hotel. We stomped upon a late night wedding
After a little break, we went out for drinks
Obviously we can’t settle on just 4 drinks, I got a 6-pack and spared one to our lovely hotel receptionist. and then a full bottle of Aguardiente.
I shared a lot of my interpersonal struggle with her since she’s a therapist, though the rum made me severely in pain the following day, but I felt somehow more relived to let go of things.
Expenses
| Week 31 | Currency: | COP | 3979 | ||
| Day | Food&Drink | Lodging | Transportation | Other (tickets/tours etc) | Day total |
| 1 | $24.30 | $17.59 | $27.13 | $0.00 | $69.03 |
| 2 | $39.00 | $17.59 | $0.00 | $34.18 | $90.78 |
| 3 | $41.19 | $17.59 | $0.00 | $17.34 | $76.12 |
| 4 | $46.24 | $17.59 | $3.02 | $0.00 | $66.85 |
| 5 | $30.16 | $17.59 | $2.51 | $0.00 | $50.26 |
| 6 | $32.29 | $0.00 | $97.36 | $10.05 | $139.71 |
| 7 | $44.29 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $43.98 | $88.27 |
| $257.48 | $87.96 | $130.02 | $105.55 | ||
| Total | Grand Total: | $581.02 |
This is definitely over budget despite I had two night stay for free. The food/drink part was probably more than double than what I would spend as a backpacker. (Dani was on holiday, I figured I would just go with flow). Intercountry flight was also more than what I would consider a good price for an 90min flight.
To summarize, Bogota was great underrated in all aspects (Perhaps, I’ve found my perfect city?). Cartagena is a typical tourist/party town, just lack of souls in general. I’d say unless you are making a weekend holiday, skip Cartagena and go straight to Santa Marta if you feel like Caribbean is on the bucket list. Personally, I don’t find the Caribbean to be that exciting, I came mainly to do the Lost City Trek.
Those are quite the adventures in Columbia! Also, your friend Dani is quite the adventurer too! The food, drinks, and sights are looking good there. That is so nice a waiter went to a grocery store to get you all rum. Also, the Volcano mud bath looks relaxing. I didn’t know about these things until your post.