Our Colombian Top 12 Favorite Things list – and other Colombia trip lists
Wow… I have been trying to write this blog entry for the past 4 months but after spending 5 hours in the Atlanta airport this weekend, I finally got around to it.
In short, it is a set of lists that Beth Ann and I put together on the back of some napkins as we were sitting in the Bogota airport awaiting our flight back to Seattle. At the time it was more of a fun recap/re-living of our Colombian experience for the two of us, but after looking back on it now while writing the blog entry, it brought a enormous smile to my face all over again!
Here goes:
Our Colombian Top 12 List (in no particular order)
- The itinerary that Beth Ann and Torri created – it couldn’t have been more perfect. Leave me a comment if you want a copy of it.
- The Colombian people – enough said. They were fantastic, accommodating, gracious, and most of all fun!
- Having two friends living locally and “looking out for us” – this included our own personal drivers, our own VIP boat tour, meeting the Colombia equivalent of Mario Batalli, among many other things
- The Charleston hotel group – the quality and price of the hotels and importantly their appreciation of the history of each building during the renovation. In Bogota we stayed at Casa Medina and in Cartagena, we stayed at the Hotel Santa Theresa.
- The insanity of Andres Carne de Res in Bogota – words can’t do it justice but it is a must-do if you go to Colombia
- The amazing variety of previously unknown fruits and jugos naturales with names like Maracuya, Guanabana, Lulo, and others
- Tayrona and the EcoHabs huts in particular – they were simple thatched huts but with amenities and views that were other-worldly.
- Our VIP boat trip to Islas Rosario off Cartagena – four people on a 50- foot power cruiser with a captain and first mate??? Seriously?
- The turquoise blue water at Islas Rosario – the picture speaks for itself
- Cartagena sunset on the last night of our trip and the colors of the Cartagena buildings during the day
- Walking on top of the fortress walls surrounding Cartagena
- Vitrola restaurant in Cartagena – one of my favorite dining experiences in the last few years
Random other things that were great about Colombia overall
- Safety Checkpoints – everyone was so concerned about our safety when we were planning the trip. It wasn’t even an issue once. I felt as safe/safer in Colombia than in any other 3rd world country I had been to
- Local beer – they have a good variety of local beer options to choose from if you like your beer watered down like i do…. BONUS! Favorite was Club Colombia by far.
- Pancakes – seems like a strange thing to include on the list, but every place we went they served pancakes (breakfast is huge in Colombia culture) and they were fantastic.
- Cheap and plentiful taxis – The taxis were insanely abundant in Colombia and they were dirt cheap.
Things that could be improved about Colombia
- T-shirt selection – most countries have a set of “traveller shirts” like the local beer shirts, etc… Colombia had the most limited selection that I have seen in any country and I was even actively searching them out.
- Streetfood – Usually streetfood is my primary source of sustenance when travelling. In SouthEast Asia, I think I went a few weeks eating only streetfood in Thailand and Vietnam. In contrast, in Colombia I can count on one hand the number of times that I found good streetfood. Bummer.
- Spicy Food – We definitely had some fantastic meals in Colombia. However, we didn’t find any food that had great local spice/kick to it. We ended up buying hot sauce and carrying it around with us so that we could add it to the food.
- Condiments – they just don’t seem to get the need for condiments in Colombia. Even basics like ketchup were rarely found… Given the overall bland nature of the food, this was really surprising to us.
- Pace of service – Slow service is always expected (and mostly cherished) when travelling abroad but Colombia was seriously on a time of its own unlike any other country I have been to. In some places they were trying to rush us through our meals by taking half-finished plates and drinks away and in other places it took two hours just to get something like chicken and rice.
- The Decameron hotel group – we stayed here by mistake one night and it was the worst decision we made all trip… It was expensive, poorly located, overrun with tourists, and facilities were not great. We would have rather stayed at a $2/night hostel than this place for $125/night. Avoid at all costs…
For our next visit to Colombia
- A little more strenuous activity – we did a lot of beach combing, beach sitting, and walking around Cartagena and Bogota
- Visit the Castillo in Cartagena
- Check out the Hotel Agua Baru on the islands
- More dancing (salsa and other types)
- Hike to Ciudad Perdida (maybe…)
- Hike to Pueblito
- Scuba diving in Santa Marta
- Visit Medellin
- Visit the area between Bogota and Cali
