Medellín, Colombia

We spent our second week in Colombia in it’s second-largest city, Medellin. Once dubbed “the most violent city in the world” in the early 90’s, it is now a thriving and safe metropolitan city with an innovative and urban feel. They even have their own metro! We’ve never seen a metro so efficient, or clean. The DC Metro could learn a thing or two…but we digress. : )

Upon arrival, we immediately got a good vibe from the city. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, one of the most northerly of the Andes in South America, where you constantly have a view of the mountains and city lights. Needless to say, we were hooked.

Medellin: the city of eternal Spring!

The first two nights we stayed in El Poblado, the wealthiest and safest “comuna” in the city of Medellin. It was tough to find things “within our budget” when you’re staying in a city equivalent to the cost of Georgetown. We’ve learned that it’s not easy to spend $50 USD or a less a day for two people, however we’re doing our best! After a 9-hour overnight bus ride from Bogota to Medellin with an inside temperature of about oh, 40 degrees Fahrenheit, we decided we earned ourselves a beer as part of the 2×1 happy hour special taking place at our hostel. Our hostel mate who appeared to be normal (however we’ve been wrong before…) asked us if we wanted to “have the ultimate Colombian experience” and started to pull something out of his pocket.  No, mom(s), it was not drugs, but a container full of…ANTS! Ants with really really big butts. Both options were equally terrifying. Apparently these ants, called hormigas culonas, are a local delicacy in Colombia. Ben and Nathan, our new Australian mate, could not resist and they each popped one in their mouth. “It’s actually not that bad” Ben said at first, “but I think mine had poop in it’s butt.” That was all Ali needed to hear to make her decision to not partake in the Colombian delicacy.

These ants have big butts, and we cannot lie.

The following day we decided to venture out to see one of the less touristy tourist attractions, Piedra del Peñol. La Piedra, Spanish for “the stone” was formed in Antioquia approx. 70  million years ago and is quite a sight, even from afar! It took us about 2 hours to get there by bus and was well worth the wait. It’s a 10,000 COP entry fee (about $5 USD) to climb the 740 vertical steps and takes about 20-25 minutes and  to get to the top (or 9 minutes and 45 seconds if your name is Benjamin Price and you are acclimated to the elevation and in great shape).

That’s one big ass rock!

 

We decided to walk to the town of Guatapé (a little over 2 miles) rather than pay another 10,000 COP to take a Tuk-tuk and the scenery was unreal. If we could go back and do it over again, the only thing we would have done differently was stay a night or two in this quaint little town outside of the city. That and Ben would have made Ali get her own ice cream instead of sharing, because it was seriously the best ice cream we’ve ever had, and only 700 COP (approx. 40¢!).

 

 

Ben says, “Get your own!”

As we approached the weekend, we decided to move into a quieter neighborhood called Laureles to avoid the temptation of the bar below our hostel in El Poblado and the many requests of fellow backpackers to go out and party. It was there that we stayed at the Urban Buddah, which turned out to be the one of the coolest (and cleanest) hostels we’ve ever seen, and lucky for us, it was only $12/person a night! We really enjoyed our stay there and highly recommend it to anyone traveling through that area.

A little piece of paradise in Medellin.

The Urban Buddah Hostel in Medellin, Colombia.

Another reason why we loved Medellin was because the metro has cable cars that take you to various locations at the top of the mountain. We decided to spend our last day in the city at Parque Arvi nature reserve. Unfortunately we got a late start and didn’t get to explore as much as we would have liked to, but the farmers market and FREE bike rental (we love free things) kept us entertained for the short amount of time we were there.

We were sad to leave this amazing city but were looking forward to visiting Colombia’s caribbean coast. While numerous people HIGHLY recommended we fly due to the increased number of strikes, we elected to travel by bus to save a few bucks and make the most of the 13 hour ride from Medellin to Cartagena. Or at least we thought it would only take us 13 hours…

Hasta luego!

Bogotá, Colombia (cont…)

1 week down. Plus or minus 31 to go.

Our first week has officially come to a close, though this post will just cover Bogotá for now, and while we’ve yet to have any crazy experiences, we at least have some interesting ones to share. So here’s to you, Sebastian!

For those of you that know Ben well, you know that he tends to attract some crazies (and those of you that don’t , they’re usually not of the female persuasion). We’re happy to inform you that this inherent skill (?) of his is still working like a charm, and that the language/cultural barrier does not inhibit it in any way shape or form. So without further hesitation, begin Day 3.

Saturday morning we decided to visit the famous church that overlooks Bogotá; Monserrate (go ahead and ignore ¨The Curse of Monserrate¨ part…) It involves a quite monotonous climb up a seemingly endless stair set (500m high), but the spectacular view from the top more than makes up for it.

Llama!

Ali enjoying a much needed break on the way up!

There is also a funicular that you can take to the top, but we’re cheap, of course, so we hiked.

As we walked back, we happened to spot our newly made friend in the street right outside of our hostel, and visibly (even from afar) quite drunk. We hesitated on going back, as we were looking to just lay down and relax, and not have to deal with a very friendly but somewhat overbearing drunk, but decided to just head in. This is where the long foreshadowed story enters the picture, but we’ve got other less intriguing but generally fun/interesting updates to take up your time with, so for the full story please contact Ali or Ben. But, for a brief 7-step recap:

1. New friend somehow figures out Ali’s lock combination, and recites the numbered combination to us drunk and half passed out, asking Ben if he knew what the significance was, and adding ¨guardalo, Benhameen¨
2. We were creeped out BEFORE we realized what number he was reciting over and over (and over)
3. But we were even more creeped out after Ali realized that it was the combination to her padlock
4. We told the hostel staff that we wanted to leave, staff said we needed to pay as it was past check out time, we were cheap and didn’t want to, Ben had to explain
5. Staff decides it is best to wake up the drunkie after Ben’s explanation
6. 20 minute awkward conversation in Spanish commences, new friend makes up random lies about the number he was reciting, tells Ben he would never do this to him, tells him they are close friends, slaps himself a few times, tells Ben that he would do anything for him
7. New friend pays for our half-night’s charge while still denying it and we leave…we have yet to run into him again (thankfully!), but knowing our luck…

Our next spot, Alegria’s Hostel, however, we loved, and would recommend it to anyone traveling to Bogotá. The señoritas that run and own the place are super friendly, and also have two awesome dogs, Mocha and Poker, which helped Ali get over her longing for Tucker (as has Emily’s regular doggie updates; thanks Emily!). The interior itself is rustic, eclectic, and just all around cool. We made a handful of new friends, were invited to a free local theater event, walked around a Sunday flea market (with tons of cool, useless things we would have loved to be able to take back), and in general had a great few days.

Our walk from Alegria’s Hostel

Mocha and Poker eagerly awaiting Alegria’s return.

We walked the wong way at the Flea Market and discovered the Wong Kok!

The highlight of the Bogotá stay, though, had to have been trekking a little further out into the city to visit El Jardin Botanico, which was recommended by Alegria (hostel’s owner) and in the process unknowingly stumbling upon what can only be described as the largest gathering we’ve ever seen of genuinely happy people. It was a Monday, and a holiday, which may have added to the effect, but Simon Bolivar Park was filled with (we’re ball-parking here) 50,000 people. Kids, teenagers, adults, old fogies, whole families, you name it, and 50% of them were flying kites…The rest were literally, just playing. Throwing frisbees, chasing dogs, chasing each other, playing soccer, eating ice cream, tickling each other (not really, but we wouldn’t be surprised). We had to have seen at least 4 or 5 different groups of teenagers playfully wrestling and laughing (sans drugs or alcohol we think, although this is Colombia!). And everyone, and we mean everyone, was happy. Ali said she recently read an article about Colombians being the happiest country in the world, and while Ben would have probably previously disagreed, because he does that (and yes, Ben is writing this), he has since been persuaded otherwise, and now agrees with Ali. We were just absolutely stunned while walking around for hours seeing so many people just…playing. The beautiful day helped, as did the breeze for the kites, which literally filled the sky. This pictures in no way do it justice, but does show a glimpse of what we saw. It was cool.

Ben stops to smell the roses at El Jardin Botanico.

Let’s go fly a kite!

A few things we’ve learned about Bogotá, 1. Tiene muchos colores 2. The people are very happy and 3. They love their kites.

Hasta luego!

Bogotá, Colombia

Hola, amigos y familia!

Colombia, here we come!

We have arrived at our first stop on our itinerary: Bogotá! Aside from leaving almost everything to the very last minute, we had some much needed help that allowed us to arrive to the airport early enough to enjoy a cold (and free!) cerveza at the United lounge. Life was good!

Ali handling some last minute business before our departure.

Today, however, has been a completely different story. Ali quickly realized that speaking Spanish is not optional, and her usual chattiness has been significantly subdued in the very short time that we’ve been here. She thinks it’s no bueno.

As we ventured out into the city with a Colombian hostel mate of ours, Ben got something in his eye that scratched his cornea and so we cut our tour short. Sightseeing is just not the same without sight!

No sabemos que paso a los ojos de Benhameen.

We then decided to make use of our time in the hostel to book our upcoming travel, and realized that things are not as easy as we thought; especially when most Colombian airlines and bus companies do not accept international credit cards. It seems that we have our work cut out for us over the next 8 months!

Nevertheless, we are happy to be here and are looking for the many adventures and misadventures to come!

Enjoying Ajiaco, a typical Colombian dish with our new friend, Sebastian!