COLUMBIA

Yayy first blog post. I went to Colombia April 17-April 27 SOLO. I had a blast!

I booked a round trip ticket from Newark(EWR) to Medellín (MDE) for about $350. My original dates were April 20-27. Something told me to add more days, and thats exactly what I did! For just an extra $100 I switched to leave April 17 instead of April 20. I’m glad that I listened to my intuition. Covid test required 72 hours before departure. I landed in Medellín on the 17th around 2pm. Uber was my best friend during my stay in Colombia. It was dirt cheap. My Uber driver hustled me into paying for the toll. Comes to find out that’s not allowed and Uber refunded me my money. So if a Uber driver tells you you have to pay for the toll just cancel until you get a trustworthy one. Apparently Uber is illegal so majority of the drivers made me sit in the front and if we get pulled over I should say we are friends if I was asked. LOL say no more mi amiga. I check into my Airbnb link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/40042050?source_impression_id=p3_1620444942_%2BTLDQqDCFLpgxgF6″>https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/40042050?source_impression_id=p3_1620444942_%2BTLDQqDCFLpgxgF6 and then had dinner at De Mar Amarte (Cra. 43b Medellin, Antioquia). It was a struggle to find a restaurant open with the whole curfew thing. Yes curfew! Their curfew was 8pm, but for some reason restaurants were closing earlier than that. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken my time settling into my Airbnb. I’m so happy I lucked out with this restaurant because the food was amazing. I had these sweet plantain buello balls stuffed with cheese. OMG delicious! A typical Colombian dish is fish/chicken, salad, tostones, and arroz de coco (coconut rice).

Day 2 I went Paragliding. I booked this experience through Airbnb experiences. Here is the link: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/352849. Alejandro picked me up at 9am on the DOT. (I must say Colombians are very punctual). I was the only one on this tour! We drove about 45 minutes to our destination. Lovely car ride. We arrived at the destination where I fill out some forms, show my passport, and answer some questions. I was then instructed that I have to walk up a whole bunch of steps to get to the top of the mountain where we take off to paraglide. WHEW those steps going up was WICKED! I took about 10 breaks lol. 15mins later I arrive at the top huffing and puffing and was greeted by a young gentleman who could not contain his laughter. But, OMG talk about a view! It was breathtaking. Now it’s time to strap on the gear. Now I’m getting nervous as I’m listening to the instructions on what to do on my right ear and on the left ear I’m being told hold this, dont touch that. AHHK. After 10mins it’s now time to fly! Mateo (the pilot), wanted some reassurance that I was listening to the instructions and asked me “What are the two most important rules for take off?” I answered back “do NOT stop running and to sit back once I dont feel the ground”. Cool time for take off! “Correr correr correr. Now sit”. The views are amazing. Like AMAZING. Breathtaking. I purchased the video/photo as an addition, come to find out I only have one photo from the wholeeeeee paragliding experience! Bummer!

After paragliding, I went to La Comuna 13. Another Airbnb experience: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/599472. Their ig is @bigtourc13. I met Sebastian at St Javier station. Before getting to Comuna 13, I learned that there are 16 different Comuna’s. I learned about Pablo Escobar and his involvement in Colombia as well as him leading the Medellín cartel. The people don’t like talking about him. I mean can you blame them? Then we took a cable car that connects parts of the city that has been isolated for decades. To get to La Comuna you have to take bus. If you do not know which bus, there are signs letting you know which bus goes there, or you can ask any local. The ride to the top was about 15 minutes. La Comuna 13 was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Medellín. It’s not as dangerous like the old days, but still unsafe. Through the 80s and 90s, drug trafficking was at an all time high. They used the poor and the hillside barrio as a transit route in and out of the city. It is now known for its street art and outdoor escalators (there is 6 of them that were built in 2011) which has turned the poor district into a very nice colorful Comuna in the city. In addition, it has one of the best views over Medellín. I enjoyed this tour honestly. I loved the art, the people were so wonderful, and vibes were incredible.

I failed to mention in order to do some tours or go shopping (food and leisure), it goes by the last digit of your passport/id. So if it ended in a positive number there were certain days you can shop, tour around, and vice versa if it ended in an even number. I only remember switching two tours around to accommodate my even number. I went to the supermarket and they asked to see my passport. A photo of your passport will do so there’s no need to carry your passport around.

Day 3 was lovely. I booked a day trip to Peñol and Guatape. https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/282009. This excursion is a MUST! Sergio picked me up at 930am on the DOT. Again I’m the only one on this tour.. The drive was about an hour and half. Sergio and I talked about Peñol and Guatape pretty much the whole ride. We stopped for breakfast at a little outside restaurant where we had hot coco and bread. I was thankful because I was hungry lol. We continue our journey and get pulled over by the police. They asked to see Sergio’s tourism license, drivers license and asked him a bunch of questions. They also asked to see my passport to make sure I was suppose to be “out” that day. Glad that was a smooth transaction. First we arrive at a church called Our Lady of Carmen. Very beautiful I must say. Then we take a boat ride down the river and learn some more history. We saw Pablo Escobar’s home and his relatives homes.

Next, we finally head over to Peñol rock. It was about a 15 minute drive from the church. The pictures does no justice to this beauty. From what I was told it is usually packed with tourist. There wasn’t to many people there the day I went (covid). There are so many different stories involving this rock I rather not mention any false information. There are 702 steps that lead to the top. It took me about 20-25 minutes to complete. The views did not disappoint what I endured to reach the top. At the top there is a gift shop and a restaurant. I stayed about 20 minutes soaking in the view and snapping pictures. As I was going down the stairs one thought did come to my mind: the staff that works up there really have to walk these steps EVERYDAY! Whew. We then proceeded to have lunch with another amazing view.

Now it’s time to hit up Guatape! It was about a 30 minute drive from Peñol rock. I loved it here. So much beautiful colors (I’m into colors lol). It was such a vibrant feeling. We went to a coffee shop where I had a nice iced coffee. Strolled all over and learned the history of Guatape. My favorite part was visiting a fruit stand and learning the different types of fruits in Colombia. I tasted mamoncillo (guinep), granadilla, feijo, plum (its called a cherry tomato). I can stand at this stand all day stuffing my face with fruits. I appreciated Sergio so much that day. He even took me to the mall so I could purchase some sneakers for my next tour. (Shout out to the security at the front for letting him come in with me to be my interpreter. His id ended with a positive number).

Day 4 was an adventure. I booked a tour called green connection. https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1368262. I met Sebastian at Betty’s Bowls (Cra. 32d). It’s next door to Yolo hostel (Cra. 32d 7A-77). I arrived about 10 minutes late and luckily Sebastian was in no hurry being that I was the only one on this tour. I had breakfast at Betty’s Bowls. It is a cash only establishment. It is full of colors and good vibes. Dogs are welcomed. The music was also great. I enjoyed jamming to Bob Marley so early in the rising. I had a mango banana juice made with almond milk and a multigrain toast with peanut butter, banana, chia seeds drizzled with honey. Yum!

Ok now we are off to El Salado natural park. We get there by motorcycle. I was skeptical at first but Sebastian was a good rider. It was about a 40 minute ride to the natural park. We stop at a house and change into our hiking gear. We begin our journey with some discussion about the park, and who Pachamama is and what she means with mother nature. We also see different insects. Sebastian mentioned how they have “cats” also known as jaguar (I think that’s the one) and how we may encounter one. They are afraid of humans so I shouldn’t worry about one attacking us. He does the hike very frequently and has not seen one yet. Talk about making a sister nervous lol. The hike is about an hour depending on your speed. Let me tell you that hike is NOT FOR THE WEAK ok! Mind over matter is what Sebastian told me. For the first half I thought oh ok this isn’t bad until we stopped and I was told here is the hard part moving forward. Where I must stop thinking about unnecessary things and focus on the outdoors (mother nature) and mainly where I’m stepping. The water is cold. Very cold. Ice cold. There are times walking through, the water would be ankle high and sometimes it would be almost knee high. I must say Sebastian was not lying about having to pay attention. There were times I slipped and also lost my balance. I remembering praying Lord don’t let me fall and bust my ass. We have now completed the hike. It took us an hour. Whew. The waterfall is beautiful! It is called Chorro de las Campanas and Salto del Ángel. The hike was worth it. I honestly did not want to get in the water. I was already freezing, but Sebastian and some other locals convinced me to get in. It was a struggle getting in because like I said that was is freezing. I didn’t stay more than 10 minutes, and that was a little too long! I get out of the water, dry off and soak in the view and the vibes as I stuffed my face with fruits. Now it’s time to leave. Another hour hike back down to where we started.

I meet up with some friends that I met from a Facebook travel group that I follow. We had dinner at Colosal Restaurant located at Cra. 16a #9f-13. It’s an upscale restaurant with an amazing view. Medellín and these views!! Breathtaking. Side bar: if you want to sit close to the view, you have to pay extra.

Day 5 April 22nd I travel to Cartagena. I flew with Avianca from Medellín to Bogota (BOG) with an hour layover, and then from Bogota to Cartagena (CTG). The cost was about $70. I settled into my Airbnb around 4pm (I didn’t care too much for this Airbnb so I will not post the link. The only thing I liked was the view of the beach). I wondered why people were not at the beach. It was empty. I had dinner on the strip. I can’t remember the restaurants name. I asked the waiter why the beach was empty. He told me the beach was closed by 2pm. Bruh 2pm. Sheesh. He also mentioned curfew was at 10pm. Dinner was amazing. I then strolled and checked my surroundings out. Cartagena is busy. I mean it’s a city what did I really expect. For it to be quiet? One thing I did not like about Cartagena was the peddling. It was a bit too much. If I say no one time, that should be it. If I buy something from one person, I dont need everyone else bum rushing me to buy something from them. I get it completely, but sheesh.

Day 6 I had a spa appointment at Urakú Spa located at Calle de la Bomba #36-55. Cute little space on the second floor. I loved the breeze that came from the window. My masseuse took care of me. I left feeling refreshed. The next tour I booked just to occupy my time until 4pm. It’s called Cartagena Welcome Tour https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/996765. It was nice. Javier picked me up around 2pm. We drove around Cartagena where he took me sight seeing in his car. We went to a cute little section called Getsemani. It was very colorful with narrow roads with graffiti painted by different artist. We stopped several times so I could take pictures. I even took a video with the local Getsemani women and I dancing. That was fun. The locals were friendly as well. I was told it is very safe to walk around in that area at night. I also saw Castillo San Felipe. It’s a fortress that was built during the colonial era. The castle has been invaded by pirates, admirals, and barons. Towards the end of the tour we visited to the Cartagena sign.

Now time to rush for tour #2 https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/758683. Juan’s booking was closed to the date I wanted to go. I still decided to message him to see if that was an error lol. Glad I did. He opened his booking so I could book with his friend May. So thank you Juan. She was a vibe. We shared a lot of similarities. She was so sweet, and the best part she knew how to take pictures. Let me tell you May did not come to play with taking my pictures. May also owns her own sushi bar. The IG is @tabetaisushibar. I met her at Centro Comercial La Serrezuela (Cra. 11 #39-21). We went to the mall, saw some shops, and proceeded to the top where we saw the fortress from a different view. She mentioned that the sunset was amazing from up there. We took some pictures and headed on to the first rooftop. I can not remember the name of the first rooftop (matter of a fact I can’t remember the names of any of them lol), but I appreciated the view of the sunset and most importantly the pictures she took up there. We proceeded to walk the streets and just chat about any and everything. She took a ton of pics of me in the streets. If she didn’t like it I had to redo it. My type of chick! Next stop rooftop number 2. We grab some food and more drinks. Her boyfriend met us here. He was sweet. (May asked if it was ok he joined us. I didn’t mind). I wish I remembered the name because this was my favorite rooftop. Very chill low key spot. Food was amazing and the drinks were on point. Next stop, rooftop number 3. May and her boyfriend are celebrities with these clubs. There was no such thing as waiting to get inside. Praise be! We indulge in taking some shots and grabbing some drinks. Ok by now I’m tipsy, but I can’t show it. I do remember May asking if I was ok. Yes hunny I am good. Ha! Next and final rooftop was a club scene. We indulge in more shots (my body is crying now) and I had another drink. We partied until curfew time. I had a blast. If you want to hit up the night life in Cartagena, go to Centro Comercial La Serrezuela. There are so many options of clubs and rooftops.

Day 7 I booked this tour through Tripadvisor. Here is the link:

Day 8 was the pink sea and volcano tour. Booked again with trip advisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g297476-d17019829-Pink_Sea_and_Mud_Volcano-Cartagena_Cartagena_District_Bolivar_Department.html. There is an option to do a half day tour. The first stop was the volcano: Volcan de Lodo El Totumo. Let me be honest. I didn’t care too much for this. I’m glad to say I did it, but I didn’t enjoy it like majority did. Make sure to bring a bathing suit you dont mind getting dirty. Actually, a bathing suit you’re going to toss in the trash. Also bring shoes you don’t care about getting dirty. It’s just that messy! You climb up some steps barefoot, which is mostly gravel and mini rocks. Painful on the feet. You get to the top and pass your phone to one of the staff members so they can take your pics. Now it’s time to get in. Once I put one leg in, I instantly knew I wasn’t going to enjoy this too much, but I continue. You can’t feel the bottom of the volcano, but for me mentally I need to feel the bottom in order to feel “safe”. There’s no way to drown lol. I am waist level deep and I want to get out. One of the gang members forces me to try an enjoy it a little longer and pours volcano on my back. Ahhhh. I “enjoy” it for 5 more minutes and it’s a wrap for me. 1, I couldn’t take it anymore and 2, more people started to come inside. I still can’t believe people were enjoying it. The only thing I did like was the temperature of the volcano. Be careful going down the steps! I saw a few people slipping. Now the real messy part comes: washing this volcano guck off. Maybe I’m being extra with this next tip, but I don’t care lol. Bring a wash cloth, some soap and a change of clothes! It was so hard to wash it off. The longer you wait to wash it off the more it harden, and the water pressure from the shower was trash. Let me add, if you do the tour on your own you have to pay $5 pesos in order to use the shower. They had a river you can jump in and wash off but it was dirty. If you use the tour the shower is free. It only took me about 20 minutes to wash off all that guck off completely.

Now we head over to the Pink Sea. It’s name is El Salar de Galerazamba. I must say I was a little sad the sea wasn’t pink. I mean that’s the whole point of visiting the pink sea. The sea is really a salt mine and the color comes from salt loving microbes (algae) that create the pigmentation. They absorb the suns energy in order to become pink. The microbes was washed away during the last hurricane. Only 2 months out of the year the water is pink (usually February and March). They are hoping the color comes back by May/June. 

Day 9 My last day in Cartagena. I did not have anything planned for this day and I did NOT want a day going wasted. So one young lady from the volcano tour mentioned how she was going to Palenge tomorrow. I asked if I could join and she said sure. I also asked who she booked it through, and she said she couldn’t remember the guys name. Ok. I pulled up to her hotel and guess who pulls up to pick us up, Javier. The same Javier who I booked the Cartagena welcome tour! Small world.

Time to head to Palenge. The ride was about an hour and 45 minutes. We finally reached Palenge also known as San Basilio de Palenque. It was the first town to become liberated from slavery in the Americas. I was impressed how they have had no covid cases. Comes to find out they rely on herbs, home remedies and their home made liquor. They even use the liquor as antibacterial spray. Their unique language is mixed with French, English, Bantu, Castilian, Pingui, and Portuguese. We were greeted by a group of young men playing the drums. They played us an upbeat song and a song that is played when someone passes away. Next they taught us how to play the drums. This was fun. We then tried the liquor. Poured some for our ancestors, said a toast, and took the shot. The smell was eh ok, but the taste was very smooth.

Next we went and visited an older lady in her home. She was making alegría. It is told that it stands for the freedom of the Palenqueros, the joy of the town. We tried some alegría, cocadas, cachaquita, and some jam like sweet (I can’t remember the name). They were allllll sweet. My favorite was the cachaquita. It was made of milk and coconut.

We then met the two medicine doctors of the town. They taught us about the different herbs used to fight different illness. We tasted a tea that cleans out your system. We took another shot of their home made liquor. Once again, we say a toast (the toast is the same as before. All in a nutshell “I’m black and proud”), and then took the shot. This liquor tasted a little different.

Joy is contagious here. Seriously. The Palenge people are proud of their history, proud of where they come from.

I purchased another one way ticket from Cartagena to Medellín for about $80. This time I flew with VivaAir. My overall experience was amazing. I enjoyed my time in Colombia, even with their curfew times. I definitely want to go back when curfew times is lifted and to actually see the pink sea PINK lol. Medellín y Cartagena muchas gracias.

PS: if you need a covid test to come back home I used a man named Ray. His number is +57 320 4742249 and the cost is $75. They also can come to you.