Colombia and Back

Wow. I’ve seen Colombia and for the most part I’m pretty pleased with how things went. A friend from high school (and we lived together for a year in college) has been volunteering down there for a few months now. Naturally, another friend and I decided to go visit him.

Click here to see the full album on flickr.

Travel

Sucked. Getting there was like… imagine the worst flight you’ve ever had. Okay, now extend that over a 36 hour period.

• First flight delayed (at midnight, moved gates three times).
• Then the twelve hour layover.
• Flight to Colombia delayed.
• Third flight missed. No bags.
• Finally got the next flight in the morning.

The day went from 10:00pm Saturday to 10am Monday.

Still no bags. Didn’t get those until Saturday afternoon. Yeah.

Coming home was alright. Except it started at 3:30am the following Sunday. We slept a lot. But here’s the kicker: I went through security five times in 12 hours (including one pat down and my bags hand inspected twice).

• Delayed in customs on the way back to Denver. Missed the flight.
• Weather delays. Red Carpet Club to the rescue.
• Ended up in an emergency exit seat on the way home on a totally different flight.
• Mi novia was nice enough to pick me up at midnight.

It was great to get home, change my clothes for the first time all week and shower with hot water.

People

Ironically it was easier to go up to a random Colombian girl and chat then ever in America. My friends did most of the speaking throughout the trip (I can listen, but talking—I forgot how to do that) and I just pictured how it’d be so much easier for me without the language barrier. Everyone was very approachable.

A lot of vendors make a living at the beach selling massages, sunglasses, water, beer, crab meat, etc. That gets old real quick as you’re constantly bombarded.

Everything else

It was a very fun, very nice and a very safe place to be. Police presence was everywhere we went (police, military, private security at establishments, and tourism guards in the busy places). Drinks were cheap. But it was very hot and humid (which sucks when you have nothing to change into).

FAQs

Where exactly did you go? Cartagena and Santa Marta. Our friend was working in Cartagena and then we vacationed in Santa Marta. Both coastal with beaches and fresh fish.

Was it expensive? Nope. The flight was $1,000 but the entire week cost about $300. That includes 6 nights of lodging ($8 per night at a hostel, then $15 per night renting an apartment), food, drinks (a bottle of rum split three ways comes to maybe $10 per person). Cab rides almost anywhere were no more than $5.

Did you feel safe? Absolutely. In fact, we got a bit nervous when one of the wandering military guards stopped us. It was me and my friend with a group of a dozen local girls. Suspicious? Maybe. Harmless? Definitely. But he still could’ve given us a hard time (especially without any documentation on us).

How is the water? Very clear and a great temperature. The northern coast of Colombia is, mind you, the Caribbean. Standing up to our chest in water we could still see our feet on the bottom. The beaches were clean, too.

Would you go back? Probably—but I’d need a game plan. Wandering around wouldn’t yield much entertainment value.

Fin

So, there’s my trip in a nutshell. I’ve put up pictures on flickr so be sure to check them out. Unfortunately I only had my camera maybe 10% of the time so I can’t share some of the hilarity we found. I guess you’ll have to go for yourself!

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