I’m going to Colombia next month! I’m super psyched - I haven’t left Ann Arbor in…I don’t know, MONTHS. Very boring. Anyway, I have my Lonely Planet and it’s given me some ideas, but I’d be interested in hearing from people who’ve been there. Any places I MUST see?
FTR: I’ll be there for a week. I’m flying into Bogota and then I plan on traveling up to Cartagena.
Things I like: sightseeing, old stuff, museums, cafes, people watching, short hikes.
Things I’m not such a big fan of: lying on the beach, expensive restaurants (I’m a vegetarian if that matters), long expeditions, going anywhere near the FARC.
I lived in Barranquilla (close to Cartagena) for nearly two years, and it seems like your trip might serendipitously coincide with los carnavales, the second largest pre-lent celebration in the world after Rio. It’s definitely the funnest time I’ve ever had, and the people there are the friendliest in the country, because it’s tourist-free. Cartagena is basically a tourist town, though it’s beautiful and historic. B/quilla is ugly, but the people are much more fun, and the area has a distinct musical history unlike any other part of the country–think of it as a cross between Memphis and New Orleans, only not so spiffy in appearance, and not oriented to tourists.
However, one week is nothing. If you like museums and cafes, you should go to Bogota, which is kind of like the San Francisco of South America. It also has more vegetarian restaurants.
I suggest you consider that the mountain areas and the Caribbean coast are like totally different countries, with very different cultures and climates. (February is the “non-rain” rain season on the northern coast, while it rains just about every day year-round in Bogota.)
There are a lot more details I could give you, but ask some more specific questions and I’ll try to give you my view of the situation.
As for the the FARC, I had an unintended encounter with some of them (fully armed and demanding answers to questions) while camping with some friends in the mountains near Santa Marta, and it ending amiably.
guizot, the timing does work out for going to the carnival, but I don’t like crowds and I have to say it sounds really awful, not to mention expensive.
I will double check with my friend who is coming with me, and then get back with some more specific questions. (He just decided to come along yesterday, so I have to reconsider some ideas I had.)
Most of the events are free, and those that aren’t are pretty cheap. But if you don’t like crowds, there’s nothing to do for it.
Why exactly are going to Colombia, then? Sounds like Paris might be a better destination for your tastes. Or Mexico city, or Buenos Aires.
Considering that it’s only for a week, I think that’s a good idea. Just going somewhere else besides Cartagena is going to eat up a lot of that week in transportation time. The shorter the time, the more necessary the planning.
Why? Anyway, I’ve wanted to go to Cartagena for years and years, ever since I read an article about it…National Geographic? I’m dying for a break and the price was right. I would like to go to Buenos Aires sometime, though. Paris and Mexico City I have been to already. (I love DF, was underwhelmed by Paris.)
BTW, I understand that the reason carnivale is expensive is that it the hotels are packed and prices go through the roof. At least, that’s what Lonely Planet and a couple of travel websites I’ve looked at said. Were they incorrect?
If you are going to Cartagena, Tres Banderas is a very nice and not terribly expensive hotel right in the middle of the old city. Bogotá is more expensive, and you should try to stay at El Cafecito (Hostals)
Other hostals in Bogotá can be found here. http://www.hostels.com/co.html. Definitely try to go to the zona rosa (85th street and 11th avenue) and parque de la 93.
Bogotá is a fun city and definitely full of good museums (the gold museum is a must), as well as the casa de la moneda (great Boteros). In Cartagena, try to get a fastboat to the islas del rosario, some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world and great seafood.
Yes, it’s interesting today as well as historically. I went there once with a bunch of friends (the bus ride from B/quilla is about three hours) to see Mana in concert with Diomedes Diaz (not long before what-his-name, the accordion player died in a plane crash in Venezuela) as the opening act. While coming back from the show, we waited for a taxi amongst a lot of people hanging around in public places who just seemed to be having one big party. The only music they played was zouk. (As for music native to the northern, Caribbean coast of Colombia, see cumbia and vallenato. You’ll hear little American pop music, because of the local pride in their deep musical traditions.
Well, I can’t answer that because when I go back for los carnavales I stay at my girlfriend’s family’s house, but I imagine that it’s probably true for the high-end tourist hotels. There might be some lower-end hotels that Lonely Planet doesn’t have info on.
I know you’ve said you don’t like crowds and that’s the very nature of carnaval, but it might be worth the time and expense of taking a bus to B/quilla just to see it, and maybe experience a different kind of crowd than you’re used to. The five-day, city-wide celebration begins on the 20th, the parades are on the 21st and 22nd, and the “Battle of the Bands” is on the 24th. But the celebrations have already begun on Friday nights, each week, so if you go there on Feb. 6, 13, or 20, you probably won’t face very expensive hotel rates. Just find a medium range place, and then tell a taxi driver to take you to the Viernes de Reina for that Friday night. He’ll know which neighborhood it is that week, and it’s free. You’ll be able to hear the most popular Afro-Caribbean groups of the day, but more importantly, be able to interact with the Colombian people as they really are, not the tourist-dollar seeking people you’ll meet in Cartagena.
Otherwise, I’d say spend half the week in Cartagena, and the other half in Bogota–which isn’t much. Can’t you extend your vacation?
I’ve never been to Colombia, but in college I took a Spanish-literature course – in English – taught by an expert on Colombia. The main reading was One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. The professor told us that the town and main house in the city was based on Marquez’s boyhood home. He said he had actually been to the house and that whoever lived in it then – who was not someone from the family – was perfectly used to fans showing up and asking to be shown around.
I have never stayed in Colombia (although I have more than enough colombian friends to go around and I have heard good things), but I have traveled THROUGH Colombia quite a bit. So my advice/warning is:
Don’t be surprised if you discover little holes in your luggage. Even if you are just traveling through (transit) Bogota, your luggage (soft or hard case) will most likely get “drilled” to make sure you are not carrying drugs in the lining of the suitcase. I recommend not stowing toothpaste or other gel-like or liquid items near the suitcase perimeter where it may be punctured. I have had a tube of toothpaste drilled through. And I have heard stories about paintings and other valuables being ruined by this process. And of course, if it happens, expect no apologies or reimbursements.
The name of the town in that book (and other fiction by Garcia Marquez) is Macondo, and the real name this home town is Aracataca. It’s close to where I lived, and I’ve been there, and to the house as well. It’s a typical costeña city, really corroncha, and unremarkable in all other ways—a sleepy little place near the Magdalena River, with few paved roads, and an estadero every few blocks with vallenato music constantly blaring and guys playing dominoes and drinking beer nearly round the clock.
I’d read most of his work before I moved there, and I never could really understand all of the bizarre things that happen and the ways in which his characters act. Then I lived there, and when I got back to the States I reread his work, and everything in those stories—however bizarre—suddenly seemed quite natural.
Sadly, no. I am a grad student and this is my spring break. I can’t miss school - and all of the better dates you’ve named are outside of my break time (Feb. 21-March 1)
Thanks for the recommendations and advice, people!
Any food recommendations for a vegetarian or (gulp) a vegan?
Can vegans eat egg? Because the arepa which is from the Caribbean coast of Colombia has an egg in it. But other arepas–from different regions of Colombia–don’t. It’s kind of like the battle of pizza styles in the U.S.
Arepas are a typical street food snack throughout Colombia. It’s basically some kind of grain-based material fried on a grill with something inside. The arepas from the pacific coast just have cheese. The arepas from Medellin also just have cheese, but a different kind. On the street, they can be horrible or sublime.
Overall, I hate to tell you, but a vegan is going to have a hard time in this part of Colombia. Not only that: even a non-vegetarian is gong to have a hard time with food in this region. Of all of the–let’s say–discomfiture that I encounter on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, it is the food: It’s generally bland and greasy. Fortunately my girlfriend’s family is part Syrian, so there’s great middle-eastern vegetarian food in that house. Your only hope is to find Arabic eateries, of which you’ll find a few.
But for breakfast, you simply have to find a bakery that serves pan de bono–fresh. That’s something which you can’t get in the U.S. which I long for just about every morning. (It’s also called “pan de queso.”) I suppose your Lonely Planet guide has some suggestions for vegetarian food in Cartagena. In Bogota, just ask someone in your hotel.
Stay away from Joan Wilder. She’ll be looking to reunite with her sister and have a map!
Seriously, Lonely Planet was worth it. They had a great blurb almost everywhere I went (except the Amazon). Just remember to haggle, stick to fresh fruit or charred meat, and insist on them opening the bottle in front of you.
I look forward to it! Anyway, I talked to my vegan friend, and she says she’s okay just eating vegetarian for a week, otherwise she’d probably starve. So that’s a bit of a relief - I was a bit worried about having “I can’t eat at this restaurant! Let’s go somewhere else!” drama.