Thursday 25 January - Cartagena day 3

Today is our last day of touring as we fly home tomorrow. As usual we walked through the narrow streets to the outside edge of the historic city walls to meet up with our bus and driver. We drove to the Convento de la Popa, located on a 150m high hill overlooking the city. Awesome views from the top, on another 31C sunny day. After that we went to the Casa de Raphael Nunez. The lovely old house was the home of a former president and is now a museum. We then went back to the hotel for a break from the heat and some lunch. We took a walk later on, getting lost in the narrow streets and exploring. We had our last group dinner, starting with a carriage ride through the streets and then meeting up with the bus to take us to a restaurant in the suburbs, outside on the waterfront. We had another great fish meal (being on the coast) and some fresh coconut pie.
We said our goodbyes, ten of the group are continuing on to Panama with Chris, but not us, we did that in 2009. It is back home in the morning where the temperature will be a little different. A good trip, even with the few glitches. Time to start thinking about the next one.

Wednesday 25 January - Cartagena day 2

We set off on the bus at 9 this morning and went to Bocagrande (L shaped peninsula) and Manga (an island just south of downtown). These areas are commercial and residential, busier than the historic area where we are staying. We went to the Fortress of San Felipe de Barajas, the largest fortress the Spanish ever built in the colonies. Nice views of the city and the sea from here. It was sunny and hot, lots of street vendors wanting to sell us hats.
We had a 2 hour lunch break so we found a supermarket for some chips (crisps), fruit, cold beer, and cough medicine for Ian. Maybe not that healthy but what the heck. We went back to the hotel for a rest (and a nap for Ian).
The afternoon was spent on a walking tour of Getsemani, a suburb area of Cartegena that is being restored. It's funny how you can walk by and see right into people's houses through the open windows and doors, they don't seem to mind. Another rest after that, before going out for a lovely dinner. The group usually goes to local restaurants and the leader pays, this way we get to try different things rather than having hotel food. We both had sea bass and coconut rice and it was terrific.
As I'm writing this it is only 8:30 and we just got back from dinner, Ian is going to bed as he now has a bit of a fever, hope he is ok in the morning. So that means no photos!

Tuesday 24 January - Cartagena day 1

We left hotel at 7 for our flight to Cartagena (on the north western coast). Mix-up at hotel, 6 people were to stay in a second hotel as the first place was full. We were supposed to be in the 1st one, then the hotel said no so we went to the 2nd one which we didn't like - it wasn't up to the same quality. We ended up swopping rooms with Chris and staying at the 1st hotel. We are here for the last 3 nights before going home. Poor Chris, they have had a few glitches with this tour, he said everything was perfect last January.

For our afternoon sighting we strolled through the streets taking in some of the famous squares and a couple of museums. The streets are narrow with lots of old buildings, and some pretty balconies. The city's historic area is a UNESCO site. There are more tourists here, due to being on the coast, cruise ships stop here too. It is hotter, about 30 or higher and humid, and prices are higher too.

There have been several people getting sick (flu), starting with the tour leader on day 1 - they are dropping like flies - Ian has started coughing and my nose is runny. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Monday 23 January - Medellin

We had another busy day today. We had a drive to a park (the point where the city was first founded), then we dropped by and looked at one of Pablo Escabar's homes (LOTS of talk about him here) which is still unoccupied and guarded to stop people going in. Then we went to a viewpoint to look down on the city which is kind of in a bowl, there are lots of hills, next was a walk around the squares which contain city hall, both local and regional, the old railway station. After lunch we went to a park where there were many outdoor bronze sculptures by the artist Fernando Botero. Lastly, we took a Metro Cable up to Santo Domingo which was once a notorious area of gang violence. The Colombians are very proud that their city of Medellin, which was once one of the most dangerous places in the world, is now a cosmopolitan city, with a staggering drop in crime. There are still areas that are not so good but visitors are coming and are being welcomed.

Sunday 22 January - Jardin

Well, today went according to plan . . . no mishaps!
We left the hotel at 8 and went into the town of Jardin. It is a pretty, old town with lots of character and colour. The locals were friendly, I don't think they get loads of tourists yet. We walked around the town's main plaza, and the inside of the church (they were getting ready for a service). We went on the cable car to the top of a hill overlooking the town and had great views. Nice and sunny all day, sunscreen required, easy to burn at this altitude. Then we all went for coffee before setting off for our 3 hour journey to Medellin. We stopped for lunch along the way, the have great roadside restaurants for travellers and so far the food has been very good, cheap too.
This afternoon we went to the small town of Santa Elena where they grow lots of flowers. We went to one place and were shown around by the owner, who explained the way the flower sellers have operated their business through the years. His place was a sixth generation of growers. Then we went for dinner before going to the hotel. The restaurant was high in the hills, with good views and good food. Our hotel is another Eco-hotel, nice but lights are so dim we can hardly see!!

Photo courtesy of Ian Anderson, my camera seems to be pooched.

Saturday 21 January

It rained all through the night and when we went for breakfast we learned there had been a landslide on the road we needed to take to get back into town. We were trapped! Everything was OK at the hotel so we enjoyed our breakfast and had extra coffee. We then took a walk to see what was going on. Basically, some earth and trees had come down and were blocking the road. Eventually some workers came and cleared it just enough for us to get through. The hotel owner brought our luggage in his car the they got the workers to carry it through the mess. We then stood around waiting for the jeeps to show up but they never arrived. Our leader asked one of the workers to take the luggage down into the village for us and we walked about a kilometre. Don't know how much Chris offered him but it worked!
This put us about two hours behind schedule, then we walked up hill with our luggage to the other hotel where the remainder of the group was staying. We set off on our 3 hour drive to Jardin - trouble was there were several sets of roadworks and it ended up taking over 7 hours. By the time we arrived it was dark but we made it in time for dinner. It is a resort hotel so the relaxing by the pool didn't happen. It has been quite a day, and we all appreciated the dinner and a beer. I also dropped my camera in the toilet . . . yes a fun day, will see if it works in the morning when it has dried out.

Friday 20 January - the highlands day 2

Last night was the best nights sleep so far, with the altitude I haven't had much. We awoke early this morning and could hear the birds, Ian got up and looked outside (it was dark when we arrived yesterday) and said wow you gotta see this view! Rolling hills, trees, cattle, and a four day old foal with mum. We had a great breakfast while we sat admiring it.
This morning we went to Valle de Cocora about half an hour away (again by jeep) and went for a hike through the valley where there are loads of wax palm trees, they are straight, very tall, and a lot are about 150 years old. After that we went for lunch and a well deserved sit down. Afterwards we walked around the old town of Salento and then went to "Jesus Martin" coffee shop for some organic coffee and a piece of coffee brownie cake. We got back to the hotel about 4 and after an hour a storm came through so we sat watching the rain and thunder and lightning. Off out for dinner in an hour - hope it stops by then.

Thursday 19 January - the highlands day1

Early start today . . we left the hotel at 6:30 to take our flight to Armenia. Everything was running on time and we set off down the runway fairly fast . .  then slowed down and turned off. We waited in line again and attempted to take off again, again the pilot aborted the takeoff and went back to the terminal. Finally an English announcement was made and apparently a warning light was coming on. We all had to get off and wait for another plane, luckily they had a bigger one and our third time taking off was fine. We ended up being three hours behind schedule so the sight seeing was re-jigged a little.
We are now in the coffee growing region, a UNESCO World Heritage region. First stop is Salerno, one of the oldest towns.
We visited a coffee plantation and walked in the field, looked at plants, saw the factory (small), people hand sorting the beans, and had our tastings. We were there about two hours and left with a gift bag containing coffee to bring home.
We managed to get to the hotel for half an hour before going out to dinner. The group is split into two hotels as there wasn't one big enough for us all. Ours is a nice Eco lodge and we had to get to it via Jeep Willy's, basically you climb in and sit in the back. Our guide Chris seems to have put the most able bodied (4) couples in this one. Went into town for a nice dinner but it stared raining so the drive back was 'interesting'.

Wednesday 18 January - Bogota day 2

Another busy day in Bogota. We started with 30 minute walk to the Cerro Monserrate, where we take a cable car to the top then walked some more - all uphill. It was cloudy and the views weren't the best but we could see down and over the city. There is a church at the top and we were now at 3150 metres.
After that we made our way to the world famous Gold Museum, where we spent about 1.5 hours taking in the most important items. It was our local guides favourite place so she gave us a fascinating tour. By the time we came out it was raining so we had our lunch and then all met in the cathedral to keep dry and away from the thunder. Next was the Botero Museum, to see Colombia's famous artist Fernando Botero's finest pieces and also his personal collection, all of which he donated, we saw at least three Picasso's.
Back to the hotel for a break before dinner. Next up was a visit to the home of Simon Velez, one of Colombia's most famous architect's, our tour leader had met him on a previous trip and he'd said we could drop by. We entered from the street where it was behind walls giving no clues as to what was behind. It was a fascinating place, totally different from anything else, both in the construction and the furniture and possessions, every where you looked there was something unique. He had a terrific view over the city. We then went for dinner at a restaurant owned by a Canadian woman and her Colombian husband that was designed by the architect we'd just met. Again, behind doors on a quiet street, with no indication there was a restaurant there, we had a beautiful 5 course private meal.

Tuesday 17 January - Bogota sight seeing day 1

We started the day with made to order omelettes, freshly squeezed orange juice and Colombian coffee. Three nights at this hotel so no complaints. We left the hotel at 8:30 and our first stop was the Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao, a flower and food market. The flowers were very colourful and prices seemed cheap. Colombia is the worlds second largest producer of flowers. Everything from roses to bird of paradise was for sale. The market opened at 4 a.m.

We then went around the food section. Everything was very clean and the Colombians all very friendly. Our local guide was showing us fruits endemic to Colombia we'd never seen before. She had one of the stall holders cut open fruits so we could sample them. We also tried a few sweet treats, a banuelo - like a mini donut but not as sweet, and an egg filled arepa, which they eat for breakfast.

Next we travelled north to Zipaquira to visit the Salt Cathedral, which is built 200 metres underground. The chapels were built 21 years ago by the miners as the original was no longer safe.
We continued on into town and had lunch before stopping at a place where Colombians go to play Tejo, a game that involves throwing a metal disc (a bit like a hockey puck) at a clay filled target, which has two small white triangles filled with gunpowder that go BANG if hit. There is no cost to play the game but you are expected to drink beer while you are there. Of course the more you drink the louder it gets, and huge cheers erupt if anyone hits the target. Nobody from our group actually hit the target but we had quite a few near misses. I must say, a few of the guys threw like girls! We were there about an hour and it was lots of fun.

We drove back to Bogota and had dinner at Andres which is a huge famous restaurant serving grilled meats (and other stuff). Very good and filling too, a longish day, arrived back at hotel after nine.

Monday 16 January - arrived in Bogota

It was an early start, 4 a.m. pickup for the airport run. Flight was about six hours and we were in row 3 so got off the plane quickly, proceeded to passport control and had to get in the 'special' line for Canadians. This was so we could pay the fee to enter the country (160,000 each, about $90 Cdn), which seems to be a tit for tat gesture because Canada charges Colombians. We were about 10th in line but there were about 50 people behind us. Once we got through it was a short wait for the luggage and we then met up with our driver only to be told we had to wait for four others in our group who were also on our flight. Well, we knew why they were late getting through (35 minutes after us)!
Our hotel was about half an hour away, it is old, lots of character and very close to walk to the old town square. The group is 18 (a little bigger than we thought), and we all went out for an early dinner in a typical Colombian restaurant. I had a beans, sausage and meat dish which was very filling. We then shared a traditional poppy seed cake with blackberry sauce. Forgotten half the people's names already!

Thursday, 12 January 2017 - getting ready

We've got some Colombian pesos ready for our trip. This large bundle is the equivalent of $450 Canadian. Better make sure we both have lots of pockets!