Where's Grayleen?

what we did: We spent a total of two weeks in Colombia: 2 days in Bogota, a few days in the small town of Villa de Leyva, and the rest up north along the Caribbean: Cartagena, Parque Tayronna where we slept in hammocks and spent our days on the beach, and Taganga. This was not nearly enough time and we agree that we’ll be back someday. We especially wish we had had time for Medellin.

overall impression:  Colombia is a beautiful country that most of the world incorrectly thinks is too dangerous to visit. Surely, there are parts to avoid, but the same thing is true of any major American city (think Los Angeles). In particular, we fell in love with the warmth of the people and the climate of the northern Caribbean coast. The jury’s still out for us, but we’ve run into many people who say it’s their favorite country in South America and we can see why.

Wandering around Villa de Leyva

relative cost: Colombia is inexpensive by North American standards, though not so much as countries like Peru and Bolivia. We were surprised to find that our non-extravagant dinners were often far more expensive than our lodging; this is a country where food is expensive.

exchange rate:  1 USD = 2,000 Colombian Pesos

Playa Blanca is a good day trip from Cartagena

the food:  Generally unexciting in the middle of the country, around Bogota. We never really felt like we discovered “Colombian Food”, but what we did find was a whole lot of grilled chicken served with a hint of lettuce and a couple of tomato slices. Much tastier were both Mexican restaurants and the mostly thin crust pizza which was consistently better than most pizza in the States.

Up north, along the coast, we had a bit more luck with Afro-Caribbean influenced dishes. We found one place in Cartagena which clearly has the best soup in the entire world. It was US $1.50 and fed us both. We can’t remember the name of the place, but if you’re in the area we may be able to point you to this hole-in-the-wall joint.

Parque Tayronna offered up the worst food per peso. Lucky for them, you have no choice – except for the lady wandering around with warm pineapple and banana breads. We gave her as much of our money as we could.

the people:  Across the country, we ran into people who were consistently warm and friendly. The inland cities are largely homogenous with a primarily mestizo (mixed indigenous and Spanish decent) population. Interestingly enough, they have words for something like four different mestizo classifications depending on skin color and economic status.

Up north, the Caribbean is strongly felt with wide diversity and darker skin tones, lively music, rich colors, and broad smiles everywhere.

Kelly's Juices: wow!

we recommend:

- Parque Tayrona

We cannot recommend this place enough. It has hammocks, seclusion, waves, and amazing food (ok, just kidding, the food sucked, but you can’t have it all!). Bring a bunch more money than you think you’ll need. The prices have tripled since they published the guide books and you should expect to want to stay longer than you originally planned. We had to exchange money at a convenience store at a terrible rate. When you first get there, put in a reservation for the hammocks in the gazebo on the hill. You may have to wait a day to get up there and it costs a few pesos more, but it’s worth it. Our favorite beach was the one furthest west… walk the 20 minutes first thing in the morning to have this treasure to yourself. Hike into the park and take the boat out to see Napali-like views of the Colombian coast.

- Fresh squeezed juice smoothies in Taganga

These smoothies were incredible and cheap. There is an entire row of juice stands along the main road on the waterfront. They have every tropical fruit you’ve heard of and a whole bunch you haven’t. A friend said the best was pineapple/banana with milk and ice at “Kelly’s” and, after trying many, many other wonderful options, we have to agree.

- Cheap, delicious mangoes

They’re cheap, they’re delicious, and, in Cartegena, they’re everywhere. Enough said.

- The city of Cartegena

We had a wonderful time aimlessly wandering among the streets and shops of Cartegena. More aimfully, try also touring the city by walking along the top of the colonial-era wall surrounding much of the old city.

we do not recommend

- only staying for two weeks!