Guatapé

This weekend in Colombia was a long weekend due to a Festivo day on Monday. A festivo day, is a day that celebrates a different religious figure... normally saints. Since there are a LOT of saints celebrated in Colombia... we end up having a lot of days off ! Which makes for frequent long weekends, and therefore perfect opportunities to travel around the country.

So this long weekend I travelled to Guatapé/El Peñol with my friend Sara, which is about 2 hours outside of Medellín by bus. Why Guatapé/El Peñol? Well between the two towns there is this HUGE ASS rock called La Piedra (the rock in Spanish) made of granite, where you can climb 649 stairs to the top, and see some incredible views which consists of these lakes and islands that were created by the Colombian government. A while ago the Colombian government flooded the area (for reasons unknown to my friend and I), but that's how the lakes and islands were created, which are stunning. So although artificially made, they still wow everyone who visits.

Interesting fact: on the side of the rock it appears to have 2 letters painted on it "G" and "I" ... it was suppose to be the start of the word: "Guatapé" but the two towns got into a huge fight about it and disputed whether or not La Piedra fell on the borders of El Peñol or Guatapé. So they had to stop painting Guatapé on the side of the rock, and now GI remains...

Now, upon arriving to the entrance of La Piedra, you have to travel a bit up a road to get to the rock, so you have 3 choices.
1) Take a cab... $7.000 pesos
2) Ride a horse... $5.000 pesos
3) Walk.... free.

Obviously Sara and I chose #2, and each rode a horse up the road to the base of La Piedra, because A) it was cost effective, and B) super fun. There I was, beautiful day in a quant little town about to see some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Colombia and I get to ride a horse! Way too much fun.



After riding our horses we reached the base of La Pierda, where our necks hurt as we gazed up at the height of this beast, and realized how many stairs we'd have to climb to get at the top.... the phrase "fml" came to mind. haha.

And so it began the epic climb to the top... and after 649 stairs we were out of breath, our thighs throbbing but so happy we made it to the top, because the views were worth it. We decided to treat ourselves and cool off a bit with some icecream, and then we walked around the top of La Piedra to check out the amazing views and enjoy the beautiful day. Here are some examples:




After enjoying the views we took a Chiva (old fashioned bus in Colombia... which are used as party buses in large cities, but still act as regular transportation in smaller towns) to Guatapé, which had to be the most entertaining bus ride of my life. We were with about 8 other people all jammed in the Chiva, and we were singing, laughing, just loving life, it was hilarious. Not to mention one of the guys had Guaro (Aguardiente... famous Colombian liquor) in a waterbottle, which he was passing around the Chiva. There was also people ON TOP of the Chiva, since everyone couldn't fit inside it.... ahh only in South America. love it.


Once we survived our crazy bus ride to Guatapé Sara and I got lunch. I was finally able to try Bandeja Paisa, which is a famous dish in Antioquia (the area of Colombia I live in) which consists of a lot of different types of meat such as chorizo (sausage), chicharron (sort of like a giant piece of bacon), ground beef, with rice, patacon (fried sweet plantain), an egg, salad, and an arepa. Needless to say it's quite filling, and there are some people who swear by it as a hangover cure.


After lunch Sara and I walked around the town of Guatapé which is beautiful because virtually every house has different patterns carved and painted onto its side. So each house has a unique design and colour. It makes for a very colourful and welcoming town.




After walking around for a bit, we met up with some of the people we shared the Chiva with and decided to go on a boat tour together on the lake. It cost $10.000 pesos for the tour which lasted about 90 minutes, and offered music, beers and great views of the town and the surrounding lake areas. Definitely worth the money.



All in all, Sara and I had a really great day. Guatapé is a beautiful town, which I highly recommend anyone to go, especially to see and climb La Piedra because the views are stunning. This trip has definitely been my favourite thus far in Colombia!

My eternal love for Bachata

There´s just something about Bachata (a type of Spanish music) that I can´t get enough of. It´s a slower type of dance, but more sensual. I love it. Below is one of my all time favourite songs:

Language Exchange

Last night I met up with some Colombian students (ranging in age from 14 - 25 yrs) who are currently learning English. A friend of mine is friends with their English teacher, and she asked if I would be interested in participating in a 2 hour conversation session with them, so they could practice with a native English speaker. So of course I said yes!

I met up with them at EAFIT after I finished work, and then we walked to a plaza to get some food. They were all very shy and quiet when I first met up with them, but after awhile they warmed up, and began chatting with me. It was interesting because one student who was very eager to speak with me would have trouble at times and ask his teacher in Spanish what he wanted to ask me in English, I had to bit my tongue in responding because everytime he asked his teacher in Spanish I knew what he was saying, but had to wait for him to ask me in English for him to practice.

Two students were highschool students and another was a lawyer. They asked me where I was from, why I chose Colombia, what Ive seen/visited so far in Medellín and Colombia as a whole, places I should go, and if I like Colombian food. It was a fun and short session but they were all very nice.

It was nice to help them out, becasue I know what it´s like to be in that position to be learning a language and to be shy and a little scared about speaking it with a native speaker. But, I told them, dont be shy it´s ok to make mistakes, it´s how you learn. :)

Travel ! ... it's good for the soul.

If you don´t already know who he is, Timothy Ferris is a blogger/ author/entrepreneur/experimentalist/ etc etc. He has written two books, and keeps an up to date blog which covers everything from food, language, travel, business start ups, to weight loss. His blog is super interesting, here´s the link if you want to check it out: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

Recently while reading some of his past posts, I came across one that really spoke to me, it´s called "20 Things Ive Learned from Travelling Around The World for 3 Years". http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/10/30/20-things-ive-learned-from-traveling-around-the-world-for-three-years/#more-3306

I felt I could relate so much to this post, as I have been travelling the world for the past 3 years, visiting Mexico, Spain, and now Colombia. Unfortunately it hasnt been continuous travel like Timothy did, however it has been some of the most amazing experiences in my life thus far. So I wanted to share this post for anyone who is even remotely thinking about travelling one day. JUST DO IT!

Travelling the world, changes you. It has the power to make a person more open minded, more understanding, and of course more cultured. Take the risk, and step outside your comfort zone, travel to a place you never thought you would (e.g. me, I never thought in a million years Id ever come to Colombia... but now that Im here, I love it, and so glad I took the risk to come).

There's a few points from Timothys blog post that Id like to highlight and comment on:

#2 The Media Lies:
- TRUE! Case in point: Colombia. It´s so unfortunate the reputation Colombia has currently around the world, which is that it is a drug infested and violent country. Yes maybe 10-20 years ago, but oh how the country has changed! Colombia is NOT what you think it is, it´s so much more. So I cannot not STRESS ENOUGH, how important it is to do your research thoroughly before going to another country. Educate yourself, don´t just assume or listen to stereotypes, you might miss out on a fantastic adventure if you listen to other people... so find out for yourself, do your research and take a risk. you may be pleasantly surprised what you´ll discover about the world.

#10: Culture Matters
- Culture is so important, and so fascinating. One of the reasons we travel is to discover what´s different from our own country. One big thing is culture. It can be as little as greeting someone with a kiss on their right cheek (like they do here in Colombia) or as big as women having to wear traditionally black garbs with only slits for eye sight. One thing, don´t judge until you understand what it means, a lot of people think "oh that´s strange, and weird" but it´s only strange and weird because it´s NOT APART OF OUR CULTURE. There´s a reason behind so many things in the world, and when you educate yourself about them, it can be beautiful the reasons behind some of the things people do.

#12: Everyone is proud of where they are from
- SO TRUE! It´s so great to see how proud Colombians are of their country. They just can´t wait to share with you their culture, food, cities, etc. Just like I am so proud to be Canadian, and am always so eager to share with people here about my country, and the "Canadian culture".

#20: Everyone should travel
- This is the point I cannot agree more with. A lot of people are afraid to travel, or say they dont have the money (see #9 from the blog post) or time to do it. But until you do, you´ll never understand what youre missing, or never understand the world. Travelling is the best way to discover so many things not only about the world, but also about yourself. Not to mention all of the amazing cultural experiences you'll have, and some of the best people you will ever meet in your life. I feel so privilidged for all of the travelling experiences Ive had so far, at such a young age. Im also so glad of the personal decision I made before entering university to learn another language (Spanish). If I hadnt been able to speak Spanish, I would have never met half the people I have, or probably wouldnt have been able to do half the things I have done. This is another great segway to promote learning a language!! It´s so important and beneficial !!!

So check out the full blog post by Timothy Ferris (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/10/30/20-things-ive-learned-from-traveling-around-the-world-for-three-years/#more-3306 ). It´s a really interesting and insightful read, especially if youre a world traveler like me!

2008 - Mexico
2010 - Spain
2011 - Colombia
2012 - ?.... to be decided.

The Bilingual Advantage

Here is a great article that talks about the advantages of speaking another language as well as the new medical studies which have proven the ability to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.

Check it out!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?_r=4&src=me&ref=general

My article in The Cord (Laurier Newspaper)

About a month ago I was asked to write an article for The Cord, which is the student newspaper of Wilfrid Laurier Univeristy (the university I attended in Waterloo, Ontario).

I was asked to write about why I am currently working and living in Colombia, what made me choose Colombia, what I think so far, and any interesting stories I wanted to share.

If you´re interested in reading what I wrote, check out my article here:

http://laurierdiariesfromabroad.blogspot.com/2011/04/year-working-abroad-in-colombia.html

Ciclovía

Every Sunday in Medellín two main roads block off traffic and allow people to walk, run, bike, rollerblade on them throughout the entire city. Between the hours of 7am - 2pm, you can enjoy car free roads and get outside to enjoy some fresh air. I think this is a great idea, which encourages people to get outside and be active, whether it's solo, with a friend or your family.

While Ciclovía is going on, there are multiple spots throughout each main road that is closed down where you can buy fresh fruit, water, juice, ice cream etc, as well as enjoy live entertainment, and exercise classes. Medellín is the perfect city to have this kind of activity because the weather is the same all year round, a perfect 25-28 degrees. So it's not too hot, but it's perfectly warm.

Other cities around the world have started to adopt Ciclovía programs on weekends, such as: Australia, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, USA... and even Canada! In Canada, Ciclovía has started in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa and Hamilton. Within Colombia, other cities such as Cali and Bogotá have Ciclovía programs as well. So it's definitely a popular activity in Colombia!

So today, I did Ciclovía with my friend Sara. We ran/walked for an hour throughout the city on one of the main roads called Avenida Poblado, which is very close to my house. I would like to try and do Ciclovía everyday Sunday if I can, minus the weekends I travel outside of the city, because it's just a great way to exercise and switch it up from my usual gym routine. After we did Ciclovía we jumped into my pool, and enjoyed cooling off after our great workout. It was a beautiful day, so we swam, chatted and tanned in the sun for a bit. Definitely a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Museo del Castillo aka "Fast & The Furious - The Tour!"

Today a bunch of friends and I went to check out a beautiful museum on one of the hillsides of Medellín, called El Museo del Castillo, which is a castle that is now a museum. It has beautiful gardens, amazing architecture, and stunning views of the city. The house use to be occupied by a Colombian man who married a German woman, so all of the artifacts within the home are all from Europe. The man was apparently kidnapped by one of the guerilla groups a long time ago, and when he had told his family not to pay the ransom that the guerilla group demanded, they subsequently killed him. After the husband had died, the wife returned to Germany and the castle transferred ownership to the Colombian government, and now it acts as a museum! Sad story, but it's a beautiful property.



While waiting for our other friends to arrive, Lu and I found a bunch of roses around the premise because there had been a wedding there the night before. It kind of felt like a Beauty and the Beast moment, as we were at a castle, and had roses surrounding us, so romantic!


We had to wait for a bit until the next tour group started, so we hung out in a covered area as it started to rain like crazy. While waiting I decided to get artsy and take some romantic looking photos haha.



Once we did start our tour... it was interesting to say the least. First of all we werent allowed to take photos inside the museum which was unfortunate since the artifacts inside were beautiful. Second our tourguide had no personality whatsoever, and she SPED through the tour and the castle, which meant she didnt give us anytime to enjoy the tour and look around. It was "this is a painting, this is a chair, here is a bed... ok next room". So we were joking the entire time, saying how this is ridiculous we arent being given any time to actually enjoy the tour or the castle, it's just "here's an object. You see it? Great. Moving on.". Jose, one of my friends, dubbed it "Fast and the Furious - The Tour" LOL, hilarious and sadly true.

Since I felt like I didnt get my $5.000 pesos worth out of the tour, I decided to take a bunch of the roses I found at the castle home, and now I have beautiful bouquet of roses in my room... and now feel like I got my money's worth at the castle haha.

Connecting Countries

At the end of last week I was asked by one of our clients to take part in an important business meeting which was going to be done through video conferencing technology with a corporation in Korea. The reason I was asked to attend the meeting was because it was going to be conducted in English, and I am the only person in my office with English as a first language. So it was going to be my responsibility to faciliate this meeting, and help my client translate anything between English and Spanish. Pretty big responsibility.

On Monday the meeting began at 10am Colombian time, which ended up being 12midnight in Korea (what a difference in time zones!). The university I work within, has the most amazing collection of high tech gear, so we used this very advanced webcam, LCD screen, and teleconferencing system to conduct the meeting.

Once the meeting began I was responsible for taking notes, as well as translating anything that my client was unsure how to express in English. At one point in the meeting I actually did a lot of the talking, as well as discussing different topics quickly in Spanish with my client, and then translating it in English and relaying the same information to the corporation in Korea. It was probably the most intense and exciting thing I have done thus far in my job. As well as a huge responsibility on my part, since I had to make sure I was translating the right information (in a timely manner) as the majority of it was quite sensitive since these meetings and the information or discussions gained from them will be used in future negotiations.

After finishing the meeting, I realized that I was essentially the key link between these two countries, I was what connected them. To be THAT person, felt very gratifying since we were able to begin the processes of developing a global business relationship.

UNASUR

Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) ... or in English, Union of South American Nations, is an intergovernmental union which combines the MERCOSUR and the Andean Community of Nations (two major bilateral trade agreements in South America) together. This union was created on December 8th 2004 when 12 South American nations signed the Cusco Declaration. Member countries include: Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Perú, Surinam, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Declaration of Cusco included aspects regarding the consultation of political and diplomatic coordination, the "convergence between Mercosur, the Andean Community and Chile through the development of a free trade zone" or physical integration, energy and communications, harmonization of policies for rural development and agri-food technology transfer in science, education and culture, and the interaction between companies and civil society, and corporate social responsibility.

What´s interesting about this union of nations is that it is their intention to eventually model themselves after the European Union (EU), which would include a common currency, parliament, and passport. According to Allan Wagner Tizón, former Secretary General of the Andean Community, a complete union like that of the EU should be possible by 2019.

Within UNASUR, there are many working groups which help to develop strategies and programs in order to resolve current issues of the various nations. These groups include:
- Working Group on Financial Integration
- South American Council on the World Drug Problem
- South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning
- Board of Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Innovation
- South American Council of Social Development
- South American Defense Council
- South American Energy Council
- South American Council of Health
- Working Group on Disputes Settlement

One of the main issues that UNASUR is currently working with is the creation of a single market. UNASUR is in the process of trying to eliminate tariffs for "non-sensitive" products by 2014, and then eliminate them for "sensitive" products by 2019. With fewer trade barriers present, there will be more opportunities between countries to better develop trade relations and even spur economic growth.

Fav Quote #3

"I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."

- James Brown

AIESEC EAFIT Awards + Multicultural Night

This past weekend was filled with AIESEC events. On Friday night AIESEC EAFIT held their annual "@EAFIT Awards" show. This award show is to award their outstanding members for their work as well as have different categories for funny/silly awards, like the best looking, most flirtatious, best hair etc.

The event was dubbed "formal" so we were all asked to dress up for it. So I wore my favourite purple and black dress that I bought in Barcelona. When we arrived at the event, there was a red carpet with people taking photos like paparazzi, and even interviewers to ask what you were wearing and other questions. They even had video cameras set up, so they could broadcast the red carpet/awards show online to members that couldn't go that night. Everything was really professionally done, so it made you feel like you were at a real awards ceremony. It was really well put together and a lot of fun to be apart of.



The awards started off with the more "serious" awards which reflected the different AIESEC values, for example "most globally minded", "entrepreneurial", "living diversity" etc. Each person that won an award in the AIESEC Values category was given a cheque which paid for their EP Fee (which is the fee you pay to be able to go on exchange). I definitely think this was a great prize to give the members, since it promotes what AIESEC stands for and will also help them when they eventually want to go on exchange.


The second half of the awards show was hilarious as everyone was dying to see who won each "silly" award. They were all voted by the members of the AIESEC Chapter, Alumni and the Trainees. Daniel Upegui (one of the VPs in @EAFIT) was the host, and he did an incredible job with it, the entire awards show was in Spanish, and the humour and jokes he told were great. My friend Sara Restrepo won the award for "Best Trainee Service" which was obviously deserved, as she helps me with whatever I need, and has become a really great friend. So I was so excited for her to win that award! :)


After the awards show we went back out to the red carpet and had a bit of a photo shoot with everyone dressed up. Here are some pics from that:





After the awards show and our photoshoot we headed over to Parque Lleras to a discoteca (club) called Alma. This was my first Colombian club experience, as I had just been to bars since arriving and hadn't been to a club yet. The trainees got in for free which was a nice surprise! Inside the club it was pretty fancy, this had giant chandalier hanging in the middle of the bar and this criss crossed shaped structure as the main decor of the club. The music they played was great, and we spent the entire night dancing. Later on in the night, these two Reggaeton rappers came on and performed several songs, singing and walking around ontop of the bar. All in all, a pretty fun night.




On Saturday I headed to San Alejo Market with the new Trainee from Denmark, Thomas, as he hadnt been there before and I wanted to check it out again. I showed him around Plazoleta de Botero, which is the main plaza of Botero statues, as well as introducing him to my favourite drink in Colombia... Guarapo! We walked through the market for about 2 hours, since it's huge and there's so much to see there. I ended up buying a pretty large handmade basket for my laundry for $28.000 pesos... i even bargained a bit to get that price. :)


At night, I was apart of a Multicultural Night hosted by AIESEC. They have various Multicultural nights throughout the year which features AIESEC EAFIT's various Trainees, and gives them a chance to talk about their country and share their culture. I was one of the trainees presenting last night, so I decided to make pancakes for everyone that was coming to watch the presentations. Not realizing that a flipper is a common cooking utensil in Canada, we had to buy one in one of the grocery stores since Leo/Lucho's house didnt have one! I used three different pans and made over 50 pancakes in about an hour. Pretty intense.



Before beginning my presentation I sort of had a trivia game with prizes for people who could answer various questions about Canada, as I wanted to see how much people knew before I started my presentation. I asked questions like... name 3 provinces of Ontario, what's a famous invention from Canada, name a famous Canadian celebrity etc. During my presentation I spoke about Canada's geography, history, culture, sports, celebrities, inventions, music etc. After I finished my presentation I gave everyone a pancake and drizzled it with Maple Syrup. Everyone seemed to really enjoy them, which was great. :)


We also had presentations from Joan, a trainee from Uganda as well as Jiri, the trainee from Czech Republic, so it ended up being a very educational and cultural weekend :)

Officially going to the World Cup U-20 !

So exciting! Im officially going to the FIFA World Cup U-20 in August! As most people know, the World Cup 2010 was held in South Africa, and with every World Cup comes the World Cup U-20 (Under 20), and this year, it´s being hosted in Colombia! So last night my friend Sara and I went and bought our tickets to see two matches in August! The tickets are really cheap, only $33.000 pesos and that buys you 2 matches, so essentially it costs $7.50 CDN per match (for the first round of matches), not bad for FIFA World Cup Games.

Here is a map to show which countries will be taking part in the WC U-20 this year in Colombia:

Every segment or group of teams is being hosted in a different city. Here's a map with all of the cities in Colombia hosting the games:

Group F is being hosted in Medellín, so the matches I have tickets for is between Mexico vs Korea and Argentina vs England. Both should be good games, and Im really looking forward to attending them in August!

Here's some background on Colombia, football associations and FIFA:
"The Colombian Football Association (CFF) was founded in 1924 and was recognised internationally by FIFA in 1936. The Colombian national team took part in the FIFA World Cup™ final tournaments at Chile 1962, Italy 1990, USA 1994 and France 1998, though their biggest success came when winning the 2001 Copa America on home soil. As far as youth national teams are concerned, Colombia won bronze at the 2003 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as finishing fourth at the 2003 and 2009 editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Among the greatest Colombian players of all time are Willington Ortiz, Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, Rene Higuita, Faustino Asprilla, Efrain “Caimán” Sanchez and Freddy Rincon, to name but a few of the gifted performers this country has produced."

Fav Quotes #2

"Don't exist.
Live.
Get out, explore.
Thrive.
Challenge authority. Challenge yourself.
Evolve.
Change forever.
Become who you say you always will. Keep moving. Don't stop. Start the revolution. Become a freedom fighter. Become a superhero. Just because everyone doesn't know your name doesn't mean you dont matter.
Are you happy? Have you ever been happy? What have you done today to matter? Did you exist or did you live? How did you thrive?
Become a chameleon-fit in anywhere. Be a rockstar-stand out everywhere. Do nothing, do everything. Forget everything, remember everyone. Care, don't just pretend to. Listen to everyone. Love everyone and nothing at the same time. Its impossible to be everything,but you can't stop trying to do it all."

- Brian Krans

Chiva: Colombian Party Bus

Colombians bring a whole new meaning to words "Party Bus". A Chiva is essentially that, a crazy looking decorated bus, where you can fit more than 50 people on it, with music blasting, and free to drink what you want while the bus drives around Medellín.

Some information about Chivas:
Chivas are recognized nationally and internationally as a symbol of Colombian culture. They are old artisan modified buses used in both Colombia and Ecuador where they are known as chivas (kid goats) or escaleras (ladders). They are used as public transportation but more recently used as party buses in both countries. They are normally painted colorfully (usually with the yellow, blue, and red colors of the flags of Ecuador and Colombia) with local arabesques and figures. Most have a ladder to the rack on the roof which is also used for carrying people, livestock and merchandise.

Last night I had my first Chiva experience in Colombia! I went with a bunch of people from AIESEC, and the bus "tour" lasted for about 3-4 hours. It was definitely an experience, but a fun one at that. You pay $30,000 pesos .. or $15,000 if you split the cost with someone, which gets you onto the chiva and a bottle of Guaro (aguardiente... really awful tasting liquor, but it's cheap and does the job). Then you essentially stand while the bus is moving, dancing, chatting, and drinking all while the bus drives around the city. It was a lot of fun, we had reggaeton music blasting the whole time. I kind of felt bad for the taller guys, since the Chiva wasn't very spacious.


After our Chiva tour we headed to Parque Lleras to continue the party until about 3am, taking advantage of our favourite bar El Alamo, which gives ladies free Rum and Cokes all night, and dancing in the streets. Gotta love the Colombian night life!

My life philosophy summed up in one picture

The many ways to say.. "How are you?" in Spanish

Everday at work we have people enter our office and always ask us how we are... and one day I realized just how many DIFFERENT ways you can say how are you in Spanish... So I started to make a list, and over the past 3 weeks this is what Ive come up with:

1. Cómo estás
2. Qué tal
3. Cómo te ha ido
4. Qué más
5. Qué onda vos
6. En qué andas
7. Qué has hecho
8. Qué pasa
9. Cómo te va
10. Qué hay
11. Bien o qué
12. Cómo vas
13. Cómo amanecen (used only in the morning)
14. Bien o no
15. Cómo van las cosas
16. Qué hay de nuevo
17. Qué cuentas

Semana Santa Part 2: Bogotá

The second half of my Semana Santa was spent in Bogotá. The plan was to travel to Bogotá over Wednesday night with my friend Leo, and spend 3 FULL days in the city. However that didnt really happen. We decided a couple weeks ago to take a bus to Bogotá because it´s cheaper than flying. The trip from Medellín to Bogotá is suppose to take about 9 hours... however our experience was vastly different.

The day before we left Bogotá there were various reports about flooding and landslides within the region where Bogotá is located. We were told because of this a different route would be taken, and the trip there would only increase by 2 hours. Ok, so 11 hours in total on a bus, that´s doable. We left Medellín at 10pm Wednesday night, and were suppose to arrive in Bogotá at 7am Thursday. However 2 hours into our trip our bus stopped, at first it stopped because of bus troubles, then 20 minutes later it stopped again. This time it stopped for 6 hours... ugh brutal. At first I didnt quite understand what was going on, but later learned there had been a landslide and there was a huge backup of traffic which we were stuck in for 6 HOURS! We had to wait for police to come and move the debris and a large rock from the middle of the road. After that it took another 12 hours to get to the capital. Needless to say we were exhausted and frustrated by the time we arrived in Bogotá.

Here are some photos of the flooding and landslides we saw during our trip:





When we did arrive we took a cab to La Candelaria district, which is where we were staying the first night in a hostel. La Candelaria is a very beautiful district of Bogotá with colonial style buildings. We stayed at the Alegría Hostel for one night, we had our own private room and bathroom. This was my first time staying at a hostel, and overall it was a really good experience. It was separated over two different buildings, and had common areas, a kitchen, patios, etc etc. They also had a cat with 3 kittens which were adorable, so obviously I had to play with them.




Once arriving and checking into the hostel, Leo and I decided to get some food. However we were told to be back before 9pm, because the district of La Candelaria is dangerous at night, specifically after 9pm. Also, the area we were directly in didnt have a lot of restaurants / restaurants open because it was Semana Santa. So after walking around for less than 5 minutes, we got freaked out and chose to get food from the first place we saw, which was a pizzeria. The area we were walking in was a bit sketchy, the people didn't give us the best vibes, so after getting food we decided to just hangout in our hostel for the first night. We met a bunch of different people from around the world, Australia, England, Spain, Germany etc etc. We also watched one of the Barça vs Real Madrid soccer games on tv, which is always a good time. It's definitely a lot chiller in Bogotá, so while watching the soccer game, I sat by the fire to stay warm and cozy.

The next day we left our hostel walked through the Candelaria a bit before heading to the north of the city, to meet up with Leo's friend who's also from Guatemala.



Fun fact about Bogotá... IT'S HUGE. And im not exaggerating.... it took us over an hour to get from one end to the other by the Transmilenio. The Transmilenio is Bogotá's transportation system... it's like a bus/metro system combined. It's quite efficient, and there are a ton of different routes you can take, but it does take FOREVER to get through the city, because it's so big.


We met up with Jorge (Leo's friend) and headed to Salitre Magico... which is kind of like the Colombian version of Canada's Wonderland, an amusement park! We had really great weather in Bogotá, so it was quite warm (about 18-20 degrees) and sunny! We went on rollarcoasters, did kart racing, bummer cars ... the works. It was a totally random day, I really didnt think I would ever visit an amusement park in Colombia... but I did! At night we made a delicious dinner which consisted of steak, potatoes and beer.

Saturday in Bogotá was a really busy day, because it was our last in the city, since we lost almost a full day on Thursday by being on a bus :( . In the morning we headed to Zipaquirá, which is a small town 40 minutes outside of Bogotá that has a major tourist attraction. It's called La Catedral de Sal (The Salt Cathedral). Basically it's a Cathedral underground in a Salt Mine. Entering the mine was a little scary, as it was very dark and goes far underground.
The site where the Cathedral is housed... is HUGE.... and at some points you dont really realize youre underground. There's a special route until you get to the main alter of the Cathedral, and there are different "Stops" along the way, which represents the stops Jesus made on his way to being crucified. Each stop has a large cross carved from stone/salt, with special spots to pray in front of it. After passing 13 stops (... i think there was 13 of them) you finally come to the main alter... which consists of a HUGE cross with lights on it, which reflect off the natural salt. Its very impressive to see, and Im not even a religious person, I was just appreciating it on a structural aspect, as well as the fact that we were far underground.... very cool.


After seeing the main alter, we were able to see a 3D movie (also underground) which explained about the Cathedral, its significance, why and how it was built etc. Afterwards we took a special tour on the Miner's Route... where we were given hardhats with lights attached, and followed a guide on a route that would let us experience what it's like to be a miner. First we were lead through a tight cave tunnel thing, which was really sketchy for me, and at one point I got really claustrophobic and almost had a small panic attack... as we were (god knows how many feet) underground, and it was completely pitch black. intense. Never in my life was I so excited to see light at the end of the tunnel from the guides flashlight, then she explained the daily routine of a miner, how they worked, the risks the worked with, how they chipped away and gathered salt, how they used dynamite etc etc. It was actually really interesting.

After all our tours in the Salt Cathedral we headed back to Zipaquirá and took a small train through the town for a quick tour. Afterwards we headed back to Bogotá, and travelled down town to the Museum of Gold. This was an impressive museum to go to, as it houses a HUGE collection of gold from Colombia ... which makes you wonder if the legend of El Dorado is true or not... hmm... food for thought. You can basically see 2,000 year old pieces of gold from different indigenous tribes located all over Colombia. Gold is still mined today in Colombia, especially in the region of Chocó (which is on the western coast of Colombia). The museum was definitely worth going to see (and I recommend it to anyone who visits Bogotá), and it was only $3,000 pesos to enter ($1.50 !!!).



At night we went to check out the famous Zona Rosa district, which is a fancy bar district in Bogotá. It reminded me a lot of King West in Toronto... and its pretty expensive unfortunately. So we didnt buy a lot of drinks, we did have a couple :) We didnt stay out too late, as we were getting up early to head back to Medellín. We were hoping and praying our journey wouldnt be as long as it took to get to the capital... but unfortunately it took 18 hours... so almost the same amount of time. We were suppose to get back into the city at 7pm Sunday... but I didnt get back to my apt until 4am Monday morning... not so fun.

The city of Bogotá was nice to visit, since it's the capital of Colombia... but I wasnt overly impressed. It was kind of the same impression I was left with when I went to Madrid... the city was ok but I loved Barcelona so much more. It's the same with Medellín. Bogotá was just ok... i found it to be quite dirty and filled with graffiti.
I also felt an emotional attachment to Medellín when I got back, I was really glad to be back... in MY city :) Medellín is starting to feel like my new home, and I definitely felt that when I got back.