Hola Colombia, Bogota and Medellin!

Discovering La Candaleria in Bogota

In the early morning of 20^th of January 2014, we caught a plane from Asuncion to Bogota, with a 6 hours stopover in Lima. At the airport, we met Billy, a musician, who is originally from San Andres but lives in Bogota now. We became good friends during the long hours of wait and exchanged details to catch up in Bogota.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by our friends Cecilia and Felipe, who used to live in Sydney before they moved to Colombia. It was great to see them at the airport as we were aware of the crime rate in Bogota. They drove us to Cecilia’s friends, Aurora, who lives in Kennedy district. Although Aurora and her family were very nice, we didn’t feel at ease with the location of their house. It was quite far away from the city centre and didn’t feel safe to go out at night. Bogota is a huge city and you need to be ultra cautious at all times. It is very polluted and crowded. The transportation system (Transmilenia) is so full that you get a feeling of being in a sardine can. We decided to take a night bus to Medellin the next day.

The following day, we met up with Cecilia and Felipe for lunch. Both of them seemed a little tense compared to the times in Sydney. They had some big changes recently. Their daughter, Sidney was born two years ago. They live with Felipe’s parents until their house is completed. They work long hours in demanding jobs. Moreover, they live in a polluted, busy and stressful metropolis. We realised the effects of environment on people. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to see them again after so many years. 

At the Botero Museum

The most interesting areas in Bogota are located in La Candaleria district which is the old city centre. The Botero Museum has one of Latin America's most important international art collections and of course, houses many incredible paintings and sculptures of Botero. The entrance is free and it is a must see in Colombia. Another point of interest is the Gold Museum which displays the biggest selection of Pre-Hispanic gold work in the world. It is easy to spend a couple of hours admiring the magnificent art work.

A famous painting of Botero

At night, we took a 10 hour overnight bus to Medellin. Although the prices are much higher in Colombia compared to other South American countries except Brazil and Chile, the service is average. We were quite surprised with the cost of living in Colombia.

Art from the Gold Museum

Our night bus ride wasn’t very comfortable. Our driver was playing loud music and kept talking on his mobile majority of the time. Despite our complaints, he didn't make any effort to change his behaviour and I am glad to have arrived in Medellin safely. Flying is a much better option when travelling in Colombia. The flight prices are quite similar to buses and pilots are more respectful to their customers.

Medellin, the second biggest city in Colombia, was the home of the infamous Pablo Escobar and his drug cartel. However, the government officials did a remarkable job to turn this city into a safe place from a war zone. We felt a lot safer in Medellin than in Bogota.

We checked into the arty Buddha Hostel. It is an art deco house with a beautiful garden. The vibes were very relaxed and the owner, Martin, was fantastic, providing information on tourist spots across Colombia. We felt much better than in Bogota.

Relaxing after an uncomfortable bus ride was a necessity. In the afternoon, we decided to check out the “City of Eternal Spring”, a nickname given to this town due to warm climate all year around. Medellin is a lot better organised than Bogota and has an efficient metro system that makes it easier to visit. 

Plaza Botero

During our stay, we visited the Plaza Botero and Basilica Metropolitana. We also took the Medellin Metrocable (cable car) from where you can see the whole city and unfortunately, witness the poverty in the outer neighbourhoods (favelas). The last stop of this half an hour ride is the Arvi Park, which is a great hiking spot. There is a small farmers market where you can buy delicious fruit salads and typical local food. The park authority offers free hiking tours with informative guides. It was a great day trip.

Honestly, Medellin lacked the culture we wanted to experience. It is good to visit for a couple of days but you might get bored if you stay longer. After 4 days, we were looking forward to discover the Caribbean side of Colombia. Our next flight was to incredible Cartegena!

Incredible Iguazu Falls

The view from the Brazilian side

Our last stop in Argentina was the magnificent Iguazu Falls. We flew from Buenos Aires to Foz de Iguazu on the 15^th of January 2014. Located between Brazil and Argentina, these waterfalls are definitely one of the greatest natural wonders on this planet. You will need at least 2 days to cover both sides of the falls and my advice would be to stay on the Argentinian side, which is cheaper and nicer.

We were advised to visit the Brazilian side first. After crossing another border, we were welcomed with the wonderful view of this gigantic waterfall. Its semicircular shape has a width of almost three kilometres and drops vertically some 80 metres in a series of cataracts. It is really hard to describe the magnificence of it and the pictures don't do justice to the actual experience. For me, it is the best water related natural wonder on Earth. On the way back, we visited Foz, a small city on the Brazilian side. It wasn’t a very interesting town but at least we spent a couple of hours in Brazil.

An overview from Argentinian side!

The next day was even more impressive. Argentina seems to have put a lot of effort into their side. There are many wonderful walks in the park where you can admire the nature. We spent the whole day there and didn’t want to leave. Some of the highlights were the boat trip to the falls and visiting the “Garganta del Diablo” which means the Devil’s throat. I haven’t seen so much water moving so quickly in my life. Marvellous! 

Visit to the Iguazu Falls was the perfect finish to our adventures in Argentina. We simply loved this country, felt connected with their welcoming and friendly people. Very grateful for our memorable experiences in Argentina.

A quick stop in Paraguay!  

We left Argentina on the 18^th of December 2014 and took a bus to Asuncion in Paraguay where we were going to catch our plane to Bogota in two days. This trip was necessary as the flights to Colombia were cheaper from Paraguay. However, if you have the budget, I would recommend to fly directly to Colombia because Paraguay is definitely not the most interesting country to visit.

After a long journey, we arrived in Asuncion, the capital. We stayed in a colonial house at the city centre. We didn’t really do much apart from relaxing and walking around the historical town. Some of the buildings were quite run down and we didn’t feel very safe especially at night. However, we discovered a fantastic restaurant not too far away from our guest house and had most of our meals there. It is called Restaurant Bolsi if you end up visiting this ordinary city. After 2 days of relaxation, we were ready to embark a new adventure in Colombia.

Bohemian Life in Buenos Aires

Streets of Buenos Aires

After a fantastic start to 2014, we were ready to conquer the capital of Argentina. Before we arrived in Buenos Aires, we reserved a loft through Airbnb which turned out to be incredibly cheap. Our host Martin greeted us and showed our huge room for the next twelve days.

On our first night in this lively city, we met Juan Pablo and his girlfriend. We asked them directions to a nearby restaurant and they were happy to take us there. On the way, talked about our travels and experiences. He invited us to a party at his place after half an hour of meeting. I just love the openness, friendliness and enthusiasm of the Argentinean people. They are full of joy and happiness. We caught up with Juan Pablo a couple of times during our stay in this beautiful city and became good friends.

Street Musicians

Buenos Aires is a big, vibrant city that provides incredible cultural and historical points of interests. Some of the must see places are La Boca, Plaza de Mayo, Teatro Colon, Casa Rosada, MALBA, San Telmo Markets, Palermo, El Tigre, Retiro, Puente de la Mujer and Japanese Gardens. There is so much to discover in this incredible metropolis. Our time was filled with sightseeing, art museums, tango and milonga shows, graffiti tours, and amazing music. This is a city of culture, art, dance, melancholy and joy.

Street Tango

Argentina is famous for its meat and steaks. Although, I don’t eat a lot of meat any more, I wanted to try if they were living up to the expectations. We went to a local parrilla in Palermo Soho neighbourhood. Parrilla means grill or steakhouse in South America. At Don Julio,  I tasted the best steak I have ever had in my life, accompanied with a delicious red wine called Septima. The whole experience was divine. Here is an article by the Guardian on top 10 restaurants in Buenos Aires if you like to indulge yourself.

There are also some amazing bakeries and gelato (ice-cream) shops in Buenos Aires. We tried many of them and one of our favourite ones was Fratello in Palermo. But there are so many others, so feel free to make up your own opinion.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you definitely need to try the “Alfajores” which is a traditional shortbread sandwich filled with dulce de leche (caramel filling). We certainly put on a couple of kilos during our time in Argentina.   

   

We really enjoyed out time in Buenos Aires but I couldn’t imagine myself living there. Although, it is full of art and culture, it is simply too crowded. The metro is always full and there is a lot of traffic. For me it is a great city to visit but not to live. However, Alex mentioned that she could easily live in Buenos Aires for a couple of year. We will see... 

New Year in Rosario

After four sleepless nights in Cordoba, it was time to visit our friend Mariana, whom we met in Santiago de Cuba in August. We took a bus to from Cordoba to Rosario and arrived at 4:30 pm. 

After a shower and a bit of relaxation in the hostel, we had sushi for dinner for the first time in 8 months. The challenge of travelling is that you don't always get to eat the food your like, however you get the taste lots of different cuisines. 

We were quite tired after long nights in Cordoba, hence decided to go to bed early. What a bliss to sleep without all that noise and party! However, about an hour later, we were woken up by little visitors, BED BUGS!!! NOOOOO! They were everywhere and had bitten us multiple times already. We moved into another room in the middle of the night. I was agitated and tired. I managed to fall asleep for a while but then woke up again with more bites on my legs. It was a total nightmare.

We checked out the first thing in the morning. The owner of the hostel was very upset and didn’t want to charge us. We paid him half of the price and started to look for another place. After half a day of search, we found a beautiful guest house run by an awesome lady, Luli. She had done an incredible job and turned this beautiful house into an authentic and warm guest house that anyone would enjoy. It is called Sikkim and I would highly recommend this Petit Hostel if you are finding it hard to sleep in Argentina. Many thanks to Luli for her hospitality and providing a clean and safe environment.

Lounge room at the Sikkim Guest House

After moving into our new place, we went out to meet Mariana and her Cuban husband Juan whom we met in Trinidad. It was great seeing them again. We had a couple of mojitos that were prepared by Juan who is a bartender. We met also Mariana’s sister, Carolina and had a beautiful night full of laughter.

The next day was the 31^st of December 2013. It was time to say goodbye to a magnificent year. A year of joy, adventure, challenge, gratitude, friendship, curiosity, bliss, transformation, flow, and fatigue. This year, we had met wonderful people, discovered incredible places, gained trust and self-confidence, healed our wounds, connected with our families, lived fully, saw old friends and made new ones, enriched our souls, passed hurdles in our relationship and most importantly broke the routine. It was very valuable to learn how restricting routine can be for our evolution. I feel very grateful for this opportunity to have these amazing experiences. Thank you UNIVERSE! Life is magical when you live it to the fullest without fear. 

Mariana kindly invited us to spend the New Year’s Eve with her family in San Nicholas which about an hour from Rosario. The guests started to arrive around 9:30 pm when the BBQ was already on. We were told that Argentineans buy half a kilo of meat per person for these occasions. And yes it is true that they have the best meat in the world. 

There were seventeen of us including Mariana’s grandfather, aunts, uncles, and cousins. After a fantastic dinner with lots of BBQ meat, we were invited to participate in one of their family traditions. Each person wrote down on a paper what they have achieved in 2013 and their goals and wishes for 2014. It was an ideal way to end a year and start the new one.

Some of Mariana’s friends started to arrive around 11 pm. Soon after we finished dinner, it was time to cheer for the New Year. We danced and celebrated the arrival of 2014. At 4:30 am, they decided to go to a club. We were surprised but didn’t say no. After many months of travelling we had learn to go with the flow. Around 6:30 am we decided to go back home due to exhaustion. A big thank you to Mariana, her family and the Argentinean people for their amazing hospitality, warm hearths and joyful friendships. It was a fantastic New Year’s Eve we won’t forget.

New Year Party (Argentinian Style)

We woke up quite late the next day and drove to Mariana’s uncles’ summer house. We finished the leftovers from the night before and drank some mate. Mate is a traditional herbal drink in South America, especially in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. It is made by an infusion of dried leaves of yerba mate. It is usually drunk with friends and family by using the same cup and drinking straw. Not a good idea if you have issues with germs! After some relaxing time in the pool, we said goodbye to those wonderful people and caught a bus back to Rosario for one last night. 

According to our experience, Argentineans are one of the friendliest nations in the world. They are very interested in meeting new people and learning about different cultures. I am very grateful to have spent the New Year with great friends in this beautiful country. We really loved it!

Thank you Mariana and to her whole family! Muchos Besos!