Colourful Cartegena

Colourful streets of Cartagena

Cartagena provided a great escape and diversity after Bogota and Medellin. This old colonial city has an amazing energy and architecture which made us feel like we were back in Cuba. It is hot, colourful, vibrant and ecstatic. We checked into Hotel Villa Colonial which was organised through Martin from Buddha Hostel. It was a perfect place for a great value.

We were buzzing with energy and were ready to discover this incredible town. Our first stop was San Felipe’s Castle. It is a strong fortress built by the Spaniards with a complex system of tunnels. We visited the castle by ourselves but it might be a better idea to get a guide as there is very limited information about it's history on site.

Our next stop was the “walled city” which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an astonishing experience to walk around these colourful colonial buildings which brings you back in time. You can easily lose yourself in the narrow streets of the historical town, and wouldn’t want to be found again. Some of the highlights for us were the Plaza Boliva, Templo de Santo Domingo, the Gold Museum, and the Palace of Inquisition. 

We also visited the Mud Volcano “El Totumo” which is famous for its healing mud baths. It is an amazing experience to float in the mud where your feet can’t touch the ground. It was amazing. Here is a link to a Youtube video if you like to find out more.

In Cartagena, we caught up with Marian whom we met while volunteering in a zoo in Ecuador. Also our friend Mirren whom we met in Bolivia happened to be there. It was wonderful to see them again and hear about their travel tales. It is the beauty of travelling that you collect many interesting stories to tell and life never gets dull.

After a couple of fantastic days in this vibrant city, we took a boat to the Playa Blanca located in Baru Island. This is the ultimate Caribbean feel where you get to sleep in hammocks on the beach. The beach is very crowded when the boats from Cartagena arrive for a day trip but the place turns to a paradise when people return around 3 pm. We had great fish for lunch and rented some hammoks for the night. We met Hakan from Turkey and his girl-friend Anna from Russia and spent some time together chatting about travelling. 

After a romantic candle light dinner on the beach, I was ready sleep in a hammock for the first time in my life. Honestly, spending 8 hours in a hammock is not as comfortable as it seems. Although, I woke up with a sore back, I was happy to have the experience. 

During the day, we swam, sun bathed and simply relaxed on the beach. We decided to stay for another night in paradise. During our walk on the beach, we discovered a remote house, run by Fabio who was travelling for 3 years. We decided to stay there that night as it was far away from the other tourists. My second night in the hammock was better but still not great. We woke up with a beautiful sun rise and a light breeze from the sea. The best thing on this island is an early morning swim in the blue ocean. Pure bliss! As we left our camera in the hotel due to security reasons, we weren't able to capture the magnificence of Playa Blanca but here is a link to some pictures online.

We decided to leave Baru Island the next day as both of us were tired of sleeping in hammocks. Returning back to Cartagena on a speed boat was an adventure. Due to strong winds, we had lots of water coming into the boat and we got pretty wet. After an hour of excitement, we were happy to be back in our favourite spot in Colombia. We spent three more nights in Cartagena absorbing the culture, music and the Caribbean feel. It was hard to leave this magical place but we were looking forward to discover the infamous Tayrona National Park.

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...