Charming Cartagena ... I Will Miss You, Colombia.

My last post from this country. Colombia, thank you for the perspective and kindness! Alright so...

Javier, my taxi driver from Minca, was already at our meeting spot by the time Spencer, Grace and myself made the journey from Oscar's to town. I was relieved there was no waiting time as Vivian went to question the police folks the day before about the robbery at Jesus' home (refer to previous blog post) and I had the dramatic thought that they'd recognize me this morning and I'd go missing in Minca. 

It took me a couple of days to adjust from Minca to Cartagena. Minca was relaxing with cooler temps and Cartagena was blazing hot and initially felt like a Venice on land to me. Narrow roads, lots of people and definitely catered to tourists. I was not a big fan of Venice. My second day in Cartagena, it was empty, it was a Sunday, still blazing hot but without the crowds. Sandrine and I were able to connect via email; she left Minca two days prior to me leaving. She said she had the same initially reaction I did to Cartagena and had regretted leaving Minca so early. Sandrine went to visit the El Tuomo volcano the next day while the thought of being on a bus for two hours of my day did not appeal, so I opted out. I spent the quiet Sunday really exploring the old town, walking every street, sometimes twice. I fell in like with Cartagena. It was no longer Venice. I found my favorite street food cart...I am convinced that I will not find plantains for 30 cents anywhere else. 

I've spent four days here in this lovely fort town. My second to last night here, Sandrine and I went to Cafe del Mar; a bar that sits above the town walls of the old town. It overlooks the Caribbean waters and the lights of Bocagrande; Cartagena's South Beach. On a breezy night, this was the perfect social spot. After our cerviche dinner, we wandered the streets before bidding farewell. This would be the last town that we connect during our individual trips to Colombia. We had met on our journey to Cabo de la Vela, crossed paths in Minca and managed to connect again in Cartagena. This was her first time traveling solo at 27. I was 26 when I made my first solo trip abroad (to Prague and Italy). It brought back memories.. the feeling of it. 

I spent most of my last day at SoSpa at the Santa Clara Hotel here in Cartagena. I needed a little vacation from my vacation. It's a stunning architectural building. It was the perfect way to wind down my vacation and the best spa experience to date...yes even better than Solage Calistoga. It took two weeks to get asked if I was Colombian! Apparently, I've got a bit of color from the radiating Colombian sun!

Of all my travels, this one, by far was the most challenging in terms of communication because of my lacking Spanish skills and not many people here speak English. However, this has also become one of my favorite trips. The people here in this country and fellow travelers I've met have been so kind to me. If it wasn't for the military helicopters roaming the Sierra Nevadas during my last full day in Minca and the fact that every place (other than Oscar's) that I've stayed (most lodging in general) at requires a buzz from hotel security to get in, you wouldn't think that Colombia had a violent past. Vivian reminds me that I am traveling in a (still) dangerous country but I've only prayed for my life once...while we were moto- taxi'ing, excuse me, dirt moto- taxi'ing (all motor taxis there are in the form of dirt bikes due to "road" conditions) to the Pozo Azul waterfalls in Minca.

I hope Colombia and I will cross paths again.. maybe the next time I visit this country.. drivers would honk less (if there was a medal award for honking, this country would win gold), Oscar would have installed his zip line, I would have learned enough Spanish to polish my street vendor negotiating skills and sadly, I will see a few Starbucks as they've just announced their first store opening in this country set for 2014.

To wrap up the towns I visited: Medellin was vibrant, Guatape was cute, Cabo de la Vela was stimulating, I absolutely adored Minca and fell in like with charming Cartagena. 

Thanks to my friends Ray and Megan who helped put Colombia on my radar and Ricardo and his family for being a very helpful and available resource! Fun fact: I leave Colombia having made more new friends than any of my previous travels!

Oh, and in case any of you ever make it to Minca, call Oscar's for a  bed or hammock to sleep on: tel:+57 (313) 534 4500 then message me for directions.

Oscar's Place Made Minca Magical!

My taxi guy, Javier, dropped me off by the police station in the town of Minca where I would spend the next 3 nights, unplugged. Minca became a destination on this trip when I decided not to do the Ciudad Perdida trek and the recommendation came from my post on trip advisor. I would say that it was a fine decision on my part! 

After being dropped off, I took out my scribble scratch and found my way to Oscar's Place; my hostel home for my time here. Minca on the surface is kind of a hole in the wall type of town, well, a poor shit hole of a town but if you peel off the layers a bit, it transforms into this magical type of place where you find butterflies landing on you, hundreds of types of birds and monkeys living in the lush and throngs of friendly motor taxi drivers (they seem intimidating at first). Additionally, for me, it was also a place where I would see friendly familiar faces again and leave with many new ones. 

After about 15 minutes of trekking through muddy roads, jungle tracks and crossing streams, I find Oscar's Place. I heard about Oscar's Place from a tip on the forum boards on tripadvisor. Oscar doesn't advertise his place, he doesn't have a website and he is not listed on any reservation site. Travelers, like myself, find his place via word of mouth and google around for his phone number to make sure he has a spot for you. I arrived at a property sitting on a bluff overlooking the town of Santa Marta in the middle of the lush mountains of the Sierra Nevada. If you can't find peace at a place like this, you won't find it anywhere. 

My days here were spent lying on hammocks, reading, just being, in conversations about sports, motor taxi'ing to waterfalls and in one case walking to one with Alec and his two friends (Gautier and Guilluam) from France. It's always fun to see familiar faces again when traveling like this. I bumped into them in town while sesrching for a lunch spot with Sandrine (who met at Cabo de la Vela). They decided to come to Minca for a day before their journey to Punta Gallinas. While how Alec ended up on crutches (refer to previous blog post) was not impressive, watching him hop on one foot over barely a bamboo bridge was when we visited a small waterfall. 

Up until this point, I had not met many Americans, a lot of Canadians and Australians but Jim and Alec had been the only Americans I had met. Here in Minca, at Oscar's Place is where I feel like we all decided to gather. There was Grace and Spencer from Philly, Chris from Austin and Oscar's niece, Vivian from LA. Eric from Spain but now lives in Paris, Cornelia from Swiss and Mikey & Phoebe from England and Oz were also warm additions. Mike and Phoebe will be traveling "the south"of the US visiting the likes of Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, etc. They say that all they've been meeting are the open minded Americans and they want to know what the "real" America was like. Vivian and I pleaded with them to stick to the coast but they were not convinced. 

I will miss the vibrant dinner and post dinner conversations. Here at Oscar's we have a family style dinner nightly at 7:30PM cooked by either Oscar or Jesus. Jesus is a helper of Oscar's though many women have offered to take him back home to with them. He cooks, cleans, has a warm soul that transcends through his smile and eyes. Jesus' home was actually broken into while I was in Minca and stole his savings of $600. He was saving that to pay back a loan his father had in hopes of taking out another loan to build a room at his mother's house. I know Oscar will help make it right for him but I felt so awful about what has happened to him that I left him a tip as I said my goodbyes..the equivalent of my three night stay..it's not much but a small gesture.

Oscar's is a special place and it's truly been home for me the past few days. It's been Oscar's home for the last 15 years, he is originally from LA and is a mean chess and backgammon player. There isn't much advertising for this place because Oscar wants to keep it word of mouth and limited only to those who really want to find it. He provides meals, makes a comforting cup of chai from scratch and an awesome outdoor shower. Seriously, the best outdoor shower with a view of the Sierra Nevadas! By day 2, I learned that warm water is powered by the solar panel he has set up so ...sunshine means shower now! There is no internet available at Oscar's or much of anywhere in Minca. During my 15 minute trek, there were only two signs that directed you, you definitely had to have faith that you were going the right way! He is continuing to build the place out and in a few years, this place may even have a zip line, in which case Oscar said he will let me know so I can come back and check it out. I highly recommend that for anyone making the trip to Colombia to consider Minca and if you're in Minca, there isn't a better place to stay than Oscar's. 

Traveling Orphan Enroute To Parque Tayrona!

I arrived back at the lobby of Solymar Hotel after my excursion to Cabo de la Vela. Freddy, the guy who runs the hostal says, "ah, si!" He shows me to my room, apparently, he has decided I was now worthy of a room on the top floor with a view as he proudly showed me! The next morning, I showed up at the doorstep of the Magic Tours office awaiting my trip to Playa Crytal in Parque Tayrona. 9:30AM ish, I was instructed to follow this guy wearing a soccer jersey. I followed him closely through the busy streets of Santa Marta and after about 5-7 minutes of walking, we stop at a corner to wait for my bus. Shortly before my bus arrives, he buys me an apple, makes a phone call and sends me into the bus. Okay...that wasn't strange at all! I enter a bus party full of Colombian families and 3 younger guys that stuck out. I sat next to a Colombian woman named Carmen who quickly decided to adopt me to join her and her family today. For the majority of the trip, they kept track of me and made sure that I didn't get lost. In other words, I was their orphan for the day. They even cautioned when they thought I was swimming out too far in the clear blue waters. I left out the detail about my background as an Ironman triathlete. It was all very sweet. They spoke a few words in English and I spoke fewer in Spanish but hand signals have gone a long way on this trip!

Our bus arrived at the gateway of Parque Tayrona..I see bright green iguanas running through the roads and am glad I am on a bus vs walking on foot. We took a short boat ride to the beautiful Playa Crytal beach where we spent the majority of the afternoon. It was there that I befriended one of the 3 younger guys. Alec was on crutches and I asked him what happened during our boat ride. I expected some grand story about how be injured his foot while doing some gnarly river crossings on the Ciudad Perdida trip but instead he said he stepped on some glass at a bar. Alec, if you're reading this, sorry, but it was true, I was expecting a more impressive story :)! Alec is from Boston and the two guys he is traveling with are from France. They met in Rwanda last year and this sort of their reunion trip. Alec mentions that the roads here runs him of Africa; I would agree.

Towards the end of our afternoon on the beach, we take the boat back to the beach which actually had gold sand (like Sayulita) and back on the bus to Santa Marta. Once we arrived in the outskirts of Santa Marta, myself, Alec and his two buddies were ushered out of the bus and into a cab. The cab was to drop us off at our perspective hostels except two blocks away, the taxi driver signaled me to walk after having dropped the boys off. Luckily, I walked myself into circles my first day in Santa Marta earlier this week that I knew my way around town now so it wasn't an issue. 

Last night, there was a pretty angry thunderstorm happening. I am going off the grid for a few days heading up to the Sierra Nevadas this morning to a town name Minca. I've been in Colombia for almost a week now and I still can't believe how nice and warm everyone here has been to this non-Spanish speaking gal. My friend, Ray was right in that the people make this country special. The host of this hostal, Freddy, is a sweetheart. He has gone above and beyond helping me with logistics. Thank goodness for wifi and my language translation app! I would highly recommend Solymar Hostal to anyone making a stop here. The people who run it are great and it happens to be next to a sex toys shop so you can't miss it! Funny, but true. I made plans to meet up with Sandrine in Minca, I hope we find eachother. Alec and his friends are off to Punta Gallinas. Alec says he hopes they meet a "Jim" on their trip, I hope so as well  as I think every traveler should experience one... especially on a journey like Punta...at least for entertainment's shake!

Much gratitude to my Colombian family today! Be in touch in a few days, ya'll!

Cabo de la Vela... Desert Meets Ocean!

It's 4:17AM and I get a knock on my door here at Solymar Hostel in Santa Marta..my pick up for Cabo de la Vela is here except he isn't supposed to be here until 4:30! At this hour, every minute counts! I make my way to the lobby at 4:30 and meet the driver/guide for the next 48 hours, Leonardo. He tells me we have to pick up 4 more people in the neighboring town of Taganga. It's still pitch dark at this point and I can tell he isn't familiar with this place at this hour as we're strolling through the rough roads. I am not sure if Peter Cetera and Richard Marx was the right music  backdrop but so be it..bringing back the 80's. we eventually gathered all the folks, which included, a gal named Sandrine from Sweden or maybe it was Switzerland, a vegabond in his very late 40's from Santa Monica named Jim and a couple from Argentina named Irene (who just found out she is pregnant) and Nicolas. At this point, Slim Shady has made his way into the musical rotation. We spend the next 5-6 hours driving through the coast up north to Cabo de la Vela. We drove through all types of terrain and how Leo navigated some of these roads (sand dunes, sand, beach, etc) continued to amaze me. I now know the true purpose of an all wheel drive vehicle! At this point, Leo was all Spanish and the three of us looked to Irene and Nicolas for translation! The journey in the car was probably a highlight for me as I got to see many ways of life, various settings, the beauty of this land and might I add that I've never seen goats move that fast!

At last, we arrived at Cabo de la Vela... simple dirt roads with restaurants here and there made up of shacks, beach hammocks, the Wayuu ladies stitching and selling mochilas and a lovely stretch of beach. Jim and I thought maybe this place will be fully developed in about 5-10 years if they can figure out how to get a water system here (we each got a bucket of water for a shower) but I hope it stays this way; part of the charm. After a few hours, Leo stacked us all back in the Land Cruiser and made or way to El Faro to watch the sunset. At this hilltop, you really get to see how the desert meets the ocean. Jim says,"This is just like the Mojave Desert but minus the ocean."

After dinner, Sandrine and I decided to skip the festivities and find our hammocks to settle into for the night when we see Jim walkin towards us with a huge smile and a bag, "I found beer!" The five of us claimed our beach front hammocks for the night and stayed awake for awhile trading travel stories. Jim..boy was he a crack up! For example, his stories often started something like this,"A few years ago, I thought I wanted to go be Indian Jones so  I hired 2 guys to take me to the Amazon for 3 days..that was the dumbest thing I had ever done..bitten like a pulp by mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, etc." As exhausted as I felt, I stayed awake listening to the ocean swinging back as forth in my hammock..once in awhile I'd doze off but only to be waken up by a passing 4WD blasting their music. By about the 3rd time I was woken up, I set my eyes on one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen...maybe because I've never seen it..the moon setting into the ocean. The place is pitch dark as the electricity goes out after a certain hour and in front of me was a huge gold circle, mirrored in the reflections in the water, settling into the ocean to make way for the sun to rise on the other side. 

The next morning, we set for the journey back to Santa Marta. Nicolas and Irene continued north to Punta Gallinas and Leo decided to fill their spots in the car with his relatives and wife ..dropping them off at various points along the way. Sandrine requested we listen to different music so no mas classics from the 80's and Slim Shady. Our journey home was made more interesting by having to stop at a bunch of check points; police patting down Leo and searching the trunk of the vehicle before being cleared to continue. This happened about 6-7 times.

This land is so stunning yet seeing all the plastic trash breaks my heart. It's too expensive to get it out so the people here just let it be. I can't tell if the folks here are living in poverty or if this is just their way of life. With every "village community" we drove pass, children would be running towards us with their palms out expecting us to give them something. This will probably get a lot worse in the near future as more and more people make their way here.  I am sure about one thing: I will return home using a lot less plastic from here on out!

Stress Level: I Might Need To Sit Down!

Where do I begin?! I was picked up by Humerto (friend of Freddy's) this morning for my 11:15AM flight to Santa Marta. Humerto was trying his best to teach me Spanish with the little English he knew. I disappointed him-- I am sure of it! The highlights of the cab ride back to the airport was the many cyclists on the hilly roads and two police guys on motorcycles with rifles held by their side. You don't see THAT everyday! I arrived at the airport and as I got in the check in line, it occurred to me that I was suppose to land at 11:15 not fly at 11:15! My flight was at 10:00AM..it was now 10:11. Oh shit..did I really just do that? Yup!

I made my way to the ticket counter. The woman didn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish so I took out my confirmation to show her the missed flight. She gave me a look of sympathy and I nodded. She started clicking away on her computer then she walks me to check in counter #1. Speaks to the lady at #1 then walks me to #3. I was to wait at #3 but the guy at #4 summons me to go to him. I showed him my missed confirmation, he speaks to another guy and the only word I recognized was "Bogota".. I had looked to see that all direct flights were full according to my phone but I was hoping magic would be made. When I headr the word Bogota, I was at stress level: I may have to have a seat. All types of scenarios went through my head: I'd have to decide where to stay, I would have to let my hostel in Santa Marta know, I'd have to shift some excursions, etc. The guys at #4 were done talking and he told me to go back to the ticket counter, I left my luggage with him (which probably wasn't the smartest) and went back to the ticket counter. The initial lady saw me and asked if I was taken care of and I signaled they wanted me to go here so she walked me back to lady#1 who had a lengthy conversation with guy at #4, all the while I am thinking about how much I don't want to detour to Bogota. Guy #4 signals for me again, he swiped my passport (good sign), initial lady nods and smiles at me, I thanked her, guy #4 wrote me a note to go back to the ticket counter to pay a change fee of $25 US..then back to #4 I go with my paid receipt. Within seconds, he hands my new ticket, direct on the next flight to Santa Marta!! They already put my bag through when I went to pay. I was SO relieved and grateful at the same time! I guess I couldn't have found a better group of people to help with a missed flight in a foreign country where the language I do not speak (I really should have paid more attention during my 3 years of high school Spanish). All I did was follow the leader holding my pathetic missed flight confirmation. 

Boy did I cash in some karma points for that one! Shout out to the nice man at the gate who let me use his phone to call my airport shuttle to tell them of the switch. 1:31PM landed at Santa Marta airport with Juan Carlos holding a sign with my name on it!

The things I get to practice while I'm traveling abroad: patience, problem solving and staying calm...zen!

Back on track...much gratitude to the folks at Avianca! I have a feeling this would have been MUCH more painful if it happened back home in the US..ironically.

Headed to Cabo de la Vela tomorrow then to Parque Tayrona then to the jungle hills for a few days! Also thanks to the two fellow Canadian travelers I met at the Magic Tours office who helped translate some logistics! Those two guys are off to do the 4 day Ciudad Perdida trip. I am SO glad I opted out of that. Mosquitos have too much love for me.

Once Upon A Time In Medellin!

First thought...no wonder Colombians are such good climbers! Have you seen these hills here in Medellin?!

Alright.. carrying on...

It´s tough to imagine that Medellin was once known as the most dangerous city in the world. I landed at MDE a few days ago and was greeted by Freddy; a Colombian grandpa, holding a sign with my name on it ready to take me wherever I wanted to go, which in this case was straight to my hotel in the El Poblado area. That afternoon, I joined a city tour of Medellin led by a 26 year old named Pablo. Pablo was born and raised in Medellin but have spent a few years living in Hungary and France. Thanks Maddie for recommending his tour and I would forward that recommendation to anyone visiting Medellin- Real City Tours. The group consisted of about 20 folks in the same general age category from all across the world though I was mainly socialing with the group I will refer to as Toronto (5 guys from Toronto) and Aussie (Paula from Oz but now lives in England). During the beginning of the tour, Pablo gave us a little lesson on street smarts in Medellin. He used the term that sounded like "papaya" but I am pretty sure that was not the exact word, regardless, that is what I will use. He leveled the papaya by 5 levels. Level 1- just be cautious to level 5 - high alert with your bag in front of you at all times. The tallest Toronto and I looked at eachother and said, ¨"so basic common sense when traveling abroad!"


Pablo took us all over downtown and told stories about his childhood, experiences and general history of the highlighted spots in the downtown area. At one point, we were gathered in front of this white church near Plaza Botero and as he was telling us stories of the past, more and more folks started gathering around us making eye contact with our pockets and bags. He interrupted his history/story telling with "papaya 7"..getting serious.. and next thing you know we were escorted across a neighboring plaza with the company of the policia. I can't say that has happened to me before! During the course of the 4 hour walking tour, I found it tough to imagine that this vibrant city was once plagued by violence and deaths. Some of the squares we openly walked across was once so unsafe that only the military had the credentials to set foot on due to the violence. The public used to avoid police officers because there was a $1000 US bounty on anyone that brought in a badge and uniform (from a dead body). For a city that was voted the Most Innovative this past year and with a public transport system that would put the one in San Francisco, CA to shame -- I was and am having a very tough time wrapping my head around it´s violent history and how they were able to rise above it. One of the highlights of the tour for me was the street food! Torontos, Aussie and I flocked to the empanada corner station. At 50 cents an empanada and $1.00 gualapas (sugar cane juice with lime).. dinner was had at $2.00!

My second day here, I took a day trip to El Penol and Guatape. I would have felt a bit lonely without the company of the Torontos and Aussie if I wasn´t adopted by a group from Madrid! On our way out of the city, I laid eyes on the homeless life here and it was definitely a scene your eyes will want to shy away from. It was tough to witness. El Penol and Guatape are not must sees but it was nice to have the time to do. I climbed the 600 plus steps to the stunning views atop El Penol and the town Guatape couldn´t have been more charming with their colorful hand painted houses. Did I mention the bag of fresh cut up fruits you can munch on for 11 cents?! Yes, a dime and a penny!

I started my third day with a trip up the metro cables to the outskirts of Medellin. It´s probably the cheapest overview of the city you will ever experience at less than $1 for a metro ticket for the trip. On my way back, I detoured to some of the areas Pablo took us on.. what a difference the scenery and vibe .. night vs day! The afternoon was spent at a welcoming cafe in the Poblado area with John Mayer and Norah Jones playing in the background. It would have been perfect if there wasn't a Patriots/Brady and Niners/Kaepernick hating guy in there. I would have taken his San Francisco residence and his man card away from him if I could. Idiot. Prior to my trip here, I heard a lot about the women here and the size of their boobs. I've not seen anything out of the ordinary, however, I am convinced that many women here either have butt impants surgically placed or it's padded in their panties.

In my experience thus far, Medellin is a safe city. I've felt more unsafe at the train station in Naples, Italy about 9 years ago than walking the streets here in Medellin. Did I mention how clean their metro stations and trains are? I've been to many train stations around the world and sat in many trains.. I can't name a city or town with a cleaner metro system! Two key things I realized during my time in Medellin; Colombians do not mention the name Pablo Escobar nor do they try to profit off of it and driving in Medellin is something that you coudn't pay me to do. The amount of motorcycles on the streets would drive me ape sh*t! I am off to Santa Marta tomorrow morning .. until then.. cheers to Medellin.