hitting the road

[dtibbet]

hey all, well I'm bored so I'm hitting the road tommorow with my girl.  gonna put the relationship to the test i will leave Villavo head to Bogotoa, then to Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, then Medellin, Mazizales, Pereira and armenia. then back to Bogota and Villavo. of course everything is subject t change lol. Most if not all of the trip will be buy bus. Maybe i might take plane to Santa Marta from Bucaramanga...will see. i'm thinking maybe a month or the whole trip....yes?

If anybody has suggestion please feel forward to submit. Also, if any of you want to meet up for coffee or something to eat, let me know. i will take plenty of pics.

[whitey]

I've never been, but heard that Villa de Leyva, San Gil, and Barichara are great places to stop off and visit on the way between Bogota and Bucaramanga.

[dtibbet]

well, in  bogota (south) and will head out in the morning to bucaramonga, the south is the same no change here, the car ride from villavo was long because of the trucks, what should have been 2 plus hours turned out to be 4 and a half. also got stuck in the south  because the guy that gave me ride was not allowed in the city due to the placard law. so i was the only gringo sitting at the beginning of the south of bogota at 5 in the afternoon trying to get a taxi. a little uneasy feelng lol. but i survived lol. more tomorrow....

[benjio]

well, in  bogota (south) and will head out in the morning to bucaramonga, the south is the same no change here, the car ride from villavo was long because of the trucks, what should have been 2 plus hours turned out to be 4 and a half. also got stuck in the south  because the guy that gave me ride was not allowed in the city due to the placard law. so i was the only gringo sitting at the beginning of the south of bogota at 5 in the afternoon trying to get a taxi. a little uneasy feelng lol. but i survived lol. more tomorrow....

Good Stuff D, keep it coming. I'm not sure of your exact schedule but I'll be arriving in Bogota on the 3rd and will probably be there for a couple of weeks. If you want to meet up PM me.

[V_Man]

well, in  bogota (south) and will head out in the morning to bucaramonga, the south is the same no change here, the car ride from villavo was long because of the trucks, what should have been 2 plus hours turned out to be 4 and a half. also got stuck in the south  because the guy that gave me ride was not allowed in the city due to the placard law. so i was the only gringo sitting at the beginning of the south of bogota at 5 in the afternoon trying to get a taxi. a little uneasy feelng lol. but i survived lol. more tomorrow....

I am sure I wouldn't want to be sitting around aimlessly in south Bogota. What is the placard law?

[dtibbet]

Good Stuff D, keep it coming. I'm not sure of your exact schedule but I'll be arriving in Bogota on the 3rd and will probably be there for a couple of weeks. If you want to meet up PM me.

i figure ill be back in bogota at the end of july. if your there lets meet up. id like that. be cool.

[dtibbet]

I am sure I wouldn't want to be sitting around aimlessly in south Bogota. What i.  s the placard law?

v_man lol, bingo, not the best place  for a lly white gringo to be lol. i got the hell out of there fast. i still ended up staying the night in the sur (south)

Placard law, that's what i  call it but they call it Pico y placa..many cities in Colombia have for  motor vehicle congestion . if your plate has a certain number your not allowed to drive on that day. Entonces, no puedo ir... we got stopped at the beginning of bogota by the police and had to leave the vehicle there lol. so i was sitting with thousands of Colombians in the sur lol. was fun.

[dtibbet]

OK, here we go. last night got into Bucaramonga from bogota. took 12 hrs by bus. the company  was berlinas. very good company. cost was 50 mil. big tour bus, driver was excellent,  was not typical crab the seats tight type of ride lol. remember to take a blanket or jacket. the bus was like a icebox with the A/C.  normally the ride from bogotoa to bucaramonga is 10 hours but the roads in colombia  (it seems) are under construction from new roads and mud slides. made two stops, Tunja and San Gil. Tunja was a nice size city with alot of new construction. seemed nice area? San Gil also was very nice with new construction. both nice looking towns that i plan to go back and visit. an hour out before arriving into Bucaramonga, we went up and down a mountain/pass called el pescadero....two things to say about it... espectacular!!!! and very dangerous. this place made my jaw drop with its beauty and made my stomach turn with the fear of us going off the road and the boulders that had been falling on the road. the police had this pass down to 1 lane  due to the avalanche of rocks.

finally, arrived in Bucaramonga, lovely city  new construction every where. fiance says it looks like a cross between Medellin and the north of bogota.... was very tired , so got the 1st hotel we could find close to the center of town. 40 mil per night with wifi. very clean and semi quiet.  perfecto... i say this area is estrato 3. great for me. i like living among the locals as much as i can. . as a side not, i can afford what i want with hotels within reason but I'm never into overspending for a room I'm  just going to sleep in. my girl loved the place, estrato 3  is like  estrato 6 to  her lol.   she's cool like that, she's always wanting to get the cheapest of everything. ill tell her lets do this or buy that and she's like why waste money. so true, love that about her. always looking out . oh the name of the hotel is Shanday. i would recommend. went out to eat at the local restaurant this moring, awesome food, 12 mil for both of us. this afternoon driving around town to check the city out chowwwwwwww
oh, forgot to mention, the girls I've seen so far in Bucaramonga are hottttttttt. really awesome looking women.

[dtibbet]

went to san gil, barecha, and one other city today. also spent time in chichnocha the second largest canyon in the world (net to grnd cayon), amazing. and ate some  hormijas (ants) yum yum lol. tommorow headed to santa marta, cartgena then ballanquilla,,,,,,

[whitey]

Unless you're looking for a girlfriend or it's carnaval, there's not much point going to Barranquilla - I'd drop it from your list and spend more time in Cartagena, Santa Marta, El Rodadero, Parque Tayrona.


I should know ... been there 10 times ...

[Micky]

dt -
 
Nice TR that you have going.  Tunja is "statisitcally" the safest city in all of SA (that is Colombian stats!?).  I will PM you my number here in Med,  if you want I can take a day,  or half and show you the city.  Stick with the buses,  tons cheaper,  better way to see the country.  Pretty much ALL highways have construction,  landslides (mountian roads).  Also think that it is very cool that you will use "Colombian" tourest hotels.  Most gringos will not even consider it.  Whitey might get back on here and he knows some here in Med.  Stay safe and enjoy everyday.
 
Micky

[dtibbet]

Unless you're looking for a girlfriend or it's carnaval, there's not much point going to Barranquilla - I'd drop it from your list and spend more time in Cartagena, Santa Marta, El Rodadero, Parque Tayrona.

[whitey, yes i agree, Barraaqullia is different and hotttttt lol. im in a hotel right now here. hotel costa linda, very nice and big went to a local one but it smelled really really bad. i said hell with it gonna spend the money on a nicer one. im happy now lol. tonight i will hang the next two days here checking thinkgs out before i head to medellin.

[dtibbet]

dt -
 
Nice TR that you have going.  Tunja is "statisitcally" the safest city in all of SA (that is Colombian stats!?).  I will PM you my number here in Med,  if you want I can take a day,  or half and show you the city.  Stick with the buses,  tons cheaper,  better way to see the country.  Pretty much ALL highways have construction,  landslides (mountian roads).  Also think that it is very cool that you will use "Colombian" tourest hotels.  Most gringos will not even consider it.  Whitey might get back on here and he knows some here in Med.  Stay safe and enjoy everyday.
 
Micky, you right Tunja rocked. in fact ever place i been to i have felt safe. safer than Villao where i live lol. i have been visiting ever town i can. i can truly say its a huge plus to have my Colombian fiance with me would not even attempt some of these places without here. and yes i agree buses are the best way to see the country and meet the people. the driving i think should be experienced by everyone lol. . Micky pm me your number. that would be awesome. ill take you up on your offer on Medellin. it will be fun. i plan on staying 1 to 2 weeks in Medellin. what you think?  to much time for Medellin.... I'm looking for a hotel there now. ill be in Medellin . my only requirement, internet and safe.

[dtibbet]

well, im here in barranquilla now   for the next two days then headed to medellin for 1 to 2 weeks. i have been in santa marta for the last week right on the beach. wow, had a blast. so relaxing there. in the week went to barranquilla , cartegena  and stopped in small towns on the way.  did not have internet in santa marta so went to a internet cafe. i have to admit was nice to be free of the internet withdrawal lol.  planet love was forbidden at the internet cafe lol. so i could not even log on.  go figure. well ill tell you what i think of Barranquilla in two days after i leave here but Cartegena rocked. saw all the sites there, even saw and took pics of the hotel where our secret services had fun lol. the beach in cartegena was cool, man you cant go 1 minute without the costenos asking you to buy drinks, food, massages,  hair braids lol, everything. even ha 2 prepagos talk with me on the beach lol. yes Cartegena was sweet but again to hot for me. now back to sants marte, sweet place very relaxed. stayed right on the beach for a week  santa marte is very nice in the tourist section but go inland and you se the real santa marte. hmm, reminded me of every other small coastal town. my advice when looking  for a place in santa marte is to shop around, there guys right on the street that will take you to get some awesome places with everything. don't jump on the 1st place and only pay for one or 2 nights max. something better might come up or you may not like the place your at. well that's it for now. my fiances cunado is on the way to  hang out and go eat. stay tuned.

[whitey]

When you are in Medellin, consider staying at el Hotel 61Prado:  http://www.61prado.com/


The location in el Centro isn't the safest, but it's only a 5 minute walk to the Metro which gets you everywhere for cheap. Excellent value, small boutique hotel, make sure you get one of the suites for only $80.000 per night.


My wife and I stayed there for a week, and would stay there again.

[QRCAP2012]

I had the same impression of Cartagena beach as you did, lots of hawkers, some are pretty aggressive, too. In Santa Marta I bought a fish dinner near the beach which also included free use of a changing room and cold shower. I had a fun day on the waterfront watching the banana boat cut figure 8's and tossing the pretty girls into the water. There was also a parasailing boat which some of the tourists said was really fun but it was booked so I didin't get to try it.
I noticed the same thank about Planet-Love is blanked out in a lot of the Internet cafes across Colombia. You can't even open the home page. The messeage is 403 Access Forbidden or something like that. I can only log on to P-L intermittently.
Great trip report, looking forward to your impressions of Medellin.
QR

[dtibbet]

When you are in Medellin, consider staying at el Hotel 61Prado:  http://www.61prado.com/


The location in el Centro isn't the safest, but it's only a 5 minute walk to the Metro which gets you everywhere for cheap. Excellent value, small boutique hotel, make sure you get one of the suites for only $80.000 per night.


My wife and I stayed there for a week, and would stay there again.

whitey thanks, I'm going to check it out. a local {colombian friend} recommended this place to me. she said it was cheap and safe area. http://www.itaguiplazahotel.com/home.html

[dtibbet]

I had the same impression of Cartagena beach as you did, lots of hawkers, some are pretty aggressive, too. In Santa Marta I bought a fish dinner near the beach which also included free use of a changing room and cold shower. I had a fun day on the waterfront watching the banana boat cut figure 8's and tossing the pretty girls into the water. There was also a parasailing boat which some of the tourists said was really fun but it was booked so I didin't get to try it.
I noticed the same thank about Planet-Love is blanked out in a lot of the Internet cafes across Colombia. You can't even open the home page. The messeage is 403 Access Forbidden or something like that. I can only log on to P-L intermittently.
Great trip report, looking forward to your impressions of Medellin.
QR

thats the exact error message i got. go figure. yes some of the people are very aggressive.

[Micky]

I got to hang with DT awhile today.  Big ugly f... .   I do not know what happened,  even with this being Colombia and all - his novia is a BABE!!  I will steal his novia before he leaves Med.  DT save yourself some money and just buy ONE bus ticket out of town.  Thanks for dinner and all else.
 
Micky 

[dtibbet]

lmao, had a good time. thanks for all the info on Medellin. great stuff. learned a lot.

[dtibbet]

well, im back now in Villao. been on the road for a month. been putting off writing this cause i hate writing lol. well Medellin was rocking. feel in love with it. before i start have to give thanks to Micky. he was awesome and his knowledge of the city is on par or much better than the local Paisa's. Micky hung out with me and my girl alot and gave us a great education on medellin. I would suggest anyone coming to medellin to utilize his knowledge.

got to medellin and stayed in at a local hotel in Itagui. loved it, had everything we wanted and was only 44 mil per night. stayed in medellin for 8 days and in that time visited as much of the city and barrios as we could. to numerious to say, and also hit the tourist stuff..cable cars, metro so on and so on. we also enjoyed Sabenato, Envigado and Jiradoto. all in all loved medellin. ived already called the movers and i will  be moving to medellin in 3 weeks. were excited . will try it out for 6 months and decide then to stay or move on.

after medellin headed to Manazales to the termales. wow, sweet, so  relaxing had a blast. after that headed to Pereira. huge city and women everywhere. then on to Arania and Ibague, both places were very nice and i could live in any of these cities....well thats it, what a month on the road. i've seen more of Colombia now than most of the Colombians. I have a whole new apprecition for the country and will continue to enjoy it.