My experience in Colombia

My experience in Colombia has been full of emotions. I was very lucky to stay in “La Macarena” (in the center of Bogotà) with a great person, Tejas Agudelo and another volunteer, Rajeev Ram and live close to friends like Elisa and William. I really enjoyed my stay in Bogotà. I did an internship at “Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas,” where I learned a lot. I was working in a great environment and with awesome people. I joined a gym close to my place and went there almost every single evening after work. At the gym, I met lots of other people and made a new friend, Ricardo. I really enjoyed going out in Bogotà. By night I have gone out more in the center, “La Candelaria” as it is closer and cheaper than the “Zona Rosa” or other areas in the north of the city. Overall I think that Bogotà has become a safe place to stay and live in. You just have to be responsible, like in every other big city. The reason why I liked this city so much is because it has lots of opportunities, it is developing really quickly, it has lots of culture, art, an ancient and beautiful center, a really developed, safe and pretty north, a strong middle class and it is a cosmopolitan city. During my stay in Columbia, which lasted two months, I had the opportunity to travel a little bit. On my first trip, I went to Medellin, one of the largest cities in Columbia. If you go to Medellin I strongly recommend you stay in “El Poblado,” which is a really pretty neighborhood in the south of Medellin. I was staying in a hostel called “Happy Buddha Hostal” close to “Parque Lleras” and had a superb time. On Thursday night I had a free salsa lesson followed by an easy night out at “the Blue” that plays a little bit of rock and a little bit of techno with another volunteer from my office in Bogotà, Jay. The Salsa lesson was organized by the hostel and on Friday night I had a great night out enjoying the great vibrations of “Calle Nueve,” a really friendly and nice club close to the hostel, with Rajeev Ram, who lived with me in Bogotà and a friend I met there from Cali, Vicky. During the day I did lots of things, I went to the Botanical garden, to “Parque Explora”, to Botero and to a beautiful hill from which you can see the entire city. If you have the opportunity, go and visit Medellin. It is a really nice city, with better weather than Bogotà, but also, in my modest opinion, according to what I’ve seen, with a very weak middle class, but it is pretty safe. You’ll find lots of friendly people, imagine that as soon as I got there, on the bus from the airport to the center (as the airport is too distant from the city to get a cab), a local guy helped me out with everything and also paid for my ticket for the metro!! I didn’t know what to say and was so thankful! In “El Poblado,” if you’re a fan of italian cuisine go to a restaurant in calle 8a con carrera 34 called “Toscano,” the owner is a really funny guy from Calabria and his last name is Felice. Medellin has been a great experience and if you go there with one or two or more friends, you will have a great time. During my stay I have also visited  a little bit of Cundinamarca. I had the amazing opportunity to go and stay at my friend’s place in a small town called Granada during the four days non stop local party. This was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. People were really enjoying themselves. At 5 am, children, mothers, fathers, aunts and grandparents were still dancing and enjoying themselves as if it was 9 pm. Everyone was extremely friendly with me. Everyone knew me as “El Italiano,” and by the end of the night almost everyone knew who I was as the guy organizing the event kept on calling me  and asking me to dance in front of the approximately 5 thousand people who were there. During the day we walked by the river, through the countryside and enjoyed the marvellous sights and surroundings. We got there by bus from Suacha (be carefull if you go there) and came back at night by bus. Simply amazing. After Granada and Medellin, I spent 8 days travelling up north on the Caribbean coast. I took a plane from Bogotà to Cartagena, the easiest and fastest and sometimes cheapest way to get to destinations that are so far away. I stayed in Cartagena for a weekend with Rajeev. I was there for my bithday and got to see and enjoy the ancient part of the city, probably the prittiest “urban area” I have seen here in Columbia. We went to probably the most famous and very touristy beach in Cartagena called “Boca Grande”, but the sea was nothing special there. By night we went to a very famous club called “Babar,” which I didn’t like at all. Cartagena is a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there for the simple fact that unfortunately, there is an enormous gap between the conditions of the poor and the rich. You really do see the two extremes over there. In Cartagena I said bye to Rajeev as he was going back to Bogotà and two days later was leaving for the States. I took a bus from Cartagena that went through Barranquilla and then went to Santa Marta. I really enjoyed the bus-trip as you get to see more of the coast. In Santa Marta, I was staying in a hostel, “La Casa del Ritmo,” great place to stay in with really nice people. I was there with my friend from Cali which I met in Medellin Vicky. She took a plane from Cali and came all the way to Santa Marta to spend an awesome week together. This week was probably the best week of the entire two months. On the first day we took two buses, got to Taganga, in Taganga we went with some local fishermen to “Playa Grande” by boat. The Playa is really nice. Don’t walk to the Playa unless you’re in a big group, it may be dangerous and by boat it is really cheap and they will also pick you up from the beach and bring you back to Taganga. We only spent 3000 pesos to get there and 3000 to come back, the equivalent of 3 euros each. There, unless you bring your own food, the cheapest option, you will have the opportunity to eat fresh fish with rice and other local food for a very reasonable price, approximately 10 euros, including a fresh juice to drink. The playa reminded me a little bit of the nice beaches in Greece (Rhodes) and if you go during the week, it won’t be very busy. On the second day we went to “Parque Tayrona,” a MUST if you go to Columbia. The beaches there are incredible. The trip to Parque Tayrona is an astonishing journey, BUT it has also been quite tough for me! Food costs more than anywhere else, drinks included and you really need to drink all the time! The walk is beautiful, you get to see iguanas, lizards, butterflies, crabs all the time, but it is also quite intense, especially when it’s really warm. Best place to stay I think is “Cabo San Juan”, or at least, that’s where most people, us included, stayed and also where you have amazing beaches. I had a hard time sleeping in the tent. Mosquitoes came in and it was so hot I was almost suffocating. All amacas were taken and we had no other place to sleep in. Although I was extremely tired from the long journey, I slept approximately 1 hour and at 5:30 I was already swimming in the amazing beach in front of my tent. So refreshing. After Parque Tayrona, we just visited Santa Marta, stayed in “El Rodadero,” and took it easy. If you go to Santa Marta, you should also go to “Playa Blanca” or “Playa Cristal,” which should be extremely nice. By night we went to “La Puerta” in Santa Marta, which reminded me a little bit of “Calle Nueve” en Medellin, a very friendly/cool place to go to. We also went one night to Taganga. In Taganga you’ll see many tourists. We went to “Sensation” and had a good time, but be careful in Taganga by night. I wasn’t too happy with what “El Rodadero” offered food wise. I was happy with the food in “Pachamama” in Taganga and “Isola Sarda” in “El Rodadero”. The chef Elio and the owner of the restaurant are really nice people and will serve you some delicious italian food. After the amazing week in Santa Marta, I went back to Bogotà to say bye to all the special people I met there. There are many other things, sights, places, cities that Columbia has to offer and I haven’t seen, but in two months and being a full time intern in Bogotà, I consider myself quite lucky for all I have seen and experienced during my stay. I  am really satisfied with my experience and wish all the best to this amazing country.