south america – Away From The Office

Colonial Colombia: Villa de Levya

If you’ve been following my 10-day Colombia adventure, you’ll know that I spent a couple of days relaxing in Villa de Levya, a colonial town of about 9,600 people. It’s considered one of the best colonial villages in Colombia and was declared a National Monument in 1954 in order to preserve its architecture. Continue reading “Colonial Colombia: Villa de Levya”

Two days in Tayrona National Park, Colombia

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I joined Intrepid Travel for a 9-day tour of Colombia. After joining the group in Cartagena and spending a couple of days exploring the colonial city, we packed up our gear and headed to “Santa Marta.” I put Santa Marta in quotation marks since we were about 45 minutes outside the city and about 5 km from Tayrona National Park. We stayed two nights at Posada Villa Margarita, a basic hotel with lovely views and even lovelier hosts. Continue reading “Two days in Tayrona National Park, Colombia”

Two days in Cartagena, Colombia

In a previous post, I talked about the beginning of my Colombia trip and how it wasn’t exactly the start I was looking for.

My trip started in Cartagena, Colombia and I didn’t get to see as much of the city as I would’ve liked due to my luggage issues. I only had a couple of partial days to explore but I tried to make the most of them by seeing as much as possible. Indigenous people founded the city known today as Cartagena as early as 4000BC and it was officially founded in 1533. Cartagena’s colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

I arrived in Cartagena on Friday, February 21^st and a wall of hot, humid air greeted me as I stepped off the plane. Since I didn’t have any checked luggage, I quickly made my way to the taxi stand, paid around $7 USD for a cab and checked in at my hotel, Villa Colonial, which is just outside the walled portion of Cartagena, in Getsemani. The hotel is a bargain at around $35 for night and the staff were some of the nicest hotel staff I’ve encountered in all of my travels.

Hotel Villa Colonial, Cartagena — Hotel Villa Colonial

My first order of business was to buy some new clothing since I arrived wearing a thick sweater and winter running tights, not ideal in 90-degree weather. Also: I didn’t follow my own advice and pack a change of clothes. I wandered around the cobblestone streets and managed to buy a couple of outfits and some replacement toiletries using my broken Spanish. I almost left my passport in my hotel room but in hindsight, I’m glad I brought it with me. In order to use my credit card, I had to provide my passport. Compared to the rest of Colombia, Cartagena is expensive and I spent much more than I would’ve liked on replacement clothing. Thankfully, I purchased travel insurance before I left and it covered most of the cost.

I spent the next couple of days wandering the streets, people-watching and trying delicious Colombian cuisine. Don’t try to rush through an itinerary in Cartagena – part of the beauty of this destination is wandering the streets and getting lost. At every turn, there’s another colonial building, a street vendor selling snacks or a plaza with a set of comfortable chairs. Plus, the heat is pretty intense and chances are, you won’t feel up to rushing to tourist attractions.

Everyone in Cartagena that I encountered was warm, friendly and very patient when dealing with my abysmal Spanish skills. If you’re from the U.S., you’ve probably heard over the years that Colombia is a dangerous, scary place to visit. I took the normal precautions that I would anywhere in the world and I didn’t feel threatened or unsafe at any point.

I recommend visiting Cartagena in combination with some other cities in Colombia but if you’re short on time, it’s a location that can keep you occupied for a few days. It’s also a very short (2.5 hours) flight from Miami, making it one of the most accessible South American destinations.

Here are some more photos from Cartagena:

Popsicles Cartagena — The most delicious popsicles I’ve ever had. Can’t remember the name of this place.

Cartagena clock tower — The clock tower in Cartagena

Colonial building Cartagena — One of the many colonial buildings in Cartagena

Cartagena at sunset — Near the city’s seawall at sunset.

Plaza Santo Domingo, Cartagena — The naked bronze lady in the Santo Domingo plaza.

In Photos: Colorful Colombia

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was fortunate enough to visit several areas of Colombia at the end of February, including: Bogota, Cartagena, Tayrona National Park and Villa de Levya. Winters in Seattle can be grey and dreary and the weather in almost every part of Colombia (except Bogota) was warm and sunny. I still need to finish the full recap of my trip but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite travel photos from Colombia. I hope the photos inspire you to take a trip to this part of the world. Continue reading “In Photos: Colorful Colombia”

Colonial Colombia: The start of my trip

Intrepid Travel was offering 25% off all of their tours as part of a Black Friday sale in November, so I decided to book the 9-day Colonial Colombia tour on a whim. Colombia has been on my destination wish list for a few years and I finally took the plunge based on the fact that winters in Seattle area dreary, flying time is relatively short and the country is fairly inexpensive to visit. Continue reading “Colonial Colombia: The start of my trip”