Our adventure in Colombia began in Cartagena. After arriving at the dock on January 3rd from our epic boat trip, we headed to a cheap hostel near the port; it came with AC and a private bathroom that ensured we could still lock eyes at all times. We did our laundry, worked on our blog, enjoyed cooking our own meals in the hostel’s nice kitchen, and went shopping for some “acceptable” clothing (aka something that doesn’t look like it just came out of a backpack). Mama Coons and Maddi were set to arrive on the 6th, upgrading our accommodation status from rags to riches.
Feeling like Cinderella, we entered Hotel Lola right in the heart of the old city. After minute-long embraces from family, we celebrated with drinks at the rooftop bar/pool.
That night we went to the first of many delicious restaurants, La Cevicheria, coincidently Kourtney’s favorite food group (just ahead of tacos).
The next morning we had a jam-packed day planned. We enjoyed the best arepas (Colombia’s famous fried bread) stuffed with meat and cheese for breakfast in Lola’s garden courtyard with delicious coffee served in vintage tea kettles. Then we went on our first of many free city tours. Our tour guide was so passionate about his job and his city.
He studied for three years in school in order to land this gig in which he brings people around the walled city, giving the history and culture, showing people the most lavish and large doors, and explaining what the door knockers mean (lions = soldiers and teachers, mermaids = sailors, and lizards = royalty). The streets were so colorful and busy all the time! Then we went to a much larger rooftop bar on top of the city walls to enjoy the sunset before our fancy dinner at Carmen to celebrate Mama Coons’ 60th birthday!
This was hands down the best meal we’ve had on our trip and we highly recommend you treating yourself to a meal here if you find yourself in Cartagena.
The next day we enjoyed more of the walled city with a walk to the castle on the hill, more classic architecture, more decorated streets, more pool time, and more fresh seafood. Next up Salento!
In Salento, we stayed at this adorable finca (Colombian farmhouse) outside the city. We enjoyed home-cooked meals in their formal dining room overlooking the mountains.
The next morning we set out to find the wax palm forest which looks very similar to the land of Dr. Seuss’ Truffula Trees.
The enormity and beauty of these trees was truly spectacular. They can grow up to 200 feet high and are the national tree of Colombia. Later that evening, we went into town square to look at the lights and enjoy a wonderful Venezuelan meal at Cumana.
The next day was all about COFFEE! We began our day at Don Eduardo’s Coffee Farm to learn about the extensive and involved process of producing some of the world’s best Arabica beans which are considered the most flavorful, although lower in caffeine.
Colombia is the third leading producer of these magical beans behind Brazil and Vietnam. Don let us sample six of his roasts (light, medium, and dark in his typico and catora) before brewing all of us a proper cup of the group favorite.
Coons actually tasted a spoonful of light roast from both brews! Don said it’s often the favorite among non-coffee-drinkers because it actually tastes like tea, but he did it — COONS DRANK COFFEE! The girls shopped around town and enjoyed another afternoon cafe at Jesus Miquel where they specialize in foam art. Kourtney was in heaven! We stopped at the food trucks to have trout; this is a must if you are in Salento — it’s everywhere. Then we went to play tejo (think corn hole with gunpowder!) and drink some cervezas, so Coons had a good day too in case you were worried.
The next morning before we left for Bogota, we had brunch at this funky back-packer place and took in a view of the mirador at the top of the hill.
We went for a short hike to a waterfall near our hotel guided by the two dogs on the farm. Coons played around with the camera that we’re slowly learning how to navigate — impressive, right?!
In Bogotá, we stayed in our second luxury hotel of the trip (spoiled much?), the W. This hotel has lush showers, a heated jacuzzi pool, and the most comfortable beds. They make up and take down your bed each day and change the floor mats in the elevators three times per day to say good morning/afternoon/evening. We took in two different free tours the city offers: one that covered the history and culture and one that covered all aspects of graffiti art. We learned how crucial Simon Bolivar was in establishing the city as the capital and more about Pablo Escobar and the havoc he caused all over Bogotá and MedellĂn. The graffiti tour gave us the vocabulary (is that a quick piece?); history (remember when Bieber was allowed to graffiti legally in Bogotá but local artists weren’t?); and perspective of some artists expressing themselves through art — this stuff speaks for itself!
We also visited two museums: the Gold Museum and the Fernando Botero Museum. The Museo del Oro had thousands of artifacts recovered when the Spanish came in search of gold but the locals wouldn’t reveal their secrets. So much gold.
The Museo Botero was a favorite because who doesn’t like looking at sculptures of big butts? All his work focuses on more of the over-sized images of fruits and/or humans, and his work is everywhere!
We took in many religious sites as well. We visited the Salt Cathedral where you can walk almost 600 feet underground to a place of worship past the 14 stages of the cross carved into the salt. We took a train up to Monserrate which sits over 10,000 feet above sea level and visited the Church del Carmen, a gorgeous display of Spanish colonial architecture. This blog is already long enough, so if you’re interested in seeing more pictures, we have plenty in the Colombia photo gallery.
One of the most memorable activities was our cooking class in Bogotá (thanks Maddi!). We visited the home of a mother-daughter duo to learn about the different fruits Colombia has to offer as well as learn how to make three different types of empanadas: fish, potato, and chicken.
Here we got an interesting perspective of what it’s like to live in Bogotá, running a business that depends on tourism in a country with a shady past. Despite all that, we shared stories and laughed. The food was so tasty, and the Coons family will never eat another empanada without lime or guac again!
On our last night together, we all went out to an eclectic steak house outside the city to enjoy dinner and some dancing. We are so appreciative that Maddi and Mama Coons came to visit and treat us to such a unique experience — one that we would never have enjoyed on our own! We love and miss you two already! We enjoyed Colombia’s cities so much that it prompted us to visit two more before we moved on to Ecuador.
Before we moved on from Bogotá, we had to get out of the city and into the country, hug some trees, and stretch our hiking legs. After some research, we discovered that the tallest waterfall in all of Colombia was an hour and a half from the city. Yahtzee! We checked Uber prices — illegal but $25 to get us out there — perfect. What was not so perfect was our driver’s poor navigation skills. Apparently, Waze straight up ignores the two easiest ways to get there, instead taking us up and over the mountain passes on some rough dirt roads. Our driver’s car had no business being on those roads, but we finally arrived after three hours (double the time it should have taken). Eager to be out of the car, we set out for the hike. After an hour, we saw something in the distance.
That can’t be the waterfall, can it? – Kourtney Lipka
La Chorrera is a multi-stage waterfall, 1,935 feet tall in total. Unfortunately for us, this just meant we were looking at a big wet wall. The waterfall was basically nonexistent. Good, great, grand!
A bit disheartened, we began the hike back to the entrance. Fortunately, one the way back there was a second waterfall — this time with water!
After the second waterfall, we headed back to the park entrance to face one last challenge — how do we get back? Thankfully a nice couple gave us a lift to the main road where we were able to flag down a bus. It felt good to be back to our backpacker ways.
We decided we had to go to MedellĂn, well, because, everyone said we had to! We took our first overnight bus and saw a healthy amount of what the bus station has to offer before we checked into our hostel (yes, we’re back to those). A short ride on the metro’s B line from the downtown, our neighborhood was residential and off the gringo trail. We ate quite a few “comida tipicas” — a basic meal consisting of soup, meat, potatoes, rice, and salad with a glass of juice (guanabana!) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because it was so cheap.
Determined to see what the hype was about, we took another city tour, but there was one major difference; no one in MedellĂn says his name, the infamous drug lord that gave the city and country its bad reputation. In MedellĂn, the Paisas (people born and raised in the city) are among the proudest people in all of Colombia, and they choose to smile and keep their heads held high despite their devastating past. It’s not that we didn’t talk about him, but saying his name draws a lot of attention from locals who, lacking context from the English speaking tour, become quite heated. Our final stop in the tour took us to San Antonio Plaza (papaya level 5 = danger!) to view the most powerful image in the city. The statue on the left was the site of a bombing in 1995 during an outdoor concert, killing and injuring many Colombians whose names appear on the white plaque below. Botero donated the statue on the right, with the stipulation that the original statue remain as a reminder of violence inflicted by the drug trade.
The people of Colombia desperately want to end the war on drugs, but the economics aren’t working in their favor: demand fuels supply. Similar to coffee, the vast majority of Colombia’s best product is exported to Europe and the United States. It’s been almost 50 years since we declared a war on drugs, but cocaine exports continue to increase. All the “walls” in the world won’t do anything to solve the problem — without demand, there is no supply. Drugs are bad, mmkay!
The next day we decided to get out of the city and do a little hiking. We took the long way up to Parque AvrĂ through the barrios on the top of the hill before we entered remote farm land. The trail was nice and yielded a great view of the city. Then we decided to take the cable car down!
I know we mentioned that the Paisas are proud people, and you can tell when you look at the metro and cable cars — they are absolutely spotless and offer great views of the city! They also help people who live in poorer neighborhoods have access to jobs in the city. Later that day we went to El Poblado, the touristy section of MedellĂn, for some beer, wings, and football. Superbowl here we come!
On our last day in MedellĂn we decided — why not jump off a mountain? So we went paragliding over the city!
What an awesome experience! We were flying so high that the birds became curious and circled around us. We also got to see Pablo Escobar’s yellow house on the top of the hill, which ironically enough is now a drug rehab facility. Lucky for us, our guide’s decided that we would need to land in the city as the wind and sun were not strong enough to land where we started. We had planned on paying extra for this. Bonus!
After MedellĂn, we hopped on another night bus bound for Cali, Colombia. We had three days there and one purpose — learn how to dance salsa. We stayed at a hostel that provided free lessons, and we loved it so much that we signed up for a private lesson. Each night we also went to La Topa, a popular salsa club, where we practiced our new moves live and gawked at all of the beautiful people who move their hips and feet like they were born to dance!
Thanks to the private lesson we graduated beyond the four basic movements and have added some different spins and steps to our arsenal. Watch out South America!
To break up the 24-hour bus trip from Cali, Colombia to Quito, Ecuador, we visited one more church which quickly became our favorite — Santuario De Las Lajas in Ipiales. We got to this little town early in the morning before the street vendors lined the road, so we were really able to appreciate the quiet, majestic beauty of this church. This church was built into the side of the valley in the early 1900s and has some of the most beautiful architecture we have come across.
Although big cities are not usually our jam, we spent most of our 22 days in Colombia’s most happenin’ spots, and we can confidently say we really loved what Colombia has to offer. Two big things happened that are worth mentioning. The first is that we were robbed in Cali. WE’RE FINE! Nothing valuable was taken from us, and we were not hurt, but we were a little too lackadaisical and had our emergency money taken from our room which we thought was well hidden (wrongo!).
The second thing worth mentioning is the border crossing leaving Colombia into Ecuador. There was a separate Red Cross line for Venezuelans escaping their homeland crisis — standing in the long line was one woman obviously trying to flee with all of her belongings stuffed in a pillow case and a fleece blanket wrapped around herself and her child. On the other side were mandatory vaccination clinics set up for refugee children before entering Ecuador. We remember reading about the economic crisis from the comfort of our kitchen before the trip, but now we’re witnessing the devastating consequences firsthand.
We don’t know how to end this section after the aforementioned, so we will let Jimi Hendrix speak for us.
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
Kent
I enjoyed this installment of your blog. Not only was it well written and adorned with beautiful photography, but it relates all you are learning and experiencing. Some of it good; some not so good. I particularly like the great big smiles in every selfie. It speaks to the caliber of adventure your having. Keep the blog instaments coming. I enjoy reading them so much. Sorry about the money, glad you weren’t even there. We are fine here enjoyed Lily’s 14th Birthday in the Carrabassett Valley hiking, biking, and doing dog stuff. Love you both