Co lom bia –

Santafe de Bogotà, Cartagena de India, Santiago de Cali

The Places I travelled so far!
Santafe de Bogotà, - de la capital
Cartagena de India - a popular colonial city and old marine latin american gateway in the caribbean coast.
Santiago de Cali – cultural, live hotspot. Famous for colombian lifestyle and nightlife.

Santafe de Bogotà, - de la capital
A city made of red bricks, and surrounded by mountains. If you don't like red/orange bricks, do not go there. A lots of policia and military among other quasi military security personnel. I think if there are no other concerns, all other countries should have imported their armed forces personnel from Colombia. Almost every other person is in some business of maintaining law and order which seems absent.

I met a very old person in Bogotà aeropuerto who took the single handled guarantee to show me around whatever there is to see. Although it took me a while to confide in him but he was really affordable and good. First day against his wishes I stayed in a Playpus Hostal recommended by a guide book. This place was full with brits and other europeans and just like a college dorm. Very filthy bathrooms and hot water bailed out after a while.

Cartagena de India – a tourist place where all locals want your money, by any means.

The best things in the world are free and Cartagena is no exception. Very nice beaches, nice caribe breeze and tree shades are so peaceful. People suck! They are everytime expecting to sell you something ranging from T-Shirts to offerings of massage and there are plenty of them. I took a booked tour to different nearby Islas and it was wonderful to stand on the brink of a two 150 cc Yamaha engine boat for half an hour with salty sea water splashing and slashing all over my body with humid, fast breeze.

Santiago de Cali – Nightlife, nightlife, and nightlife.

This is a city full with life. Especially at night. Also very nice local food. First time the empañadas were just filled with potato like samosas. Very beautiful girls and they can dance all night. Food is spicy and emphasis is on spices and taste rather than quantity or other things.

Isla de Rosario – a sea museam which I didn't enter!
Instead I saw different species of fish, sometimes like snakes, and some are of yellow and white color. The water is totally transparent.

Playa Blanca – The best transparent, and tranquil beach you can be in near Cartagena!

If you are into beaches, you should probably stay here. Not in Cartagena ( cuidad or Boca Grande ), where things are expensive and there are lots of people. This beach is ½ hours far thru a motorboat and ideal enough to call a beach. Where there are skyrocketing towers, all inclusive resorts, and an array of hotels in Cartagena, this place is an island without any development but nice huts nearby the beaches. Of course you won't get a baño privado, but you won't miss it either.

Monserrat in Bogot – Jesucristo in various poses

There are money to be made out of tourist. So make a cablecar and let people see from the hilltop down and appreciate the high hilltop they have been to when they come down. First they did it in all over Switzerland and suddenly they realize there are no more mountains left which can attract more tourist. That's when swiss companies looked outside to expand and hence Jesus Christ live up in the Monserrat like a guardian angel. Oops, I missed. There is another mountain where lives a guardian angel which is thru for all latin american cities ( or atleast those which are near/or on the hills ).

From Monserrat, which is a church you can see the whole city of Bogotà, and also enjoy the ride of cablecar which is very steep.

Observations made on Colombia et al.
Dressing up and cleanliness

Sidewalks are studded which strange blocks of concrete so that cars don't climb up and park. While doing this, they never thought a poet might would also be using the sidewalk, maybe to write sad and broken things. Unlike Ecuador, everybody who boards in the bus pays same Co$ 800, and women have the best butts. It also takes the tightest fittings on earth to pronounce this reality.

Colombian Phone System Fun!
Telephone system is so screwed up, that you can easily get a doctoral degree if you decide to research on it.

 
1. Telepsa S.A. 
Orbitel Nacional:05 xx Int'l:005 xxx
Free: 9800 418041
www.telepsa.com.co
smart chip av. in 5,000 10,000 . . .
 
2. UNITEL Free 170 min coin $100
Orbitel Nacional:07xx Int'l:007 xxx
 
3. COMCEL (Amigo) 
Free: *611 SND or 9800 961818
www.amigo.com.co
matrix consisting origin/destino/prefix-to-dial
From FIJO:
From Bogotá 622 9000
Not From Bogotá 9800 355 555
From Comcel:* 500 SND
usually Fijo a Cel :033 xxx xxxx
Cel a Fijo: 03 city numero-tel
a scratch on card (my#751 7605067)
 
4. PubliTel Free 3660007
Telecom 
minimum $200!

There is a sharp contrast in the behavior of people if you move inside into Bogotà or Cali from Caribbean coast.

They use a completely different set of spanish words as their daily usage. I have never seen so many people selling necklaces and so many necklaces in my whole entire life. They will try to sell necklaces to anybody and everybody without caring or respecting their wishes.

Food
This is the land of desaños, almuerzos and fruitas. a lot of tropical fruits. First time in my life, in Cartagena I lived on fruit salads with a spread of condensed milk as my breakfast. It was wonderful and consisted many, generous portions of exotic fruits.

Air & Atmosphere

Colombian Primer
1 US $ = 2300 Colombian pesos ( also marked as $ )
approx. ( in big cities )
1 habitacion para la noche = 20.00 – 40.00 US$.
con aire y con banos

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