South America
After lunch it was time to check into the Airbnb, which was a 2 min walk fro the restaurant. After a 10 min wait, our place was ready to check in. It was located on the 2nd floor of a busy retail street. And it was very quirky, to say the least. One bedroom had a window into the living room. The beds in both room were only doubles and they only had sheets, no...
On Friday, Eduardo and I both took the day off so we could all travel to Santa Marta, a city approximately 4.5 hours away. Santa Marta is the gateway to one of Colombia’s most popular national parks, Tayrona Park. In the park we will hike a couple hours to some beaches where we will spend the day swimming and hopefully soaking up some sun. We left the apartment...
Eduardo and I had to work Thursday so Jennifer and Owen spent a few hours at the beach. They ended up spending way too much money on beach massages, drinks and food, but they had a blast. In the evening, we all headed back to the wall city for dinner. Eduardo picked the place based on a previous recommendation from his brother. The food was very good. When dinner was...
The reason we got a 2 bedroom for Cartagena was to accommodate 4 people. Our friends from Ucluelet, Jennifer and her oldest son Owen, decided to join us for 8 days of our trip. They made the long journey from Vancouver to Dallas to Miami to Bogotá to Cartagena starting early Tuesday morning and eventually getting to us early Wednesday morning. I had the day off work...
We flew to Cartagena on Monday evening on discount airline Viva Air. They claim to have one of the newest fleets in the world. The flight was just over an hour; smooth and uneventful, just the way I like them. They don’t use the indoor bridge walkways so we were hit with a wall of humidity when we reached the stairs to disembark. Viva has an interesting way of...
The museum displays a selection of pre- Colombian gold and other metal alloys, such as Tumbaga and contains the largest collection of gold artifacts in the world in its exhibition rooms on the second and third floors. Together with pottery, stone, shell, wood and textile objects, these items, represent many indigenous cultures. While the museum was...
There is a very narrow street downtown near the university that is full of street art. Here are a few of the really good ones. Also in this area, and really all over downtown there are small street vendors selling what looks like bottles of juice called Chicha de Maiz (or just Chicha) which is a fermented corn drink. In my head, I thought it was going to taste like...
Both before and after the Botero Museum, we spent some time wandering around the streets of the old city. Someone met a new friend along the way too! Santuario Nuestra Senora del Carmen, also known as The National Shrine of Our Lady of Carmen, is situated amongst a myriad of museums in the historical center of Bogotá. Towering high over La Candelaria neighborhood...
Fernando Botero, born 1932, is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellín. His signature style, also known as “Boterismo”, depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political criticism or humor, depending on the piece. He is considered the most recognized and quoted living artist from Latin America, and...
We took a taxi to the city center and started our day in the Plaza de Bolivar. The Bolívar Square is the main square of the Colombian capital Bogotá. The square is located in the heart of the historical area of the city and hosts a statue of Simón Bolívar, sculpted in 1846 by the Italian Pietro Tenerani, which was the first public monument in the city. The history of...