Entering Colombia!

For 4 months I already travelled through Latin America. After Mexico and the Central American countries, South America was finally coming up next!

As a South American country I visited Colombia. And - I want to anticipate it straight away - in my opinion it is the best country to travel to and is still my favourite as a travel destination!

I flew by Copa Airlines from Panama City to Medellin. By land you don't get from Panama to Colombia, in between lies the impassable swampy jungle area (also called Darien Gap).

The Colombian immigration was quick. By bus and taxi I went afterwards to the Purple Monkey Hostel. The first thing that catched my attention was that so many people here seem to have a motobike.

Taking the cable car and hiking

In this hostel I met a Peruvian with whom I explored a special hill of the city. There is a kind of village with a church and from there you have a nice view over the city. Afterwards we took the metro to the cable car, which is one of the biggest achievements of the city, because it connects the poor districts with the rich ones. We got into the metro and had a view of all the humble homes of the people. In the meantime, other friends of the Brazilian had joined us: an American and 2 Brazilians. We got off at Parque Arvi, a small forest area in the outskirts of the city. We hiked a little and ate a heavy lunch, the "bandeja paisa". It consists of red beans, rice, fried egg, cooking banana, Arepa (corn patties), avocado. And of course also meat, but they left that out for me being a vegetarian. We returned and got ready to go out in the party district of "El Poblado".

Colombians love to party and dance

Medellin is known in Colombia for its beautiful women, who allegedly fall for western men and like to party. With the Peruvian & Co I explored the nightlife of Medellin in the evening. But the bouncers gave my night an abrupt end: as I didn't have long pants on I had to return to the hostel. The long pants dress code is standard here. A few days later I was able to go to a club and can confirm: yes, the Colombian girls here are damn pretty and can dance really well and sensually.

I didn't mind, so at least I could get up early in the morning and join the free city tour together with an Indian Canadian. Despite the fact that it was raining, the tour went very well and was super interesting. The tour guide even distributed plastic ponchos for free, which protected us from the rain. He also had a microphone with which we understood everything clearly. He explained to us how proud he and the other inhabitants of Medellin are of how the city has developed over the last 20 years.

Because at that time it was still the most dangerous city in the world. The well-known drug baron Pablo Escobar had set the city in a spiral of violence with bomb attacks and assassinations. Now the city is flourishing, many young Westerners now come here to learn Spanish or to work remotely. They appreciate the chic and hip modern restaurants and bars - and of course the great parties in the evening.

The guide also took us through the old town of Medellin, which still has some reminders of that time. Prostitutes and small-time criminals lead mischief here.  He also showed us the famous fat sculptures of the Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero.

Already here countless Colombians were walking around in the jersey of the national team. In the evening the national team played in the World Cup qualifying against the neighbours from Venezuela. When the national team plays in Colombia, everything is forgotten. Football is watched everywhere. The Colombians could celebrate a 2:0 of their team.

Standing in front of a closed hostel door

In the evening I went out again and wanted to return to my hostel. An Israeli whom I had met before told me that he had been mugged here at night. I walked alone at night through the streets and all was well.

However, the door to the hostel, the Black Sheep Hostel, was blocked for me. I rang and rang, but nobody answered. Apparently, the bell was broken. Well, it's a good thing a private security guard just walked in. He rang the bell briefly and then told me the bell was broken and left. What a help. I had to figure out how to help myself again and went to another hostel to call my hostel from there (I didn't have a SIM card at that time). The night guard of my hostel had fallen asleep, but the phone call had woken him up and he could open the door for me. I complained and from now on I had to pay less for my overnight stays. Apart from that the hostel was excellent, super modern and had a tasty breakfast.

Early the next day I visited the Parque Explora, a great museum, where you can do a lot of interactive stuff. The park is divided into different themes. Also many exotic animals can be admired. I spent almost the whole day there.

Climbing many stairs on a monolith

The next day I took the minibus to Guatapé, a small town near Medellin. The trip took 2 hours. The area is famous for a big monolith of granite. About 700 steps have to be climbed to get to the top of this monolith. You will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Lake Guatapé with its many small islands.

Afterwards I took a taxi to the village of Guatapé, a pretty little place with many colourful houses and cobblestones. At lunch I met a US-American couple with whom I walked to a great viewpoint that is known only to a few tourists. From there you have a great view of the monolith and the village.

Still in the evening I drove back to Medellin to take the bus to Salento, the next morning. So far I was amazed by Colombia and that remained so!