Coffee with New Friends Maria and Diego From the day we landed in Colombia, and even a bit before, we heard pretty negative things about Bogota. When we passed through on the way to Villa de Leyva, we stayed at a pretty basic place near the bus terminal. It was raining, and frankly, a little […]
Columbia
Botero Redux
“President Sleeping” Ferdinand Botero Turns out that Ferdinand Botero, the artist with who’s sculptures we had been so enamored with in Medellin, made extensive donations of his works and his personal collection to the National Bank of Colombia. The collection contains works from many of the greats of the 20th century, as well as nearly […]
Museo del Oro (Gold Museum)
One of the chief attractions in Bogota is the Gold Museum. We find it interesting how the central banks of all of the south american countries have taken on cultural pride. They all have museums of money. In Colombia, they also have the largest collection of gold artifacts. This is a beautiful museum,very well done, […]
Villa de Leyva
What do you get when you have a town located away from major trade routes in a high altitude valley of semi-desert terrain, and with no mineral deposits nearby to exploit. A town that has undergone little development in the last 400 years. As a consequence, it is one of the few towns in […]
Disproportionate Medellin
We decided to fly from Cartagena to Medellin to avoid the 14 hour bus ride and take a 1 hour flight instead. Viva Columbia is a budget airline, and the price was almost equivalent. Until you begin to add in the cost for baggage, etc. It was still pretty close, and a whole lot more […]
Secret Paradise Lost
Paraiso Secreto! Secret Paradise! Everything we would want to relax and get away. Look at this pool: Here is what it looked like: Alas, our dreams weren’t quite met. We set out from Cartagena, following the instructions to the letter. The boat stopped at Playa Blanca and let some people off. Then it […]
Postcard from Ellen’s Edge
I left my heart in Cartagena! I loved the city! It is very old! It is or was walled and the fort is so solid. The history of conquerors and pirates with parrots is fascinating. Mostly though I loved the Airbnb we stayed in for the whole of Easter Week! We had air conditioning! The […]
Cartagena
We loved Cartagena! Once we got to it. Didn’t really like overnighting in the Bogota airport. Cartagena is a modern port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. At its core is the walled Old Town, with 16th-century plazas, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. The climate is tropical – hot and humid. It is also is a […]
Postcard from Ellen’s Edge
I am loving Cartagena! It feels perfectly safe for a big city, but is like a small village at the same time. The streets are narrow. It is very Spanish. The houses come up to the street and then have court yards after you enter and go in a ways. We are staying in an […]