After much thought, I decided I could probably narrow it down to five(5) with the caveat that I might change my mind if I later discover any better cities in Latin America.  I did not rank them in any particular order.   If you just want a topical look, you can see my comments below on this post.  If you want a little more depth about each one you can read about them on www.travelblur.com along with some great posts from Charlie.  If you click here you can see my top 5 Latin Cities posts all grouped together on his site. 

Here are some teaser comments:

1.  Buenos Aires, Argentina–The Paris of Latin America.  Lots to do here, great food.

2.  Bogota, Colombia–If you want a sense of adventure in a beautiful city, then Bogota is the place for you. 

3.  Cartagena, Colombia-There is an old part and a new part to Cartagena.  Spend your time in the beautiful old city located on the coast.  Sitting in a sidewalk cafe on the narrow streets of Cartagena is day well spent.

4.  Quito, Ecuador-You really feel like you are in South America when you visit Quito.  Lots to do in the city, but the best part can be outside of Quito in the beautiful countryside.

5.  San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico–This is a great town located in the southernmost state of Mexico.  Lots of arts and crafts. 

Now that you have learned just a little about each one, don’t forget to get the in-depth review about each one here

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me:

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

Don’t forget to return to my blog site here on www.newsok.com often and check for additional travel news. If you are interested in reading about all my travels click here

She took me to a number of stores and gave me her opinion on many of the products on the shelves. She would tell me which products were overpriced and which ones she thought were reasonable.The most interesting store was one named “Exito”. It was like the Wal-Mart of Cartagena, but on a smaller scale. She walked me down aisle after aisle often times running into people she knew. All of her friends were extremely polite to me and all wanted to know my opinion of Colombia    

Exito store, the Wal-Mart of Cartagena 

After spending the afternoon shopping, we stopped at a sidewalk café for coffee. Jenny told me about her life and her goals for her family. Sitting in a sidewalk café, far away from home, drinking rich Colombian coffee with a relative stranger with whom you have shared their home for only 72 hours, reaches deep into your travel soul. Whether it is going to language schools with other people from around the world, talking with Dr. Olga in her country home, walking the streets of Cartagena with Jenny, or having Germán giving us the “Pablo Escobar tour”, this type of travel in my opinion, is about as good as it gets. 

Here’s a twilight shot of one of the town squares where the Colombianos would stroll through in the evening.

The next morning it was time to leave Cartagena. Jenny and Gustavo wanted to take us to the airport. We agreed, but only with the promise that we would help with the cost of the gas. At the airport, they insisted on taking us inside, patiently waited for us while we stood in the ticket line, and wanted some last minute conversation with us before we cleared security. They were genuinely interested in helping us and making sure we left Colombia with a positive image of the country and the people. I can assure you, we did. It was a great trip and one that I will remember forever. I hope you enjoyed this blog about Colombia. I am interested in any and all comments or questions you may have.  Feel free to post a comment here.

My next series of blogs will be about a recent trip through Southern Mexico. 

Until the next trip,

–Steve

See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/   Mexico:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/    

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/     

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/        

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

 The food is my house was very good and quite diversified. For breakfast I would usually have juice, Colombian coffee, and fruit or eggs. One morning for breakfast, I was served a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with fruit. Strange combination, but good. I would eat lunch out everyday and dinner at the apartment. The family usually didn’t eat with me but someone in the house was always at the table talking with me.   Here is representative photo of breakfast one morning.  That is eggs in the plate with a couple of bowls of fruit.                      Jenny was always concerned about how I felt about my accommodations and she went out of her way to make sure I was comfortable. There was no air conditioning in the apartment and it was very hot, but I kept the windows open all the time. She seemed concerned that I never turned on the fan in my room so she would come in every night and turn it on for me.

One day while I was doing homework in my room, Jenny insisted I come out to meet a friend of hers. Her friend was a vendor of homemade desserts and sold them door to door. Her bowl of desserts was full and she balanced it on her head. Jenny insisted we take some pictures. I bought some desserts to share with Jenny. Talk about carbs!! I was on a sugar high for hours after that. Here is a pic of the vendor and her desserts.  She looks a little unhappy.  I guess you would be too if you walked around all day with that bowl of desserts on your head!

Hang with me, there is only one more post about my Colombia trip and it will be my final one. 

Next-My journey to Colombia comes to an end–

See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/   Mexico:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/    

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/     

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/        

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

The overall structure of each day was pretty much the same: Breakfast at 6:45, walk in the heat to school, classes begin at 8 a.m. and finish at noon. We would have a 15 minute break each morning where they would serve us “Cafe Tinto” which was very black, strong, Colombian coffee.

During the break the students would all intermingle and discuss options for the afternoon. The school offered gratis tours in the afternoons for those interested.  Usually several of us would eat lunch together and then go our separate ways for the afternoons. I would sometimes walk back to my apartment (about 1.5 miles) just to check in with Jenny or rest a little while before venturing back out into the heat.  Often times, Jay and I would meet in the afternoons at an internet cafe and then spend the rest of the day walking through the old walled city of Cartagena. Sometimes we would meet up with other students to visit various tourist sites or just meet for “cafe tinto” to discuss what we were each discovering on our own.

Many of the streets in Cartagena are very narrow and it is easy to get run over. Taxi drivers abound. You have to nail down the price with the taxi driver in advance. You can take a taxi anywhere for around $2

Shopping in Cartagena is diverse. There are many vendors on the streets mainly selling jewelry and assorted crafts. Colombia is known for emeralds and there are plenty of opportunities to purchase them. There are people on the street that will sometimes try to steer you towards a particular store for “special emerald discounts” but I wasn’t a buyer.

 I had read on the internet that the accent of the Cartageneros (persons that live in Cartagena) would be quite different than the rest of the country. I found that to be very true. At first I was quite intimidated by the heavy accent, but the school director told me if I could understand the Spanish of Cartagena then I could understand it any place in the world. After a few days I relished the challenge of going into the streets to talk to the people to help my ear get accustomed to the special accent. I’m not sure how much I really got, but it was a confidence booster!

Everyone I met would ask me: “What is the perception of Colombia in the U.S?”. I always told them the truth: “From afar, many people in the U.S. consider Colombia to be a very dangerous place with killings, kidnappings, and drugs”. The Colombians always agreed that they knew their reputation is not always good, but it is a reputation of the past. Then they would ask me what my perception was after being in their country after a few days. I always told them I was really surprised it wasn’t the terribly dangerous place that everyone thought it was. It was a beautiful country and the Colombians were very friendly people. Of course, there were plenty of opportunities for danger in Colombia–you had to watch what you were doing and where you were going—just like any big city. The F.A.R.C. guerillas don’t help the cause any. With over 700 hostages it does make you think a little. For me, it really wasn’t too different from any other Latin American country to which I have traveled –or Los Angeles or Miami for that matter!

Next-Cartagena-Interaction with my family

See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/   Mexico:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/    

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/     

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/        

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

It was located in a neighborhood named Getsemaní.Here are some photos of the neighborhood:

Inside the school we met Jesús, the director, who gave us a brief interview in Spanish to check our verbal skills. After that we took a grueling, written exam. It was one of the toughest Spanish exams I have ever taken at any immersion language school. There were a total of 10 students in the school. I found the administration to be friendly and helpful and I liked all the other students and teachers.

Jay was assigned to a class with 4 other students, all of which were from countries other than the U.S. I had 2 classmates: Margarite who was a 60 year old doctor from Manhattan and Travis, a 42 year old software engineer from California. Travis was retired and just traveled the world. Rough life.

Class was 4 hours per day and totally in Spanish. The teacher allowed us to structure our own curriculum which we all agreed should be made up mostly of conversation. Travis and Margarite were both more advanced than I, but I felt it was a good opportunity to learn from them.

Here is a photo inside the school and their website address. 

www.nuevalengua.com

After class on the first day, 5 of us walked to a small neighborhood restaurant for lunch. Inside it was hot, busy, loud, and chaotic, but it was exactly what I like to experience in foreign countries! We were now totally immersed. There was not another foreigner in sight. We had become just another group of neighborhood people doing their own thing in Cartagena, Colombia. Life had become seamless.

Next-Cartagena-Living our Daily Lives

See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/   Mexico:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/    

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/     

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/        

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

Here is where I lived.  click on the photos for the description and to enlarge.

Based on the info packet that the school had sent me I had concluded that my accommodations would be in a two bedroom, 1 bath apartment with 2 women: Jenny the owner and Rosa her maid. Turns out, it was a 3 bedroom apartment, but the other bedroom was rented to another boarder named Jamie who was a newscaster for the Colombia Radio Network in Cartagena. Okay, so now we are up to 4 people and 1 bath. Then Gustavo, Jenny’s son shows up. Apparently he lives there too!! That makes 5 and one bath! Over the course of the next 5 days there would be other family members that would come and go. I never did know exactly how many people really stayed there but there were times it seemed to bump up against 6 or 7. However, I will say, they were all very courteous to me and let me have the bathroom in the mornings when I was getting ready for school.

The interesting thing here is that Rosa, the maid, slept on a bed in the kitchen. No kidding!! Turns out that is fairly common in Colombia. At first, I was a little uncomfortable when I would go into the kitchen for water and Rosa would be laying on the bed in her nightgown, but she didn’t seem to mind and after a day I just got used to it too. There was no air conditioning in the apartment and Cartagena is very, very, hot. I had a very small room with a single bed and a fan. We were on the 4th floor and at night I opened the window for a little cool air. The cost for my room and 2 meals a day for a week was $140 including laundry service and all the Spanish I could handle. They did not speak English. I liked them all from the moment I met them.  

Here are some pics of the family:

(I’m the one in the red shirt in the back)

Jay’s Colombian mom, Rubi, had a very nice well decorated apartment. She was a gourmet cook. He had a private bath.

 We had  arrived at our final destination in Colombia.  It would be here in Cartagena that we would spend the next 5 days weaving ourselves into the fabric of Colombian life.  The nice hotels of Bogotá and Medellin were behind us.  Now, we were sharing apartments with people we had never met and who did not speak our language. 

Stay tuned—school starts the next morning

See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/   Mexico:http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/    

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/     

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/        

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

I will start out by sharing a little of my most recent journey to Colombia. Here goes:

A couple of months ago, my friend Jay and I were eating lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, when I looked up from my food and said “Jay, I’m going to Colombia—I hear its still undiscovered as a tourist destination and I think now is the time to go”. Jay just looked at me and said, “Are you crazy? It’s too dangerous!” 3 weeks later he was signed on to go with me.

“There is a peculiar pleasure in riding out into the unknown. A pleasure which no second journey on the same trail ever affords.”

–Edith Durham

So began the plans of a trip I had been dreaming about for a long time–Colombia!! Have to admit, it was a struggle to get it off the ground because my wife, Carol, and the rest of the family didn’t want me to go. Carol was concerned about safety issues. I had been trying to convince her for over a year that Colombia would be a fantastic place to visit.

Since I had been studying Spanish for a couple of years, I thought it sounded like a perfectly reasonable idea to do a language immersion program at the Nueva Lengua School in Cartagena and live with a non-English speaking Colombian family that the school would arrange. Carol finally gave in, but said she wanted no part of the trip even after I showed her a travel magazine story and a report from a friend who visited last year that said, “Cartagena on the northern coast is a great place to visit”. Knowing that I sometimes like to wander off the beaten path, Carol stipulated that as long as I went STRAIGHT to Cartagena and BACK, with NO traveling around the country, she MIGHT be OK with the idea of me going. Keeping the promise would prove to be easier said than done.

The next night, while I was planning the trip and looking at fares on the internet, I discovered an obscure fare combining American Airlines with Avianca (the Colombian airline) routing us through Mexico City and returning through Miami. As I began to read the small print on the booking restrictions (I know, no one ever does that), I noticed that it allowed unlimited stopovers in Colombia as long as the stopovers were 24 hours or less. I experimented by adding stopovers in dream cities (Bogotá and Medellin) and the fare remained exactly the same. Too good to be true!! I could fly to Bogotá-spend 23 hours, then on to Medellin for another 23-hour stopover, then on to Cartagena for 5 days in the language immersion program.

I couldn’t book the fare on-line so I called AA just to test price the routing and see if they could ticket it all the way through for me. The AA res agent was skeptical she could make it work, but after 40 minutes on the phone with her, she finally got it to price correctly! I booked it at that instant! Unfortunately I had been so caught up in the excitement with the success of booking the ticket that I forgot the promise to Carol that I would ONLY go STRAIGHT to Cartagena and back with NO DETOURS! I had lots of selling to do but finally convinced her I would be extra careful and stay in a very nice, SAFE hotel (4-5 stars) in a very nice area in both cities (Bogotá and Medellin). Plus, Jay was going with me.

As I researched hotels in the chic, upscale, and safe Zona Rosa area of Bogotá, I saw plenty of the standard top-notch names such as The Intercontinental, El Presidente, etc, etc that would all fulfill my promise to Carol. But, I felt I was betraying myself by taking the more comfortable way out. After all, this would probably be my only chance to get to Bogotá, and I wanted the “real” Bogotá! Why would I sell my travel soul by staying at some “brass and glass” place when the “real” Bogotá awaits me?

I bought a map and tour book (hard to find) and discovered an area called “Old Bogotá” and a neighborhood called “La Candelaria” 6-7 miles south of the Zona Rosa in the oldest part of the city referred to as the “heart and soul of Bogotá”. I knew instantly this was the neighborhood for us! To make Carol feel better, I searched for the nicest hotel in La Candelaria and came across the Hotel de la Opera in the center of the neighborhood. From there it would be easy walking to the many sites of interest even though it is not advisable to walk the narrow streets of this neighborhood at night.

So as not to bore you, I will stop here and pick up the story in a few days—stay awake, it gets better.

–Steve