Colombia, July 2-21, 2022

Posted: November 1st, 2022 | Filed under: Out Of Town

Our three weeks in Colombia were amazing: stunning natural beauty, great food and so much deep and profound history to learn about — both recent and past.

Bogotá, July 2-4, 2022
July 2, 2022
Landed late so took it easy on our first day and went for a delicious late breakfast at La Puerta Falsa — our introduction to ajiaco soup and Colombian-style tamales, not to mention the oddly satisfying “Chocolate Completo,” which comes with a hunk of cheese you can dip in your beverage (!):

We then journeyed from Plaza de Bolívar to Estación de la Sabana to buy tickets for the Turistren to Zipaquirá, after which we visited to the Plaza de Mercado Paloquemao market where you can purchase exotic (at least to us!) Colombian fruit:

Dinner: Salvo Patria.

July 3, 2022

Took the Turistren to Zipaquirá where the main attraction is the wonderful and inspired Catedral de Sal, or Salt Cathedral:

July 4, 2022
Visited the Cementerio Central de Bogotá:

. . . after which we happened upon the Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación and neighboring Parque El Renacimiento. Centro de Memoria was closed for the holiday, unfortunately, but we did get to see the outdoor columbarios, structures meant to hold funerary urns, in this case memorializing all the dead during the years of civil unrest and drug wars:

Cartagena, July 5-9, 2022
July 5, 2022
In Cartagena, we experienced 90-degree heat and 78-degree dew points and quickly learned why people seem to stay inside during the day! On our first day, we walked around Old Town, then had lunch at La Cevichería:

It was so insanely hot we retreated back our hotel in adorable Getsemaní to spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool:

That evening after the heat broke we enjoyed the La Fantástica Pirate Ship Sunset Tour (with all-you-can-drink pirate punch):

Coming back to Getsemaní we saw how lively the neighborhood gets at night, especially around Plaza de la Trinidad:

July 6, 2022
All-day catamaran excursion to the Rosario Islands:

July 7, 2022
Braved the heat to see the view from the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas:

After that we got back in the pool, then did a wonderful cooking class through Foodies where we learned how to make arepas de huevos and a couple of other dishes typical of the region . . .

July 8, 2022
A stroll through Parque del Centenario, where, no kidding, there are monkeys and sloths:

Dinner: Restaurante Coroncoro.

July 9, 2022
Final day, where we stayed cool at a movie theater in Bocagrande and went back into Old Town to take in the (surprisingly!) interesting/engaging Museo Naval del Caribe:

Medellín, July 10-13, 2022
July 10, 2022
The beautiful Jardín Botánico followed by a fun soccer match between hometown club Atlético Nacional and their Primera A rival Cortuluá at Estadio Atanasio Girardot:

July 11, 2022
Plaza Botero and a ride on Metrocable Línea P:

Dinner: Mondongo’s El Poblado.

July 12, 2022
The very informative/highly recommended Comuna 13 tour guides you through the formerly troubled and violent epicenter of Colombia’s civil and drug wars. It focuses on the neighborhood’s renaissance and rich graffiti culture:

Dinner: La Matriarca.

July 13, 2022
Placita de Flórez market and Museo Casa de la Memoria:

Then some of us went to a science museum and others took the Metrocable Línea K and Metrocable Línea L to Parque Arví in the mountains above the city:

Salento, July 14-17, 2022
July 14, 2022
After flying into Pereira and taking a car service to Salento, we walked around the hilltop town’s cute streets and lovely town square with its church that has actual bells that someone has to ring:

Also, learned how tejo works at Cancha De Tejo Los Amigos.

Dinner: Donde Laurita where we tried “trucha,” the local trout fish dish and Quindú Restaurante.

July 15, 2022
Enjoyed the incredibly informative, very thorough and highly recommended Finca Don Eduardo Tour, where the English proprietor generously shares his time, knowledge and expertise he has gleaned from his experience nursing a 100-plus-year-old coffee farm back into production. Again, highly recommended and perhaps even worth visiting Salento for (details here):

After, we took in the views from the town’s two miradors — Mirador Alto de la Cruz and Mirador de Salento that look over the town and out toward the Cocoro Valley:

July 16, 2022
Spent most of the day at the Seussically Instagrammable Valle de Cocora/Cocora Valley, which is accessible from Salento via jeeps that are called “Willies”:

And more trucha for dinner at Restaurante Bar Shalem:

Pereira, July 17-18, 2022
July 17, 2022
We had one last coffee in Salento at Café Jesús Martín before our drive to Pereira, where we walked around a bit in the neighborhood near Plaza de Bolívar and the hotel before enjoying the Circo Vegas Fantasy at Coliseo Mayor Rafael Cuartas Gaviria:

Bogotá, July 18-21, 2022
July 18, 2022
Back to Bogotá . . .

July 19, 2022
The Museo del Oro tells the story of gold in Colombia and is as fascinating as it is visually appealing:

July 20, 2022
The view from Monserrate, high above the city:

And the wild and wonderful Andrés Carne de Res:

July 21, 2022
Our final day in Colombia, another fun cooking class and dinner at Mini-Mal before getting on the plane to return home: