Category Archives: Colombia

Traveling to Colombia

Monday, 11 August 2014 00:01

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By Kelly Galaski

My first thoughts about traveling to Colombia were more like a mixture of exciting pieces of thoughts: Caribbean coast! Heat in February! Scuba diving! Practice my Spanish! Latin culture! (you get the idea). But I have done a lot of traveling and generally thrive off the unknown. I have to admit that every time I mention it to someone new I either get a comment about drugs or a surprised comment, e.g. “You’re going to send tourists there?” We have received the same comments about El Salvador and people are loving it. They’ve found they can do all the great adventurous activities like surfing, ziplining, volcano trekking (as well as the relaxing on the beach type of adventure) in a place full of culture. Seeing indigenous villages and mayan ruins that they never even expected because of its history of civil war.

So this is the reason for going to Colombia. The Colombian government has cordially invited tour operators such as ourselves, GreenSpot.travel, to go and explore and discover the country. The slogan for Colombia’s tourism board is now “El riesgo es que te quieras quedar” or “The only risk is in wanting to stay.” So they are embracing their risky reputation and saying look, there’s nothing to worry about we know you’re gonna love it!

This sounds like the kind of place for me to visit. I like to discover places that have pasts or reputations that make them less likely tourist destinations. These are the places that are unforgettable, that warm your souls, and while I’d like to say that I’m worried somewhat, I’m really not. I’m only excited.

Ok so I looked up some facts to make sure I’m up to date with shots for potential infections, and the latest information on conflicts, but I find no matter where you go you can find potential problems. Rather than focus on that I like to think about all the people who live in these countries day to day and do just fine and that makes me feel comfortable about wherever I’m going.

For example, when I was in Jamaica in 2007 and coming to the end of a three-month internship, the Canadian government decided to evacuate everyone before Hurricane Dean hit. They called me at my place of work and said are you making arrangements to leave? I said, well the rest of the country is staying are they not? Why should I try and escape? I still have work to finish up my project, I’ll stay with my Jamaican friends and I’ll be fine. And I was. I also enjoyed going out with my friends in Kingston – something that will never be recommended by the tourist board.

My point is there are so many wonderful countries in the world that have a bad reputation for one thing and the media focuses on that which skews the image to the point where people are afraid to visit. Not this traveler. We are going to find the best of Colombia and bring it to you.

So if you’re curious yourself about traveling to Colombia and are looking for some advice and some “I’ve been there, it’s great you should check this and that out” type of tips, stay tuned because I’ll be keeping this blog from now on and throughout/after my trip. Here’s a great video to get you feeling some excitement for the country too, onYoutube here.

Vamos a Colombia!

Memories of Colombia

Saturday, 07 March 2009 18:31

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Already since I’ve been back I’ve seen news about Colombia, negative news regarding conflicts in parts of the country. Unfortunately this is the image Colombia has had for a long time and continues to have. Of course there are problems in the country. But I would like people to know that you can go there and have an amazing trip and meet wonderful people, never knowing or being exposed to any of these things that are reported on by the media.

After travelling from the capital city of BogotÃ¡, to the beautiful islands of San AndrÃ©s and Providencia with their unique Caribbean culture, to the fascinating colonial city of Cartagena and to Tayrona National Park, my interests were piqued – and I couldn’t have imagined what more the country had to offer.

Our trade show in BogotÃ¡ gave me the chance to meet the many tour operators who have picked the best places in the country to visit. There is the desert of Guajira, the archaological sites of San AugustÃn, the Amazon region, the Pacific coast where there are ecolodges and whale watching and surfing, the colonial and modern cities, the coffee regions where some of the world’s best coffee comes from, and I could go on. I hope I have the opportunity to go back one day and explore some more.

I wanted to thank Proexport, the Colombian government for inviting us on the trip, the hotels we stayed at, the amazing restaurants we ate at (still can’t get that yummy food out of my head!), and the fun dive instructors we had. And a special thanks to Lorena Zapata for being our group’s leader, making sure we got everywhere we had to get to on time as much as possible and for being flexible with all of us, who each had different interests and independent personalities!Â Lorena invited me into her home and became a great friend. She and her family, who moved to Bogota from Ecuador 10 years ago and fell in love with the country, charged me with becoming an Ambassador to Colombia! So I am attempting to fulfill my promise, with pleasure.

Here are a few more random pics of our “Chiva” driver in Bogota, Punta Faro, Cartagena, and sunset at Taganga.

Chiva or Taxi driver Punta Faro hotel on Mucura Island

Buildings in the old city, Cartagena Sunset at Taganga

Santa Marta & Tayrona National Park

Saturday, 28 February 2009 17:46

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The last couple of days we had the pleasure of seeing another small Caribbean coastal town of Colombia. As you drive from Cartagena, the vegetation gets drier and drier to the point where cactus trees line the streets and it appears desert-like.Â The rolling hills while not lush, are interestingly covered in cacti, a mountainous desert in a way.

We drove through the town of Barranquilla where preparations for the annual Carnival parties were going on. Since our trip was focused on diving, we did not stop here for the festivities but the carnival here is apparently one of the biggest in the world, just not as well know yet as those in places like Rio de Janeiro and Trinidad.

This part of the country is surprisingly quite undeveloped, with most houses being small wood-framed huts along the road.Â The winding road took us up into the mountains and down over the other side to the small town of Taganga, near the one of the oldest ports, Santa Marta. Taganga is a tiny beach town with lots of dive shops and backpackers.

Diving here was different, it always amazes me each time I go under water and a different world appears. Here the visibility wasnâ€™t as great as San AndrÃ©s, but the coral was interesting. Huge rocks covered in different coloured hard corals and lots of different fish. The sea was pretty rough though and even though our instructor Max and his wife of Poseidon Dive Center took us out in a great fully equipped boat, the rocking back and forth on our way to the beach for lunch made me seasick!

We arrived at Tayrona National Park for an afternoon on a secluded beach where the Ecohabs are located. â€œEco Habsâ€ stand for Eco â€“ habitaciones (or Eco Rooms in English). They are huts built in the traditional indigenous style of the region, furnished with comfortable beds in white linens, hammocks looking out to the forest or the sea, stone and ceramic bathrooms and even a flatscreen and iPod docking station, all under a thatched roof and 360 degree wood-shuttered windows.

We had a delicious 3-course meal on the beach. At this ecolodge several trails through the rainforest can be explored with a naturalist to see monkeys and various endemic species of birds and other wildlife.Â The lodge is run by solar power and has several other initiatives to make it the greenest accommodation in Colombia.

With that our two weeks in the Caribbean drew to a close. We were then off to BogotÃ¡ for the real work to begin â€“ the travel trade show â€“ and another chance to explore the capital city at its high and cool altitude of 2640m (7900 feet!).

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Cartagena de Indias: An enchanting city

Saturday, 28 February 2009 16:32

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One of the most famous colonial cities in the world, Cartagena de Indias was named by the Spanish after a city in Spain, and given the name â€œof the Indiesâ€ to distinguish it from that city, marking its location in the West Indies.Â Founded in 1533, Cartagena underwent several pirate attacks, forcing residents to build a wall around the city and several fortresses with underground tunnels for making quick escapes. The wall and fortresses still stand strong today and create a unique backdrop to the colonial architecture. Unfortunately I only have night views of the Castillo de San Felipe but it gives you an idea.

We spent some time exploring and were treated to a stay in one of the most beautiful boutique hotels, Bovedas de Santa Clara, in the â€œold cityâ€ among cobblestone streets, brightly coloured buildings and flowering balconies.Â Just walking through the streets and plazas is an unforgettable experience in a colonial city such as this.

There is SO much more to see, we all would have loved some more time here, knowing it is a special place. But we were whisked off to another island off the coast of Cartagena for more diving and some time on the beach at one of the several islands that can be reached by boat within a couple of hours from the city harbor.Â The hotel was fairly simple but nicely designed from the outside with high thatched roofs and an open concept. The beach was small and private, and nice for relaxing. Unfortunately the food did not live up to the amazing restaurants weâ€™ve been to so far, including the simple, typical places. Speaking of foodâ€¦

I canâ€™t forget our dinners in Cartagena with some of the best dishes Iâ€™ve ever had. El Santisimo right near our hotel in Santa Clara where I had mahi-mahi in a delicious sauced served in a banana leaf and candied bananas (pictured above) and Club de Pesca (Fishing Club) which was right on the water at the marina just outside the old wall. I said it before and Iâ€™ll say it again, the food is incredible here â€“ the Colombian dishes of fish served in various sauces such as lime with coconut milk and cilantro along with fresh blended fruit juices surely make a stay here that much better.Â Then we were off to Santa Marta for some more diving â€“ canâ€™t complain really.

Some more pictures of Cartagena – what an unforgettable place!

Underwater Diving Images from Colombia

Tuesday, 24 February 2009 01:22

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I wanted to share some more underwater images from some of our dives so far. My favorite is the sting ray, such a graceful and gentle creature to watch up close. I love all the fish and corals and sponges. It’s another world. Enjoy the pics!