When: 8th- 22nd August Do I need a visa? How I moved: comfortable long distance buses connects all the main cities, minibuses get almost everywhere otherwise replaced by funny speed boats; domestic flights seem a good option as well, but forget railways Freezing or baking? In Bogota' I even wished I had a pair of gloves, while northward of Mompos gets warmer till Cartagena where's even too hot. Medellin wins for the best climate! What I liked: the Botero-characterized Medellin with its funiculars and the wild Rio Claro valley with the super-cool 3h adventure in the cave; on top of everything, in any bus terminal you'll feel at ease.
What I disliked: I found Bogota' anonymous, I hated the freezing air-condition in the buses and overall part of the country is off-limit, particularly the Pacific coast and the area bordering with Panama. What to have: a warm sweater, thick long pair of pants, a handy spanish dictionary and a flash lamp to swim in the darkness of the Rio Claro cave.
The hostel is comfortable but, as most of all the other places in Colombia, I felt in a kind of prison: to access the building you have to pass a double door like in a jewellery and signs everywhere warn you not to walk outside in the evening, if you wanna move around, taxis are a must. It's a cute m high village characterised by cobblestone streets and white housing.
Luckily by chance I turned there before the kite festival, so the skyline was full of colourful kites, nevertheless I found Villa De Leyva a little too touristy and a-kinda-of-fake for the Colombian standards. The interesting part was to rent a bike and cycling few hours around visiting: - El Infiernito: a strange place characterised by penis-like rocks with a lot of white dressed guys dancing and smoking a lot! The following day I had a daytrip to one of the most beautiful colonial town of Colombia: Barichara.
Then before the sunset I pulled into the big town of Bucamaranga 85h from San Gil , where I had hard times to find a cheap accommodation, so I ended up sleeping in a kind of brothel. In the evening I had a walk to eat something but I felt so unsafe I ran running physically back to the brothel. In the morning I started the Bucaramanga- Mompos leg, definitely the most adventurous part of my Colombian travel:.
