WEEK 14

Medellin, Colombia
- I leave Cartagena in the evening ... a 45 minute ride to the bus terminal is nothing compared to the 14 hour bus ride to Medellin! The worst part is that the a/c is beyond extreme, and I didn't think ahead enough to even be wearing long pants!! At least the seats are comfortable, and the bus is fairly empty. I'm able to sleep (shivering) most of the way, so the ride passes without too much trauma (and from that point on, I learned to always keep my silk sleeping bag in my carry on!)
- I arrive in Medellin early in the morning (the day before the soccer match) ... I've researched enough to know that I've arrived in the north bus terminal, which is right on a metro line ... so instead of bothering with finding a taxi, I jump on a very nice, very efficient and very cheap metro-train!

- travelling through the city, it doesn't take long to notice we are surrounded by mountains, and building after building is made of red clay bricks ... the temperature is also noticeably cooler than Cartagena ... quite pleasant really
- I've emailed a hostel ahead of time, but I haven't had a chance to check my email to see if they were able to book a room for me ... but I head to that area anyway, because that seems to be the spot for backpackers, and there should be a couple of options within walking distance
- so after about 10 stops, I hop off the metro, and walk for about 5 minutes ... and without much difficulty, I find the Black Sheep Hostel ... I try to check in, and I'm told that they received my email, BUT they are full up (at this moment in time), BUT if I can come back around 2pm, they might have a bed available (depends on who does/doesn't check out) ... it's about 10am, so I opt for looking elsewhere in the meantime
- about 2 blocks away, I find the Pit Stop Hostel ... they too inform me they are full (uh oh) ... but then after some miscommunication, the guy winds up telling me "all" he has left is a perfectly affordable private room!! Hello, check me in! Turns out the room is pretty fantastic, and not horrendously expensive - score

- next order of business is to get my hands on tickets for everyone for the football match ... I head back on the metro, and a few stops later, I've transferred lines and have been dropped off right in front of the stadium ... it "only" seats 45,000 or so, making it fairly small ... but it seems fairly impressive from the outside

- I walk all the way around the stadium, and nothing seems open ... not a good sign ... I eventually find out the "cheap seats" (rush seating, north and south ends of the field, behind the goals) are all sold out ... no one was really keen on paying the steep hike in price for the premium seats, plus all the die hard locals are supposed to be in the cheap seats, so we wanted to be with them

- when I make it around to the far side of the stadium, I'm quickly approached by a scalper ... after a wee bit of haggling, I buy five tickets in the south section for $17.50 a ticket (everyone else we met who bought tickets paid the same price, if not more ... so I think we did well)

- I head back towards the hostel with tickets in hand ... and I explore the area a bit ... the Exito is a huge grocery store not far away, there are also a bunch of small local food shops a couple blocks away (selling burgers, hot dogs, pizza, fried chicken, and Mexican food), and there is also a mall that is within walking distance

- after checking out the mall, it occurs to me that it's almost time for the NBA Finals match (I can't remember which game, but Orlando still had a chance at the time), so I wander around until I come across a 3rd story sports bar

- the place winds up being a fairly fancy Italian restaurant + bar, but that suits me fine ... I get some grub and have the bar mostly to myself for the entire game (which was very entertaining until the wrong team won)

- the restaurant closed as soon as the game was over, and I headed outside in the middle of the night, in the rain, with only a smidge of a clue as to how best to get back to the hostel ... fortunately, the smidge of a clue was all I needed ... I lucked out on picking the perfect side street to cut back (and avoid the mall), and I wound up at the hostel in no time ... I headed straight for my room and called it a night

- next morning, I checked email and learned that Joe and Laura had arrived and were staying at the Black Sheep (they had successfully made reservations) ... Isaac and Kate also had emailed to say they were flying to Medellin from Cartagena (having already returned to Cartagena from Playa Blanca earlier that same morning) ... and they were hoping to be there in time to meet us before we headed to the match

- I checked out of the Pit Stop and headed back to the Black Sheep, where I was able to get a bunk bed in a dorm room (and I attempted to reserve two more beds in the same room for Isaac and Kate)

- it didn't take long for me to find Joe and Laura, so we had a nice little reunion and hung out and caught up in the open sitting area of the hostel ... Joe was wearing his authentic Colombia team football jersey, so he was getting lots of compliments from anyone who walked by ... a bunch of the other tourists had cheaper and lesser knock-off jerseys, and it seemed that EVERYone was going to the game

- before long, it became time for us to head to the stadium, but there was still no sign of Isaac and Kate ... I wound up leaving their tickets at the front desk, no idea if they were going to arrive in time

- we hop back on the metro, but this time it's packed ... the vast majority of the passengers wearing Colombian team colours ... we get to the stadium, and there are people everywhere ... it's a fun kind of madness that gets us excited to watch the game

- Laura and I decide to hop on the band wagon, and we each buy knock-off Colombian team jerseys ... now we blend in with the masses ... the line-up to get into the stadium is beyond ridiculously long (all the way back to the metro almost), but it winds up moving fairly quickly

- we pass through two security lines, and the scalped tickets pass the authenticity test, and just like that, we're in the stadium! Not too many people have chosen where they are going to sit yet, meaning we are able to pick what we feel is an ideal location (left of the goal, but not too far off centre)

- the "seats" are simply concrete, so not comfortable at all (not that it really matters, as we seem to be in a section that stands the entire time the game is on) ... the sun is out, but not painfully hot (and evening is approaching) ... and there is a huge buzz of anticipation as the stadium slowly fills up (I wound have to assume Medellin doesn't get many World Cup qualifiers in general)

- about an hour and a half after we've entered the stadium, the teams are on the field, the national anthems have been played, and the match is about ready to begin ... the north and south ends of the field are packed to the gills, and it's non-stop standing, hopping, screaming, cheering, and singing chant after chant

- no sign of Isaac and Kate, but no real chance of spotting them even if there are at the game ... our section is way too crowded ... suddenly, what looks like tape rolls start flying through the air ... people are supplying the fans with ready-to-throw streamers ... just before the game starts, streamers fly all over the place, many of them getting on to the playing field (and they don't even bother to clean the field before play!)

- the game starts, and we try to learn some of the chants we keep hearing over and over ... our view is also pretty spetacular, as not only do we have a decent view of the game (especially when it comes to our end of the field), but we also have a great view of a mountain behind the stadium, nicely lit up by all the houses on it

- Colombia dominates Peru right from the beginning ... the have scoring chance after scoring chance ... they should have had at least 4 goals ... but they keep missing! ... luckily, before the end of the first half, one of their players finally puts the ball in the net (quite possibly by accident, they way the seem incapable of scoring in general) ... and the crowd goes CRAZY ... the post goal celebration was definitely the highlight of the match

- second half was more of the same ... many chances, no goals ... but the important thing is that Colombia gets the win (1-0), and therefore stays alive (barely) in the World Cup qualification quest ... by the end of the match, the head hurts, the ears are ringing, the back aches, there is a feeling of exhaustion ... and overall, the sentiment is simply, "yeah, that was a pretty awesome experience"

- we exit the stadium and head to the big fountain en route to the metro (this was the landmark I noticed yesterday when buying tickets that I subsequently told Isaac and Kate to meet us at after the game, assuming they were able to make it)

- not five minutes later, Isaac and Kate show up ... turns out they missed their boat from Playa Blanca (because the boat left early!) ... wound up taking some crazy motorcycle taxis back to Cartagena ... headed to the airport but couldn't get an early flight, so landed in Medellin after the rest of us had already headed to the stadium ... then had a half hour (at least) cab ride towards the Black Sheep ... then had to find the hostel (cabbie couldn't find it, had to ask another cabbie ... twice ... FINALLY got there) ... then the girl at the front desk wasn't the same person I had talked to, so she didn't know about the reservation and told them the hostel was full(!!!!) ... they were at least able to pick up the tickets I had left them ... then they tried the Pit Stop and were able to get one bunk bed in a dorm ... and a common room couch to sleep on (!!!!!!!) ... then they hopped the metro to the stadium, and magically got there BEFORE THE GAME STARTED ... no idea how the pulled that off, but kudos for last minute genius of it all (not the last time this "genius" would come to fruition in Medellin)

- so more reuniting, and everyone had a great time ... we wound up walking around the area for a bit (streets and bars and restaurants were all packed with people celebrating) ... a few blocks away, we finally found a restaurant that had a table big enough for our group ... so we had dinner and drinks to cap off the experience ... then we headed back to our respective hostels and called it a night (it was quite annoying to see three empty beds in my dorm room)

- next day was a bit of a fight with the rain, but we managed to make the most of it ... Joe and Laura went to some park where everyone walks around without any shoes on; while Isaac, Kate and I made the most of the metro experience by riding a cable car (at the end of the line that passes the stadium) ... the ride was long and scenic, and very impressive ... especially on the way back, when we were treated to a pretty intense lightning show that was only a couple of miles away ... what made it even better is that we only had to pay once for the metro (like $1.25), and that got us from the hostel to the cable car (and on the cable car) and all the way back to the hostel

- in the evening, we reconnected with Joe and Laura (Isaac and Kate decided to stay at the Pit Stop, having upgraded to a private room for two), and had a few drinks while trying to decide what to do for the evening ... eventually, Kate and Isaac headed back to their hostel, while I had a couple more drinks with Joe and Laura (they had decided not to go out with us, so this was our last time together before heading in different directions the next day)

- after saying goodbye to team Portsmouth, I headed to the Pit Stop to find Isaac and Kate in the middle of a big party at the hostel's bar ... beer, rum, and aguardiente (aka satan's alcohol choice) were readily available ... a couple drinks later, we'd formed a party-posse, and we headed out to the local bar/club area ... the Zona Rosa

- we window shopped from bar to bar until we all settled on a place where we could mainly sit, talk and drink ... flasks of rum and aguardiente showed up at our table in abundance ... it's almost a certainty that a local Colombian woman coaxed us into consuming the aguardiente, and (whoever she is) she is certainly the spawn of satan

- eventually the bar closed and we had to leave ... a big group of staggering and stumbling tourists, some of them (ok me) still carrying flasks and they swayed back towards the hostel ... nights like these, it's always best to just blame Kate and her insistence that we party like rock stars for the few short days she was with us

- we made it back to our respective hostels in one piece, and proceeded to sleep like babies, not at all concerned about the possibility of missing our 12:50pm flight to Bogota the following day

- next day, I get up and checked out of the Black Sheep by 11am ... Isaac and Kate said the cab ride to the airport is about thirty minutes, so time doesn't seem to be an issue as I head over to meet them at the Pit stop

- when I get there, they are headed out to the grocery store to get something to eat and drink ... I ask if we have time to do all that, and they insist there is plenty of time ... then the chaos begins

- first, the trip the grocery store took a bit longer than expected, meaning we have to leave pretty much as soon as we get back to the hostel ... but then it takes a few minutes for them to check out ... then we have to grab a cab ... then the cab asks us WHICH airport we're going to ... we aren't sure, so we ask around and no one else knows ... we wind up having to look it up on the internet (many minutes later) ... only to figure out that you have to go to the international airport for domestic flights (!?? ... makes you wonder what the other airport is for)

- so now we're finally on our way, and the quick math already tells us we'll be arriving at the airport with maybe 45 minutes to spare (if we're lucky)

- we are NOT lucky (at least we don't feel lucky yet) ... naturally, we're asking the cabbie over and over to please hurry because we're trying to not miss our flight ... the cabbie seems to think this means go slow, take time to check out the scenery, and basically make no effort to get us to the airport in time to make our flight

- it's quite possible that the cabbie took a different route to the airport ... either way, it's a long climb up a mountain (why would the international airport be not only way out of the city, but UP a MOUNTAIN???) ... half an hour quickly passes, and we haven't even seen a sign for an airport ... another 20 minutes pass, and we've at least seen an airport sign, but we don't seem to be close at all ... at this point, we start to panic

- when we finally sense we are getting close to the airport, it's about 12:35 (our flight is at 12:50) ... not good!!! ... we bust into the airport and rush for the counter ... the clock reads 12:45 ... our flight leaves in 5 minutes, and we're just now trying to check in

- and wouldn't you know it, they not only check us in, but they check our BAGS too!! We get rushed (i.e. we're all literally running at this point) to a special security check (likely for airline staff only), and we magically board the plane with the rest of the passengers ... this last minute genius thing may seem fun, but it really needs to stop!

- about an hour later, Kate, Isaac and I (and our bags!) arrive in Bogota

Bogota, Colombia
- Bogota has a much bigger "city" feel to it than Cartagena and Medellin ... it feels busier and more modern ... but more than anything, Bogota feels ... COLD ... it's odd how we're now the closest we've been to the equator on this trip, and we're the coldest we've been on this trip! ... the explanation is easy ... the elevation is huge

- the taxi system out of the airport is the best we've encountered so far ... you go to a counter and tell the person where you want to go ... she then prints up a ticket for you, stating the location and the fixed price ... you then give that to the cabbie, and he drives you there - no haggling necessary

- the only problem is that the cabbie once again can't find the hostel (a really bad recurring theme) ... after asking a couple of pedestrians, and after going the wrong way down a one-way street, we wind up at our selected destination - the Cranky Croc ... only problem is that when we knock on the door, they sadly inform us they are full (another really bad recurring theme) ... luckily, our second choice is only a block and a half a way (I suppose this is a really good recurring theme) ... so we head off and check in to the hostel called Fatima

- we get a dorm room, but there are only five beds (big, comfortable, and loaded with many warm blankets), and they are all unoccupied ... so we leave the two upper bunk beds vacant, and figure we have a semi-private room

- we had downstairs to Fatima's bar/restaurant, and wind up having a really tasty (and cheap) lunch ... better still, we meet Eleise ... an Aussie who is travelling with her friend Jordan, but has stopped in Bogota for a while ... she's our server, and she's friendly and after a bit of conversation (we're the only patrons in the bar at the time), she asks us if we have any plans for the night ... we've just arrived, so we haven't even put any thought into the evening ... so she winds up inviting us to go on a bus tour (Bogota Underground ... runs every Friday) ... about a week earlier, we had gone on a Chivas bus tour in Cartagena - it was fairly fun, but it was all very Spanish and catered more to locals than tourists (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, we just didn't know what was being said most of the time ... the biggest issue was that the tour wasn't that long, and the stops weren't that great) ... this bus tour sounded like a lot more fun, and we didn't hesitate to confirm we'd go

- after our meal, we headed out for a walk ... it was sunny out, making the air merely "chilly" ... we headed towards the cable car tourist attraction, and rode up to the top of a nearby mountain (similar to Medellin, Bogota is surrounded by mountains) ... this ride was much shorter, and quite a bit more expensive ... but we could get out at the top ... where there is a huge church and a few shops ... the view was pretty spectacular, and you could really get a feel for just how massive Bogota is

- then the sun started to set and "chilly" became "freezing" ... we got hot chocolate and headed back down to the bottom, and walked back to the hostel for a quick pre-partying nap

- a couple of hours later, we were ready to (yet again) party until we drop ... we headed back to the Cranky Croc, as that was the pick-up spot for the bus

- we wound up sitting with the organisers of the tour, and a few drinks were had while we waited for everyone to show up ... we were also taken to a shop about a block away where they sell delicious and cheap homemade empanadas

- by the time everyone boarded the bus, we had made several new friends, and everyone was in a happy mood and ready to party

- the bus blasted good dance music from beginning to end, and it only took about 10 minutes before the first round of tequila shots were passed out to everyone ... a second round of shots later, and we'd passed through La Candeleria (the around of town we were staying), and drive halfway up a mountain

- we pulled over for our first stop ... a popular lookup point, full of buses and cars and shops and people ... having already seen the city from up high earlier in the day, I wasn't too keen on a repeat ... but the scenery was fairly impressive anew, with all the night-time lights ... also, it didn't hurt that at this stop, the vodka and orange juice was passed around to everyone

- back on the bus, it was time for another tequila shot before stopping off at a bar/restaurant ... the decor was cool, but it was fairly small and cramped, and the group was forced to break off into many smaller groups

- a couple of drinks later, we were back on the bus ... another shot of tequila later, and it seemed like most of us were now standing and dancing as we drove through town ... out last stop was a dance club ... the place was packed, but it easily absorbed our large group (we were between 30 and 40 people)

- more drinks, and lots of dancing later, it was time to round up everyone to head back to the Cranky Croc ... turns out this is the hostel headquarters for hanging out and meeting people (tourists and locals) ... so while most of the bus crew headed to bed, a few of us (including team party-until-you-lose-brain-cells, i.e. Kate, Isaac and myself) stayed and met new people

- no idea what time we got back from the bus tour, but I know that a big box of aguardiente appeared (pretty sure Isaac bought it, but I'm not sure what devil woman coerced him into doing so), and I know that by the time I got back to Fatima's, Isaac and Kate had been sleeping for about an hour, and the sun was just coming up

- next day is Kate's last, so we reluctantly get out of bed to try to make the most of it ... we hit Fatima's bar again for food ... at first the place is closed ... then Eleise shows up LATE ... apparently the bus tour got the better of her ... and then (much to our chagrin), we learn that the cook is out sick ... so we wind up going to a nearby French bistro for tasty yet less satisfying sandwiches

- after eating, we make an attempt at the Lonely Planet's recommended walking tour ... we tour an art museum, skip another museum, avoid pigeons and feel sorry for the saddle and shoe wearing llamas in the central park area, check out prices at several emerald shops, peruse a street market (actually bought a couple of belts, so that was very exciting), and then dropped Kate off at the museum of gold, while Isaac and I walked around and did anything but go in that museum. An hour later, we picked Kate up at the museum, and walked her to the area we'd found with really cheap pirated dvd's, where she picked out a few movies to take home with her

- we headed back to the hostel, and changed to go out for dinner ... after walking around our area for quite a while (and snacking on a homemade empanada), we settled on a swanky and cozy Italian restaurant ... the food was excellent, and the fruit juice was the best we'd had since Cartagena

- on the way back to the hostel from the Italian restaurant, we discovered a bar that had microbrew beer ... so we popped in to see if it was any good ... we wound up getting a 3 litre beer "flute" or "bong" or whatever you want to call it ... basically a big cylinder of beer at your table, with a do-it-yourself pour-spout at the bottom ... the beer wound up being pretty tasty, but the novelty of the beer-bong was the highlight

- after all the food and beer, everyone was feeling pretty sluggish ... team party-as-hard-as-humanly-possible-while-Kate-is-here threw in the white towel on the very last night ... we headed back to the hostel, and went to bed

- now maybe it was Kate's mission to party until your brain breaks, or maybe it was just the cute Colombian girls I had met at the Cranky Croc the night before, but I found myself unable to sleep ... so I wound up heading back out and heading to the Cranky Croc

- quite a few familiar faces were there (including the Colombian girls - Lisette, Johanna and "ShowMe"), and before I could even blink, I've been hugged and a bracelet has been attached to my wrist, thus guaranteeing my free entry to some dance club in Bogota's Zona Rosa

- shortly after that, two cabs full of people (our little cab had 7 people in it) took us all to the Zona Rosa, where it's just club after club after club, and people everywhere ... we headed to the club associated with our bracelets, and proceded to dance the night away to techno/house music

- eventually, the club closed, so we all had to leave ... naturally, we headed back to the Cranky Croc to continue partying (and once again run into other people - some new faces, some repeats from the previous night) ... Lisette had the know-how to play music in the common area of the hostel, so there was much dancing to go with the rest of the partying at the Cranky Croc ... eventually, the night started to fade into day, and I had to leave the party simply because Kate was heading to the airport in a few minutes, and I wanted to say goodbye

- I ran into Kate and Isaac at the front door of Fatima's ... Kate was amused to learn I'd been out partying all night ... team rockstar had not failed ... we flagged down a cab, hugs goodbye, Kate headed to the airport ... and Isaac and I went back to bed ... the sun was once again making an appearance, and I wondered how many Bogota sunrises I was destined to witness

- next day, I got up and going earlier than once might expect (i.e. before noon - I think) ... Isaac and I once again tried to go to Fatima's bar for food, but it would appear almost all of Bogota is closed on a Sunday ... we wound up walking through a different part of La Candeleria, on a mission to find the movie theatre ... in so doing, we also found some mediocre food and a decent internet cafe

- we wound up watching Transporter 3 ... which is many ways was a horrible movie, and yet I found it thoroughly entertaining (watching a movie was the perfect activity for us)

- it was evening by the time we got back from the movie ... we headed to the bar with the beer-bongs, but it was closed ... we had empanadas for dinner, and then we bought a bottle of rum and headed to the Cranky Crock ... a couple old faces, but mostly new faces ... we quickly made friends with Laura (a girl from England living in Bogota) and her Colombian friend Melissa, and their friend Josie (who seems like a white tourist whose first language was English, but turned out to actually be a cool guy from Colombia)

- hours of good conversation passed ... the bottle of rum disappeared, Josie bought another bottle, some people (including Isaac) took off for a club, and then some of them (including Isaac) returning shortly after that (too expensive and not appealing)

- my night ended slightly earlier than the previous nights ... the sun had not yet shown up, but the sky was no longer dark ... by the time Isaac got home, I was already asleep (technically, Kate was with us for part of the day, so it's only fair to blame her party mission for our silly shenanigans)

- next day, we decided this would be our last day in Bogota ... so for one last time, we tried to eat at Fatima's bar ... and once again we were denied as the cook was still sick!

- we decided to head back towards the movie cinema ... and on the way, we randomly came across this fantastic little Chinese hole in the wall, where the food was dirt cheap and perfectly edible ... better still, they had a homemade garlic hot sauce that made everything taste delicious

- we then walked to the movie cinema but wound up not watching a movie ... instead, we spent a lot of time on the internet, researching bus information to get us to our next location, as well as researching some of the logistics of getting to Trinidad (i.e. how to take a ferry there from Venezuela, and trying to plan out our next few days based on the fact that the ferry only runs on a Wednesday)

- after a while, Isaac headed back to the hostel, while I stayed for a while to get some blogging in ... by the time I headed back, it was again evening ... back at the hostel, Isaac was comfortable in his bed, reading a book ... he wasn't in any mood to go out

- naturally, I headed to the Cranky Crock ... I wasn't in much of a party mood, but it was our last night in Bogota ... might as well at least say goodbye to a few familiar faces ... there were a few tourists there that I knew, as were Lisette, Johanna and "ShowMe" ... we hung out for a little bit, but the entire common area had a case of the Mondays - everyone was partied out and had zero energy left

- many hugs goodbye later, I got to bed at a very decent hour ... my one and only real night-time sleep in Bogota!

- a lot of great times in Bogota ... if not for the cold, I wouldn't hesitate to say it was my favourite stop our on trip thus far ... either way, we'd been away from the heat for way too long, and the beach was calling ... a mere 18 hour bus ride away, Santa Marta was waiting for us

- EoW