Colombia, el riesgo es que te quieras quedar.
When I first arrived in Bogotá the slogan "The risk is wanting to stay" didn't seem to ring true for me. Bogotá first struck me as a cold, grey, chaotic and uninviting city, even though I have since then learnt to see beyond that and have enjoyed people watching in La Candelaria,marvelled at the Gold museum and had several "exciting" rides on the Transmilenio bus (please see below)
I spent a week in Bogotá and then headed up to the coast, my first stop was Cartagena, a colonial city on the caribbean coast. Cartagena is a city full of colour and music and I really enjoyed my stay there.
From Cartagena I headed to Playa blanca, near the islas del Rosario and spent a day there, apart from the fact that I became a new dish on the mosquito menu staying with the local juice maker was an added bonus.
After Cartagena I headed to Taganga, a little fishing village near Santa Marta. It was so chilled!
From there I headed to Parque Tayrona, an amazing national park that is an amazing mix of jungle and beaches. Despite the mud overload I thought Tayrona was incredible and definitely worth a visit.
Following my Colombian friends recommendations I went up to Cabo de la Vela, a little fishing village on the border with Venezuela where the desert meets the sea and locals hardly speak any Spanish except when they're haggling the price of their wares.
On the whole I have to say that I had a great time in Colombia, although at first I was slightly intimidated by the machine guns the police carry and the talk of guerrilla and car bombs I felt very safe while I was there and I would definitely recommend it to anyone that is thinking of a "off the beaten track" holiday.
