Day 182 : First Time at the Movies in 6 months!

It is Robin's birthday today.  I had headed out earlier in the morning to take a walk around the city and to settle some personal stuff, before heading back to Robin´s place.  While on the way back to Robin's house, a car suddenly stopped halfway along the street and to my surprise it was Miguel (Robin´s brother), and in the back seat was Robin.

They were on their way to lunch, and was hoping I could join them, but as I had no contact number, I was lucky that I had run into them on their way out!

Day 181 : Montserrate

Funicular

I made my way to Montserrate, a mountain that dominates the city of Bogota, and rises 3,152m above sea level, where a cathedral is located on top.  The hill is a pilgrim destination, as well as a tourist attraction.

Being lazy, I decided to take the funicular up, and then take the walking path down later.  The funicular ride was not as pleasant compared to the other funiculars I had taken in other places, as it was extremely squeezy, and one could hardly see the view of the city within the funicular due to the crowd.  It was a great relief when the doors opened upon our arrival, where I could once again take a proper breather.

Day 180 : Extended stay in Bogota

The first most important thing I had to do in Bogota was to make my visa for Brazil, in order for me to attend Carnaval in Rio, as well as to catch my flight out to Barcelona!  My earlier visa had expired, and thus I made my way to the Brazil Embassy.

Encounter with the Colombian Police

I had to get some documentation done at the police station, and thus made my way to the tourist information centre to seek for directions.  I must say that after today's experience with the Colombian police, I am extremely impressed at how warm and friendly people in Colombia are!

Apparently the tourist police located in the same tourist information centre was not able to help and so called to check and soon mentioned that the superintendent was busy and they will send a vehicle to pick me up when he is done.

Day 179 : Bus Ride to Bogota

I had wanted to take the night bus from Medellin to Bogota last night, and had arrived at the bus terminal at 8.30pm to buy my tickets.  Alas, all tickets for the night was already sold out, and there were at least 10 buses from the time I reached the terminal to the last bus for the night heading to Bogota!

I have had no problems in Colombia regarding getting bus ticket to the next location upon arrival at the terminal, and so this being the first time, I was quite surprised.  When I asked one of the counter staff why wasn´t there any tickets, all she replied was ¨Mucho Gente¨ (Too many people).

Day 178 : Santa Elena

Boys on bicycle being dragged by bus

We (Kelly & I) made our way towards Santa Elena to meet up with one of her friend, who was going to show us around the area.  Santa Elena is a district up in the hills of Medellin, and on a side note, within Santa Elena resides Parque Arvi as well. 

So we took a bus from the city, and spent the next 45 minutes spiralling up one of the hills of Medellin.  It was a packed bus, as many of the people on the bus were heading to Parque Arvi, the final stop of the bus. 

Day 177 : Cable car ride to Parque Arvi

Took the metro on my own today with intentions to visit Parque Arvi, an ecological park located high up in the hills of Medellin city.  Kelly has mentioned that this is a really beautiful park, with some nice walking trails including some archeological remains, and where one can also get a great view of the city from the top.

Day 176 : Medellin

I am sooooo exhausted after spending the whole day walking, probably over 10km! 

Palacio de La Cultura

We first visited Palacio de La Cultura, a really grand and interesting building architecture in the heart of the city, housing some art and photo exhibits, before heading over to Plaza Botero (remember the big fat bird sculpture in Boat Quay?  It is sculpted by Botero, a Colombian!).  

In this square, housed many outdoor exhibits of Botero's sculptures, all in his distinct voluminous style.

Plaza Botero

Posing in front one of the many Botero sculptures at the square!

Sweets for my sweet

Had a couple of sweets for the first time today, the first being Gelatina de Pata (literally translated as foot jelly), made of cow's cartilage mixed with sugarcane syrup. 

Gelatina de Pata

Kelly with a portion of Gelatina de Pata

While at Pueblito Paisa, we came across a guy "pulling" a white substance and it seemed as if he was making noodles or pasta out of it!  Kelly bought a serving of it, and I had a few bites, which tasted really good.  I would never have guessed that this was made of cartilage just from the look as well as the taste! 

Day 174 & 175 : Manizales

Again, this is another non planned stop, where I spent 1.5 day over the New Year's eve! 

Manizales is also located on the northern part of the coffee triangle, with great views of the valleys and if the weather is good, possible to see some snow capped mountains. 

It also has some good hot springs nearby, which unfortunately I did not have time to go and also things seem to be closed for the New Year's!

New Year´s Eve

Everyone keeps telling me that Manizales is a party town, however, on New Year´s eve this seems to be totally opposite!  Everything is closed, the streets are quiet and the only bar that was open was the one that is in my hostel, which closed shortly after midnight.  This must be the quietest New Year I ever had! 

I was told that Colombians view New Year´s as a family thing rather than a celebration that is usually among friends with partying.  The quietness sure doesn´t seem right, and even the 2 Peruvians who share the same dorm as I do felt the same way!

Though I am not the party sort, I have to admit that not hearing major fireworks or not having any countdown, nor any cheering or bubbly popping sure seemed strange. 

Nevertheless, I wish all a wonderful year ahead, filled with great tidings and pleasant surprises, and may it be a a successful year ahead for all of us! 

For sure my next 4 months will be filled with more travel and adventures.  However, let´s see what my future holds from May onwards!