Bogotá: We’d advise booking ahead for hostels in Bogotá. We booked through hostelworld 4 days in advance and really struggled to find vacancies in those places we’d been recommended or which had the best online reviews. We ended up in the Explora Hostel in the Candelaria area of the city, where we didn’t have the best of stays. When we arrived they’d lost our booking and the woman on reception really struggled to know what to do to resolve the…
This sign, which translates as “Don’t take viagra, drink goat’s milk”, was on a wall in the small town of Guane, just outside of San Gil in Colombia. There were several shops in the town, selling goat’s milk, but this one shop in particular had chosen a unique way to extol the properties of their product. They didn’t appear to have any peer reviewed research to back up their claims, but who are we to question a painted wooden sign on a…
The pretty town of Barichara is just a 40 minute bus ride outside of San Gil. We jumped on a bus from the local bus station on thecorner of Carrera 11 and Calle 15 near the market in San Gil – they run every 30 minutes or so. In Barichara, the bus goes right into the main plaza – it’ll be pretty obvious once you’re there. The plaza is flanked by an impressive red-brown stone church. The whole town is…
San Gil in the Santander region is about 6 or 7 hours north of Bogotá. It’s Colombia’s centre for outdoor sports, from caving to bungee jumping, down hill mountain biking to white water rafting. Rapids! We opted for a day on the river, as I had never been white water rafting before. Despite my lack of experience, I was persuaded that the class 5 rapids on the Rio Suarez were doable (and more fun that the tamer option on offer). …