Shannon in Wanderland: A Listicle of Colombia (so far)

I arrived in Bogota and am currently in Salento! Tonight we night bus to Medellin. Here are some thoughts and highlights -

1. When I left Panama City I said adios to the front desk worker at my hostel who looked like a Hispanic Joe Jonas, but what named Kevin. WHAT! The mind boggles.

2. I booked a flight from Panama City to Bogota two days before it was set to leave via a super cheap airline (think: Ryanair or Spirit). While my payment gave me a red RECHAZADA, I received confirmation of my reservation, so I figured I'd clear it up at the airport. While apparently the confirmation was false, I still got on the flight for $150 and paid in cash, the only option.

3. At the airport I ran into two lovely German girls that I had met in Costa Rica two weeks before, and have been latched onto them since then.

4. Colombia feels much more Euro than Central America - there are cafes, winding cobblestone streets, a sense of fashion, etc. Some of the outfits that I pulled in Central America (for example, a sarong-turned-dress over a wet swimsuit that gives the uncontrollable-lactation look, paired with muddy hiking shoes) will not fly here.

5. Surprisingly, Bogota is quite chilly and cloudy. It was 55 when we arrived (after leaving 95+ weather) and our cabbie from the airport informed us that it was a lovely day that was quite hot. It's in a mountain, so I suppose the elevation has something to do with this.

6. I took my first hot shower since I started traveling, and it was possibly the longest shower of my life. Though I must admit, I didn't really realize how much I missed the hot shower until I had one. Something about having seven layers of sweat and no signs of cooler temperatures made me not mind the cold showers.

7. In Bogota we went to a free art museum that featured Colombia's pride and joy, Francisco Botero. He paints mostly oversized things and people. I enjoyed this museum very much because it was 1) free, 2) small, 3) bizarre, and 4) had a fuente in the middle.

8. If you are so inclined, it is possible to purchase a quick photo on a llama that is wearing ribbons and decorations like a four year old girl's bicycle.

9. According to our map, which also had fun facts, Bogota is know for it's "dirt cheap" beauty salons. So in an effort to pamper for the first time in awhile, we got $7 mani/pedis. You get what you pay for, and the pedi was done with my feet situated on her lap. Poor thing.

10. I've tried my darndest to eat and drink all the "traditional" dishes while traveling, but sometimes you just need to treat yourself. So I had spaghetti at 11am and it was delicious (this is something that I am also known to do in Chicago due to my limited groceries and laziness on weekend mornings).

11. The bus ride from Bogota to Salento (with a transfer in Armenia) was gorgeous. We traveled through the mountains and they are quite green and amazing and I like them. The bus played the Hangover III in Spanish (followers of my previous blog know my hatred of dubbed movies). When it ended, apparently someone accidentally hit fast forward because the next six hours screened three movies in fast forward mode. So I spent some time deliberating which is worse: dubbed movies or fast forwarded movies. I didn't come to much of a conclusion expect that I don't like either.

12. It's official that I prefer Sprite to 7up. The "light" versions do not exist here.

13. Salento is one of my faves. It's in a valley of the Andes and has a main square and streets branching off of it with cute shops and such. It's colorful and chill and the people are super friendly.

14. Yesterday we hiked in the Valle de Cocora and it was one of the highlights of the whole trip. I wasn't so much looking forward to it after the Ometepe nightmare (see "intense hiking story" blog post for full details), but this experience made me feel much more positively towards hiking. Instead off rock climbing and/or mud, there was an actual path! As it turns out, that makes quite the difference. The highlight for me where gigantic palm trees in the middle of the mountains.

15. There is delicious coffee in Colombia.

16. At the hostel one night, a group of six of us grilled steak and veggies and made rice and salad and had beer. After totaling everything up, we each paid just over $3.