Lodging in Colombia can be Pricey…Get Hostel!
125 days
by Tom Germain
in Tourism
I frankly do not understand why major hotels in Colombia are so pricey, rooms often costing over 200 dollars per night, but fortunately there is an abundance of hostels in all the right places, where you can stay for as little as ten or twenty dollars a night. While you cannot expect anything remotely resembling luxury, many of the hostels have everything you can possibly need (Wi-Fi, food, shared kitchen) plus great camaraderie with fellow travelers from all over the world. If you are like me and your prime directive while traveling is economy, then hostels are perfect. A few dollars more usually gets you a private room with its own bathroom, if you find dorm style rooms and shared facilities Here I have compiled a few popular suggestions at major tourist destinations in the country (I’ve intentionally left out any that only offer shared dorms)…
Medellin:
Tiger Paw: Very popular, and right beside the “zona rosa”, or clubbing area, of Parque Lleras that foreigners flock to. Just over 10 dollars a night for the dorm, or a bit over $41 for a private room with bath. The choice for the party animals! Web site
Paraworld Adventure : Run by a Swiss expat, this a “funkily” decorated property also in the El Poblado area. Private rooms with bath for around $38, dorms starting at $10 per night. No web site, so here’s a link on Hostel World.
Bogota :
Casa Bellavista : In the historic Candelaria district. 33 USD per night for a private room with bath, and starting at $11 for the dorm. Web site
Hostal Sue : Also in Candelaria. Just 30 dollars for a private room w/ bath, and 11 for the dorm. Web site
Martinik : Yet again in Candelaria. $44 for a double bed private w/ bath pp, or just over $9 for the dorm. Web site
Cartagena :
Casa Viena : Very popular hostel in the Getsemani district which is right next to the walled city. A private room w/ bath runs about 24 dollars per night, or about 11 for the dorm. Web site.
Hotel San Roque : Also in Getsemani, qualifies as a hotel rather than a hostel, as it only has private rooms with bath, starting at around $32 per room per night. Web site
Santa Marta:
El Rodadero, Santa Marta. Photo by Darina
La Casa de Felipe : This one is actually in Taganga, just to the north of Santa Marta, and I did really stay at this one! A sprawling hostel owned by a French expat, very popular among youthful travelers, and to be honest, the main attraction in Taganga, a ramshackle, garbage strewn village (why do guides even list it?). Santa Marta can be reached by taxi or bus via the only road in or out. Rates start at $23 for a single private with bath, or dorms for about $9. Web site.
Ecohostal Yuluka : This one is wildly popular with adventure seekers as it is just outside the fabled Tayrona national park, and offers transportation to the park’s gate. It is thus useful as a way station on the way in or out of the park, where lodging is limited to camping, or severely overpriced. Dorms from $24, and private cabins are available, but no prices are advertised. No web site, so here is a link to Hostel World.
Cali :
The Green Saman : a new hostel in the hills of the Bellavista district owned by a Canadian expat. Private rooms w/ bath from $33, dorms $10. No web site, so here’s a Hostel World page.
The Pelican Larry : Located in the Versailles district near the zona rosa. Private rooms w/ bath from $33. Dorms about $9.50. Web site (a bit over the top, their site!)
Please heed these warnings!:
Prices quoted are approximate and off season. Prices for private rooms are per night, per room. The Colombian peso fluctuates in value against the US dollar, see our chart in the sidebar!
Many Colombian home owners offer rooms in their houses for short stays, and most are unregistered businesses. I do not recommend you use that option for lodging! We had an unfortunate experience in Santa Marta, which we decided to add to our itinerary at the last minute, thanks to a corrupt local travel agent. She referred us to a local house owner in the El Rodadero beach district. Said owner did not give us a key to her house and thus we wound-up having to call her every time and waited for up to an hour to be let in. The room was a disaster with only a trickle of water in the washroom, giant rats on the patio, and the wi-fi she promised did not exist. We wound-up two days later in a hotel room beyond our budget but happy to have escaped!
Do not be surprised if the hostel where you stay has no hot water. Few do. If you are close to sea level in Colombia, temperatures are infernal day or night all year, thus cold showers are actually the only absolution from the heat! Even if your room has air conditioning, it might not be enough to ward off the sweats! That said, at a high altitude, such as in Bogota, temperatures are rather cool, so you might insist on staying where they have hot water!
The Month of Decibel in Colombia
033 days
by Tom Germain
in Culture
I have been away from Medellin since November, due to return in January. While I miss my wife and child, I’m not sure if I miss this time of the year in Colombia, which is sheer mayhem!
Fireworks over Medellin. Photo by Daniel Echeverri
It starts November 30th, when the skies over the entire Aburra valley erupts into a scene from Bagdad circa 1991. Fireworks explode continuously wherever you look, and thousands of hot air balloons zip across a thousand feet up. Christmas means pyrotechnics in Colombia, even if prohibited, and holiday celebrations go from November 30th till the first week of January. During this time, people will light up a prodigious amount of fireworks, including giant firecrackers which resonate like dynamite and could blow your hand off (as happens a dozen times as year to careless kids). Now, we all like fireworks, but sleep is difficult if not impossible at this time of year!
To be fair, some cities, Bogota in particular, have managed to curtail the sale and usage of illegal fireworks, but the bylaws in Medellin seem to have made no difference. Everybody in the area knows of the costly fires caused by hot air balloons falling into buildings, such as the Exito (the big department store chain) warehouse which burned to the ground a few years ago, and everybody knows of dozens of people seriously injured every year, but a certain segment of this society cannot be deprived of the pleasure of blowing things up for Jesus and the Virgin!
Also during this time of the year, every neighbor seems to be competing to make the noisiest party. Our gated community’s security gave up long ago trying to get anybody to respect the curfew, so on they go, sound systems blaring all night long in their parking area or outdoor patio, causing windows to rattle in our unit. The worst part is that they love to sing along with their favorite songs, invariably way off key! My wife is at wit’s end from lack of proper rest. I suggested she go clanging pots and pans during the day when the perpetrators slumber, but I suspect that would not bother them in the least! The freezing temperatures I am currently enduring in Canada do not seem so bad in comparison!
December is also the month for the “alumbrados” across the valley. These are the most spectacular arrangements of millions of Christmas lights you will see anywhere, organized by the municipalities themselves. I cannot deny that this in itself is worth a visit to Medellin, but if you do go, forget about sleeping unless you are normally a party zombie anyway!
Will Tomorrow be Summer or Winter?
143 days
by Tom Germain
in Unexpected
If you hear a Colombian talking about “verano” and “invierno”, summer and winter, he or she is not referring to seasons, but rather weather. If it is raining, it is winter, while if it is sunny, it is summer. Thus yesterday could have been summer and today is winter. Truth be told, in a 100 percent tropical country like Colombia, there aren’t any real seasons. There are times of the year where the tendency is for it to rain, although for several years now the weather has been impossibly unpredictable.
Bogota - Photo by Iijjccoo
Even though Colombia is geographically very tropical, it is wrong to assume that anywhere you visit in this country will be as hot as a tin roof in the scorching sun! While it is true that the closer you are to sea level the more unbearably toasty the climate will be, Colombia’s forefathers founded many of their biggest cities high up in the mountains, where the air is much cooler. Thus, in Bogota, the capital, at over 2,625 meters (about 8,600 feet) you are hardly ever going to experience a hot day (and no, you will not be gasping for air), but will most certainly have to wear a jacket virtually every day. Medellin, at 1,495 meters (about 4,900 feet), and Bucaramanga at 959 meters (3,146 feet) tend to have a much more agreeable, generally warm but rarely scorching temperature year-round. Cali is at about the same level as Bucaramanga but its average temperature is several degrees higher than the latter. The northern coastal cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta, are at sea level and consequently produce weather that will have you sweating profusely day and night!
Just remember that Colombia is built from the top down!
About Colombian Women
055 days
by Tom Germain
in Unexpected
I periodically get inquiries from bozos asking me about Colombian women. They basically want to know if they are “easy”. In short, these guys are so inept at seducing women that they are willing to travel thousands of miles to meet Latinas who are just dying to fall into bed with a gringo, any gringo. All right then, I will tell you about Colombian women…
Colombian model "Vanamar"
Yes, it is true, they are passionate and not sexually hung-up despite being very Catholic. Yes, it is true that a large percentage of them are hauntingly beautiful. I, for one, can say that the most lovely women I have ever set my eyes upon were all Colombian. Perhaps it is the mix of races: indigenous, European, black, and sometimes Middle Eastern, that produced such exquisite features. Yes, it is true that they are very, very feminine. Yes, there are lots of Sofia Vergaras and Shakiras in Colombia!
All of it is true. However, they are not whores, unless that is what they do for a living! She will not jump into bed with you just because you are a gringo! She will be passionate with her husband or boyfriend, not a stranger. If you want to conquer the heart of a Colombiana, you will have to seduce her the same way you would a gringa, sorry! Family ties are very strong in Colombia, so you’ll also have to seduce her folks!
Of course, like anywhere else, there are girls from a poor background that are looking for a way to climb socially and economically. They can spot a sucker from two thousand miles away. I have known more than one gringo who fell into one of these Venus fly traps. Their story never ends prettily, thousands and thousands of dollars later. If you are just looking to get used and be made a fool of, you will be indulged!
In conclusion, come to Colombia to discover its rich culture and its natural splendor, otherwise, there is no reason for you to bother!
A Lesson in Paisa Speak
062 days
by Tom Germain
in Culture
So, you think you’re fluent in Spanish? That’s nice, but just like someone from New Jersey might have a little trouble understanding the speech of someone from Jersey, the Channel island, or vice-versa, you might need a helping hand in grasping the Spanish dialect spoken in Medellin, Perreira or Manizales.
The “Paisa” version of Spanish bears some resemblance to the Castellano of Argentina. They use the vos instead of “tu”, and veni instead of “ven”, for example, but the many uniquely Argentine words and expressions are absent as is their peculiar enunciation (such as the Argentine ll sounding more like a sh). Paisas speak rapidly, at the tip of the lips, truncating many words, particularly those ending in ‘ado‘.
Here’s a short guide on some of the words and expressions you will hear frequently and what they mean…
Q’hubo? (sounds like “Kee oo-bo”): This is a common greeting, simply means “what’s new?”.
Estas amañao? (Aye-stass ah-mah-gnah-oh?): This will be asked of you by new people you meet. They mean “amañado”, or simply if you’re happy here (in Colombia). Of course, you should always answer enthusiastically “Siii, me gusta mucho!”
Que pecao! (Kay pay-cow!) : They mean to say “que pecado“, or “what a sin“. The real meaning is “what a shame“, usually to express pity or empathy.
Culi- cagao / cagada (Coolie- caw-gow / cah-ga-da) : They mean “culo cagado“, meaning “shit filled ass!” Strangely this is not a vulgar expression and is commonly used to say child or children.
Pa’ (pah) : A mangled version of the word “para“.
Comida (Co-mee-dah) : You think they mean “food“, but they might be talking about dinner. Breakfast is still “desayuno” and lunch is still “almuerzo“, luckily!
Ahorita (Ah-o-ree-tah) : You may know this is a dimunitive of “ahora“, meaning “now“, but what they really mean is “later“. This one had me standing like a fool waiting for something to happen until I caught on! Unless they say “ahora mismo“, don’t hold your breath!
Mono : I get this one all the time. “Hey mono!“. They’re not calling me a monkey! They mean “blond“, although you’ll often hear someone affectionately calling a dark haired friend “mono“, which is simply Colombian humor!
A la orden : You’ll hear this in shops. It simply means “at your service“.
Cancelar (Can-cell-ar) : This one confused the heck out of me initially. They mean “pay for it“.
iñora (ignore-ah) : They just mean to say “señora“, or “lady“, not ignore!
Buseta (Boo-say-tah): The bus. Public transport tends to be mostly via small, colorful buses, some of which are mere mini vans.
Rumbiar (Room-bee-ar) : To go out, to party. They do a lot of that!
Arriero (R-ee-aye-ro) : The traditional peasant with his donkey.
Parcero (Par-cey-ro) : Buddy, friend. Short form of this is “parce”.
Guache (Goo-ah-tchey) : rude or vulgar person.
Chimba (tcheem-bah) : swear word, like saying “shit!” — don’t use!
Me cayo gordo! (Mey Caw-yo gore-doh) : Basically means “I can’t stand him!”
Guevon / guevona (Goo-ay- von / von-ah) : idiot.
Chevere (Tchay-vay-ray) : Cool, fun. This is also used in the rest of Colombia and in Venezuela.
Bacano / a (Bah-Caw- no / nah): Really good / cool.
Carro (Caw-ro) : Vehicle. In other Latin-American countries it might be “coche” while carro is a carriage, but in Colombia, coche is a carriage!
Saco : Coat or cardigan.
Cola : Derriere. In the restaurant, don’t ask for a cola, but rather a Coca-Cola, or just coca!
Bomba : Not a bomb, but rather the gas station or the gas pump.
Pichar (Pee-tchar) : vulgar, for the act of having sex.
Conchudo / a (Con-tchoo- do / dah) : A person who shamelessly takes advantage of others.
There’s many more, of course, but I reckon that will be for a follow-up article.
Colombian Peso Exchange Rate
