Colombia

February 22, 2026

Home - Safe, Sound and Cold!!!

Yesterday, we had a leisurely morning as our flight wasn't till 4:03pm. Check in at the airport went OK. For some reason the machines that take your photo to match to your passport don't work for Ed. It took 4 tries and 2 machines before a machine decided that Ed matched his passport and was allowed through. Ed speculated that too much white --- hair, shirt, face and blue eyes. I think Ed will wear a coloured shirt the next time we fly. The fly was uneventful, except for 2 attempts to land. Apparently, the weather was an issue. As we arrived in the late evening at the airport, we stayed at hotel and drove home today. It's good to be home except for the snow and cold. Hopefully, spring will arrive with the calendar. 

This year is going to be a fairly busy travel year as we leave April 13 for a month visiting Tunsia, Malta and Southern Italy. We also have a trip planned for the summer and I'm working on one for the fall.

February 20, 2026

Wandering Around Cartagena

Our tour is over and we are enjoying a free day in Cartagena. We opted for an extra day in Cartagena so that we could get a direct flight to Toronto. We've seen a lot of the old walled city so we're walking around the outside of the wall to see what there is to see. 

Parque de la Virgencita, features neoclassical-style columns and sculptures of historical political figures. 

A "macroescultura", a large festive figure that is part of a cultural display.

We walked along sea and found a couple of beaches. It was still early in the day but a few people already on the beach.

The Alcatraces Monument, the sculpture represents a flock of pelicans in flight

The outside of the wall.

Leaving the wall and walking into the walled city.

Replica of a Pirate Ship

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver (Saint Peter Claver Church)

Pegasus Monument

February 19, 2026

San Basilio de Palenque

About 1 1/2 hours from Cartagena is the town of San Basilio de Palenque (or Palenke). Palenque was the first free African town in the Americas and in 2005 was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. 

A stand along the highway on the drive to Palenque

An interesting mural we saw on the drive. 

A Statue of Benkos Bioho who was an African leader who escaped slavery in the 17th century and found San Basilio de Palenque. 

An interesting mural

Our local guide from Palenque. He was grating coconut for a cooking demonstration by an woman who sells baking in the town. 

A Palenquera, an iconic symbol of Afro-Colombian culture and tradition. Historically, Palenqueras walked from their village to Cartagena to sell fresh topical fruit, which they expertly balanced in bowls (lecheras) on their heads. This woman has her baking in the bowl she carries. 

Showing off her dress. 

Our group walking down the street. 

We stopped to visit the local "doctor". He showed us a lot of the herbs and tinctures he uses. 

Back in Cartagena, we drive past the beautiful gates of a local park.

The group was heading out to dinner and were surprised when our guide and one of the ladies were both wearing zebra print clothing. We walked to the walled city and enjoyed all of the lights. 

There was a group of dancers preforming in the street. We also saw a small band and other performers. 

The park was full of lights (the gate, a few photos ago, was then entrance to this park. 

A street near our hotel was full of people, lights and flags. 

February 18, 2026

More Cartagena

Today we are seeing a few more places in Cartagena, San Fernando Fortress, the fortress of San Felipe, and the Popa Monastery.

The hotel we are staying at uses robots. We ran into a cleaning robot in the elevator and these robots that deliver food from the kitchen to the dining room. The food delivery robots are pretty smart and stop before the run into you. 

As San Fernando Fortress is on Tierre Bomba Island, we needed to take a boat. 

The statue of Virgen del Carmen located in the bay of Cartagena de Indias Colombia. The Virgin of Carmen is the patron saint of the Colombian Armed Forces and is highly venerated by sailors, the port community and the people of Cartagena. The grey boats in the background are part of the Colombian navy. 

The following photos are of the San Fernando Fortress. The fortress is a colonial-era Spanish fortress that was built between 1756 and 1775. 

An interesting stairwell from the parapet to the parade ground. 

A vulture was just hanging about waiting for his photo.

Interesting boat. 

The Castillo San Felipe de Brajas

A view of the city from the top of the fortress.

A tunnel within the fort.

Looking over part of the fortress.

La Popa Monastery, also known as the Convent of La Popa is a historical convent which is situated at the top of the highest hill in Cartagena. The convent was founded in 1606 and built between 1609 and 1611.

A circular mural

This overly decorated fellow was outside of the convent.

The hotel swimming pool. The water was very warm so it was easy for me to get in.

Ed and I walked down to the city wall to get a photo of the sunset. 

February 17, 2026

Cartagena

We had a nice relaxing time this morning as our flight to Cartagena was at 12:45. When we reached Cartagena we boarded a bus to the hotel, checked in and had a bit of time before our walking tour of the walled city. As with all the place we have visited there are a lot of murals on the walls around the old city and they are all beautiful in their own way.

Cartagena, being a sea port has a large population that descends from the slaves that were brought here hundreds of years ago.

Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad in the Plaza de la Trinidad. 

In the Plaza de la Trinidad is the statue of Pedro Romero (the guy with his arm raised), a key leader of the Lancers of Getsemani who played a pivotal role in Cartagena's movement for independence from Spanish rule. 

One colourful exterior scene in the Getsemani neighbourhood. Ed did find the Canadian flag amongst the other flags. 

Around the corner from the Four Seasons Hotel is the Teatro Colon. The theatre was originally built in 1938. 

Torre del Reloj (Clock Tower) which the main city gate to the historic walled city of Cartagena

A statue in the square in front of the clock tower. 

Cartagena is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for it's colour architecture and vibrant wall.

More colour.

A metal sculpture depicting people playing chess in Plaza de San Pedro Claver

A canon on the city wall.

The flag of Cartagena, red represents the blood shed by patriots during the struggle for freedom and independence, yellow symbolizes the sun of liberty and vast natural richness of the land, green for the eternal hope for a dignified and prosperous homeland, and the white eight-pointed star represents the eight provinces that originally composed the Free State of Cartagena.

Part of the old city walls which were built between then 16th and 18th century. Plus the modern skyline of the Bocagrande district in the background. 

Another view of the clock towner. 

A street side stall 

February 16, 2026

Drive to Guatape and Walk Up the Rock

Several people have wondered out loud why we fly between the cities instead of driving. Today, we learned the answer with 2 hour drive to the nearby town of Guatape. The roads are twisty and hilly and many times the bus was only driving 30 km per hour and it felt fast. At times the drive felt like a torture method. One interesting thing happened on the drive. There was a police check point and the bus was pulled over. When the door opened, a medium sized dog that looked like a German Sheppard got on the bus, sniffed at the people as hewalked down the isle. When he got to the end, he turned around and ran back to his handler at the door. He didn't find any drugs and we were free to continue our trip.  

One small stretch of road. The reason the photo looks dull is because it was foggy. 

There are murals everywhere you look in Colombia. The following photos were taken while we were driving. 

We stopped at a rest stop along the highway and found a petting zoo.  You could buy food for the animals and a baby bottle with a supplement for the fish. 

Leaving the rest stop we continued driving and Ed kept finding things to take pictures of. 

El Peñón de Guatapé , the rock we are going to walk up. 

The climb up El Peñón de Guatapé is just over 700 steps. 

This statue was about half way up the stairs.

This ultra light attached to a dingy was flying around the rock. 

Made it to the top and enjoying view.

A nice person did a good job taking a photo of Rob, Sharon, myself and Ed.

Walking down.

A view from part way down the rock. 

We continued the drive to Guatapé where we had a tour and lunch. 

This is a mural depicting how the rich people were carried around on chairs and a map of the area.

A fountain. The picture doesn't show it but the fountain reflects diversity with different coloured people. 

Another mural 

Parroquia Nuestra Senora del Carmen church

On the drive back to Medellin we stop to enjoy a boat ride on Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir. The reservoir was created in 1970's when a dam was built.

This photo and the next one are of the abandoned and ruined houses of drug lord Pablo Escobar. The estate was called "La Manuela" after Escobar's daughter and is on Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir.

 La Fénix de América represents a phoenix, and serves as an emblem of rebirth and cultural identity for the local community of El Peñol.

February 15, 2026

Medellin

Medellin has a very violent history and was the place where violence that plague Colombia for decades began. We learned a lot about the violent past of Medellin and Colombia today but I'm not going to write about it. I'm just going to show you Medellin of today. 

Our first stop today is a plaza where several of Botero's statues are on display. We were told that Botero said this area was for all people including the homeless. Our local guide and guide gave us instructions to stay within a certain area so they could ensure we were safe. 

This statue is of Botero's son who died young.

When we left the plaza with the Botero sculptures we drove to another park on the other side of the river. We were told we were very safe here. It was the total opposite of the plaza.

The Fragmented Figure, a woman lying on the group is composed of 108 separate pieces. This represents the more than 100 victims of the 1985 Palace of Justice siege and serves as a "grid of memory". This statue was unveiled on October 27, 2025. 

Our next stop was to walk through a Comuna 13 neighbourhood of Medellin. Once considered one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world, Comuna 13 has transformed into a vibrant area famous for its urban art, music, and food. The parties never stop.

This mural was done before the Black Lives movement in the US.

Leaving the Cumunal 13 neighbourhood, we drove to a food court in the financial district. Ed and I did a little walk around the very quiet area as it was Sunday.

Superman in "the thinker pose"

I think everyone in Colombia has a motorcycle

After lunch we drove up the mountain to visit La Finca Casa de las Flores. This is one of the places that grows flowers and enters them into Medellin's Feira de las Flores, a festival celebrating flowers of Colombia.

We were shown the traditional dress men where when showing the flowers.

One category has flowers from the garden of the people showing, put into a wooden carrier. The person then carries the flowers in the parade. Other categories include a large display with flowers from anywhere by a professional and flower displays that are advertisement.

In an effort to repair people's lives after all the violence in Medellin, the government decided to build a transit system that reached high into the hills to help the poorer people get into the city for jobs. It was decided that cable cars was the easiest and fastest transportation. Our route back to the city and to the restaurant for dinner was via a couple of cable cars and a train.

We caught the first cable car at a park. 

The first half of our group on a cable car. 

It had been raining and was still pretty misty out.

One of the poor villages on the mountainside.

At least on a Sunday, the system was fast and easy.

February 14, 2026 

Cocora Valley and Flying to Medellin

The Cocora Valley is a valley in the Andean mountains. "Cocora" was the name of a Quimbayan princess, daughter of the local chief Acaime and means "star of water". The valley is part of the Los Nevados Natural Park and is the main location where the national tree of Colombia, the Quindia wax palm can be found. 

We started the day by climbing into jeeps for the drive. Our tour guide arranged for 3 groups so that a maximum of 4 people would be in the back of the jeep. The legal limit is 12 which means there are people standing on the back bumper (a fairly wide space) and hanging on. 

A Great Thrush, or commonly known as "Mirla" in Colombia

Some horses grazing, horse back riding is available here. A few people who didn't want to hike went for a ride along the river. 

Ed and Sharon walking up the trail. Ed caught me taking the photo and decided to take one of me. 

The palms are very tall, over 60 metres. One theory of why the trees are so tall is that the land was once was covered with forest so the palms grew tall to get through the canopy to find sun. Then the Spanish came and removed much of the forest leaving the palms. For what ever reason the trees are tall they make for a beautiful landscape.

We hiked fairly high to get the beautiful views. 

On the hike down, there were some photo ops. Our guide was happy to see the number of photo ops had been decreased. 

Janet and I were demonstrating how people ride on the back of the jeeps. 

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Back in Salento, Ed and I walked to the view points. This one over looks the valley behind Salento.

Overlooking the town.

A view of the church

Today, there was a market on the main street.

After a late lunch, early dinner we got on a bus and drove to the airport for the short flight to Medellin. We finally reached the hotel around 10pm. 

February 13, 2026  

Barbus Bremen Nature Reserve & Filandia

We headed off in the jeeps again today. This time we were headed to Barbus Bremen Nature Reserve. The roof was rolled off  and we watched the beautiful countryside go by. All was good till we suddenly stopped and rolled the roof out. It was raining!  

Part of our group in a jeep after the roofs were put on. Luckily the rain slowed down when we arrived at the reserve. 

A Couple of Howler monkeys were hanging about when we got to the reserve. 

Four us our group (including Ed and myself) headed out for a hike with the guide. Unfortunately, it was also cool today (at least by Colombia standards) so the birds weren't active. The following photos are a few of the things we saw. 

A large fiddlehead

More interesting fiddleheads

A Bromeliad flower

Flower of the Lady Slipper vine

Bamboo Orchid

Checking out a palm

Heliconia Bihai or Lobster Claw

After our hike we joined the rest of the group around the bird feeders at the Nature Reserve.

Solitary Tinamou

Acorn Woodpecker

Possibly a white-neck Jacobin

Possibly a brown violetear 

White-necked Jacobin

Blue-gray Tanager plus an unknown bird

Leaving the reserve

Arriving in town. Two benches were in the back of the jeep. It gave for great views especially when the roof was rolled up. 

The town of Filandia. It's pretty even in the rain.

A painting on some steps.

Our guide, Andres, with his panda umbrella

I always joked about taking Basket weaving 101 at university. It was actually a lot of fun especially as it was raining. 

The end products. Ed's basket is front row left, mine is front row right. The local guide's basket is front row centre.

Looking over a valley from the town.

February 12, 2026

Flying to Salento and Coffee

We were up early this morning to drive to the airport to catch a flight to Salento. The flight took less than an hour but it would have taken 12 to 14 hours to drive the same distance through the mountains with truck traffic. 

There was a bit of traffic on the road this morning. 

There was also a bit of traffic on the runway. 


Some of the countryside we drove through.


Salento is a very colourful place. 

The church is high on the hill and the spire is used as a landmark so you always know where you are. 

The following are photos of the town. 

Not only is the town colourful but it is also full of hills.

This afternoon we got in jeeps and drove to a coffee plantation for a tour and coffee tasting. There were gardens with pretty flowers like this soap aloe. 

 

One of the women on the trip (thanks Janet) took this photo of us. That's fields of coffee behind us.

For the coffee tour we were dressed like "tv coffee pickers". I kept my hat instead of donning the Juan Valdez hat. We saw a picker in the fields and he was not dressed like this. The picker had a radio blasting music and I was told by our local guide that the radio is the pickers best friend. 

The fruit of the coffee plant turns red when it's ripe. When the fruit is squeezed and the bean pops out.

Bananas and Plantain are planted between sections of coffee. There are two purposes for this on this plantation, one it separates the types of coffee and two it provides shade for the coffee plants. 

After the tour, our coffee guide explained the best way to make coffee and then made us coffee. 

There are different ways to dry the coffee beans. Here they drive them on the roof --- there is a cover that slides over at night and during inclement weather. 

Scarlet Banana


I couldn't resist the swing. The views were spectacular. 

February 11, 2026

Museum, Horses and Salt

It's our last day in Bogota, and it's a busy day. The Botero Museum was on the itinerary for yesterday, but as it is closed on Tuesdays, our guides decided to squeeze into today's itinerary. In my opinion it was definitely worth altering the schedule. 

Botero is a Colombian artist who is famous around the world. He was a painter and a sculpture plus an art collector. He agreed to donate part of his collection to the city of Bogota on two conditions: 1. the museum would be free so everyone could enjoy the art and 2. he arranged the art in the museum. 

Yes, this is a Picasso. There were several Picasso's in Botero's collection.

Botero's style is defined by the depiction of exaggerated, voluminous. While often perceived as humorous or whimsical, Fernando Botero's artwork is also deeply rooted in social and political commentary. The thought about this piece is the man is out on the town enjoying himself while his wife is home with the children.

Retrospective Bust of a Woman by Salvador Dali

Reclining Figure by Henry Moore

Leda and the Swan by Fernando Botero

Car Bomb by Fernando Botero

This Botero sculpture of a hand is at the entrance to the museum

Leaving the museum we get on a bus head north to visit a horse farm. 

The Colombian Government is having the bridge sub-structures painted. We drove past one bridge where animals were painted on the sub-structures. This bridge is getting is getting a colour abstract. There were people painting as we drove by. 

Ed caught this cow and farmer by the side of the road as we drove by.

When we arrived at the La Isabella Ecuestre we were given a tour off the farm.  At the farm there are a couple of llamas, some sheep, chickens and Colombian Paso horses (the most famous being the Paso Fino). The Paso horses are trained in a special gate that allows the rider to remain level as they ride (no bouncing 😊).

These horses are quite small compared to the horses Ed and I are use to.

There are also a couple of pintos on the farm as they have a similar temperament as the pasos.

There also was a demonstration of the gates of the horses. The legs move very quickly and the hooves make a specific sound when they move across wood. A very fit horse can keep up the gate for approximately 15 minutes. 

Last stop of the day is the salt mine and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira. The salt mine is still active today and is 500 feet below the cathedral. Instead of miners, water is pumped into mine shaft, causing the salt to dissolve into the water. The water is then pumped out and the salt is recovered by evaporation.

Outside of the mine entrance is this statue of a miner.

The entrance to the mine. Coloured lights are used all over the mine and the church. 

Our local guide showing us some of the salt that remains in the original mine. 

The Salt Cathedral was created by the miners. It was attempt it keep them safe in the mine. As you walk down the tunnel you pass the 14 stations of the cross. All of the crosses are lit up with rotating colours. Some of the stations overlook parts of the mine.

The tunnel widens and continues. 

Weddings are preformed in the church. This cross is cut out of the rocks. There is also a light show that is preformed here.

There is an area that fills with water and appears to be deep but is actually on a couple of inches deep. A great spot for taking photos. That's Rob from our group standing at the end of the water. 

 If you looking closely at this photo you can see things carved into the salt on this wall. There is a tree, an owl in the tree and a man praying.

There is always a lot of traffic in Bogota but rush hour is insane and lasts for hours. It's 8:30 pm and the traffic is barely moving so we decided to get off the bus about 7 blocks from the hotel and walk the rest of the way. If you ride a motorcycle you can ride it every day, if you drive a car you are restricted from driving it one day a week. Another interesting thing in Bogota is uber motor cycles. Many people with motorbikes carry an extra helmet so they can pick people us and make a couple of dollars. 

February 10, 2026

Lots to see in Bogota

Today we are visiting some of the main attractions in the historic area of Bogota. Our first stop is at the cable car that will take us to Monserrate Sanctuary, a Catholic shrine.

Monserrate Sanctuary

The statue of Christ.

The cable car with Bogota in the background.

Looking down on Bogota. Bogota has a population of over 8 million people.

The next stop for today is the flower and food market. The flower market starts really early in the morning and was starting to shut down around 10:30 am when we arrived. 

As we near the market, we see some flowers for sale on the side of the road. 

Lots of roses. 

Entering the main market area.

There were lots of fruits and vegetables that I didn't recognize.

We stopped at a coffee shop in the market that was across from a fruit stand. Between the 2 vendors we enjoyed a fruit tasting. I don't eat a lot of fruit so the only fruit I recognized was the star fruit. It was really interesting trying the different fruits.

The Bogota Gold Museum is the next item on today's agenda.  Our local guide says it takes 3 or 4 hours to see the entire museum, so he takes us to see what he feels our the most import area of the museum. We walk through a safe door to get to the first exhibits. 

Gold is very soft so it is mixed with different metals. The pieces in this museum are mixed with copper. Lighter pieces have less copper than the darker pieces. 

This is the reason for the safe doors. These 2 uncut emerald crystal are worth over $10,000,000.

Masks

There is a lot of graffiti and street art in Bogota. Graffiti is illegal and is generally just tagging. Street Art is usually down with permission and some times it is commissioned by the owner of the building. The Candelaria district, which is near our hotel has a lot of beautiful street art. 

This piece of street art is three dimensional. 

Most street art starts as a drawing which is then transcribed to the wall. The artist then paints it using spray paint. The above street art was created using a stencil. The picture is created on paper and cut out. The picture is then put on the wall and painted. The paper is removed leaving the art. 

A different form of art. Umbrellas are hung about the street.

Llamas hanging out in front of a church. 


Plaza de Bolivar

February 9, 2026

First Day of Tour - Bogota

Today we check out of the hotel we've been staying and move to the hotel the tour group is using. The hotels are only 5 km apart but the atmosphere is very different. There are a lot more tourists staying in the new area, so there are souvenir shops and street vendors. We had a bit of time in the morning so walk around the hotel a bit. 

When we got to the new hotel we had a surprise. A couple from that was on our Egypt / Jordon trip is on this trip. There was a couple of hour wait before we could check in so we went for a walk.  

Lots of vendors, lots of pigeons, and a llama you can have your photo taken with for a fee. 

There are lots of colourful buildings. 

Primatial Cathedral of Bogota in Plaza de Bolivar.

National Capital Building

Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church

Ed is standing in front of Casa de Narino, the residence of office of the president of Colombia.

We were walking up a hill and thought this was an interesting scene.

National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Carmen

The hotel is a cute older hotel. We have a little balcony, so Ed decided to take some photos of the street below. 

February 8, 2026

More of Bogota, Colombia

Today was another free day as our tour begins tomorrow.

As we walked down the street we realized that there were no vehicles on this part of the road but there were a lot of bicycles and runners. Apparently, there are lots of bicycle events that close roads in Bogota and they usually are on Sundays. When we walked back to the hotel around 4:30, the road was open to vehicles. 

One of the places mentioned in "the top things to see in Bogota" is the Museo Nacional de Colombia. It isn't included in our tour so we decided to check it out. It helped that foreigners over 60 get in for free. 😁

The Museo Nacional de Colombia was established on July 28, 1823. The building it is was built in 1872 and was originally a prison. In 1946 the prison was moved to a larger building. After several years of renovations, the museum moved in on May 2, 1948.

One of the exhibit areas. 

Crown of Simon Bolivar

Looking down on the 2nd floor gallery. The end wall is a mixture of photos and videos. 

The Tree of Life

This sculpture is made from news papers. The lower section was trimmed and the upper section is stacks of news papers. 

Still Life with Grey Pitcher by Fernando Botero
Botero's work uses exaggerated volume and rounded forms.

There are a couple of lovely court yards that contain sculptures. This sculpture is called Openclosure pavilion. 

Leaving the museum we wandered around the area visiting a couple of parks. 

Looking down a highway.

Art shot 

Looking at tents at a flea market. One booth was selling old records.

In our wanderings we found this cute street that was home to a lot of restaurants. 

There is a lot of beautiful graffiti in Bogota. The following are just of few of the ones we saw. 

There are also a lot of amazing sculptures in Bogota.

February 7, 2026

Bogota, Colombia

As we were going to arrive in Bogota early in the morning, we had booked a hotel room for the night of February 6th.  This must be an unusual thing to do as it takes 2 people and more than 10 minutes to find the reservation. We go up to our room and decide it's time for a nap. In the afternoon we head out and walk around the downtown area till the rain comes. 

February 6, 2026

Flying to Colombia

When your flight is scheduled to leave at 11:10 pm, you have a really long day. After looking up all the weather reports, we decide to leave for the hotel just after 2pm. Our flight arrives at 9:20 pm so we decided that we'd get a room for that night. This allows us to park the car in the hotel's underground parking garage for a discounted fee. 

We're really lucky and the weather holds and is still holding when we get to the hotel. After enjoying at lovely dinner at the hotel, we take the shuttle to the airport. The weather is no longer holding --- the temperature has dropped, the winds have picked up speed and the snow is blowing. 

The weather was bad enough that our plane had to go through de-icing. We leave two hours late but arrive only an hour late. 

Before the plane can go to the run way, it stops for de-icing. We can see the snow plows working on keeping the run way clears. Our captain announces that the airport is reduced to one runaway, so we get to wait for a few planes to land. 

There's a lot of cloud cover over Colombia, When the plane gets below the clouds we can see fog hanging over the ground. 

We made it!!!!

February 5, 2026 

Getting Ready

We leave tomorrow, so I'm testing everything today. 

I am not sad about leaving this snow and cold.