Monday, June 30 - Monday, July 14, 2008..... My couchsurfing hosts (Josh & Karen) are great people, and I was fortunate enough to stay at their place for 12 nights. They were very kind and welcoming couple. She is from Colombia and he is from Kansas, and they plan to get married soon in Ecuador. They both were great cooks and cooked me up some great meals, showed me around Cali, and helped me find a place to get some salsa lessons. I had my first salsa lesson on Tuesday, July 1st. I paid for two weeks worth in Cali which was 70,000 pesos ($35) for a total of 8 hours. I could have done the whole month which was even a better deal of 130,000 pesos ($65), but figured I would not stay in Cali for a month. The name of the place where I got my lessons was Allegro, and it was within walking distance from Josh & Karen's place which was nice.
It was kind've ironic...I was laying down in the main room of their apartment and one of Karen's girl friends came walking in and woke me up, and behind her was someone I recognized while in Cali, Colombia. It was Brad Paine. I found it very hard to believe that I would run into someone from Superior, Wisconsin in Cali, Colombia. I guess this girl Gabby that he knows through his cousin, is really good friends with Karen. So the next day we all went to this waterfall and grilled up some burgers, and had a good time hanging out during the day.
On Sunday, July 6, six of us all went to Parque Nacional del Cafe nearby a small town of Pueblo Tapao, about 15 km west of Armenia, and about 3 hours from Cali. This area is kind've a coffee-bean disneyland that has a museum, a small coffee plantation, and many different activities to keep you entertained. We went on a rollercoaster, horseback riding, go-karting, and on this little train that took you around the park. We also saw a 40 minute theater performance that was incredible. The actors were all so good, and amazing dancers. It was a lot of fun to watch, but they would not allow cameras, so I was not able to take a video of any of the performances.
Cali was a great stop and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Josh and Karen, and learning some salsa. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with them the whole time I was in Cali, and had some fantastic meals as well, but on Saturday, July 12, I took a three hour bus south to Popyan and met up with my new couchsurfer host Emma.
It was nice to spend one night with Emma. Her boyfriend was a very kind guy and introduced me to his friends while Emma was working on Sunday. We went to one of his friends houses outside of the town of Popayan and it was a beautiful house and his parents had a beautiful home right next to his as well. All of his friends were very kind, and told me I had a place to stay whenever I wanted to return. After hanging out at this house all day we had to get moving so I could catch my bus to Ipiales, and Emma´s boyfriend and one of his friends that I was hanging out with both made sure I caught my bus at the terminal before they left. They were very genuine people, and I felt like I had known them forever. Unfortunately, seeing I did not arrive Popayan on Saturday until about 430 pm, and it rained most the day on Sunday, I did not really get any pictures of the city, but it was a beautiful colonial city of 240,000 people. Some people say it is one of Colombia´s most beautiful old towns.
On Sunday, July 13, I caught a bus at 1030 pm from Popayan to Ipiales (6.5 hours) the Colombian/Ecuador border city (29,000 pesos =$15), and arrived on Monday morning at 5 am. The border didn´t open until 8 am to get my passport stamped, so I just killed three hours worth in the bus terminal, and then took a short bus ride to the actual border to get stamped out of Colombia, and into Ecuador. Once I got to the Ecuador side I caught a bus at 930 am ($4) and was on a bus another 5.5 hours before I finally arrived Quito, Ecuador. By the time I called my next couchsurfer Mercedes, and took a taxi ($7) to her place, it was 4 pm. I am a little exhausted. After 49 great days in Colombia it is great to be in Ecuador!!
Places in Colombia I visited:
Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa, Marta, Taganga, Tayrona Parque, 4 Rivas/Uribia, Cabo De La Vela, Maicao, Cucuta, Bucaramanga, San Gil, Barichara, Bogota, Duitama, Medellin, Cali, Buca & Parque Nacional Del Cafe, Popayan, Pasto, Ipiales
