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Being Bogota Colombia’s Small Towns Zipaquira, Chichinquira Villa de Leyva, Raquira Medellin Surprises Fascinating Cartagena The Bazurto Market

Travel2Colombia is a Talking Travel Publication

Travel2Colombia June, 2014

Greetings from the Editor-in-Chief The Secret of Exploring Colombia

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Being Bogota!

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Hanging Out in Colombia’s Small Towns Zipiquira, Chichinquira, Villa de Leyva and Raquira

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Medellin Surprises

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Fascinating Cartagena

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The Bazurto Market in Cartagena

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When you go…

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Scene from the Town Square of Gautapé

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Front Cover Photo: The Saturday morning market in Villa de Leyva

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highway was cleared of rocks—by having a front-end loader roll large boulders down the hill—causing them to crash onto the road in front of us. Despite the delay we arrived–and returned safely.

The second instance involved Cartagena’s Bazurto Market. We asked the concierge at our hotel in Cartagena about visiting a local fruit-fish-meatvegetable market. After a moment of hesitation he mentioned the Mercado Bazurto, but cautioned that ‘tourists’ don’t go there because it’s dangerous—you’ll get robbed’. His words “we don’t recommend that you go”, represented the challenge to explore, so we flagged down a taxi and visited the market. As my article relates, we found friendly, smiling people and great photo opportunities.

The Secret of Exploring Colombia There was no rhyme or reason why we chose to spend two weeks of our summer holiday in Colombia.

It sounded intriguing and we thought that the legendary places we would visit- Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena- were worthy of exploration. The trip was amazing.

Colonial cities, beautiful small towns, vibrant, colourful markets, wonderful people, engaging museums, delicious food and a sense of discovery every minute of every day. The secret of exploring Colombia? Just go for it.

After spending a week in Panama, we flew into Bogota, and almost immediately left for a few days in Villa de Leyva, via the salt cathedral in Zipaquira and the town of Chichinquira. We returned to Bogota for several days before flying to Medellin where we took a day trip to Guatapé and on another day to Santa Fe de Antiochia. Finally we flew to Cartagena where we explored the beach, the old town and the Bazurto Market, as well as El Totumo, the mud volcano, just outside of the city.

The museums are also repositories of the secrets to understanding Colombia—from the amazing Fernando Botero museums in Bogota and Medellin— to the gold museums in Bogota and Cartagena. And there are many small art galleries in all the cities as well as historic homes, churches, town squares, artistic and expressive graffiti on buildings and walls, and impressive scenery just about everywhere.

And then there is the food. Our first meal was at Mama Lupé’s, just around the corner from Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota. We took a chance and blindly ordered the Ajiaco Santafereno (hearty chicken soup with sweet corn and avocado) and we loved it. At Carmen in Medellin, the food, service and wine list was beyond expectation. In Cartagena’s Old Town, El Bistro features unbelievably great food at surprisingly affordable prices, in an informal atmosphere.

And there is so much more we would have seen in Colombia if we had more time. As in all destinations, it was ultimately the locals with whom we met and chatted; the smiling faces, the helpful suggestions and the pride in showing off the bounties of their particular destination that made this trip so memorable.

Now when I say “just go for it”, I’m not trying to be pretentious. We hired taxis, took local buses, joined walking and bicycle tours and generally took the attitude that one way or another we would see everything on our list. And sometimes, we had to think twice. The first instance was our trip to Santa Fe de Antiochia, where we bought a ticket for the local bus, and went to the boarding gate, only to find a midsize car, already loaded with a driver and three passengers, waiting for us. We were told to get in and we set off for the 90 minute drive, packed into the back seat. Half way to the destination we joined a long line of stopped cars as the hillside above the After climbing the 725 steps of the Piedra del Peñol you’re rewarded with an absolutely stunning view.

Artistic Expression and Beauty: Graffiti Van /Graffiti House on one of the side streets in downtown Bogota

Live River Crabs are just one of the ingredients that are blended into the drink called ‘Savage Love’

Being Bogota Buenos, Bolivar, Bikes, Botero, Ben-Hur…and more Mike our guide, came out of the small refreshment stand carrying a goldfish bowl of live river crabs. He described the speciality of the house—a drink called Poderoso Berraquillo (Powerful Mixture) made from blended fruit juices, booze, a few secret ingredients, and one live crab. The nickname for the drink is ‘savage love’ –supposedly a natural Viagra—and he asked if anyone was interested in trying it for only 5000 Colombian pesos (about $2.50 US). This was the first stop on our bike tour around Bogota. There was silence amongst the group, so I volunteered in the spirit of ‘try anything once’. I took a sip—it tasted like a crabby-fruity milkshake—and then offered tastes to the group. While we all agreed that ‘savage love’ was a bit of marketing hyperbole, the drink certainly brought the group together and kept up our spirits and energy for the 5-hour tour.

And why bikes? Well, the traffic in Bogota can best be explained by picturing the chariot race from the movie ‘Ben-hur’, but substitute thousands of cars for the 9 chariots that actually took part in the famous movie race. The same fierce determination, conniving, swerving, cutting off, jumping ahead and avoiding collisions is the norm for traffic in and around Bogota. We referred to it as Ben-Hurrying around the city.

Close-up of one of the graffiti works of art by the artist Nomada

A sampling of the amazing work of streets artists in downtown Bogota See www.bogotagraffiti.com for more information.

Bogota sometimes gets a bad rap. Friends and colleagues told me that they would not want to waste their time by visiting ‘a city”. It would be dirty, dangerous and crowded. I’ll admit that that this advice rang true in some parts of the city—as it would in any city in the world—but after an hour of so you can warm up to Bogota quite nicely and have a great time.

As in many South American cities, the greeting of Buenos Dias or simply “Buenos” does a lot to bring you closer to the locals. It simply means good day but an enthusiastic ‘buenos’ is the surest way to break the ice. You will inevitably get a ‘buenos’ back—and sometimes a conversation, or simply a smile.

Encounter with the three rapping amigos on our bicycle tour

From Bogota’s airport it’s about a 30 minute drive to the city through some very congested areas. But then we started heading to the north and all of a sudden there were broad avenues, office buildings, shopping areas, restaurants and the Bogota Hilton. I will say that it was one of the friendliest and most helpful hotels I have stayed in, anywhere. And while it is a distance from Plaza de Bolivar, the main city square (about a $6.00 taxi ride each way), the area around the hotel (Bellavista) is walkable day or night.

After checking in we immediately headed downtown to Plaza de Bolivar with the Primary Cathedral of Bogota as the centre-piece and flanked on either side by the Palace of Justice and the National Capitol building. This is the historic core of the city. The side streets in the area send you back in time to the call for Independence in 1810, past churches and flower-festooned house balconies, all against the backdrop of Monserrate, the city-mountain.

About a 15 minute walk away is the Gold Museum. And this truly is a treasure house, displaying some 6000 awesome pieces of pre-Hispanic gold. (This plus the Zeñu Gold Museum in Cartagena and the Museo Oro del Peru in Lima, comprise the perfect hat trick for South American niche travellers interested in gold and gems)

We had read about Bogota Bike Tours and decided that this was probably the best (and most unique) way to see parts of the city that we would never otherwise find, so we signed up the next day. Mike Caesar, our guide, led us to the Paloquemao Market, filled with fruit and vegetable vendors, where he arranged for the group to taste a dozen or so different local fruits.

We then headed to an off-street coffee importer to learn about production, and in the adjoining café, to order delicious tinto (black coffee) and creamy cappuccino. We continued on to the historic city cemetery, the colourful red light district, the bull-fighting arena, then ended the tour back at Bolivar Plaza where some of the brave souls in the group tasted fried ants Paloquemao Market: smiles and local produce (apparently it’s an acquired taste). But it was a pretty amazing afternoon and certainly equalled the next day when we signed up for a two-hour graffiti walking tour of the downtown area. Graffiti is an accepted art form in the city and paintings by artists such as Stink Fish, Nomad and Rodez are treasured and admired. This is another tour for your ‘must do’ list.

And no visit to Bogata would be complete without a trip to the Museo Botero, celebrating the art of Medellin-born, Fernando Botero. The artist is famous for his paintings, sculptures and statues of ‘voluminous’ men, woman, cats, horses and even the Mona Lisa. Lastly, we visited Cerro de Monserrate—the city mountain where you can take a funicular or cable car to the summit to get a spectacular view from a height of 3160 meters.

Botero’s Cat

Being Bogota means getting into the spirit of the city by exploring as many nooks and crannies as possible but also by creating your own travel tales and in the process, sharing the concept of ‘buenos’ with the people you encounter along the way.

It should get you thinking the next time someone counsels you to avoid Bogota because ‘it’s just a city”.

This article first appeared in a different format in www.travelindustrytoday.com

Catedral Primada in Plaza de Bolivar

Catching up on news and views on a Sunday morning outside the Church in Raquira

One of the statues looking down on the main chapel in Zipaquira’s Salt Cathedral

Hanging Out in Colombia’s Small Towns: Realizing the oldest travel niche market, anew While it’s not officially recognized as a niche interest, we need to give serious thought to how many people travel somewhere just to ‘hang out’. Hanging out can mean a number of things from ‘simply being there’ to ‘watching the world go by’ to ‘actively engaging in a non-specific agenda of inactivity’.

On package tour itineraries, this usually boils down to ‘free time to explore’.

During my travels in Colombia, I found the major cities of Bogota, Medellin and Cartegena to be fascinating and they offered lots of activities, museums, amazing restaurants and places to wander and take photos. But it was the small towns just outside of those cities that were so memorable, and it was the ‘hanging out’ that made all the difference.

Getting to Villa de Leyva, roughly four hours north of Bogota, can be an adventure. You can rent a car or take a package tour or do what we did-- take local buses. And while this can be time consuming, it can also be a journey of discovery, especially if you don’t speak Spanish (like me!).

The first bus took us to Zipaquira, known for the Cathedral built in the salt mines 200 meters below the surface.

We roamed through the tunnels on our own Souvenir store, just off the main square in Chichinquira

and soon came upon a stone cross in front of a cavern-like excavation: the first of the chapels. A dimly lit passageway leads past the Stations of the Cross and then to three other chapels. The immense Salt Cathedral can accommodate 3000 guests. It’s quite impressive and usually makes it into those global lists of places you must see.

Continuing toward Villa de Leyva, a second bus took us to the town of Chiquinquira which is considered to be the religious capital The main chapel in Zipaquira’s Salt Cathedral of Colombia. We wandered the main square, visited the Basilica, found a coffee shop to check out the local scene and eventually found the bus to take us to our final destination. It didn’t help when we thought we had to travel to the town of Tunja to change buses, yet again. Whenever a taxi stopped near us, we got the name of the town wrong and asked the driver about ‘trucha”—which means ‘trout”. No wonder it took us a bit longer to reach Villa de Leyva that day!.

Villa de Leyva is a small colonial town that boasts the largest cobbled town square in Colombia.

Bordering Plaza Mayor is a 17th Century church along with shops, restaurants, cafes, and many places for locals and tourists to sit around with their Club Colombia or Poker beer (or many cases, an ice cream) and just ‘hang out’. In addition, there are very interesting side streets with small hotels, restaurants, museums, souvenir shops, cobblestone streets and colonial architecture, so it’s quite a beautiful and at the same time, laid back town.

Plaza Mayor in Villa de Leyva is said to be the largest town squares in all of Colombia

Sausages, potatoes and heart stews are all part of the experience in visiting Villa de Leyva’s Saturday Market

But the reason we arrived on a Friday was to attend the Saturday market at 5:30 am. And when we arrived it was like cowboy country: men and woman wearing ponchos and cowboy hats; setting up their vegetable stands, and unloading huge bags of carrots and potatoes from trucks and sturdy horses.

Women were cooking yards of bright red sausage, grilling corn on the cob, making the hearty local soups and stews, as well as their own colourful salsa concoctions. By 8:00 the market was in full swing.

Pozos Azul, near El Fossil

Later that morning we hired a taxi to visit El Fossil, where in 1977 a man found the intact skeletal remains of a dolphin-like creature called a Cronosaurus. There’s a small museum on the spot. Then it was on to the astronomical observatory where the Muisca, the indigenous people, established a site for religious ceremonies. The Spanish immediately dubbed the site “El Infiernito”—Little Hell—due to the ‘pagan’ practices that took place and possibly also due to the phallic shape of many of the 115 cylindrical stones at the site. Nearby at Pozos Azules—you can follow billowy pine trees down a hill to a beautiful blue lagoon.

The astronomical observatory-El Infiernito

On Sunday morning it was market day in Raquira, about 45 minutes away. The market is smaller than in Villa de Leyva but certainly not lacking in the smell of sweet, fresh vegetables, the smiles of friendly vendors and, when we were there, a cow auction. The town itself is full of souvenir stores and pottery shops, each behind a brightly painted façade with colourful swinging hammocks on display. It’s touristy—but worth the visit, especially for travellers who are into photography and just ‘hanging out’.

Scenes from the town and market place of Raquira

Two hours east of Medellin is the town of Guatapé, where the attraction, just outside the town, is the Piedra del Peñol. 750 steps lead you to the very top of the 200 meter high rock where you get absolutely stunning views of the lakes and mountains in the area. The townabout a 15 minute tuk-tuk ride away--has some very good waterfront restaurants specializing in paisa food—hearty portions of grilled fish or meat with beans, rice, corn and potato.

We ate at El Fogata—which was a great choice.

A magnificent view from the top of the Peñon

The colours of

El Peñon de Guatapé (Piedra del Peñon)

A Paisa lunch at La Fogata: Huge taste and portions!

The colourful buildings and homes of Guatapé

Santa Fe de Antioquia Town Square

In the opposite direction, about two hours west of Medellin is the town of Santa Fe de Antioquia. The town square and side streets are so picturesque—just wander and enjoy. We found an outdoor café, chatted up one of the local kids, and observed the hustle and bustle of town life. Afterward we hired a taxi to visit the Puente de Occidente, a suspension bridge over the Cauca River—one of the oldest in South America. You can walk over the bridge (watch out for missing planks), under the bridge, and even above the bridge!

Courtyard in a former convent, now a hotel

Loading up the trucks and local buses on Friday afternoon for the trip to Medellin

La Puente de Occidente-one of the longest suspension bridges in South America

Climbing out of the thick mud of the volcanic crater after our massage and mud bath.

Just outside of Cartagena, El Totumo is the site of a volcanic crater filled with mud that has the consistency of thick cream. Wearing your bathing suit, you climb up a steep wooden staircase, and then down into the oozing mud. We took the guide’s suggestion to indulge in a mud massage ($1.50), where you are plastered in mud, front and back, head to toe and then massaged (somewhat). You then hang out in the mud --with the 15-20 other people—feeling as if you are in suspended animation.

You don’t actually stand—you just float—and while doing this, one of the locals takes photos of you with your camera (for $1.50). When you’re ready to leave, you suction yourself out of the mud, climb up the ladder, down the volcano and along the path to the river where, for yet another $1.50, a woman orders you to sit in the water while she roughly but laughingly washes the mud off you—everywhere.

Colombia’s cities have great attractions but the small towns are really where you can appreciate colonial architecture, old streets, food markets, an opportunity to chat with the locals (even if you don’t speak Spanish) and get a glimpse of a more rural lifestyle. And all this in the spirit of ‘just sitting back and watching the world go by’. Hanging out is the oldest travel niche interest--but only recently ‘discovered’ as a prime motivation for travelling the globe.

Hitching a ride to Medellin This article appeared in a different format in www.travelindustrytoday.com

Balloons with feet! Just outside Medellin’s Botanical Garden

Plaza Botero is in front of the Museum of Antioquia at the centre of Medellin

Medellin Surprises!

Medellin is not a city that has mastered the art of positive first impressions. Its reputation as a former crime capital is a bit intimidating, and certainly the very long taxi ride from the airport to the city does not offer spectacular beauty as you go follow the highway down, then up, then through heavy traffic and then down again into the Aburra Valley. And what you see are thousands of homes and buildings filling in all the spaces on the sides of the surrounding Andes Mountains.

After a 45 minute drive, we arrived at The Medellin Royal Hotel, a four-star property in a relatively safe residential/tourist area, away from the city, and around the corner from shopping malls, restaurants and stores. We would spend most evenings in this area, sometimes buying supplies at one of the grocery stores, checking out the wine shops, dining or just chilling out.

On the first day, almost immediately after checking in to the hotel, we took a taxi downtown to Plaza Botero. From then on we only took taxis from the hotel to reach the Poblado Metro station (about 15 minutes away) and then travelled on the clean, convenient and easy to navigate Metro.

Botero’s “Head” and the Museum of Antioquia

Botero’s “Sphynx”, Plaza Botero

While we spent two full days out of the city visiting the Piedra del Peñol and Guatapé on one day and then the town of Santa Fe de Antiochia on another (see the article on ‘Hanging out in Small Towns’), we did relax and enjoy our time in Medellin itself. It’s all a matter of finding your comfort level.

And one of the best techniques we have adopted for getting ‘in tune’ with a town or city is to find a popular café, grab a table, order a beer (or coffee) and kind of pick up the vibes from the local patrons. It’s a great way to feel comfortable, strike up a conversation or appreciate a smile. So that’s what we did in Medellin. We wandered down a shopping street, found a busy café and settled in. After 30 minutes or so we started to explore with a whole new relaxed attitude.

The main attractions that we explored included: Plaza Botero: the public park outside the Museum of Friendly creatures, Jardin Botanico. Medellin Antioquia where twenty-three bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero are displayed. Aside from Botero’s amazing sculptures of ‘voluminous’ people and animals, it’s a fun place for photos, selfies, watching people pose with the statues as well as the vendors selling ice cream, balloons, toys, hats and souvenirs.

The Museum of Antioquia is located by Plaza Botero.

Aside from Botero’s statues, sculptures, drawings and paintings, it also houses work by international artists (we found at least one Picasso). We enjoyed it so much that we visited twice during our four days in the city. There is also a very nice coffee shop in the museum. Your admission ticket includes one coffee tinto (black coffee). Really good (as are the pastries).

Jardin Botanico. Right off the Metro stop, this is a large park with trees, birds, small animals, performance areas and an excellent restaurant (we had the ceviche and beer). It’s a great respite from the busy traffic, crowded streets Memoria a los luchadores de la paz and clogging fumes of the downtown area.

Families cool down in the mist sprays while dinosaurs peer overhead.

The Plaza outside La Alpujarra Administrative Building features some amazing statues including the 124 foot La Raza Monument by Rodrigo Arenas Betancur, which dramatically depicts the history of Antioquia. Nearby is the Memoria a los luchadores de la paz (Monument to the memory of fighters for peace) honouring two of Colombia’s political leaders, Guillermo Gaviria and Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, both of whom were kidnapped and killed by FARC guerillas in 2003. But there are also some lighthearted and very realistic statues depicting a newspaper salesman, a shoe shine boy and an elderly woman selling goods.

Get your shoes shined outside La Alpujarra

Restaurant Carmen. I know it’s not an ‘attraction’, however this is one fine restaurant. Unbelievably great food in a warm atmosphere with very friendly and helpful service. I highly recommend it.

Parque de las Luces (Park of Lights) is across the road from La Alpujarra Administrative Building. It’s not a safe area to wander around at night but during the day you can see the ‘cylinders of light’ and the outdoor photo exhibits.

This used to be one of the main city centres where tradesmen and farmers traded their goods and inexpensive hotels lined the square. The dilapidated area was eventually transformed for public use.

The tuna carpaccio at Carmen’s in Medellin

La Gorda (Torso de Mujer). One of Botero’s iconic statues in the downtown area—but just around the corner from the Metro at Plaza Botero.

Cerro Nutibara/Pueblito Paisa. Take a taxi up the 80 metre hill to a miniature version of a typical Antioquian village. There are great views of Medellin and the mountains. As well there are souvenir and snack shops. It’s touristy but actually quite a nice place to visit and take photos.

By the time we departed Medellin for Carthagena, we had developed a great respect for the city.

Pueblito Paisa on top of Cerro Nutibara

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, dating to 1536, still stands watch over the city of Cartagena

The flower market outside the walls of the old city

Fascinating Cartagena The very name Cartagena has a sense of historicity about it. The city was named by the Spanish conquerors after the city of Cartagena in Spain, which in turn got its name from its founder, Hasdrubal the Fair, who named the city after his native Carthage in present day Tunisia. ‘Carthage’ ultimately derived its name from the Phoenician ‘Qart Hadasht’, meaning ‘New City’. For me, my pilgrimage to Cartagena was doubly intriguing as I was fortunate to have visited Carthage several years ago and now my journey would be coming full circle.

For those seeking a sense of history mixed with modern shopping, a Caribbean-style beach culture, horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping through streets that evoke a sense of New Orleans, and restaurants specializing in local and fusion fare, Cartagena should be on your list of ‘must sees’.

On our first day we flew into Rafael Nunez International Airport from Medellin and took a Taxi about 15 minutes to the Hilton hotel. It was a bit further from the historic Old Quarter than we thought, but on the other hand, it had its own beach, complete with fishermen and flocks of pelicans, and was only a 15 minute walk down the road to a public beach. We found a busy beach-side restaurant for lunch and a beer, and then it was back to the hotel to relax— something we had not done too much of in the past ten days of travelling around Bogota and Medellin.

But the lure of the Old Quarter was quite strong so about 4:30 pm, when the weather was slightly cooler, we took a taxi to the Clock Tower—about a 15 minute drive—and started to explore the narrow streets and beautiful colonial buildings of the walled city that was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Not far from Plaza de Bolivar, the central square, we discovered the Hotel Sofitel Legend Santa Clara, a beautiful building located in a former convent. The plants in the lobby are lush, the couches and chairs are plush and the calm, meditative atmosphere takes you away from the tourist crush outside (although there was not too much of a crush on this day). And amidst the plans and flowers is one of Fernando Botero’s statues. Afterward we rounded the outside of the building to the city wall and like many locals and tourists, just sat and enjoyed the views of the ocean on one side, the old city on the other, and eventually, the beautiful sunset.

We repeated this routine a few times during our stay. With no specific agenda in mind, we would just amble along the streets, duck into old convents, art galleries, museums (the gold museum rivals the one in Bogota for its displays), shops and cafés. There are town squares where you can sit and cool off, amusing street buskers, street statues that look like buskers, outdoor art displays, colourful houses with colourful doors, graced with intriguing door knockers. We visited ‘candy alley’ which is full of confection vendors, and just outside the clock tower arch, there are flower markets, restaurants, small parks and the hustle-bustle of the city.

You never know what you’ll find on the streets of the Old Walled City

Recommendations: Right- The Tomato Octopus Salad and Shrimp Ceviche at La Cevicheria Left- The menu at El Bistro. The Filete de Dorado was absolutely amazing

On one day we took the tour to the mud bath volcano, El Totumo (see the article on Hanging out in small towns). On another we enjoyed scampering around the Bazurto Market (see article on the Niche market of Markets) before visiting Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, with its reputation of being one of the greatest and strongest fortresses in the Spanish Empire in the 17 th and 18th centuries. We guided ourselves through the tunnels and onto the ramparts to get great views of the city and an appreciation of the might of the fortification.

And then there is the food in Cartagena. We had two beach lunches; one near our hotel, where we enjoyed deep fried fish with rice and vegetables: huge portions! On our El Totumo day, we had a very similar menu at another beach side restaurant—this time with soup—and again the portions were impressive.

On our third day we turned a corner and stumbled upon El Bistro. It was a bit dark inside but crowded—always a good sign when it comes to restaurants.

The meal was, in a word ‘delicious’: Tasty fish and fat, juicy shrimp with rice, salad and a few cold Club Colombia beers. In fact we liked the place so much that we returned for dinner and repeated the wonderful, friendly experience.

The other really nice meal we had was at La Cevicheria. The service was friendly and attentive; the shrimp ceviche and octopus salad were very fresh and tasty.

We ate indoors but they also have streetside tables for those who wish to dine in the glow of the historic buildings.

Left: Candy Alley, where the Bebe de Leche, made with evaporated milk, were so good that we brought some home as souvenirs.

On the first day that we checked into the Hilton Cartagena we noticed that around 4:00 pm the fishing boats landed on the beach with their catch and the pelicans went into hyper-drive to try to steal the catch away.

This took place every day: the colourful old boats, the rusty anchors, the fishermen, the tangled green and blue nets and the accompanying cacophony of shouts, calls, splashing and chasing the birds away: It all made for great photos. The fishermen would jump out of their boats, reel in the nets by hand, weigh the fish, and divvy up the undersized ones to take home, all under the watchful eyes of the supervising pelicans.

The late great author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez lived in Cartagena for a short time but maintained a home in the city and would visit his family on a regular basis. According to an article in the New York Times*, Marquez was inspired by everything he found in Cartagena and he noted “All of my books have loose threads of Cartagena in them and, with time, when I have to call up memories, I always bring back an incident from Cartagena, a place in Cartagena, a character in Cartagena.�

Humbly stated, I can now relate.

*http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/travel/02cartagena.html?pagewanted=all

Marketing the Niche Market of Markets Or How I survived 73 minutes in Bazurto The Mercado Bazurto in Cartagena, Colombia is one of those “I dare you” destinations. Just ask the concierge at any hotel and they’ll advise you to stay away from the place. Sort of. The mixedmessaging about venturing into the ‘mercado bazurto’ or shopping market is that a) you will experience a genuine market where Cartagenians like themselves do their shopping but b) as a tourist you will stick out like a sore thumb and inevitably be stalked, robbed, harassed, intimidated and ultimately, shocked. Those involved in tourism would prefer that you not visit the market, lest you use this as a reference point to speak negatively about the city of Cartagena. And the advice, if you do decide to visit, is the usual “don’t wear jewellery, dress down, don’t take photos, don’t get lost in the maze of narrow alleyways, watch yourself…but enjoy!”

Yikes. So much travel advice we receive nowadays is based on perceptions of tourist behaviour. I remember a classic incident—straight out of a Marx Brothers movie—where I asked the concierge at a hotel in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for directions to a particular restaurant. I said I wanted to walk. He said it was too far and unsafe so I should take a taxi. Well, who was I to argue with a knowledgeable local? I waited for a taxi, gave the driver the address, he drove 2 blocks (literally), stopped and pointed to the restaurant. So I learned the hard way. But the perception of the tourist (me in this case) was that we are innocent, gullible, don’t speak the language, could get into trouble, and no one wants negative publicity if something should indeed happen.

Back in Cartagena, I mulled over the scare tactics being used on me. Then I remembered other socalled ‘dangerous’ market adventures from the past, ranging from Rabat, Morocco to San Telmo in Buenos Aires, and from Mombasa, Kenya to Sulawesi, Indonesia, and I decided that in the spirit of bold adventure we would definitely check out Mercado Bazurto.

While shopping is considered a popular niche market for travellers, a sub-set of this niche includes the markets themselves. The sights, smells, colours, chatter, activity, excitement and energy-charged atmosphere lure locals and tourists alike, whether it’s a fruit and vegetable market in Kuala Lumpur, a fish market in Shimonoseki, textiles in Jaipur, a flea market in Xian, antiques in Dublin, magical potions in Johannesburg or an entire town market, such as Pisac.

The market’s the thing. I have re-arranged complete travel plans just to ensure that I would be in Chichicastenango (Guatemala) on a Sunday morning or Villa de Leyva (Colombia) on a Saturday morning.

Bravery has nothing to do with it. Curiosity, discovery and a love for photography, mixed with the repartee, arguments and banter over bargaining and negotiating prices, takes precedence over scare tactics. Travel agents who are aware of markets in the cities where their clients will travel, would do well to jot down the details and then keep them handy as suggestions for free time on package tour schedules or as activities to include on FIT and DIY travels. And like everything else in travel, the agent’s personal experience at the market allows them to comment, first hand, on what are some of the great buys (or what not to buy), or some tips on visiting the market (e.g. ideal times to visit, whether bargaining is expected, etc). For those who are a bit skittish about taking on the market themselves, there are tour guides that can be hired (or friendly taxi drivers to escort individuals). But most people don’t get robbed or intimidated unless they are outwardly insensitive to their whereabouts.

Scenes in the Mercado Bazurto in Cartagena

So the next day, after wandering around the Old City of Cartagena, we grabbed a taxi, said the word 'mercado’ and the driver knew exactly where to take us. It was about a 20 minute drive. After passing by some market stalls, we asked to be let off and then timidly wandered down one of the mysterious alleyways that we were suppose to avoid. After about five minutes, I could not resist the opportunity so I dragged out my Digital SLR and started to take photos. We received some quizzical looks but mostly it was curiosity about who we were and what we were doing in the market. We asked some of the vendors if we could take photos of their stalls and they not only agreed, but they posed for us. I then showed them their digital image and they were smiling and thankful. If we lingered in front of a display a bit too long, the vendor would offer us a taste of the plantain or grapes or oranges for sale. We got lessons in how to prepare fish: (#1. Clobber with a club or machete. #2. Delicately place fish in even rows on the display cart), and we also learned the proper etiquette for brushing flies off the slabs of raw meat for sale (whisk quickly as customers approach…or not at all, in order to prove the freshness of the product).

After we left the food area of the market, we entered more of the nuts and bolts area, featuring electronics, hardware, garments, shoes, CDs, music boxes, knives and …did I mention music? You can test your hearing as you pass by tiny shops cranking their speakers up to what seemed to be 200 decibels (125 decibels is the noise level of a jack-hammer). And then as you amble along, sidestepping the massive holes and puddles in the concrete and mud sidewalks, you also need to avoid the hundreds of buses that quickly stop to let off and pick up passengers, each with an assistant who yells out the destination of the bus and exhorts passengers to jump on, fast! And of course, the cacophony and confusion would not be complete without hundreds of motorcycles and cars revving their engines and honking as they wait impatiently in the gridlocked traffic, as bold pedestrians weave their way around vehicles as they dash across the wide streets. Your senses get blasted from every angle.

Eventually we too made our way to the other side of the street and hailed a taxi to take us back to the Old City. No one robbed us and no one harmed us during our 73 minutes in Mercado Bazurto. It was a friendly, eyeopening, picture-taking experience that adds an interesting story to a travel tale. And you know—that’s just what travellers are looking for these days. They want the bragging rights to tell their friends of their own ‘survival’ ordeals. Whatever your motive, remember the niche market of markets, and market those remarkable markets as exceptional enhancements to your travels.

This article originally appeared in a slightly different format in www.travelindustrytoday.com

WHEN YOU GO… Safety: In the past Colombia had a reputation for violence and drugs.

While this has changed dramatically, it is still advisable to leave your money and ‘bling’ (ostentatious jewellery) in your hotel safe when you go out at any time of the day. Take taxis at night time when travelling in downtown areas.

The Old City of Cartagena is relatively safe to walk around after dark. The same holds true in some of the tourist areas of Bogota and Medellin but definitely not all areas. It’s a great idea to check with the hotel concierge. Sometimes, as I noted in my article, the safety factor in visiting the Bazurto market in Cartagena is exaggerated, but it’s always good to travel in groups and again, not show off cameras or jewellery. And the other nice thing to know is that there are (friendly) policemen on just about every corner in both small towns and big cities, many with muzzled guard dogs to keep the streets safe. They became a great resource for helping us find our way around.

Taxis: Readily available and safe. There were times when we were told only On the top of Monserrate, overlooking Bogota to order a taxi at a hotel or restaurant but we flagged down taxis most of the time and did not have any problems. Use your sixth sense. If you feel that a situation is not safe, then stop the taxi and get out. There is no such thing as “I did not want to offend the driver” (who you’ve known for all of 5 minutes in your life). If you feel unsafe, use your travel common sense and get out.

Photos: As a member of the media looking to capture the history, people, culture and ‘sense’ of each place I visited, I used my camera fairly liberally (including the Bazurto Market). If I felt unsure of the situation, I would ask permission to take a photo. Otherwise, I snapped away and had no issues. The key is to respect the subject you are photographing or videographing. These are not novelties to photograph; these are people with feelings. The idea of ‘respect’ is key.

Guide Books: On my trip to Colombia I used the Lonely Planet guidebook which I have found to be particularly helpful in many Central and South American countries. The writers(s) are fairly dependable when it comes to site, travel and restaurant recommendations. For example, we found El Bistro in Cartagena on our own, then saw that is was recommended in Lonely Planet.

Memories to Savour include: Carmen Restaurant in Medellin, Villa de Leyva for relaxing (grab a beer—like the locals do and just sit in Plaza Mayor at night time and people watch); the Saturday Market in Villa de Leyva; the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira, Climbing the 750 steps to the very top of Peñol de Guatapé; The Gold Museums in Bogota and Cartagena; Fernando Botero’s works of art in Bogota and Medellin; the graffiti and bicycle tours in Bogota, the mud bath in El Totumo; chatting with taxi drivers and locals everywhere we travelled.

Lessons Learned:

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Don’t believe everything you hear. We wanted to ride horses. In Medellin it cost a lot of money to arrange this. But when we took a day trip by local bus to Sante Fe de Antiochia, we found a taxi driver and asked about horse-back riding. The driver went out of his way to find a guy who owned the local stables, and the cost was a fraction of what the hotel quoted.

You don’t need to speak the language. I don’t speak Spanish however, I can usually figure out menus and signs due to my high school knowledge of French and Latin. We never had a problem ‘communicating’ with shop owners or restaurateurs or taxi drivers, even when we had to ask for directions. People are people and most like to receive a smile, help out, and receive a thank you (and sometimes they like to have their photograph taken too!)

At least try it. Mitsuru, my associate editor and co-traveller tried the friend ants in Bogota only to discover that he was not a big fan of ants.

He also tried the drink “Savage Love” on the Bogota Bike Tour and both he and I (and several group members) gave the drink a thumbs-up for taste, but a thumbs-down for any interesting side effects.

Enjoy, relax and have a great time in Colombia. There is so much to do and see, and I covered only a small part of it in this issue of Travel2Colombia. Stay tuned!

Mitsuru Sasaki, Associate Editor of Talking Travel, sipping ‘Savage Love’.

“I never read…I just look at pictures” --Andy Warhol

Get in on the ground level as we pursue unique storytelling opportunities in Talking Travel’s “Travel2-Destination” series. We got rid of the usual travel ‘wall of words’ that confront you in many travel magazines and instead, we emphasize the photos that tell the story; allowing you in turn to imagine, dream and picture yourself at the destination.

A kabuki figure in the Warasse Nebuta Festival Museum in Aomori, Japan.

TALKING TRAVEL’S “Travel2…” series currently includes 1) 2) 3) 4)

Travel2Colombia Travel2Ireland Travel2Japan (2 Issues) Talking Travel-The Magazine (2 Issues)

But we are growing month by month. Down the road many more destinations will be featured.

After all, I’ve travelled to 70 countries …

Graffiti in Galway. Craic (‘crack’) refers to fun, conversation, good times and friendship.

My first travels took place in 1967—the same year that the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album appeared. That alluring line “Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies…” captured my imagination and, coincidentally I wrote my first travel article during that trip. The power of the imagination, and dreams of “I would love to…” are the stimulus for travel. The Travel2 series puts it all within your mind’s grasp.

-Steve Gillick, President, Talking Travel

Subscribe for Free to one or all of the Travel2 Series from Talking Travel Publications Just say “Subscribe” and send to media@talkingtravel.ca

Guatapé’s colourful town square

Greetings!

I’m Steve Gillick, President of Talking Travel and the Publisher of the Travel2-Destination series. You can see me in the photo, sitting by Fernando Botero’s iconic “El Gordo” statue in downtown Medellin.

I wear three hats in the travel industry. With one hat I deliver conference keynotes, as well as agency/in-house training and coaching on travel skills and travel trends.

Wearing a second hat I’m a travel columnist and frequent contributor to a variety of industry and consumer travel magazines, with a speciality in destinations and special-interest travel.

And wearing my third hat I publish destination magazines. These are fully customizable and can include sound bites and video clips. The same format can be used for an agency or company magazine, featuring destinations, client experiences, staff expertise and more.

To discuss your travel marketing and promotion needs, please contact me at steve@talkingtravel.ca Happy Trails to you!

Steve