Category Archives: LessExploredAreas
14 Hours of Travel Hell - Getting to Sapzurro, Colombia
Riding 12 hours from Delhi to Jammu and missing both my bus and my stop was really bad. Also being delayed 3 hours to miss a flight and was rerouted to Qatar then to Delhi, eventually losing my luggage and my friends who were to meet up with me was not fun either. 3 days on a Greyhound bus from California to Virginia would have been a nightmare as well if I was not traveling with a good friend. Yet, yesterday? Oh yeah!!! It was bad. How bad do you say? Well I would have to say it was the only time that I felt that it would have been better off wanting to die that to be on the travel. How did it start off you ask? It started off while traveling in Colombia. The first hour was easy, the rest not so great.
So for my birthday I had decided to travel to Colombia again. This time it was to be with my girlfriend. We were to meet up in here hometown of Bogotá. This part of the travel was not bad. Two days pass by and it is time to head off to our next destination. We are going to head off to the lonely lazy and secluded area of Capurgana and Sapzurro. We fly on Avianca from Bogotá to Medellín. That was a simple flight and for $35 it was way better than the seats and comfort than the one I had on American Airlines. We take an hour and half taxi ride from the Airport to the Bus Terminal in Medellin were there was craziness going on. You see this week is Semana Santos, which is equivalent to USA’s spring break. This is one of the largest travel weeks in Colombia. Everyone is trying to get a bus out of Medellin. Unfortunately, so are we.
The buses are just about full, and the last option to take is the ugliest and cheapest bus. The good thing is that it was cheap. The bad thing is that there was little leg room and the seats did not recline. Not only that but my chair had a metal bar that was a support for my seat that stuck into my butt and my girlfriend’s seat cushion detached itself. The whole ride my girlfriend was mad at me so she wasnt talking to me, which meant that the long 9 hour ride was longer and the guy behind me was kept jabbing his knee in my back through my chair.
9 hours have gone by and we are still in the bus. The bus is behind schedule and not is late getting us to Turbo. Turbo is where were are supposed to be buy our tickets at 7:00 am before the boat left at 8:30 am. The bus finally lands us at the stop at 8:20 am. We scurried to the docks where it was humid and crowded with people. There was nothing but chaos. Finally boarding our boat after trying to figure out who sat where I was sitting in the front. My girlfriend a row behind me. We head out and on the 2 1/2 hour boat ride where we are too get to Capurgana, the stop before we head to Sapzurro. So I thought 2 1/2 hours wouldnt bad compared to the last 11 hours. Oh was I wrong. I read that if you do not sit in the rear of the boat the boat ride would be bumpy. Little did I know what they meant by bumpy that you would get bruised up and wish to die from motion sickness, having your butt bruised, and getting with water the whole time. The guy sitting behind my girlfriend apparently almost started to break down crying. The kids behind us were the whole time.
After finally arriving to Capurgana, we imediatly hop into another boat, still shaking from the past boat. The rain had started coming down and we are starting to get soaked. The 15 minute ride was not too bad as we sat in the back this time, but both needed to vomit. Good thing we did not have time for breakfast otherwise we surely would have. That 15 minutes was fast compared to the rest of the trip. We get off the boat to find out luggage drenched. After all that it was very rewarding in the long run. I was able to see how and why Sapzurro is a sought out place to visit by Colombians. It is like being on a deserted Island… But not really. The view is gorgeous.
Things learned? Book your bus before hand, online if possible. It is not always possible, so try to book it at the ticket office before hand.
If you can, take a flight from Medellin to Capurgana. It is worth not wanting to get sick the whole ride. If you can get to the boat early and make sure to get a rear seat. Lastly I learned to just enjoy the trip. See the good in it, despite the weirdness that might happen.
San Gil, Colombia
If there is a place to Colombia that I do not mind visiting over and over again, San Gil would be that place. Nestled between Bucaramanga and Bogotá, San Gil is a very small town, with a lot to do. There are great views, amazing adventures and just a place to relax. There is a no reason why someone wouldn’t want to visit the backpacker friendly town of San Gil.
In 2004 San Gil was named as the tourism capitol of the Santander region, and for a great reason. There is a lot to do in San Gil and around. For adventurous people, one could go caving, parasail, paraglide, rock climb, rafting and other thrill seeking feats. For those not so thrill seeking, there is a hiking and bicycling. There is a great hike from the neighboring towns near San Gil that can last a 3-5 day trip depending on your stamina.
Other than through tourism, San Gil makes it’s money is through agriculture from the lands around. This makes sense, with it being area a very fertile lands. This helps make San Gil one of my other favorite places to be. Bright and early in the morning, one would have to visit the market, it is full of strange and wonderful fruits an vegetables from the region. One has to try the avocado and granadillas, or perhaps be adventurous and choose fruit that looks very foreign and exotic. Try grabbing some fresh strawberries and other fruits and take them to the new juicer for a great breakfast.
Perhaps you want to just relax? Well San Gil is a great place for that. San Gil is a slow town, where there are small shops to shop at and a cobbled streets to just walk along and relax. Near is the towns of Guana and Barichara, beautiful towns to visit for food and shopping. Also great for relaxing and very picturosque moments in the town. After all Barrichara is a place where many films and novelas are shot. Getting to these areas can be easy by catching the downtown hub bus terminal (not the intercity terminal).
Some of the places to relax at are numerous. San Gil is very budget and backpacker friendly and filled with many hostels. Last year when I went there a few hostels, but now that Colombia is growing in tourism and San Gil being a capitol for backpackers, San Gil is bustling with new adventurers. Some popular places include Macondo Guesthouse. The new location and renovations makes the place feel lot less like a hostel and more like a home environment. One of the best reason to stay here is to get the advice of Shaun, the owner. Shaun is a wealth of information of where to visit in the area and is well planned on getting you where you want to go. Another great place is Sam’s VIP which is just off the downtown square. It is well decorated and has a gorgeous balcony looking over the square. On this balcony is a “bar” where guests can by drinks and enjoy the scenery below. Both places offer both private and dorm style beds. Both range from $10 - $35 a night, depending on kind of room.
How do you get to San Gil? Well you can take the terminal bus from Bogotá costing about 32.000 pesos and takes 7 hours. It takes about 5 hours from Bucaramanga and costs about 20.000 pesos.
San Gil is one of my favorite places in Colombia, and for many reasons. I guess that is a reason why I stopped there a second time on my second trip through Colombia. And it is a reason for anyone to want to visit with it’s adventures, and relaxing environment.
So have you ever wanted to visit Colombia? What small towns do you know of that are adventure towns? Write a comment below and feel free to follow us on twitter and Facebook and follow our feeds.
Bucaramanga - Review
Bucaramanga, Lonely Planet guide book says that there is not much to do here. It is mostly filled with college students and partying. Well they are right about the the college students and partying. There is a bit to do in Bucaramanga despite what the guide book says. Here are some places to check out:
Centro
Centro is a the financial and busy area of Bucaramanga. It is busy during the day and even more busy during Noon time. You can take a the Metrolinea (Metro Bus system of Bucaramanga) and stopping at the San Mateo stop. Afterwards walk eastward (right) on Calle 35. On this street is a lot of street vendors. I love markets, they are great photo opportunities. Also a lot of street food can be found here as well.
Once you walk down Calle 35 you will come across Parque Santader. It is a small park where you can relax. Across the street is a large cathedral named Catedral De La Sagrada Familia. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Bucaramanga. Take peak inside, it is a view to look at.
If you walk up Carrera 19 (right where the cathedral is) you will come across Parque Centenario and Right across Santander Theatre.
You can walk a few blocks and walk back down Calle 35 and stop to grab something to eat on the way to Plaza Luis Carlos Galan, which is between Carrera 12 and Carrera 11. There is a lot to see around here including the Cathedral San Laureano. There are a lot of people walking around, sitting and relaxing as well, especially in Parque Garcia Rovira. The park was lined with palm trees which seemed a bit out of place, but made it quaint.
Carrera 33 and Around
To the east of Carrera 33 is the area known as Cabaccera, a very posh area of Bucaramanga. There is a not a lot here. It reminds me of Bel Aire in Las Angeloe, mostly nice houses in mountainous tree coverage. As an American the houses were just like any nice suburb, but to Colombians the area is posh. There is the college UNAB lose by and the walk around the area is very nice.
Closer to Carrera 33 and not far from Cabaccera is Parque San Pio. The park is very nice and lush and around are a lot of very nice hotels. A great area to stay for most travelers. The hotels here are for those with a larger budget. As you walk up north you will find a lot to eat and shop around here. Restaurants, bars and clubs line Carrera 33. At night this area lights up with the nightlife.
Parque De Agua
An over rated park, mostly designed for kids. Gorgeous photos can be taken here night. The hours here are very limited. It is north of Carrera 33 on Carrera 34 (which splits off of 33). Close by on Carrera 33A is a gigantic megamall.
Paragliding
Want something fun and exciting with a great view? Or perhaps you want to pee your pants with fear and get sick. A great way to do either would to paraglide over Bucaramanga. South of Bucaramanga is a small town of riouteque where you can come across Parque de Aguilas (Eagle Park) and parapante experts of Las Aguilas. Rates start at 50.000 pesos and go up based on more time wanted. Check out their website (in Spanish):
http://www.voladerolasaguilas.com.co
Chicamocha
A national park of Colombia, Chicamocha is part beauty of nature and part theme park. The park is based off of Chicamocha Canyon which is a large canyon equivalent to the Grand Canyon except it offers a small zoo, zip lines, paragliding and one of the largest cable cars in the world. The cable car takes you across the canyon to Panachi where there are shops and relaxing places to eat. The entrance to Chicamocha for tourists is 75.000 pesos. If you take a tour package from a tourism center you can take advantage of river rafting, paragliding and spelunking.
So these are just a few things some one can do in Bucaramanga. I only scratched the surface. There is much more small things in the outskirts some one can do. Like visit the foods of Floridablanca or even the quiet town of Giron to the west. And guide books mostly say to skip this area. So which of these many places interest you? Have you ever been to a great place that some one said it wasn’t worth going to? Let us know.