Tag Archives: Colombia

Win A Trip to Colombia

Contest, Sweepstakes,

Colombia

LAN is running the Green & Gold Sweepstakes, giving away a trip for 2 to Colombia which includes visits to Bogota and Tayrona National Park.

The prize inclues airfare, hotel stay, travel insurance and gear from a bunch of different sponsors.

Kim and I visited Colombia 5 years back and had a great time checking out places around the country like Cartagena, Bogota and the Amazon. We’d love to go back and see more of the country so winning this contest would be a great way to do so! Continue reading Win A Trip to Colombia →

Win A Trip to Colombia with G Adventures

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G Adventures

AFAR is giving away a trip for two to Colombia including airfare. The trip is actually a tour with G Adventures, a company specializing in group adventure tours.

Kim and I took a couple of trips with G Adventures when they were known as GAP Adventures (around 8+ years back). Overall the tours were well ran, solid experiences. Continue reading Win A Trip to Colombia with G Adventures →

Flashback Friday: The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

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FlashbackFriEarlier in the month I wrote about Finding Banksy In Coney Island. The controversial graffiti artists took up “residency” in NYC for one month and was leaving his mark all over the city.

I only had the opportunity to see one of his pieces in person. I tried to see a couple of others but they were already covered up (so that they could be preserved) by the time I stopped by.

After following Banksy’s residency (mainly) online, it made me think about graffiti and a post that I wrote about street art back in the middle of 2012. I thought it would make for a fun post to re-share for this week’s Flashback Friday.

Here is the post:

  • The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

Continue reading Flashback Friday: The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art →

An Awesome Souvenir: Policia Nacional Helmet- Colombia

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a white helmet with a green emblem
Colombia National Police Helmet

During our trip to Colombia (a few years back), Kim and I spent a few days in Bogota.
We both really liked the city and would’ve liked a bit more time there.

We visited a few museums in Bogota including the National Police Museum.
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The museum was really interesting. There were lots of displays featuring various gear and weapons used by the police over the years. There was also a lot of space devoted to Pablo Escobar, the infamous cocaine drug lord. The best part of the museum is that admission is free and you are given a private tour by a young, local guide serving their mandatory one year of service with the police.The guides seemed to be enjoying their jobs  and told us they were happy to have people to practice their English with.

a police officers standing outside of a building

When we left the museum, we saw lots of small shops selling police paraphernalia.
Continue reading An Awesome Souvenir: Policia Nacional Helmet- Colombia →

Jumping in Bolivar Square- Bogota, Colombia

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a man jumping in the air in front of a building
While on our trip to Colombia, Kim and I were surprised by how much we enjoyed Bogota.
We really liked wandering around the city. An area that we passed through each day was Bolivar Square. It always seemed to be busy and full of people having a good time. There are shops and museums near the square and the presidential palace is also close by.
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During one of our visits to the square, I decided that it was a great place for a jump!

The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

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Valparaiso
A couple of months back I was reading a Lonely Planet newsletter which had a short article related to street art. A LP Magazine reader sent in a question asking- Where can I see Amazing Street Art? (Check out the article HERE)
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The article answered the question with three suggestions- Belgium, Pittsburgh and Melbourne. I’ve been to Belgium and Melbourne and don’t remember the street art. Maybe I didn’t pay attention to it or it just did not catch my eye.
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However, I immediately thought of a couple of cities that did- Bogota, Colombia and Valparaiso, Chile. Continue reading The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art →

Old Boots Sculpture- Cartagena, Colombia

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Before going to visit the Fort of San Felipe in Cartagena, I was checking out the souvenirs being sold outside. After making small talk in my very limited Spanish with some of the locals, one guy told my wife and I to go around the corner to see the “zapatos”. We weren’t looking to buy shoes but figured it was worth the five minute walk to see what the guy was talking about.
After walking to the back of the fort, this is what we saw:a girl sitting on a statue of a shoeThe sculpture seems to be a popular stop for locals and tourists. I hadn’t seen anything about it online or in my guide book but was glad this guy told us to go check it out. It definitely made for a fun photo-op!a man standing in a statue of a shoea woman sitting on a statue of a shoeThe sculpture was made to commemorate local poet Luis Carlos Lopez. He spent most of his life in Cartagena and wrote a poem to honor the city . Right next to the statue is a plaque with that poem:

A Mi Ciudad Nativa (To My Native City) a stone with writing on it