Bucaramanga Colombia

Would anyone like a little meat?
Friday May 27, 2011: I arrived to the airport today at 8am for my 9:30am domestic flight. I was waiting around for the check in counter to open and still at 8:50am there was no one around. I was able to find an information person who started looking into things for me. The departures board said my flight and posted it as going at 9:30am. The woman said the airport did not know anything about the flight and tried to call the companies office but did not get anyone. I thought it was a little odd that the airport was so segregated that they would not know if a flight was cancelled, coming, not here, whatever. Finally a woman showed up to the airport Easy Fly (that is the airlines name) office and with her little English and my little Spanish I figured out that the flight had been changed to 12:05pm. I could see on her computer that was name was on the list of flyers so that was good.

I am flying to Bucaramanga where my neighbor from Peterborough’s mom lives. Carolina is from Colombia and invited me to stay with her mom while I am in South America. I feel bad because her mom Ana Maria was inconvenienced by the late arrival. It was a little weird to be standing in a check in line with no one around you and no one working the desk and the flight to “leave” in 30 minutes. But it has all worked out.

I would say Colombia is an up and coming holiday destination for backpackers and all inclusive travelers alike. A lot of it is uncharted and beautiful. It is a gem of a place to come. The sites are spectacular, people extremely friendly; there is beautiful scenery and the sea. It is neat to because there is not much English around which makes me work harder and practice my Spanish. In the airport usually anywhere in the world they say things over the loud speaker in the native language first and then follow it up in English, but that is not the case here.

Sunday May 29, 2011: I am in Bucaramanga Colombia at Ana Maria and Stephan (Carolina’s mom and brother’s) apartment. They are lovely people and we are getting along nicely with the little English and Spanish that we each know. They are extremely hospitable and truly lovely people. It is great to have a real Colombian experience living with a Colombian family. Their apartment is a new large three bedroom apartment on the 10th floor that looks out onto the city. They have only been in it for two months. They have their master bedroom with ensuite set up as their guest room so I am living quite the life of luxury.

People’s preconceived conceptions of Colombia can be let at the airport it is a fabulous prospering country with good education, jobs, nature, history and tons to offer tourists and its citizens alike.

I have met Carolina’s sister and her husband and her uncle and cousin have spent the last couple of days touring about with us. Today we went to Chicamocha National Park. It is amongst a canyon with beautiful panoramic views. I took a 20 minute cable car ride down one side of the canyon and up the other. At the top of the other side there are then many amusement park attractions. We were there with some big shot from the government and he was pretty heavily guarded by men with subtle guns on their hips. We didn’t make the connection until later so they probably didn’t appreciate me walking in and out of them as they were not moving too fast and I was trying to get by them.

Stephan is a lawyer, Ana Maria works in insurance and her sister owns her own boutique clothing shop. We can see Stephan’s office from the balcony and the clothing shop is a few blocks away. I cannot believe how first world it is here.
You can check out the photos from Bucaramanga and area at the following link;

Click on this link for photos from Bucaramanga Colombia