Medellin, Columbia

I nearly resigned my Nomadic status in the last 2 days!

Now I should say Medellin is absolutely very beautiful, it has great art, the city is built in the bowl of 2 mountain peaks, breathtaking, lots of greenery, it is very clean, people are helpful, beautiful women. But boy oh boy getting here and dealing with airlines and tour companies unbelievable! It all started, with my connection in San Salvador, my connection left early, I think pilot had hot date!! We could have stayed in San Salvador overnight in airport, but it has one of the highest crime rates in the world 300 to 400 killings a month, I decided that wasn’t a smart idea, so they hustled us on the plane to Bogota, arriving at 12:30am, put us in hotel for 2 hours and back on the plane at 5:30am for Medellin, the driver picked me up and I went straight on city tour, no sleep at all. The hotel said that my hotel room wasn’t paid for, which it was; the airline gave me voucher for $125.00US. The problem, so many rules; no one at airport knows what to do with it. The driver who just picked me up today lifted my bag which is right on weight allowance and told me he needed more money to lift it, I said no way and I didn’t tip him. My poor travel agent, Tammy, is doing her best! Part of the problem is language and part is people trying to shake down tourists (sorry, strong words, but, that is the way I see it), no flexibility in schedules, no checking with airlines, and the only person wrong is the tourist! The hotel where I stayed was a very small, lovely hotel, in best part of town, and was recommended by a friend in Toronto! The customer service is non-existent; tourists live by their rules.

I am now waiting for my plane to, Cartagena, for 4 more days in Columbia. Hope springs eternal!!!

P.S I just arrived in Cartagena, and the driver didn’t show up, my hotel is in a walled part of the city, it is small and lovely! The guide showed up this morning‎ and said we were going on a walking tour for 1 hour, when I had booked 3-hour city tour; at that point enough was enough!! I ended speaking to the Director of the Tour Company in Bogota; we had heart to heart!! A couple of interesting points, most cars are fueled by natural gas, from under the hood, not a gas tank, much cheaper and cleaner.

Being in Columbia, I have to mention drugs, most of the Cartels have moved to Mexico, but the production still happens here, drugs are on every street corner.

More on Cartagena later! Oh, it is 90 degrees Fahrenheit!