• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 895 0

backpacker can expect to spend an average of COP$50,000 to COP$100,000 per day, more if you plan on doing a lot of clubbing. If you want a more comfy trip, with midrange hotels, some better restaurants and a flight from time to time, you’ll average somewhere between COP$200,000 and COP$300,000 per day. Some resort areas, especially along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, have all-inclusive resort packages that cost COP$200,000 to COP$300,000 per person, which is pretty good value anywhere.

Remember that bus ticket prices are always negotiable. Start with a polite, ‘Hay discuenta?’ (Is there a discount?) then move on down the line. Prices will immediately drop at least 30%. This doesn’t work during holiday periods when buses are full.

Return to beginning of chapter

* * *

HOW MUCH?

Set meal COP$3000-7000

Internet cafe (per hr) COP$1200-2000

Dorm bed COP$15,000-22,000

Six-pack of beer COP$9000

Postage for a letter to the US COP$10,000

* * *

Return to beginning of chapter

TRAVEL LITERATURE

Most recent literature on Colombia consists of journalists’ accounts of the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ and US involvement in the country. A highly recommended personal account is More Terrible Than Death: Violence, Drugs, and America’s War in Colombia (2003) by Robin Kirk. A similar book, Killing Peace: Colombia’s Conflict and the Failure of US Intervention (2002), by Garry Leech, offers a condensed analysis of the United States’ involvement in Colombia.

Another controversial book on the subject is America’s Other War: Terrorizing Colombia (2005) by Doug Stokes, a critical account of US policy in Colombia that gets its message across by using declassified documents. The reading is a little dry and academic, but the tone is unmistakably critical of US involvement. For more left-wing reading, check out Mario Murillo’s Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism, and Destabilization (2003).

For a history of Colombia’s recent troubles through the eyes of those affected, read The Heart of the War in Colombia (2002) by Constanza Ardila Galvis. Colombia: A Brutal History (2004) by Geoff Simons is also worth a read.

Return to beginning of chapter

* * *

COCAINE HOLIDAY? CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES

Lots of travelers head to Colombia to take drugs. Cocaine is cheap, so why not?

What may appear a harmless diversion directly contributes to the violence and mayhem that play out in the Colombian countryside every day. People fight and die for control of the cocaine trade. Purchasing and consuming cocaine helps finance that conflict. It’s estimated that FARC alone collects between US$200 and $300 million per year from cocaine production.

Worse still, the by-products from the production of cocaine are extremely damaging to the environment (Click here). The production process requires toxic chemicals such as kerosene, sulfuric acid, acetone and carbide, which are simply dumped afterward on the ground or into streams and rivers. Further it’s estimated that between 50,000 and 300,000 hectares of virgin rainforest are cut down every year for coca production.

Colombia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The people, the music, the dancing, the food – there is already enough stimulation to overwhelm the senses. It is best enjoyed with an ice-cold cerveza michelada (beer with rock salt and lime juice), not with cocaine.

* * *

* * *

TOP PICKS

* * *

TOP ECOLODGES

The Pacific coast has lots of great ecolodges, perfect for whale-watching, scuba diving, surfing monster waves or just plain relaxing. For more intense jungle time, try the Amazon; for a Caribbean beach, go for Tayrona. There are also two fine thermal spas in the Zona Cafetera.

El Cantil One of the Pacific coast’s most famous ecolodges, it also sponsors an annual pro-am surfing competition.

El Almejal This fine ecolodge near the town of El Valle runs a turtle-hatching program in season.

Ecohabs These pricey digs offer top-end accommodations right in the middle of a national park.

Reserva Natural