Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [283]
KEVIN RAUB
Special thanks to my wife, Adriana Schmidt, for not hounding me with worrisome emails during research. At Lonely Planet: Jay Cooke, Catherine Craddock, Kathleen Munnelly and Jens Porup. Along the way: Laura Cahnspeyer, Richard McColl, Simon Heyes, Kim MacPhee, Francisco Vergara, Hans Kolland, Mathieu Perrot, Francisco Huérfano, Irma Jurrius, Jorge Dib, Angela Gómez, Francisco Troncoso, Jean-Philippe Gibelin, Tassiana Ruiz Molina, Janneth Ordoñez, Lola Ryan, Elizabeth Taylor and David Guggenheim.
ROBERT REID
Many people helped a lot on this. Thanks to Jay Cooke of Lonely Planet for offering me the job, Lonely Planet readers who sent in letters, and Jens Porup for many great suggestions for both chapters. In Bogotá, thanks to Ben Schiek and Milena for tips around Macarena; German Escobar at Platypus for endless advice, and Francoise Nieto-Fong for the selfless late-night endurance for clubbing, and many more bogotanos for taking time to answer my confusion.
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THE LONELY PLANET STORY
Fresh from an epic journey across Europe, Asia and Australia in 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table stapling together notes. The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, was born.
Travelers snapped up the guides. Inspired by their success, the Wheelers began publishing books to Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Demand was prodigious, and the Wheelers expanded the business rapidly to keep up. Over the years, Lonely Planet extended its coverage to every country and into the virtual world via lonelyplanet.com and the Thorn Tree message board.
As Lonely Planet became a globally loved brand, Tony and Maureen received several offers for the company. But it wasn’t until 2007 that they found a partner whom they trusted to remain true to the company’s principles of traveling widely, treading lightly and giving sustainably. In October of that year, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company, pledging to uphold Lonely Planet’s commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with over 500 staff members and 300 authors. Tony and Maureen are still actively involved with Lonely Planet. They’re traveling more often than ever, and they’re devoting their spare time to charitable projects. And the company is still driven by the philosophy of Across Asia on the Cheap: ‘All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!’
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CÉSAR G SORIANO
At Lonely Planet, thanks to Jay Cooke, Kathleen Munnelly and Jens Porup. In Colombia, special thanks to travelmates Deirdre Corrigan and Joana Santos for their help reviewing bars and restaurants; it was a tough job but someone had to do it. Along the way, thanks to Andy Farrington, German Escobar, Oscar Gilède, Shaun Clohesy, Axel Antoine-Feill, Enrique ‘Kike’ Ares, Friar Hector, Sandra at Casa Muñoz, and KGB’s Paola who nursed me back to health. Kudos to shutterbug Laura Pohl for my mugshot. To my favorite travel partner on this lonely planet, my wife, Marsha, thank you for your love and support. Te Amo.
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OUR READERS
Many thanks to the travelers who used the last edition and wrote to us with helpful hints, useful advice and interesting anecdotes:
A Chris Adam, Jason Anderlite, Adriana Arango, Carolina Araque, Manuela Arigoni, Sally Attenborough B Barbara Bansemer, Patrick Bates, Catherine Beckmann, Edward Benedikovics, Oya Berk Demirel, Iain Bisset, Peter Blincowe, Luz Stella Bonilla, David Boutin, Ron Bowman, Michel Braendli, Irene J Brooks, Maria Browne C Peter Calingaert, Javier Cartagena, Mauricio Castro Iragorri, Emma Channon, Tony Clark, Larisa Clarke, Doug Colbert, Dan Coplan, Mark Corwin, Danielle Cox, German Coy, Michael Croke,