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Outside in Medellin: Botanical Garden and Parque Explora

We had a nice afternoon exploring gardens and wildlife – and our minds! – today. The Universidad metro stop has a lot of options for tourists – we enjoyed both the Botanical Garden and the Medellin version of a science centre. The Medellin garden and park are not just for kids, although kids love them too!

The free Jardin Botanico is huge and amazing. Seconds after walking into the park, we heard loud birds squawking, looked up and saw 4 large toucans in a nearby tree. We had to zoom in quite close on our cameras but they were brightly colored, large and beautiful. We even got to see them fly over us. I was already hooked!

toucans Medellin garden and park — Toucans – blurry because they were far but still so beautiful

The gardens also included: a lagoon with ducks and swans, a butterfly sanctuary, a palm garden, a desert area, an orchid area and more! We wandered around for an hour or so just enjoying the lovely weather and views. The fact that this park is free is fantastic but I would have paid to visit.

Busy First Day in Bogotá

We had a whirlwind three day tour of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital and biggest city with a population of 6.7 million! With so much to do and little time, we enjoyed a busy first day in Bogotá, visiting museums, salsa clubs and meeting new people.

Where We Stayed

We had an easy flight from Cartagena, and took a taxi to our lodgings in Bogotá. We’re couchsurfing with a friendly, interesting and generous guy named Robin, who was a big part of making our first day here so much fun. He has a roommate who is on crutches, Anna Maria, and 3 cats. His apartment takes up the 2nd floor of a building in the heart of a great neighborhood called Chapinero. We chose a place in Chapinero, a barrio north of the city centre which has good nightlife and lots of restaurants, because we like the convenience of walking at night.

Despite arriving to Bogotá in the middle of the afternoon, we saw some of the city and started to get acclimated, but I think it will take a bit longer because the elevation of Bogotá is over 2,6000 meters above sea level.

After traveling and settling in, we didn’t get into the city until 2pm but we still managed to see and do a bit to get acclimated. We enjoyed a rewarding first day in Bogotá.

Loving Cali Colombia

So I got to Cali late last night – too late for me to go out, I was beat – and woke up early today to see the town. From my searches online and with my trusty Lonely Planet guidebook, I found a lot of good things to see and do! Here’s a travelogue of my first day here and why I am loving Cali Colombia.

The Hostel

I started with a taxi from my hostel, Pelican Larry. I have a private room and access to a shared bathroom, which is all I need. Clean and with hot water! My room has a fan which had the dual purpose of keeping me cool and drowning out outside noise.

Getting Out of the Hostel

The taxi to downtown was quick and cheap and I got dropped off at the Modern Art Museum, which wasn’t open until 10am (it was 9:30am) so I went in search of a café. I found a good one thanks to Google Maps!

Downtown Cali

Let me explain downtown Cali first. It’s dominated by the Rio Cali, which has walkways on both sides, and a lot of the tourist sites are there or nearby. This walking route is great with lots of scenery, and compared to Cartagena, the weather here is GORGEOUS! Warm but with little humidity. Heaven after almost two weeks of non-stop sweating.

Cute Cafe in Cali

Cute Cafe Mulato was on a side street and full of locals. I was the only tourist and it was nice and homey. The waitress had a list with everyone’s name on it and what they ordered, that’s how local a joint this was.

Cafe Mulato in Cali Colombia — Cafe Mulato in Cali

Tag: Museum

Outside in Medellin: Botanical Garden and Parque Explora

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