Frommer: Colombia abuzz
with tourist activity
Juan
Manuel Santos, a graduate of the University of Kansas and
Harvard Graduate School who was recently elected president
of Colombia, is widely regarded as a new kind of South American
statesman, capable of bringing both safety and prosperity
to a country that for years was associated in the public
mind with death squads, guerrilla violence and drug trafficking.
From my own narrow preoccupation with tourism,
his selection as president also confirms that Colombia is
now acceptably safe and pleasant to visit. Under his predecessor,
Alvaro Uribe, narco-violence has been on the wane even in
such formerly notorious cities as Medellin. Threats from
guerilla forces, including FARC, have been reduced to remote
areas of the interior little visited by tourists.
As security has improved, so has the economy,
and virtually all major centers of tourist interest -- from
the capital Bogota on down -- have been buzzing with activity
and groundbreaking progress, such as Bogota's new Transmilenio
bus system and ``bicycle Sundays.''
The city of Cartagena has long been Colombia's
the main tourism magnet. Its 16th-century walled old town
is one of the hemisphere's foremost gems. It is both larger
and more architecturally diverse than its counterparts in
San Juan and Panama City, and visitors happily share the
streets and cafes with locals.
There is also plenty to see and do, including
the Palace of the Inquisition; San Felipe fortress; La Popa
monastery; a museum devoted to Colombian emeralds; baroque
colonial churches and plazas; and the colonial walls themselves,
atop which you can stroll and enjoy a bite or a beer. The
nearby new-city beaches could be better, but you can book
a day excursion to the Rosario Islands for a better strand.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of lodgings
and other tourist facilities here in all price ranges, including
budget. They're concentrated in Getsemani, a neighborhood
just south of the walled old town, but also include more
central possibilities such as the delightful boutique Hotel
Cochera de Hobo (from U.S. $80); apartment rentals are another
good option.
Bogota, once largely the province of business
travelers, has also been seeing a marked increase in foreign
vacationers. It's an exciting place these days (in a good
way), and home to one of the hemisphere's most overlooked
colonial quarters, called La Candelaria, with fine museums
including one devoted to artist Fernando Botero and another
to pre-Columbian gold, with some quite spectacular pieces;
you can also tour the presidential mansion, Casa Narino.
Farther north, the picturesque old Usaquen
neighborhood is well worth a visit, especially on Sundays
during its street fair, and I recommend taking the funicular
up Monserrate Hill with its Virgin Mary statue, church and
sweeping views over the city.
Other worthwhile stops in Colombia include
Zipaquira, a cathedral carved from an underground salt mine;
Santa Marta, the hemisphere's oldest city (1525), with plenty
of historic sites and fascinating pre-Columbian ruins, ecotourism,
beaches and budget-oriented facilities; and even once-feared
Medellin. The ``city of eternal spring'' in the mountains
has seen a renaissance, adding cutting-edge fine architecture
to its colonial jewels; you can visit coffee plantations
nearby, and August's spectacular Flower Festival is one
of the hemisphere's great spectacles.
As Colombia's tourist commission puts it:
``The only risk is wanting to stay.''
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