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  • what's going on island hoppers today  we're going to talk about things to  

  • know when you visit columbia let's get into it

  • all right guys let's talk about things  to do and places to see so uh right now  

  • we're in cartagena this is a coastal uh  caribbean city probably the most popular  

  • among the uh mainland attractions if you wanted  to go get a more caribbean caribbean-style island  

  • you can go to san andreas which is actually  closer to nicaragua than it is to where  

  • we're at here in colombia but it's in the  middle of the ocean it's owned by colombia  

  • if you want a high altitude town one of the most  popular places they come to is medellin okay  

  • next to medellin you can go to el pinol which is  the big rock and guatope now if you go to bogota  

  • that's mostly for business people so those are  the main attractions that you'll find there's a  

  • couple other places around like cali you know  the famous cali cartel people like to go over  

  • there just to see what that place is like but  the places i just outlined there are the big four

  • all right let's talk about the weather out here in  colombia so most of the interior of columbia the  

  • big cities bogota medellin uh going to be up above  5000 feet thereabouts so you get this tropical  

  • climate 74 year uh degrees year round here in  medellin but you can see right now it is raining  

  • so when you come here because it is so green it's  going to rain a lot make sure you bring clothes  

  • for the rain that includes a rain jacket but it  doesn't get to the point where it snows because  

  • it's in the tropics so the clothes you're going to  wear yes summer clothes short sleeves shorts but  

  • also a pair of pants and a rain jacket in other  words it has rained in medellin or in colombia  

  • every single day i've been here so with that being  said the dry season in south america because it's  

  • the southern hemisphere the summertime is going  to be december and january so that's when the  

  • dry season is if you want to try and get away  from that colombian rain that's going to be here

  • let's talk about affordability in colombia i've  now traveled to five different countries here  

  • in the last couple months and i would say colombia  by far and away is the cheapest let me explain  

  • if i wanted to go from medellin to cartagena for  example the flights are 35 dollars one way okay  

  • so cheap flights hotel rooms on average 65 a  night 70 a night to stay at the hampton inn hilton  

  • or to stay at the four points by marriott so those  chain hotels that you usually pay 150 to 200 a  

  • night in america here in columbia 65 to 85 a night  i found that to be really a great thing now they  

  • do have high-end hotels like the marriott like  the main marriott that goes for 150 a night but i  

  • still found it to be very affordable today we just  ate what i consider to be fine dining meal at an  

  • italian restaurant it cost a total of 22 dollars  for two meals and that included the soda and  

  • chicken cordon bleu and another gourmet meal so  22 that's usually what it costs just for one meal  

  • in the united states at a fine dining restaurant  so i don't know who's saying that colombia isn't  

  • affordable to me that's crazy because this is  a very affordable place even the tours we went  

  • on yesterday these tours in the united states  or in hawaii or anywhere else would it cost a  

  • hundred to two hundred dollars it cost twenty  five dollars to do the tour that included food  

  • so here's something to know about colombia bogota  the capital is not the main tourist hub but it is  

  • worth arriving in bogota because major flights  go into that international airport now the main  

  • areas that tourists like to go are medellin cali  or cartagena so those areas are where most of  

  • the tourism goes bogota is the industrial business  capital of the country as well as the governmental  

  • capital the medellin and the surrounding areas is  really where most of the tourists go or down to  

  • the coast in cartagena so that's something that  you'll want to know if you're looking to fill  

  • out your itinerary for colombia let's talk about  the colombian culture in the colombian people so  

  • there's a variety of different indigenous  tribes that originated from here uh the karib  

  • people you know where the name caribbean comes  from they're called the karif it's not caribe  

  • then there's also the toronto people and there's  several other tribes in the interior in the andes  

  • as you go up towards ecuador and brazil now  there's also african people who came here  

  • on those ships they were slaves originally  and now they are part of the colombian culture  

  • just as much as anyone else and you also  have spanish people people from europe who  

  • came over as well who are also just a part  of the colombian culture and these three  

  • different ethnic origins make up the colombian  people so you have the european spaniards the  

  • portuguese and that type of european africans and  then you also have the local indigenous people

  • let's talk about safety in colombia you know  because of narcos and pablo escobar people  

  • are scared to come here let me tell you something  if it was dangerous then and i understand it was  

  • it has changed a lot now so i would say that  walking around medellin bogota was safe of course  

  • you have to exercise caution in certain areas  but overall my experience with colombia is it  

  • is a safe place for solo travelers because i've  seen many solo travelers i've seen some couples  

  • not many but i think a lot of people associate  colombia with pablo escobar and the cali cartel  

  • from in the 90s and i can tell you things have  changed a lot and the colombian people are not  

  • proud of the past with the cali cartel in pablo  escobar but they are proud of the fact that  

  • the modern colombia is a safe place look how  beautiful medellin is i mean it's so modern  

  • it's like a jungle in a city very safe place

  • now because there are areas that are not  necessarily the safest areas you know you will  

  • have people saying watch your phone especially  in some communities if you go into one of those  

  • communities you can go on a tour with a tour guide  who will help guide you through that and those  

  • people can be easily found all across the  country tours okay so you can go online to  

  • book them but if you want to just come to this  country and stay safe guaranteed no problems  

  • just book a tour and you know some people like me  i used to be the guy who used to say oh i don't  

  • go on tours and i used to be all proud about it  i actually like going on tours you meet people  

  • and you get some additional insight  into the country it's a fun experience

  • you know i went to singapore they say  singapore is a garden inside of a city  

  • or a city inside of a garden medellin is  even more impressive garden inside of a city  

  • but the whole city is tropical and  sometimes it feels like you're in  

  • the wilderness or in the jungle as you can  see right here you go this way same deal  

  • it looks like a jungle right here in the  middle of the downtown area of pueblado

  • let's talk about street vendors so when a street  vendor comes up to you whether they're singing at  

  • you or they're dancing or they're going to give  you a massage whatever the case may be they might  

  • say it's going to be free but after time goes  by they're going to eventually try to get you  

  • on the hook before the service age is provided  even though they'll tell you that it was free so  

  • this is mostly a thing in cartagena it's not so  big in medellin although when you do go down to uh  

  • poblato in medellin you will notice they have  some more street performers than other places  

  • or camino 13 possibly also in bogota they havelittle bit different street performers like the  

  • llamas which they don't have here in cartagena  so as you uh go around columbia there's going to  

  • be different street vendors offering you services  but eventually they want money off you so if you  

  • start talking to them you're pretty close to  getting uh to a point where you're gonna have  

  • to pay them something because they're gonna  keep hassling you until you give them money

  • let's talk about transportation in colombia so uh  one of the best ways to get around if you want to  

  • save money is uber but also for safety uber is  better than a taxi in the sense that you pay  

  • less and you also uh get that record uh tracked  you know who you rode with and all that so it's  

  • documented with the uber app so i recommend uber  for getting around although taxi cabs sometimes  

  • can be more convenient because if you're waiting  sometimes for 15 minutes for uber but there's a  

  • taxi right in front of you and you feel like  you could trust the taxi driver obviously  

  • you're going to just take that so as a matter of  convenience now when it comes to flying around  

  • getting around 35 45 flights from medellin to  cartagena or medellin to bogota or even going  

  • from cartagena to san andreas the island 45-50  now it obviously goes up from there depending  

  • on availability of the flights but there's also  boats to get around when you go from island to  

  • island you can charter a boat private boat or  you can get on a catamaran so that's the kind  

  • of transportation that you're gonna have available  no trains that i've seen you can also ride buses  

  • so if you want to go from cartagena to bar aquila  you could also do that on a bus although the roads  

  • getting around are a lot slower one more thing  i do recommend taking tours if you get a chance  

  • go on a tour whether you go to guadatepe or one  of the santa marta to the national park over  

  • there wherever you go try to get a tour because  that seems to be the best way to see the country  

  • and a lot of the tours all inclusive  food included as well so that's good  

  • so let's talk about one of the subjects  that's a bit taboo here pablo escobar  

  • you know a lot of people from the united  states or other countries that come here  

  • wanting to talk about it or see a tour or see  where he used to live but actually in colombia  

  • they do not appreciate what he did or what  he stood for so it's a bit of a controversy  

  • so when you come here try not to take too much  of an interest in that even though there are  

  • tours that like to talk about it or show you  around but at the end of the day it is taboo  

  • it's controversial the colombian people are not  proud of that history even though netflix makes  

  • series like narcos and you know there's plenty of  movies that have been made about his life colombia  

  • they want to move on beyond that okay colombians  want to be known for the beauty of the country the  

  • safety and they want you to feel safe when you're  here they don't want you to feel scared or worried  

  • about narcos or cartels that's really what they  stand for a safe uh family-friendly kind of place

  • all right guys that's gonna conclude this  episode of things to know about visiting  

  • columbia hopefully you guys enjoy this  trip uh overall i would say come on down to  

  • columbia check it out great place to be i really  enjoyed medellin that was probably my favorite  

  • cartagena is a nice place as well bogota more  of a business center i hope to go around more  

  • of colombia the next time i come here so  hope you guys see you guys down here enjoy

  • you

what's going on island hoppers today  we're going to talk about things to  

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