After a really terrible bus ride in which we mysteriously got our cameras, IDs, and credit cards, stolen, we made it safely to Popayan, Colombia. A little stressed, kinda pissed off, and starving, we checked into Hostel Trail at about 3am. We woke up the next day and decided not to let our Ecuadorian bus experience ruin our chance to enjoy Colombia. We left the hostel and walked around the white-washed colonial city. We ran some errands, ate breakfast, priced out some cameras, ate some more, and basically tried to get ourselves together. We drowned our sorrows with some homemade veggie pasta and a huge salad. We then curled up in the TV room of the hostel with a few of our hostelmates and watched The Road and Inception. It was a lazy, but much needed night of relaxation and american comforts.
The next day we woke up and hopped on a bus to Cali.We checked into Pelican Larry's Hostel. (
http://www.pelicanlarrycali.com/services.html ). We were some of the only guests in the place, but during high season we could see it being a really fun place. Gunthar, the owner, was a really funny, sarcastic, and straight to the point German guy. We also met a few Irish guys and a girl from Australia. After spending a good part of the day walking around the city, buying groceries, and a new digital camera, we (creatively) cooked some paninis and watched the cooking channel with our fellow backpackers. We all swapped stories, good and bad, and realized that we are always the youngest people in every hostel. Every single person we meet seems to be at least 26, and they are quick to comment on how young we are. BUT, age doesnt really matter in these situations. We have also decided that backpacking turns everyone back into a kid who is completely enamored with every little detail about new places. Every day and every event, even going to the grocery store, is a new adventure with new challenges, excitement, and a lot of frustration. Anyways, we watched a few hours of TV and streaming the latest Weeds and Entourage episodes, we went to sleep very excited for our field trip to the Cali Zoo, the largest one in Colombia.
We woke up, made breakfast, and headed out. We saw lions, tigers, bears, flamingos, and a lot of snakes. The Cali Zoo doesnt really compare to many US zoo's, but it was overall a really good day. We left the zoo, went back to the hostel, chilled, went grocery shopping again, and then made dinner/lunch. We then hung out at the hostel and watched more CNN and Food Network. We also took some time to plan our very much anticipated trip to Manazales in the Zona Cafeta (Coffee Zone). The next day we headed to the bus station and we were off!
After a really terrible bus ride in which we mysteriously got our cameras, IDs, and credit cards, stolen, we made it safely to Popayan, Colombia. A little stressed, kinda pissed off, and starving, we checked into Hostel Trail at about 3am. We woke up the next day and decided not to let our Ecuadorian bus experience ruin our chance to enjoy Colombia. We left the hostel and walked around the white-washed colonial city. We ran some errands, ate breakfast, priced out some cameras, ate some more, and basically tried to get ourselves together. We drowned our sorrows with some homemade veggie pasta and a huge salad. We then curled up in the TV room of the hostel with a few of our hostelmates and watched The Road and Inception. It was a lazy, but much needed night of relaxation and american comforts.
The next day we woke up and hopped on a bus to Cali.We checked into Pelican Larry's Hostel. (http://www.pelicanlarrycali.com/services.html ). We were some of the only guests in the place, but during high season we could see it being a really fun place. Gunthar, the owner, was a really funny, sarcastic, and straight to the point German guy. We also met a few Irish guys and a girl from Australia. After spending a good part of the day walking around the city, buying groceries, and a new digital camera, we (creatively) cooked some paninis and watched the cooking channel with our fellow backpackers. We all swapped stories, good and bad, and realized that we are always the youngest people in every hostel. Every single person we meet seems to be at least 26, and they are quick to comment on how young we are. BUT, age doesnt really matter in these situations. We have also decided that backpacking turns everyone back into a kid who is completely enamored with every little detail about new places. Every day and every event, even going to the grocery store, is a new adventure with new challenges, excitement, and a lot of frustration. Anyways, we watched a few hours of TV and streaming the latest Weeds and Entourage episodes, we went to sleep very excited for our field trip to the Cali Zoo, the largest one in Colombia.
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