What to know before going to colombia

1. Colombia is generally safe to visit

There was a time when travelers avoided the country due to its ugly association with cartels and violence. That has largely disappeared and what remains is a vibrant country with spectacular scenery, friendly people and a rich culture. In fact, some areas in Bogota, like the sophisticated and electric Zona-T, feels like any other cosmopolitan city from the developed world. The public transportation of Medellin, a city that has emerged from the shadows of drug cartels, the Medellin Metro is a thing of beauty and is one of the most successful in the world. south america tours

Violence should not be a reason you are avoiding that trip to Colombia. But, having said that, it is wise to be aware of your surroundings. Practical safety considerations, same as any other unfamiliar city, are essential. Stick to largely crowded place - on your first trip, consider popular tourist destinations or the cities of Colombia. Colombia is still struggling to with economic disparities so it is better to refrain from ostentatious displays of wealth and branded accessories.

2. Understand the Colombian Peso

The local currency is the Colombian Peso (COP$) and the denominations are in mil, Spanish for thousand. Menus at restaurants and cafes might list a cappuccino for $5.000 - this means the cost is 5mil. In common parlance, the mil is often dropped. Frequently used notes come in denominations of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000 and 50000 pesos.

3. You get the best exchange rate by using cards or at ATMs

Even better if you have an international card with no transaction fee. A Citibank card works best - they give great exchange rate at ATMs, which are commonly available in major cities and if you have a card, you don't have to bear the additional fee. But even with the fee, in case you don't have a Citibank card, you still get a better deal using a card for payment or withdrawing from an ATM. south america travel

4. Check visa requirements

Check again,you just might not need a tourist visa to enter Colombia. For example, while passport holders of countries like USA, European Union and Canada, among others, don't require visa to enter; holders of United States Visa or Schengen Visa (except transit visa), from China, India, Thailand and Vietnam are also granted visa-free access. It is best to visit Migración Colombia or call their customer support number and check the current status for your country. They are also prompt to reply to emails.

5. Check the weather app before planning your visit

 And I cannot stress on this enough. Every city has a completely different climate, mainly because of the different altitudes they are located at. While Bogota enjoys a chilly, autumn-in-NYC like weather all year round, Medellin is slightly warmer and Cartagena is a sunny, tropical coastal town. Dress and pack accordingly: for Cartagena, pack a hat, sun-glasses, (loads of) sunscreen and flowing dresses while Bogota calls for jeans and scarfs and sophisticated western wear. south america tours

6. Getting around in Colombia

Flights might be the best option for inter-city travel, especially when you have to cover so much in little time - and it is not expensive. Go to the local sites of LAN, Avianca or Copa for better deals.

Public transport, like anywhere else in the world, is the cheapest means to get around within a city. Medellin has a fantastic metro system and I recommend riding it at least once. Bogota's version of public transport, after many failed attempts at a metro, is the Transmilenio - a bus rapid transit. Quite efficient, this can be a little hard to figure out, but not impossible. Ask if you don't understand - the people are very helpful.

If you must take a cab, refrain from hailing it off the road. Download Easy Taxi  or Tappsi - these apps are popular and a safer way to hail a cab.

7. Consider investing in a travel guide

Yes, even if you have done all your research. And this is mainly to keep track of all the trivia and history tidbits these guides offer, and not to follow a certain trail. I was blown away by how rich in history Colombia is and found that my travel guide was a good story teller. south america travel

8. It is not imperative to be fluent in Spanish to visit

 I hardly know any Spanish and I had a blast! Not a lot of people speak English (especially in Medellin) but a fair amount of them do. People in Colombia are very helpful and most of them are patient enough to see you awkwardly act out words. Carry a piece of paper and pen if you must (this was handy for me when I had to ask around for Transmilenio route numbers in Bogota - the Transmilienio staff spoke no English).

I will recommend a week of language-learning app Duolingo though. Practice basic words that will help you get around.

9. Go with an appetite

There are plenty of international food options available in Colombia but please do try the local cuisine. Try the Ajiaco (a Bogota staple soup made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and Colombian herbs), Cazuela de Fríjoles (red bean stew), Arepa (a flatbread made of ground maize dough or cooked flour), Empanada ( a popular street food made by folding dough or bread with meat or cheese stuffing) and if you dare, Mondongo (soup made from diced tripe slow-cooked with vegetables). south america tours

10. Haggling is accepted

This is true for certain means of transportation like taxis off-the-road and (especially) street vendors. I bought a necklace from a street vendor for $10COP. He quoted $50COP to start with. Ha! Look out for them on the streets of Bogota and Parque Lleras in Medellin. And remember to definitely haggle when buying sombreros in Cartagena!

This should be good preliminary preparation. Colombia is a wonderful country and I highly recommend you plan your next vacation there. Oh, and don't forget to carry your camera! explore south america

Top 10 foods to try in Brazil

Barbecued meat

Brazil and Argentina both claim to be South America’s barbecue champion. And while each have a different approach – from the cuts to the accompaniments – some things remain the same; the ogre-sized quantities of meat, best appreciated at a leisurely pace, and with an elasticated waistband.

In Brazil, premium cuts (the most popular being picanha, rump cap) are seasoned with no more than a liberal shake of coarse salt, before being grilled to pink perfection over charcoal (or wood, if you’re doing it the old-fashioned Southern way). Home barbecues will see sausages, queijo coalho (squeaky cheese-on-a-stick) and chicken hearts sharing space on the grill, while in churrascarías (barbecue-style steakhouses) all manner of meats on skewers, from pork to lamb and wild boar, will be sliced by waiters straight onto your plate.

Moqueca (pronounced moo-kek-a)

More than a mere fish stew, moqueca is served with theatrical flourish as the piping hot clay pot is uncovered at the table amidst clouds of fragrant steam. Baianos (residents of Bahia, in the North-East) and Capixabas (from the neighbouring state of Espírito Santo) both lay claim to the origins of the dish, and both serve up equally tasty variations. At its simplest, fish and/or seafood are stewed in diced tomatoes, onions and coriander. The Capixabas add a natural red food colouring urucum (annatto seeds), while the Baianos serve a heavier version, with dendê (palm oil), peppers and coconut milk. It’s teamed with rice, farofa (fried manioc flour – ideal for mopping up juices) and pirão (a spicy, manioc flour fish porridge, that’s far tastier than it sounds). south america tours

Cachaça

Dating back to the 1500s, cachaça is made from fermented sugarcane juice, and is best known as the fiery kick in caipirinhas – Brazil’s national cocktail. While caipirinhas are often made with uncoloured, unaged cachaças, there are thousands of better-quality golden varieties, aged in wood barrels, and sipped straight up by aficionados.

For the morning after, clear your head with a Guaraná (a sweet, fizzy energy drink), an água de coco (coconut water, best sipped straight from the coconut) or caldo de cana (freshly pressed sugar cane juice). south america travel

Brigadeiros

Brazil’s answer to the chocolate truffle, brigadeiros are so simple to make that they quite literally get rolled out for kids’ parties nationwide. The sweet balls are made by simmering condensed milk with cocoa powder, then whisking in butter and shaping the mix into balls before rolling in chocolate sprinkles. Guaranteed to give an instant sugar high, they’re cloyingly sweet for some palates. Brazilians won’t hear a word against them though.

Pão de queijo

Cheese and bread, two staple favourites the world over, are brought together in glorious union in Brazil’s pão de queijo (cheese bread). This moreish snack is enjoyed as much at breakfast as it is at any time of the day or night. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, the gluten-free breads are made with tapioca flour, eggs and grated queijo Minas (a cow’s milk cheese from the state of Minas Gerais), rolled into small balls. For a naughty twist, you sometimes find pão de queijo in fist-sized rolls – or even the size of a cake – stuffed with anything from yet more cheese or cream cheese to various meaty. south america tours 

Acarajé (pronounced a-ka-ra-zjeh)

One of the most calorie-laden street snacks I’ve ever had the good fortune to try, acarajé is a deep-fried patty of crushed black-eyed peas, palm oil and pureed onions, deep fried in yet more palm oil and then sliced open and stuffed with dried shrimp and vatapá – a rich and spicy puree of prawns, bread, cashew nuts and other ingredients. Originating in Bahia, in Brazil’s North-East, where the flavours have strong roots in African cooking, acarajé is at its best when made on the spot, served piping hot from the vat of oil, with a liberal dash of chilli sauce. 

Quindim

Another favourite from Bahia, quindim is a glossy yellow sweet made with nothing more than eggs, sugar and coconut (with butter a common addition). Baked in cupcake-sized moulds, the bottom is toasted and golden, dense with grated coconut, while the top is a smooth, firm custard that sticks pleasingly to the roof of the mouth. A classic example of Brazil’s miscegenation, quindim is said to derive from the word kintiti meaning ‘delicacy’ in kikongo language (spoken in the Congo and Angola), while the recipe itself was inspired by the Portuguese love affair with egg yolks in sweets and pastries. south america travel

Açaí (pronouned a-sa-ee)

Of all the thousands of fruits from the Amazon, açaí is the best known, thanks to its super-food status. Traditionally eaten by indigenous tribes for energy, the hard purple berry is also used in Amazonian cooking, as a sauce with fish. A clever marketing campaign in the ’80s thrust it into the spotlight as the energy snack of choice for surfers in glamorous Rio de Janeiro. Served as a sweet, gloopy, frozen sorbet, sometimes topped with granola and slices of banana, or whizzed up in juices, it can found in every café, bakery, juice bar and supermarket across the country. You can even buy açaí  vodka, and açaí  beer.

Feijoada

One of the few dishes eaten the length and breadth of Brazil, feijoada is a hearty stew of black beans, sausages and cuts of pork of varying quality – traditionally veering towards the lower end, with trotters, and ears all going into the mix. A labour of love, feijoada done the old fashioned way takes up to 24 hours to make, between soaking beans and desalting pork. Which is why most Brazilians go out to restaurants and bars to eat it – and only ever on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Rice, kale, orange slices, farofa (toasted manioc flour) and pork scratchings are served on the side, with a tipple of cachaça to ease digestion. south america tours

Fried bar snacks

Beer, served so cold that chunks of ice stick to the bottle, is the drink of choice in Brazil. And an assortment of fried foods makes the perfect pairing, be it pastéis – deep-fried parcels of crisp pastry filled with melting cheese, or minced beef, or creamy palm heart –, or crunchy batons of manioc, bolinhos (‘little balls’) most often made with salt cod. Or perhaps coxinha (‘little thigh’), with shredded chicken and potato pureed, shaped like a (very voluptuous) thigh and covered in golden breadcrumbs.

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Galapagos Islands Information

A trip tothe Galapagos Islands will be the journey of your lifetime. Located 1,000 km from the Ecuadorian mainland, the archipelago consists of 13 major islands,5 of which are inhabited. Find out more about the famous Islands by taking virtual trip with us!

Galapagos Islands The Island's interesting volcanic geology, as well as its rich flora and fauna have been admired and studied by numerous travelers, scientists, and nature-lovers. Scientists are still faced with the mystery of how such a large diversity of species could develop in a remote location like the Galapagos Islands.(South America tours)

The main reason for tourists and nature lovers to visit the Galapagos Islands is the multitude of animals, freely romping about that are known to most people only from the Discovery Channel.

If you are interested in who first set foot on the islands -whether it was the Incas, refugees, pirates or seafarers - find out more about the human history of the Islands. Speaking of men on the Islands, Charles Darwin, was one of the first to visit as he was fascinated by the natural history of the archipelago. His five-week stay gave him the impetus to develop his famous Theory of Evolution.

The Galapagos Islands are blessed with pleasant weather all year round, so there is no “best” time to visit the precious islands. However, you may consider factors such as high season vs. low season and the climate. Whether the trip is for yourself, your group, or your family, check out when to go to the Galapagos Islands. (South America travel)

When is the best time to visit the Galapagos?

The Galapagos is a place that can be visited at any time. There are two seasons. the warmest is between December to May when the sky is always clear and the sun shines strongly. If you love to dive, the best time to visit is between June and November because the temperatures are a bit cooler, and you will have a better chance to observe the Galapagos’ famous marine life.

Galapagos Turtles Galapagos Dry Season

From June to December the southern trade winds bring the colder Humboldt Current north to the Galapagos. This means that the water is cooler, and a layer of high atmosphere mist pervades the island skies. (South America tours)

In effect, the highlands of the larger islands are kept green and lush while the sea level islands and shorelines have little precipitation. Thus, June to December is generally called the "dry season" which is known for its blue skies and mid-day showers.

During this season the tourists may observe a large number of species around the islands and in the sea such as giant tortoises, humpback whales, blue-footed boobies, cormorants, oyster catchers, lava lizards, Galapagos hawks, masked boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, lava herons, brown noddies, and penguins. Due to the water temperature, it is the perfect time for diving.

Galapagos Sea ​​LionsGalapagos Warm Season

The time period between December and May is considered the "warm season." During this warmer season, the Galapagos' climate is more tropical with daily rain and cloudier skies. Also, the ocean temperature is warmer for swimming and snorkeling. (South America travel)

During this season the tourists may observe a large number of species around the islands such as marine iguanas, sea turtle, land iguanas, flamingos, white-cheeked pintails, masked boobies, marine iguanas, albatross, and blue-footed boobies. Since the water's warmer, snorkeling is highly recommended during these months.

Galapagos DivingGalapagos Weather for Divers

The Humboldt Current's influence brings cold waters especially during the misty, rainy season (cool weather) from July to December. "El Niño" current may bring warm waters to the Galapagos and will make the surface warmer and rainfall increase (January to June). (South America tours)

The water temperature varies during the year

January to June: from 70°F (21°C) to 80°F (27°C)

July to December: from 65°F (18°C) to 75°F (23°C)

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