Riosucio is a town known for its biennial carnival, the Carnival of the Devil (Carnaval del Diablo). It’s one of the most popular and important carnivals in all of Colombia and takes place every January of odd-numbered years. Some rural areas of Riosucio are included in the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
A good place to visit while in Medellín is Pueblito Paisa. It’s a a small replica Antioquian village on top of Nutibara Hill (Cerro Nutibara), a small hill in the middle of the city.
On the morning of the second day of our tour to La Guajira, Pedro woke us up at 5am to start the journey to Punta Gallinas. We were taken from Cabo de la Vela to nearby Puerto Bolívar, an industrial area used for shipping. There really isn’t any reason to be there other than for the boats to Punta Gallinas.
In my one day in Barranquilla, I found almost nothing worthy of a detour to this industrial city. For example, Barranquilla has been called “the Cleveland of Colombia“. That’s an insult to Cleveland.
Outside of Colombia, Barranquilla is perhaps best known as the hometown of superstars Shakira and Sofía Vergara. With names like that coming from what is Colombia’s 4th largest city, one would expect there to be some sort of draw for tourists.
Every year for one week, Belén de Umbría celebrates a week of fiestas to commemorate the founding of the town. The fiestas usually take place in November. This year, they were moved a month earlier to October.
Taganga is a small village located just 15 minutes from Santa Marta. As the title suggests, it’s a backpacker’s paradise with lots of hostels and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s a far cry from the more upscale beach suburb of El Rodadero to the south. This small village is set dramatically beneath tall green mountains surrounding a small bay.
La Virginia is a hot town in Colombia’s Coffee Region. There’s really no reason for anyone to stop there. It’s basically a town conveniently located on a crossroads to many major cities.
Peruvian food is considered by many to be the best South American cuisine. I agree. That should make Lima the culinary capital of South America by default.
Cusco is one of my favorite cities and one of the best things about it is the food. I was fortunate enough to have spent a few weeks there. There are several great restaurants in town worth trying. I wasn’t able to try every one on my list, but I did get through most of them.