Santa Cruz del Islote: the Golden Gate award winning documentary I was associate producer
Top things to do in Bogotá
1. Party!! Andres Carne de Res: is the best club in the world! Best music mix, space for 3,000 people, amazing food and crazy decoration. Make sure to try lomo al trapo, arepa de chocolo, chicharrones y patacones con hogao. Pro-tip: Ideally you go to the one in Chia (where the locals go), if not Andres DC gives you a good idea. Theatron has 12 different rooms so you will find music you like.
2. Go up to Monserrate: Beatiful view of the city and some Andean forest. Ideally you hike up the 2.3Km / 500meters elevation gain trail. Otherwise the cable car is fine (which I take anyway in the way down) Pro tip: take it easy because you might get altitude sickness. An athlete friend that destroyed me running at Stanford, was 10 minute slower than me, just because he wasn’t used to the elevation.
3. Gold museum: it’s crazy how much gold the indigenous had and all the handicrafts they did. Make sure to check out the Ofrenda room. Have a coffee nextdoor on Amor Patrio, for example brewed in Balancin Belga method.
4. Botero museum: our most famous painter and for free. Pro-tip: is open until 7pm
5. Walk around Candelaria: see grafitis and old houses from Plaza de Bolivar to Chorro de Quevedo. Visit Escuela de Artes y Oficios Santo Domingo
Best restaurants in Bogotá:
1. Prudencia: meats smoked for many hours, bread baked in brick oven, home churned butter, local ingredients…. The menu changes every week according to what is in season, but it is always amazing. Pro-tip: Only open for lunch Wednesday-Sunday
2. Mesa Franca: amazing food from small producers. You might even see the whole tuna. Try th roasted beets, tostada de maiz, watermelon ceviche, pork, banana nixtamalizada dessert, and paranormal cocktail
3. Kuna Mya: restaurant with local ingredients. try the trout tartar, and the passion fruit dessert. They also sell local handricrafts.
4. De Raiz: I needed to add a Vegan one to the list. The caneloni (lasagna rolls) are out of this planet
5. Di Luca: I also had to add an Italian, because is my favorite food. And they have the best dessert in town: passion fruit pie!!
BONUS: snack in Empanaditas de Pipian (yellow potato empanadas) with spicy peanut sauce and drink a Salpitronco (lulo, guanabana, blackberry and pineapple juice)
Best day trips around Bogotá:
1. Zipaquira Salt Cathedral: you won’t believe there is a church this big in an underground salt mine until you visit. Pro tip: have Ajiaco and curuba sorbete for lunch at Funzipa, desert at Cabana Alpina and play some Tejo to avoid traffic on the way back.
2. Explore a Páramo (unique high Andean ecosystem): it can be Chingaza where you will see deers; Guacheneque that is easy to access by bus; or Sumapaz
3. Choachi: the highest waterfall in Colombia (La Chorrera), plus salmon with passion fruit sauce at Restaurante Suizo and hot springs afterwards
4. Chicaque: the most beautiful forest nearby, with fern palms like Jurassic Park and a waterfall. Pro tip: book 6 months in advance and you can sleep at a Tree house
5. Utica or Tobia: rafting, canopy, waterfall rapelling surrounded by green mountains and blue butteflies
Top things to do in Colombia
1. Utria National Park: kayaking with humpback whales, swiming in bioluminiscent plancton, looking for monkeys, birdwatching for tucans, eagles,.... The Choco region is 1% of the planet but has 60% of its biodiversity. ANDDD you can stay with Mano Cambiada in beatiful cabins next to the cove and they will coook amazing seafood for you.
2. Cano Cristales: the "rainbow river" is magical, you don't believe a place like this exists on earth! There is a red plant in the bottom that gets different colors depending on the amount of shade. There are waterfalls, waterholes, monkeys, deers, and other animals. Even the airport is an adventure, with a donkey kart bringing your luggage. At night you can have a show of "llanera" music and ternera a la llanera.
3. The Coffee triangle: is what we are famous for! Stay at a traditional Hacienda, like Hacienda Combia, and experience all the coffee processing steps. Also eat a "bandeja paisa". See the region from the top at Parque del Cafe, and Canopy los Caracolies. Also make sure to visit Valle De Cocora where our national tree, the wax palm, dominates the forest. There you can have trout over huge fried plantain.
4. Volcanoes in Narino: these region is a "tapestry of green", due to all the small farms in the hills. You can climb Cumbal Volcano (4764masl) and get to the crater of Azufral (4020 masl), that has a beautiful green lagoon. Also visit (1) Santuario de las Lajas, a church built on the edge of a canyon (2) La Cocha lake, with the smallest national park at La Corota island (3) tour around Galeras volcano quint towns like Sandona. PRO TIP: around January 6th they have a colorful carnival (Carnaval de Balncos y Negros).
5. Cartagena and Golfo de Morrosquillo: the historical walled city is fascinating with churches, colonial houses and San Felipe's castle. Try Posta Cartagenera and banana bred at Mila. You can also visit the mud volcano El Totumo. The beaches close to the city are not that nice, but you can head to Reserva San Guare and visit Tintipan with cristal clear water and sand that feels like flour. You can also kayak with bioluminiscent plankton, scuba dive with manta-rays, windsurf and hike in the last patch of tropical dry forest. All the food in San Guare is homemade and is crazy delicious.