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Airline News / South America Travel / Colombia Travel / LAN / Airlines / LAN Colombia / Coffee Travel / Airfare Deals / JFK / Facebook / → All Tags

All Sorts of South America Travel News from LAN Airlines

Okay everyone, ready for some serious South America travel news? So LAN—which is really a group of airlines including LAN Chile, LAN Ecuador, LAN Argentina, LAN Express and LAN Colombia—made all kinds of changes, for the better, to their routes and in-flight service today, February 1.

· First off, LAN Colombia (which only really started as an airline in December 2012 after LAN took over Colombian airline AIRES) is now flying direct from Miami to Bogota. The inaugural hit the skies earlier today, complete with a visit from Juan Valdez, who served the passengers their in-flight coffees. Fares for this new route, which runs four times weekly on Airbus A320s, are $400 roundtrip, including taxes & fees, if booked by February 6. Of course, you can go straight through to booking via their Facebook page.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Colombia Travel / Coffee Travel / Bogota Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: Colombia's 'Condelac' Sweet Tube

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

What's that tube of stuff with the happy-face balloons on it? Um, it looks suspicious, but it's just another way of getting your daily dose of Leche Condensada, or condensed milk, if you happen to be enjoying the local specialties in Bogota, Colombia. Instead of in a can, this condensed milk dispenses from a handy tube, meaning you're free to sweeten up your coffee, tea or rich desserts at will.

The taste: Sugary, syrupy milk is the easiest way to describe it. We tried it squeezed into our morning coffee for a week, in place of sugar and creamer, and it does the trick very nicely. We suppose you could suck it right out of the tube, but the thought just seems gross. Why not try spreading it some toast?

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Travel Tweet of the Week / Twitter / Twitter Travel / Colombia Travel / → All Tags

Tweet of the Week: An Expat's Life for Me

We love Tuesdays. Why, you ask? Because the day brings many travel tips and quips as "Travel Tuesday" on Twitter, and we're going to share our favorite with you. Got an avid travel twitterer we should follow? Let us know.

Ah, the expat life. It's what travel blogger David Lee of GoBackpacking.com is up to these days, ever since recently moving back to a town he obviously loves dearly: Medellin, Colombia. We've been following his tweets for quite some time, and and we're very much enjoying the observations he makes, such as this little bit he shared today:

Brewing my first cup of Juan Valdez organic coffee in new apartment. Planning to visit CO coffee region in early October!

We wonder—how much is Juan Valdez organic coffee when you practically live next door to the production area? David talks of visiting the Colombian coffee region soon, and already we're champing at the bit to read how that goes down. By the way, the "rtw" in his twitter name stands for "round the world," and rest assured that he's got the passport stamps to prove it...before settling in Colombia, that is.

Related Stories:
· @rtwdave [Twitter]
· Twitter Travel [Jaunted]

Fall Culture Travel / Colombia Travel / Videos / → All Tags

Fall Culture Travel: Dig the Colombian Beats

Daddy Yankee may have endorsed John McCain a few weeks ago, but reggaeton is *so* 2005. Find out what the latest beats sound like at Bogotá's Hip Hop Al Parque.

Over 30 MCs from around the world will compete in the 11th edition of this year's fest, held October 18 and 19 in the Parque Simon Bolívar. Expect break-dancing performances, graffiti displays and DJ battles to surround the main stage at this free event, where some 100,000 fans will be on hand to cheer on their favorites.

Think that guy up there has a shot this year?

Related Stories:
· For Colombia's Angry Youth, Hip-Hop Helps Keep It Real [NYT]
· Hip Hop al Parque 2008 [Official Site]
· More Travel Videos [Jaunted]

New Routes / JetBlue / Spirit Airlines / Delta / American Airlines / Continental / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Colombia Travel / → All Tags

DOT to Airlines: Sorry, Losers

In late 2007 and into 2008, a group of airlines petitioned the Department of Transportation for permission to fly to Colombia--a move they had to take because flights there are regulated by treaty. But thanks to recent astronomical price increases on jet fuel, some carriers no longer want to go there--at least for now. So last month, a bunch of airlines filed with the DOT asking if they could keep their slots while delaying their entry into the US-Colombia market. (That's called a dormancy waiver.)

With so many airlines asking, it seemed like the DOT would grant the waiver, but it didn't. The agency's decision basically says "Sorry. Start flying or loose your slots." The DOT will continue to evaluate stuff like this on a case-by-case basis, but on this big one, the department made a pro-consumer call.

Spirit Airlines, which broke industry ranks and filed with the DOT against the waiver, will undoubtedly release some sort of tasteless fare sale soon to celebrate the finding.

Related Stories:
· DOT Rejects Blanket Dormancy Waiver [Travel Industry]
· JetBlue Travel: Colombia's out but Spanish Is in [Jaunted]
· New Routes: Open Skies over Colombia [Jaunted]

[Photo of El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá: aguno]

JetBlue / Airlines / New Routes / Colombia Travel / → All Tags

JetBlue Travel: Colombia's out but Spanish Is in

Not too long ago, we were full up with stories about airlines eyeing Colombia. But that was back before the carriers were hemorrhaging money on jet fuel. So after battling with the Department of Transportation to get access to the country, airlines are now putting off their commitments to Colombia.

Says a JetBlue spokesman:

A group of airlines (not JetBlue) filed to request a two-year moratorium for starting service awarded for government regulated routes. JetBlue filed a motion generally supporting the filing after the fact.

We believe that the unprecedented rise in fuel costs has presented conditions that warrant a level of leeway from strict interpretation of some governmental requirements. Our motion is not tied to any one specific route.

That said, JetBlue hasn't committed to a start date for MCO-BOG service. Instead, the carrier will stay focused on the Caribbean, where it's taking over for American Airlines as the legacy carrier pulls out of San Juan. No wonder JetBlue has just announced a new Spanish-language website.

If only we could use it to book flights to Bogotá!

Related Stories:
· JetBlue [Official Spanish-language Site]
· LCCs Taking Over for AA in the Caribbean [Jaunted]
· JetBlue coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Lonely Planet / Guidebooks / Travel Guides / Colombia Travel / → All Tags

One Travel Writer, at Least, Might Just Go to Hell

Uh-oh. Guide book writers tell lies. Not a big surprise to us, but poor Lonely Planet must be decidedly unimpressed by what former author Thomas Kohnstamm has said in his soon-to-be-released book Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?

LP must surely be wishing that Kohnstamm would go to hell, because he's claiming, among other things, that he wrote a guide book to Colombia without ever setting foot in the country. He claims he wrote the guide in question from his base in San Francisco, getting info from a girl he was dating who happened to be interning at the Colombian consulate.

The story goes that Lonely Planet--and probably a whole heap of other guide book companies--don't pay their writers enough to actually research everything that needs to go into a book, and their policy is not to accept any freebies. Whether this news goes down as a "we can't trust Lonely Planet" or a "Kohnstamm's a big cheat with a newly released book to sell" story remains to be seen, but if you're heading to Colombia, perhaps some other guide book might be a better choice?

Related Stories:
· Lonely Planet Reeling After Author's Fraud [news.com.au]
· Lonely Planet Writer Doesn't Bother Going to Colombia [Lost Weekend]
· Lonely Planet Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Blacknell]

Colombia Travel / Animals / Bullfights / Videos / → All Tags

Mess With the Bull, Get the Gore

Imagine Pamplona's running with the bulls. Now turn it up about 75 notches. Colombia's amateur bullfighting competitions--called corralejas--put rodeos, cage fighting and most military combat to shame.

Corralejas go back centuries in Colombia's Sucre Province, a poor, rural area kept afloat by cattle ranching. Of course, today's corralejas have a decidedly contemporary twist--and a lot more booze on hand to give fighters liquid courage.

The New York Times managed to find 26-year-old Adrian Manzano at the first aid station at one event. He's from Queens and went down to Colombia to see the fights firsthand. His reason?

"I've run with the bulls in Pamplona, but this is riskier," he said, pointing to the place on his head where a horse's hoof had trampled him. "It felt like my brains were coming through my ears."

Sounds... fun?

Related Stories:
· At Amateur Bullfights in Colombia, Alcohol and Blood Flow Freely [NYT]
· More Corralejas Videos [YouTube]
· Running of the Bulls coverage [Jaunted]

It's Summer Somewhere / It's-Summer-Somewhere / Colombia Travel / World Heritage Sites / → All Tags

It's Summer Somewhere: Romance in Cartagena, Colombia

In Cartagena, the average high throughout the year is around 88 degrees, and the temperature doesn't often drop below 77. Sure, there's 90% humidity for most of the year, but that's just part of the joy of the eternal summer.

With the expected influx of tourists after the release of the movie Love in the Time of Cholera, which was largely filmed there, Cartagena is ready for visitors. Parts of Cartegena are already World Heritage listed, including 500-year-old forts and the old town center. It's also interesting to visit museums such as the Palace of Inquisition, and to stop in to some of the beautiful churches like the Iglesia de San Pedro Claver and the Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

Cartagena is turning up on travel trends lists everywhere for 2008, so try to get there this summer before it starts to get overrun. And if you believe in the magical romance of the Garcia Marquez film, perhaps Cartagena is the perfect place for a summer fling, too.

Related Stories:
· Films Will Inspire Tourism Boom [UK Independent]
· Why Cartagena is the Next New Zealand [Jaunted]
· Colombia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: drpritch]

Museums / Colombia Travel / → All Tags

Museum of Laziness Opens, Closes in One Week

The Museum of Bogota opened its new exhibit, called "Museum of Laziness," last week, and it didn't take long before people were coming by to flop down on the couches and start watching TV. But, says the curator, that's not a problem at all:

We always think about laziness as an enemy of work. So we wanted to explore that and make people think about the social issues implied in taking a nap, in being jobless or in feeling that maybe we are wasting time.

Families in particular have been enjoying the show, which also includes notes from the city's children on what they want to be when they grow up. It's a good thing they're thinking about it, too, because the show's already wrapping up. Not to worry though: Next week brings the debut of an exhibit about the city's security guards.

Related Stories:
· Laziness Museum Displays Couches [NPR]
· The Week of Laziness [El Tiempo, in Spanish]
· Bogota Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of hammocks in Bogota: Ronald Newell]

Colombia Travel / Tourism Marketing / Books / Movie Set Travel / → All Tags

Why Cartagena is the Next New Zealand

If you haven't read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's fantastic book Love in the Time of Cholera you should, now. It's about to become for Colombia what Lord of the Rings was for New Zealand: a major tourism generator. The nice part is that Garcia Marquez really did set his book in Colombia, whereas the whole Lord of the Rings thing was kind of a scam, really.

Anyhow, the town of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast of Colombia is the setting for the film of the rather magical and romantic novel, to be released in January 2008. It's a pretty town with interesting architecture and dozens of book-related spots to check out. Following the spirit of Colombia's tourism campaign Colombia is Passion, we're happy to put a Cartagena stopover on our next jaunt into South America: All that love and passion's gotta work for us somehow.

Related Stories:
· Love in the Time of Cartagena [UK Times]
· What About Juan Valdez? [Jaunted]
· Colombia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jschneid]

Medellin-Tourist-Map / Colombia Travel / Television Travel / → All Tags

Back of the Envelope Travel Guide To Medellin

Back of the Envelope Travel Guide To Medellín :: Map

If Vinny Chase and E spent time in Medellín Colombia it must be safe right? Um, not really. Drug addiction, crime, and a random machete street fight should make you question your travel choice. Then again, beautiful, consistent spring-like weather, streets lined with markets and merchants selling everything from herbal cures to children's clothes and nunchucks, beautiful people as far as the eye can see, and a nightlife scene make Medellín an up and coming choice for many travelers.

The best part? Since this area of Colombia does not see many tourists, most folks go out of their way to befriend the tourist species.

Here are three spots to hit if you decide to play Vinny Chase in Medellín.

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