“This is the first time I’ve met a couchsurfer” I said nervously. 

Natalia starts laughing uncontrollably.

I think they are just as nervous as I am! Phew! Ok, this should be a breeze then.

Turns out the two cousins are still on their winter break from school, so they have time to show me around the city! We continue to exchange personal details about each other. Natalia wanted to practice her English speaking, which I happily obliged to participate. 

Mónica’s english is perfect even after two or three beers. The mood is light and any fears of being murdered or robbed float away with my sobriety.

The next morning I wake up to the sound of giggling. Looks like the girls are up! I get up and get dressed. Today they are going to introduce me to some typical Colombian breakfasts. On the menu are Changua and Caldo de Costilla. 

Simply put, Changua is a soup made of milk, eggs, and bread. The milk gives it a sweet taste, while the eggs are hard poached inside. Extremely filling because of the protein and bread. 

Caldo de Costilla is another soup, this time made with beef ribs, potato, garlic, and cilantro. Something I would traditionally eat for lunch or dinner, not breakfast. 

For the next three days I spent every waking moment with these two amazing women. They introduced me to their families, took me out partying, and taught me so much about Colombian culture and the Spanish Language. 

This is what travelling is all about. Getting to live like a local for a bit and to understand why a certain culture is the way they are and how they think.

I’ll never forget the hospitality that was shown to me. If I’m ever sad, I will just remember Natalia’s laugh and it will put a smile on my face.

We part ways and I check into my new hostel: El Pit Hostel in La Macarena neighbourhood. I highly recommend anyone staying in Bogotá to spend a few nights here. Failing that, show up for lunch! The place is owned by chefs and they serve a three course lunch to the public for $16,000COP. It never disappoints. 

This is where I came across two new people who shaped my visit to Colombia: An Austrian and American. What could possibly go wrong when you throw those two plus a Canadian into the mix? 

After I left Canada I learned that I needed to have a travel visa for Brazil. After some research I decided to take advantage of the Brazilian Embassy in Bogotá to take care of the paperwork. 

So first thing’s first. I headed to the Brazilian embassy to surrender my passport for two weeks! It feels weird being in a foreign country without my passport, but it’s in good hands.

I spent my first few nights in a wicked hostel in La Candelaria district called Fernweh Photography Hostel. The owners are photographers and as such have some amazing photos hanging up all over the hostel. The place has quite the hippy vibe too, with an amazing fire pit in the backyard to stay warm on those cold Bogotá nights.

This is where I was first introduced to the Bogotá Beer Company (BBC). A large successful craft beer company that names their brews after neighbourhoods in the city. By far their best drink is a honey ale called Cajicá. Light and perfect after spending the day walking around the city. For dinner, I’d usually gravitate to something heavier such as their porter named Chapinero.

La Candelaria is the oldest part of Bogotá and in order to fully appreciate it’s history I went on an excellent graffiti walking tour. For $25,000COP and 2.5 hours you get to learn everything there is about street art in the city. Including how Justin Bieber sparked a revolution in the scene by having an impromptu painting session on Calle 26, one of Bogotás busiest streets.

By the way. The “art” that Bieber painted was a piece of shit:

Another not to miss sight, is to head up to Monserrate, rising up 3,150m above sea level. There are three ways to ascend: By funicular, cable car, or by foot. Unfortunately, due to land slides, the foot trail was closed. So the gang decided to take the funicular up, and the cable car down. 

My first few days in the city had been awesome. I quickly felt at ease with the culture and getting around the city by foot was easy and safe. I was a little nervous about something looming though: my first ever couch surfing experience.

Earlier in the week Mónica reached out to me saying that she would love to host me for a few days. We agreed to a date and time and I started assuming the worst.

What if this was some elaborate ploy to lure me to her apartment, where she’d use the “worlds scariest drug” on me to drain my bank account of all my money and leave me for dead? Scopolamine (aka: Devil’s Breath), according to wikipedia: “affects the ability of a person to resist criminal aggression”. In other words, you say “yes” to anything and everything.  

I told my predicament to other members of the hostel for their feedback.

“You’re meeting her at her house, and not a public place?” Someone asked.

“Yes” I replied. It didn’t matter where we initially met, the intention was to go back to her place, so the criminals can be already be waiting there anyway. I’d just be delaying the inevitable by meeting someplace else first.

“Put her address in google maps and check out the street view!” I heard. Ohh! Good idea.

Yup! An Empty lot. This is it, there is where they are going to murder me!

I pack up my stuff, and take an uber to her place. When I arrive, I tell the Uber driver I’d like to wait in the car until I see Mónica come out and get me. I wait nervously…

This tiny girl runs out with a huge smile on her face. Yup! That’s her!

“Gracias, Señor” I quip to the driver and get out while yelling “Hola!” to Mónica.

We head inside and I put my backpack down, I turn around to two young women. Mónica and her cousin Natalia. Her arm is extended: “Would you like a beer!?”

Beer in hand, I plop down on the floor and and we introduce ourselves…

I’m planning on making the trip to Suriname by land from Georgetown, Guyana. As such I will need to obtain a travel card before entering Suriname immigration. If you are travelling by air, this is done in real time at the Paramaribo airport. 

The tourist card is valid for single entry only, so keep that in mind. A full list of countries that are eligible for the tourist card can be found here. 

The service is “same day”, however, you will need to be organized ahead of time in order to go through this process pain free.

Collect Your Documents

You will need to submit the following documents in order to receive your tourist card:

1. A copy of your passport photo page.
2. A copy of the passport page which contains your Guyana entry stamp.
3. Your passport.

You will need to bring the following items to process your application:

1. $35USD in cash. Small notes only, they accepted my $20 notes.

You will need to have proof of the following when you arrive in Suriname:

1. Yellow fever vaccination (no need to bring your immunization card to the embassy).

There is a strict dress code in effect for both men and women. Long pants, closed toed shoes, and an appropriate shirt (short sleeves are ok). I was able to get in with running shoes, jeans, and a polo shirt no problem. For women, closed toed shoes, a long dress (below the knees) or pants and a blouse are acceptable. 

The Embassy

The embassy is located on the north west corner of Anira and New Garden Streets. It’s a green and white building flying the Surinamese flag. It recently moved from a few blocks away, so ignore any maps that tell you it’s elsewhere.

You must arrive before 10:30am in order for them to accept your application. Walk up to the gate off New Garden Street and the guard will let you in. She will ensure that you have all the prerequisite paperwork and make you sign a log book.

The Process

Enter through the door and hand in your documents and money to the clerk on the other side of the glass. She will ask you a few questions to ensure that the travel card is going to meet your needs. 

They will keep your passport and copies while they process the application. You will be given a number on a piece of paper to hand in when you return. The clerk will let you know when you can come back to pick up your documents. Mine told me today at 1:00pm.

 

Uber and other ride sharing services has lightened the load on travellers when it comes to getting from point A to point B. No more haggling with taxi drivers at the airport or wondering if you’ve got ripped off because of a language barrier.

Getting your fare upfront, not dealing with cash, being able to see your pre-planned route, and the ability to share your ride status with a friend makes Uber a safer alternative to other transportation options.

Here are some tips to get even more out of Uber while you’re travelling around the world.

No SIM? No Problem.

You don’t need a sim card to use Uber in other countries. All you need is WIFI access to set up your ride. The trip will be completed properly regardless if you have cellular data access or not.

If you are using a local SIM, keep in mind that the driver will not be able to call you. Unless you update your phone number in the uber app to your local one, uber will be ringing your home number instead.

Local Currency, Don’t Freak Out

Uber shows you fare estimates in the local currency, keep this in mind. Always check for the currency code (eg: COP, MXN) or the currency symbol (eg: $, £) before the value.

In the example above, a ride from the airport to a hotel in Colombia is estimated to be $59,528COP or $27CAD.

The fare estimate is just that. If your route is via a toll road, or you need to pay a fee for airport pick-up or drop-off, this may be added to your bill after the trip completes. 

If you have a credit card that has a better foreign exchange rate than another, be sure to set up that additional card in your uber account and use it while travelling. 

Arví Park or Parque Arví?

I always like to use place names instead of addresses as it is quicker and easier to to use when setting up your destination in the app.

Its easier on the driver if you put the destination in their local language, if possible. That will avoid any confusion when the driver confirms your destination and it will ensure that their navigation software (such as Waze) will be able to locate your final stop.

Backseat Drivers?

Some Uber drivers prefer that you sit in the front seat if you are travelling alone. It varies from city to city, but the main reason is to draw less attention to the vehicle as an Uber.

Incumbent companies like taxis may still have issues with the ride sharing service. Sitting in the front seat helps avoid targeting the Uber driver.

Habla Inglés? 

Uber also offers the ability, in certain cities, to request a driver in English (possibly other languages too) for an additional cost. 

I considered this on a 45 min trip from the Airport to the Hotel. Spending almost an hour in a car in silence (since I don’t speak a lot of Spanish) seemed painful.

Conclusion

Overall my experiences with Uber while travelling have been positive. Drivers have been polite and are generally interested in why you want to visit your country. 

If you haven’t read part one of this story yet, you should head over there now.

We arrive at the hotel and José (Karin’s Manager friend) welcomes us warm heartedly with some drinks and a sympathetic ear to our situation.

“Let me see what I can do!” He replies. 

In the meantime, Karin and I head downstairs where we get changed into our swimwear and slip into the hot tub. Beers in hand, we start chatting (en Español of course) to another Colombian couple, and a couple from the United States and Spain. I’m working hard to understand what they are trying to say and interject with good commentary in English every once and awhile. 

The beers aren’t helping.

After about an hour or so, José comes back with some news.

“Good news you two! I have one room left for $200GTQ.”

I do the quick currency conversion in my head, and reply: “That’s perfect! Does it only have one bed, or are there two?”.

A smile opens up on José’s face: “There is only one bed in the room”. We both look over at Karin to see her reaction.

“It’s up to you, I have no issues sharing a bed”. I say in her direction.

What seemed like an eternity of awkward silence passed before José started laughing.

“Hahaha! I just wanted to see the look on Karin’s face. Don’t worry you two, its a double suite”. 

Awesome! Now we can relax. I order a few more beers and we melt into the hot tub. Time passes and people come and go. Karin and I are having a blast under the stars when I see a tall blonde looking over at us.

She has that “I want to go into the hot tub, but don’t want to interrupt anything / be the third wheel” look on her face. I reach out first with a friendly “Hola!” and invite her to join us.

With fresh blood in the tub, the three of us chat for a few more hours while munching on pizza. 

Bellies full and with wrinkled skin, we make our way to the room to retire for the night.

We get up the next morning early and hop on the boat back to Panajachel, where our car is waiting for us. 

The lot attendant instantly recognizes us from afar and starts yelling in Spanish to us. Oh no. He’s pissed!

Karin sorts out the situation and explains to me later that the attendants waited for us until 7:30pm or so last night. She explained to them that we didn’t have a phone number to call to let them know that we weren’t going to show up. 

The kicker? The phone number was on the receipt they gave us yesterday! Whoops! I pay the extra fee for keeping the car overnight and the two of us pile in for the ride home.

With our silly adventure behind us, I drop Karin off at her place and we say our goodbyes.

This is what travelling is all about: The spontaneity, adventure, and the people. I finally feel like I’ve gotten into the “travellers groove” of giving zero-fucks and rolling with the punches. If this little two day adventure is a foreshadow of things to come, then I can’t wait to see what the next ten months will deliver.