Colombia for a month on a dodgy ankle

fluorescent

Hi there,

I will be travelling to Colombia for the month of November and could do with some advice. I broke my ankle a few months ago and am still hobbling around on a crutch (I can walk for short distances without it but long distances I still need the crutch). This is gonna dictate what I do for the month. I guess I will have to rule out ciudad perdida and anything that involves hiking/walking long distances. I heard that there is a bit of a hike to get to Tayrona national park, anyone know if this is a difficult haul?
So I guess I am looking for suggestions on some moderate/not too much walking things to do in Colombia.. I plan to go to Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Taganga maybe Playa Blanca.. I would be grateful for suggestions on other places to see or things to do for, keeping in mind that mobility won't be the best. I would love to see some archaeology sites if at all possible? Or do most of them involve treks...
One more question.. I had not planned on going South of Bogota, i.e. Cali etc.. Would this be recommended? I think I will be travelling enough by heading North and arsing around the Caribeann coast.. anyone advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a million!

schemingbohemia

Did you have annual travel insurance when you booked the holiday and when your ankle broke?

If you did, i'd claim under it and cancel the holiday. If you didn't is there any way of postponing the holiday? I doubt it would be much fun travelling around on crutches.

fluorescent

Hey.
No, I haven't actually booked it yet, going to book it this weekend. It's a case of going in November or not at all, so I'm gonna bite the bullet and go anyway. It'll be a pain in the ass going on a crutch but it's better than not going at all in my opinion. That's kinda why I was thinking of spending a lot of the time up on the beaches in the North.

shrapnel222

i'd advise against it tbh. i can't see how you are going to visit anything in if you're on crutches. you'll end up sitting in hotels, bars cafes for most of the time, so why bother going so far for that? whether visiting cities or national parks will require a huge amount of walking.

filthymcnasty

Would put it off til you were off the crutches- visiting these places usually involves a lot of walking and wandering about to check out the place.
The likes of Cartagena and touristy parts of Bogota have old cobbley streets which would make walking on crutches a nightmare.

schemingbohemia

I definitely wouldn't go, all that money for really not getting the most out of it.

Also, I suffered a blood clot/deep vein thrombosis when flying to peru a good few years ago. With an injured leg I think it would significantly increase your risk of this, have you discussed it with your doctor/surgeon? I'd go there first before anything else, I was lucky that the clot flowed to my lung rather than brain or heart, otherwise I mightn't be here today.

fluorescent

Hi, Thanks for the advice. I only use 1 crutch at the moment and that is only for long distances.. So I am not too bothered about day to day wandering around. I definitely plan to avoid hikes and such. This will be my only opportunity to travel to Colombia for a long time so I am definitely going to go.
Was really just looking for advice on some nice spots up on the caribbean coast.. Or is the South worth a visit? I only have a month and don't want to do a mad dash around the country to try fit everything in.. So I am thinking I will make my way North from Bogota to Medellin and then on to Cartegena and along that coast.. Good idea?
btw thanks, Schemingbohemia, I will definitely check up about dvt before I go, I had not considered that at all..

Trippie

I volunteered and travelled colombia for 2 months in the summer and loved it so much so that i took a job here in the tourism industry 5 weeks after coming back to ireland. I am happy to advise you on what to do and where to go if you want.

Honestly even with two months i only really got bogota, and the northern cities done. I would recommend just sticking to that as you say yourself dont want to be in a mad dash.

I did your route backwards by flying to santa marta, doing the lost city trek and then travelling downwards back to bogota. Medellin is my favourite city as it has everything you could ask for, good weather, nice places to visit, decent food and a metro which makes it easy to get around.

Tayrona and walking depends on where yo stay, if you stay in the ecohabs there you are right at the first beach and doesnt take too long, if you are in hammocks or cabana's at the quieter beach its a 45 minute walk from the bus and then further depending on how quiet you want the beach to be. It costs like 35,000 pesos which is 15 quid to get into the park as well.

I would avoid playa blanca as its just a bit **** tbh, the vendors are in your face all the time and we didnt enjoy it. Rosario islands are much better and just a bit further out than playa blanca, the vendors there are not allowed approach you or hassle you and the accomodations are better and there is a night life so you could spend a couple of days there if you want.

I would also say that the closer it gets to december and christmas the busier and more expensive the north gets as all of colombia goes on holiday to cartagena, santa marta, tayrona around this time.


if you have any other questions i sent you a pm with my email address and can answer anything you need