u/ed8907

Hello Solo Travelers,

I had a business trip to Pereira and asked my boss if I could stay a few more days (paying my own expenses during those days) and he agreed.

I had been to Colombia three times before: San Andrés in 2012, Bogotá in 2019 and Bogotá in 2023. Colombia is a huge country and visiting this region for the first time opened my eyes about how big regional differences can be.

Flight: Nothing complicated here. The flight from Panama - Tocumen (PTY) to Pereira - Matecaña (PEI) takes about 1h20m. There was a lot of wind while trying to land so we had to go around and spend about 20 minutes in the air, but in the end it was possible. Because the airport is very close to the city center, during the approach you're able to see buildings and houses very close. The flight back home had no incidents and it actually landed like 20 minutes before schedule. Most international travelers arrive via COPA Airlines or Avianca (with a layover in Bogotá).

Hotel: I stayed at a hotel in the Pinares area, one of the best neighborhoods of the city. Not cheap, but not expensive either. There are hotels for all budgets.

Food: I will never get tired of telling people to try aborrajados when they travel to Colombia. They are way more common in this area. They are a common snack and are delicious (they are fried plantain with cheese and guava jelly inside). Apart from this, there are a lot of places to eat either local food or international food. There's this Colombian hamburger chain named El Corral, it's still very good.

Transportation: Pereira is not a small town, it's a city and there's traffic, but not like Bogotá, at all. I took Uber most of the time and they were super cheap because the distances are not too big and the traffic is manageable. Most trips cost between USD 2 and USD 4. The most expensive trip was the one I took to a coffee farm outside the city. It cost me USD 11 each way. I did take the Megacable (local cable car), but just to sightsee. Totally worth it.

Money: Colombia is still a relatively cheap country, but prices are not as cheap as they used to be in 2019 and 2023 (this is a global issue). As I said, there are hotel and restaurants for all budgets. Credit cards are widely accepted, but it's a good idea to carry some cash. Cash advance fees are steep by Latin American standards, usually COP 26,000 (USD 7.50).

⚠️ DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) is everywhere in Colombia now. Avoid it or you'll end up loosing money - about 5% or 7% for every transaction.

Safety: Pereira is not free from crime. However, if you take basic precautions, you'll be fine. I noticed that people in downtown Pereira were cautious, but not excessively paranoid like in Bogotá. Road trips to Quindío (Valle de Cocora, Salento, Filandia and Parque del Café) were perfectly safe.

Communication: Avoid Tigo Colombia, AT ALL COSTS! I bought a tourist eSIM that offered "unlimited data" and it never worked. I was able to install the eSIM, but they assigned me a prepaid number with no mobile data. I went to three local Tigo stores and nobody was able to fix this. I ended up collecting all the info and disputing this with the bank. Vodafone Travel eSIM came to the rescue. It's good, but it's roaming so if your phone has bad battery life it can be a problem.

Politics: Avoid talking about politics in Colombia. While Colombia has left the most difficult part of its past (1970 - 2003) behind, there are still lingering issues.

PoC/LGBT Travel: I didn't have an issue at all related to my race. I am mixed race and look a little like Trevor Noah (I wish I also had his bank account 😂). I did notice that my accent shocked maybe 3 or 4 people because - for untrained ears - the Panamanian accent is close to the Venezuelan accent. As some of you may know, there's widespread xenophobia against Venezuelans in South America. About LGBT tolerance, Pereira is not Bogotá so you'll not find same-sex couples holding hands everywhere. It's a more conservative city, but it's not the Middle East.

Language: Spanish is my first language, so I didn't have any issues. English is spoken in hotels and touristic places, but not everywhere.

Activities: Pereira itself may not have a lot of things to do (I do recommend the Megacable, Cerro Canceles and the local art museum), but Pereira is well connected to the Quindío department where there are a lot of attractions: Parque del Café, Salento, Filandia and Valle de Cocora. Valle de Cocora is one of the most impressive places I've ever been to. It's absolutely beautiful and it's worth the long walk (be careful with the sun).

This trip made me realize every Colombian region has something to offer. Pereira and the Coffee Axis offer a balance between history/culture/tradition and modernity.

Buenos días

Constantemente veo en los medios de comunicación, las redes sociales y el Internet que mucha gente piensa que latinoamericanos = hispanos. Esto está errado, no solamente por el tema de Brasil (que es latinoamericano, pero no es hispano) sino porque hay muchos latinoamericanos que no tienen ninguna clase de vínculo con España:

1. En el Chocó (Colombia) hay gente negra con 100% de ADN africano. Son latinoamericanos, no son hispanos.

2. En el Perú hay gente que desciende 100% de japoneses. Son latinoamericanos, no son hispanos.

3. En partes de Bolivia y Ecuador hay personas que son 100% indígenas. Son latinoamericanos, no son hispanos.

4. En Argentina y Chile hay gente que desciende 100% de holandeses, alemanes o incluso escoceses. Son latinoamericanos, no son hispanos (aunque los chilenos y argentinos dicen que Chile y Argentina no forma parte de América Latina, pero ese es otro tema).

El punto es que esto al principio sólo pasaba en USA, pero ahora lo veo pasando en cada vez más lugares.

En mi caso soy panameño, soy latinoamericano pero tajantemente rechazo la etiqueta de "hispano". No solamente no tengo vínculo genético alguno con España, sino que soy descendiente de las personas que los españoles robaron de África para esclavizar en América. Identificarme como "hispano" sería una deshonra hacia mis ancestros.

Si te quieres identificar con los genocidas, ladrones y asesinos, es tu derecho, pero no digas que todos los latinoamericanos somos hispanos. No lo somos.

Most of us here travel because we want to.

However, what happens when we *have* to travel?

I started a new job in January after losing my previous job back in September. Traveling is part of the job. I was actually in Pereira (Colombia) in late April. It was cool.

However, there's a (not so small) chance I may have to visit Chile and Argentina for work conferences and I am dreading it. Argentina? Well, you already know about the *severe* racial problems over here. I visited Argentina twice in the past and it went fine except for the occasional microaggression, but I guess I was just lucky. Chile is not better, actually racism is worse than in Argentina, but you guys don't know about it because Chileans don't speak English very well, but there's widespread racial hate in Chile, not only against Black people, but anybody with African ancestry (just check out how they treat the Mapuches).

Now, in this case it's Argentina and Chile, but it can be any other place where Black travelers are in danger: Texas, Alabama, Poland, Hungary, India, Italy, China, etc.

I don't want to lose the job because the job market isn't good right now, but I will not risk my life for a company.

Good news is that our CFO is a little bit stingy and he may reject those business trips to Argentina and Chile because they're expensive (silver lining I guess 😜).

Let me know your opinion in the comments.