Latest From Villavicencio

kat1 (Moderator) says on May 28, 2008, 12:00:

oh btw, the old road it's not in perfect conditions either, hay mucha trocha y unos huecos que parecen crateres

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mrgizmo says on May 28, 2008, 12:36:

Villao brings a lot of childhood memories, I spent many vacations in Acacias, and Villao. Our friends used to own a finca called "El Danuvio'' (or Danubio) near Acacias. It was a very long road trip from Bogota and part of the fun was stopping on the small towns for lunch.

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slguy says on May 28, 2008, 13:03:

i understand there may be family members stranded in bogota. ;)

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kat1 (Moderator) says on May 28, 2008, 13:59:

slguy, my sister is stranded in Bogotá, she can't go home..and she doesn't want to take the old road

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robi666 says on May 28, 2008, 15:06:

It is a pity she is not stranded in Medellin...

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slguy says on May 28, 2008, 16:16:

yep. ;) it's why i posted that sweetie. i was being cryptic. jajaja

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Portena says on May 28, 2008, 16:59:

Hope your family gets through this ok, Kat.

How far is Villavicencio from Bogota?

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slguy says on May 28, 2008, 18:33:

rumor has it, 2 hours on the new road, 8 on the old one, portena. pre-terramoto, at least.

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Portena says on May 28, 2008, 18:42:

hmmm... km? miles? On my map it looks like it's farther from Bogota than Tunja.

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slguy says on May 28, 2008, 19:14:

no clue about distance, portena. my info came from either kat or robert jorge, or both.

fwiw, in my personal lexicon, the new road seems to make villavo about 10-12 beers from villavo. ;)

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Robert Jorge says on May 28, 2008, 20:33:

As the crow flys so to speak, Villavo is only 45 miles or so from Bogota. The road mileage is probably in the neighborhood of 70 miles. In a buseta, it is a 2.5 to 3 hour trip. A taxi can do it in a little under 2 hours. But that is pushing it. I have no idea about the old road. I don't know where it even is. I heard 30 years ago, it was a 12 plus hour trip by bus.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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christobeldawg says on May 28, 2008, 21:44:

12 hours drive for a 45 mile trip, on the old road? A good marathoner could run it twice in 12 hours.
Hey Kat, I hope your family is ok through all of this. I felt the earthquake bigtime, in Bogota, on Saturday. It was scary for all of us.

admittedly, arriving can feel great too

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Robert Jorge says on May 29, 2008, 07:18:

Christo - I didn't say the old road was 45 miles. I said "as the crow flys". The old road is quite long from what I understand. And even the new road, like a said, is approximately 70 miles. "As the crow flys" is an old phrase meaning a direct, straight line connecting two points - regardless of geographical and other obstructions like roads, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, etc.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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sanandressi says on May 29, 2008, 08:01:

Hey Kat, my wife's parents and much of her family lives in Villavicencio. Over the last 7 years I have never gone there because we are somewhat fearful of a falso reten by the FARC. So they have always come over to Bogota to visit for a week or so. How safe is it in Villavo? I have heard that there is lots of army FAC on that road mowadays. (When it is in working condition I mean.)

I told my wife there was an earthquake there but she does not seem to be too concerned about anybody there.

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lampltr says on May 29, 2008, 09:37:

Kat, understand what you mean...my wife and family are wading in some water that has now entered the house from Rio Cauca (Valle del Cauca). The house/barrio is about 4000 yards from the river and still no end in sight. Brothers apartment too dam small for the family, rest of family in Cali are going through the same situation so not possible to relocate there (So she says). I have been going nuts here, but my wife only laughs at me and says she (Happily back home from Panama) has a handle on the situation and the family.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on May 29, 2008, 14:21:

sanadressi, the new road Bogota/Villavicencio is safe, the old road was and still is not safe there are still guerrilla retens on that road,

The new road is militarized all the way to Villavicencio the only danger on that road are landslides, earthquakes someone told me is because it's located in an active geological faults zone so the earth keep moving. so you will find dips and uneven part in some sections, that is why is the most expensive road in the country with the most expensive peajes

Villavicencio, is safe i find it safer than Bogotá,
since the new road was open lots of tourist have been flooding the city specially from Bogotá and Medellin, many people from Bogotá have bought houses there. there is a massive construction boom at the moment, good time to invest :)), the city have grown quite a lot. it have beat Melgar as the favourite destination for the Bogotanos.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on May 29, 2008, 14:22:

i have explored with my husband Pto Lopez, yopal, tauramena, Acacias, San Martin de Los Llanos this last one my husband favourite place in Colombia

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Paula says on Jun 7, 2008, 04:28:

Hello Kat1 you are just the person I need!!! My husband (British) and I (Colombian) have been dreaming about going to cano cristales for the last 3 years. I've found a guy who will takes us there for 1200000 each from Bogota. Appart from the fact that the price seems silly since, we will be staying in el pueblo and walking evey day to the rive,I am a little worried about the safety in the park at the moment. Could you ask your mum please? If anyone has travel there, could you help us? We'll be in Colombia from 13 June to 1 July.

Thank you all!!!

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 7, 2008, 06:24:

Paula, le comentare ya que ella tiene muchos amigos en La Macarena y ella fue Juez de allá por dos años, que creo que es el pueblo donde ustedes van a llegar?, sabes que desde Bogotá tienes que llegar primero a vilavicencio, y de hay cojer otro vuelo a la macarena , porque por tierra es muy largo y un poco peligroso, especialmente desde San Juan de Arama.

lo ultimo que hoy fue que casi no estaban dejando ir turistas por alla por lo de la erradicacion, y a los alrededores de la macarena hay mucha guerrilla y lo mismo en el pueblo

De todas maneras dejame preguntarle, ella tiene un amigo, que hace tours al parque, el me iba a llevar la otra vez pero no tuve tiempo, le preguntare a mi mama que le pregunte como esta la situacion.

tu sabes que la única aerolínea que viaja a la Macarena es Satena y de hay al parque creo que solo se puede ir a caballo.


Vale la pena ir, mi mama dice que es un parque muy bonito, dizque uno de los mas bonitos del mundo... el rio de los 5 colores es muy famoso pero dicen que en tiempo de invierno no se ven los colores muy bien.
Si la situacion esta mejor talvez vaya este año, toma muchas fotos y muestralas en el foro, seran intersantes/

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 7, 2008, 16:25:

Hi paula acabe de hablar con mi madre y ella me dijo que el parque esta cerrado por motivos de orden publico.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 7, 2008, 16:44:

but will keep you up to date

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Paula says on Jun 8, 2008, 03:48:

Gracias Kat1. Cualquier informacion sera bien recibida. Y por supuesto tomare muchas fotos si alcanzo a ir. En cuanto al parque estar cerrado, el guia que nos va a llevar dice que no hay problema si vamos como amigos.... Llegariamos a villao y de alli en un dc3 a macarena donde nos hospedariamos y caminariamos todos los dias 8km al rio. Facil no va a ser. Dejame saber cualquier informacion que tengas porfavor. Gracias

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goodspeed says on Jul 7, 2008, 11:51:

at sanandressi. I am a US citizen who has had the wonderful fortune to be married to a Colombian :) (5yrs). She and her family are from Villavicencio and I have been able to visit there several times (6w. total).

The road to Villavicencio feels secure and the trip seems to take about 3 hours. The scenery is just breathtaking and there is a noticeable military presence.

I have visited many places in and around Villavicencio and have felt relatively safe while taking normal precautions as you would in the downtown of a major city here (not wandering alone after dark etc.)

During my visits, I have always struck a balance between experiences and safety. I hope you take the opportunity to visit... some experiences are worth the risk.

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