what is Santander like?

carter says on Oct 19, 2005, 16:24:

Santander is the best department in Colombia Crazy Eagle Ive sent you a few private posts about other stuff and then found this question floating around.

That town I mentioned I live in is in santander 2 hours from Bucaramanga. Bucaramanga is the capital of Santander 8 hours Nth of Bogota on the same road to Cartagena and Sta Marta.

This area is among one of the safest in Colombia (not to be mixed up with Norte de Santander which is the next province up)

Tourist highlights include Barichara a beutiful colonial town, Extreme sports including good rafting in San Gil, Giron another colonial town and the Cañon Chicamocha one of the biggest in the world which they are currently building a cable car for.

The biggest highlight for me is the people extremely friendly and safe to sit down and have a beer with in every small town. The climate here is nicer than Medellin although Bucaramanga can get a little to hot somedays.

Another postive is that it doesn't have as many gringos as Medellin and the women are just as beautiful.

We eat fried Ants, we listen to vallenatos and like to dance. There are many small towns to visit. Bucaramangas about 1.5 million and is well developed and cheaper than the other cities. It has nice restaurants, good clubs, a good University, good shopping centres, public transport etc.

Any questions in particular let me know. I have lived in Bogota 6 months and been to Medellin many times and have now been in Santander 11 months

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Crazy Eagle says on Oct 20, 2005, 19:51:

how is the culture different from Medellin or Cali?

"There is no better soporific and sedative than skepticism." Frederich Nietzsche

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

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Rubiazo says on Oct 20, 2005, 20:29:

Santander the climate can range from very moderate to very hot depending on the topography. Bucaramanga usually has highs of 82-84f and lows of around 65, which would put it similar to Cali.

There are some very active paramilitary areas in rural Santander though. Usually you would have no idea where these are and it wouldn't affect you in the slightest.

Santander is also known for its beef. Any beef in Colombia that didn't come from the llanos probably came from there.

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zuan says on Oct 21, 2005, 02:36:

Santander: amazing land Bucaramanga photos:
http://www.bucaramangacity.com/fotos/index.php

Barichara photos (3 hours in car from Bucaramanga)
http://www.bucaramangacity.com/fotos/index.php?folder=content/Poblaciones%20Vecinas/Barich

ara/

Chicamocha Canyon photos (1 hour in car from Bucaramanga)
http://www.bucaramangacity.com/fotos/index.php?folder=content/Bucaramanga/Chicamocha%20

Canyon/

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