Colombia Forum

CAtoMDE
Joined 2016
Posts: 420

5 years ago

4th Long KIA road trip - Medellin to Covenas/Tolu

5 years ago

So I returned late last night spending a week in Covenas on the beach. This was my first visit to Covenas.

My Kia Picanto performed as expected. This little car loves to roam all of Colombia.

From Medellin to Covenas one way was about 485 km (put 1,039 km in total with the side and day trips) and took me exactly 9 hours and 35 minutes one way.

Paid 11 tolls each way (actually one of these tolls was going from Covenas to Tolu which I visited one afternoon. Paid a total of 100.950 pesos in tolls for each way and so 201,900 RT.

My route is typical for anyone traveling from Medellin to Covenas - Took route 25 through Yarumal headed to Caucasia - @ Planeta Rica picked up route 23 to Monteria then route 21 to Covenas.

I found the roads and the road condition to be relatively better than many of the other major routes in Colombia which I have traveled over.

My hotel was decent, situated right on the beach. Not to much to report on other than warm sunny lazy days swimming and hanging in the ocean and pool side drinking beer.

Not to much to report about my brief afternoon visit to Tolu, just a hot/humid lazy laid back beach town with many costenos just hanging around and hustling.

Service and attitude at almost every restaurant, hotel, shop, everywhere was dismal unfriendly piss-ass poor attitudes, not a smile, not a hola, nothing, typical of these coastal areas then as soon as I re-enter Antioquia the world of graciousness and hospitality come alive again.

For all the issues that Medellin has the more that I travel and visit to other cities, pueblos and departamentos in Colombia the more I appreciate how really gracious the majority of paisas are.

A shout out to the restaurant PARADOR REGIONAL located right on route 25 in Yarumal, ate there late last night on my return back to Medellin, great food, great service, service with a smile and welcoming, reasonable pricing, place gets busy and now I know why, stop in when your in the area.

Next week probably headed to Bucamaranga/Cucuta and Bogota, we will see.

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