Montería

Montería is a city with about 275,000 inhabitants in the Cordoba department in Colombia. Even though it is not a coast city, Monterians call themselves 'costeños', and are said to speak 'costeñol' (from the words español + costeño). They see themselves as cheerful, relaxed and informal, and are very proud of it. Most of the times, the letters s and r in the middle and ending of words are not pronounced. For example, escolar (scholar) would be pronounced e-colá.

There are several bus

• from Cartagena: COP$45,000, 4.5 hours (every hour)
• from Turbo: COP$15,000, 2½ hours (every half hour)
• from Tolú: COP$18,000, 2 hours (every hour)
• from Medellin: COP$100,000, 10 hours

The bus terminal is 2 km southeast from downtown on calle 41. Frequent MetroSinu bus (yellow in colour) takes you there for COP$1800. The buses leave from inside the terminal.

Motorcycles Montería's vehicle of choice is motorcycles. Mototaxis are, as their name suggests, motorcycle taxis. They are the cheapest and fastest way to get around, a carrera costing around COP$1000. On Tuesdays, motorcycles are banned from the city, which results in less traffic but slower buses.
Busetas Buses are called busetas. The safest ones are yellow, from the company MetroBus. It costs COP$1400 for a ride, but with an ElTike card, a ride is COP$1160. ElTike cards can be purchased at the MetroBus terminal for COP$5000 and the minimum recharge is for COP$14,000.
Taxi All the taxis in Montería are regulated, so they are very safe. They can be stopped on the street or be called to pick one up. During the day, a carrera is COP$4000. Foreigners should negotiate the price before getting in the taxi or risk being charged more. By night, it can be more than twice the cost than a regular ride; the destination also affects the cost. Be sure to negotiate with the driver before getting in.
Planchón Montería is divided by the River Sinú. It can be crossed by either bridges, or by planchón. Planchón is a sort of flat boat which crosses the River at only $300.00 COP. Any of the planchones that are on the Ronda del Sinú are perfectly safe, but it is advised not to go to the ones by the market after dark.

Ronda del Sinú Along the East Bank of the River Sinú, the Ronda del Sinú is a recreational park with restaurants, a cycle road, an open-air theatre, etc. Monkeys and iguanas run freely in the park, and it is considered to be the only tourist attraction in Montería.

• Tocinita

  address: in a shopping boulivard off Carrera 2
  Small cafe with cheerful chatty owner does good, cheap set breakfasts and lunches for COP$6000 with the excellent "huevos pericos". Will do vegetarian version if you ask.

• Hotel medellin

  phone: +57 4 781 5451
  address: carrera 4, 34-41, centro
  relocated to a new location, rooms are clean with TV, private bath and wifi but most don't have a window (not even to the corridor). There are a few facing the street but subject to constant noise from traffic.