Help us stay in business and survive the COVID-19 and make 50% profit in the process!!

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Created: Wednesday, 18 March 2020 00:10

Written by Juan Velasquez

San Andres and the COVID 19 - Corona virus

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Created: Friday, 13 March 2020 02:38

Written by Juan Velasquez

Dear all,
Shit got real in Colombia with the coronavirus. On March 12th the government has declared state of sanitary emergency. As of 12th of March 2020 there have been no official cases of COVID19 in the island, however by my non-expert experience is just a matter of time that we get it.

What does state of emergency means?

• All public gathering public or private of over 500 people are cancelled and forbidden. Including Football/soccer matches, concerts etc.
• Ship ports for cruises have been closed except for Pullman tour leaving from Cartagena.
• Certain nationalities who arrive after 00:00 hours of march 12th to the country will have to self quarantine for 14 days. As of now everyone coming from China, Spain, France and Italy will have to do this. If you can't do this you'll be sent on the same flight you arrived.
• Hospitals/clinics won't be taking mild emergencies.

Recommendations:

• Wash your hands constantly.
• Avoid unnecessary contact like hand shaking, hugs and high fives!.
• Fist bump, elbow bump, nod, raise your eyebrows, bow, do a peace sign or find creative ways to say hello.
• Avoid large crowds.
• Practice proper sneeze etiquette, specially in areas where there are other people..
• Postpone your trip if you are traveling from Europe.

We have set up a desinfecting station at the hostel in order to do our part to help slow down the spreading of the virus, which by some estimates We will all get at some point and will kill 3% of us.

Good luck and safe travels.

Need a doctor in San Andres, look no further!

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Created: Tuesday, 28 January 2020 02:09

Written by Juan Velasquez

One of the most common sickeness travellers get while traveling Colombia is travelers diahrrea, we've seem hundred of cases in the 10 years that we have ran the hostel, most cases are mild and sickness goes away in 2 to 3 days, however sometimes things get out of hand and a mild case could become a case of gastroenteritis.

We have a doctor that we like to call, his name is Gonzalo Martinez cel +5 7 3 1 6 7 4 9 2 3 9 0, he speaks English does house calls and has a very high work ethic in my opinion. at the time of this writing he charges $170.000 COP for a house call and gives you a receipt so you can claim your money back with your insurance if you have one. Some medicines are included in that price, but if they are not included he'll go with you to the pharmacy and help you buy them (specially restricted antibiotics) He's also one of the doctors that Assist Card, and Visa and Master Card insurance calls, however that takes longer as you have to call your insurance and they will call him after all the due process.

As a piece of advice and I'm sure you have heard these at least once.

1. DO NOT DRINK THE TAP WATER anywhere in Colombia, no matter how much someone tell you is safe.
2. While cooking with tap water, make sure you boil it first. 
3. Do not eat at sketchy looking food stalls,
4. Avoid ceviches at the beach stalls. 
5. Avoid salads and fruits whenever possible, specially in cheap restaurants.
6. Rinse fruits with bottled water.
7. Wash hands regularly.

As a personal piece of advice, if you have travelers insurance dont wait until you are really sick to call the doctor, if you know you are getting your money back you might as well get your sickness over with as soon as possible. 

Queridos amigos Argentinos......

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Created: Friday, 10 January 2020 01:56

Written by Juan Velasquez

USEN BITCOIN!

Poco o nada entiendo de la economia Argentina, pero por favor no paguen ese 30% de mas que les impuso el gobierno recientemente y utilizen bitcoin para pagar el alojamiento en este hostal!.

Is the Internet fast and/or reliable in San Andres?

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Created: Thursday, 05 September 2019 01:17

Written by Juan Velasquez

With the whole digital nomad craze this questions has started popping a lot lately. The short answer is no!.

At the hostel we currently have 2 different service providers to give our guests redundancy in case one goes down, but sometimes ironically both go down as they use the same provider. The internet problem in the island, as many of the problem in Colombia, has a lot of political connotations, corruption scandals, bad management among many other things.

if you are looking to set up base in San Andres to work online while you travel, you should probably think twice, unless your work is only based on email sending and not full VoIP calls, media uploading and the such.