This year we choose Colombia for our flying holiday, we had always heard about this paradise and at the team meeting in October we decided to go with Daniele Scarcella as he had been there in 2023.
The town of Roldanillo is built around a square called El Parque.
During our stay there were more than 400 pilots from all over the world, more for the various competitions than for flying XC, we made many friends and meet old one! We were also surprised to meet team pilot Daniel Reiss and his friend Lars, who were determined to spend as many hours in the air as possible, I think they set a record! The days passed quickly between flights, laughter, food and ice cream. They even interviewed me on the local radio!
Some info:
We flew from Milan to Cartagena on a NEOS flight, spent a night in Cartagena and then flew to Cali airport, which, along with Armenia airport, is the closest to Roldanillo.
Another option is to fly to Madrid and then fly directly to Cali.
From both airports there are buses to Roldanillo. The De Occidente buses all have printed paragliders or hang-gliders on them, a very good welcome. This company covers the whole of the Roldanillo area, including picking you up when you land: just stand on the main road and wave for them to stop. Or you can get a ride from one of the many motorcyclists who offer this service and it will cost you 20000 pesos from Zarzal (small town where the Pacifico wind will not be strong) against 4600 for the bus ride.
There are many hotels and I suggest you choose one near El Parque, you can also decide to rent a whole house to save some money.
To get to the various take offs, from the Panaderia (bakery) a 3 minute walk from El Parque on the pedestrian street, there are plenty of taxis and transport, this will cost you around 15000 pesos, for Aguapanela. Entry ticket will cost you 15000 but you can do a carnet of 10 or more with a discount.
There is no real official landing and the landings are quite dirty between thorn bushes, burnt or very high sugar cane, some that look green turn out to have big holes that should not be underestimated. there are often mosquitoes on the landing, bring repellent if you are in danger of being bitten.
Don’t forget that there is this wind called the Pacifico, which comes from the sea and can make landing in Roldanillo quite tricky at certain times of the day.
There are many very good places were you can eat, mostly meat, rice and fried vegetables (plantains and yucca), the juices at ‘Juice Paradise’ will not disappoint, as will the various ice creams with fruit at the small kiosks in El Parque, and the pineapple slices that are always sold in the area. Not many places will accept Visa or credit cards (tarjeta). But you can use them in the supermarket.
You can withdraw money at the bank, be aware whatever is the amount, the commission will be always 26000 pesos (6 euros). Or there’s an unofficial currency exchange if you’re travelling with cash.
A dinner costs 25-35000 pesos, an ice cream with fruit 10000 pesos or a large juice 8500 pesos (2 euros).
We opted for an Airalo e-sim, which is very convenient. You can also buy a local card at one of the shops in town.
For all other info feel free to contact me.
