Anglo Dutch connection goes Latin

CARTAGENA Yvonne was still not feeling well, and the busride didn´t help. The airconditioning made us feel freezing cold again. We had sleep with our coats covering our heads. We stayed in Casa Viena, a basic hostel in somewhat rough street near the colonial old center of Cartagena (10 mi walk). It is a beautiful city, but very touristy. Loads of (American) cruise boats stop here, so no it´s a lot more expensive than the rest of Colombia. The high humidity didn´t do Yvonne´s cough and breathing much good. We made the best of it though and explored the streets as much as possible. The city has got a Caribean feel to it. The colombians here are mainly black, which is very different from Bogota for example, where people look more spanish. We stayed two days ... read more

MEDELLIN Our 5 hour busride was not very comfortable, due to the blasting airconditioning. This must have pushed Yvonne over the edge towards her illnes (massive flue). She felt terrible upon arrival in Kiwi run hostel ¨The black sheep. We arrived on Friday the 18th of April. What we can tell you about Medellin is that it is a very modern city with a very efficient metro system. It tries to shake off it´s image of drugs trafficking capital of the world (thanks to the late Pablo ¨El Patron¨Escobar, who died in 1993). We paid the centre e very quick visit. Yvonne´s situation worsened, so we rushed back to the hostel. Yvonne spent most of her time in bed, with headdache, muscle pain, and couching her guts out. By sunday, the day we had booked a ... read more

Early morning on the 17th of April we arrived at Pereira bus station. We were picked up by Rafael, Martha´s husband. First impression was that he was not a morning person. Probabaly did´t have enough coffee by the time he picked us up (8AM)..... Upon arrival we immediately likes the place. Tranquil, a very nice room, swimming pool and an impressive colinal house surrounded by hammocks. Martha was a lovely warm person, who served fantastic free coffee. Even Yvonne enjoyed it without milk and sugar. The colombians don´t use sugar anyway. They use panela. A very pure and natural form of sugar, without all the preservatives. It looks a bit like chocolate. We chilled out by the pool, had a fantastic typical colombian lunch: Rice, beans, fried egg, fried banana, sausage, bacon and mango juice. That ... read more

The crossing from Otavalo (Ecuador) to Ipiales (Colombia) went very well; 20 min taxi journey to Ibarra (Ecuador), 3 hour bus ride from Ibarra to Tulcan (Ecuador) then a 5 min taxi ride to the Ecuadorian border. No queues whatsoever so we were stamped out of the country within 5 mins. A short walk then over the bridge where the Colombian flag and sign welcomed us. Again, no queues so we were stamped in and ready to get into a taxi within minutes. This is where it started to go a bit pear shaped. The "legitimate" looking taxi driver was willing to take us wherever we wanted to go at a very very good price (that was dodgy within itself because you usually have to barter for a while). I was on alert straight away........whilst Jurgen ... read more

TRUJILLO Our reason for going to Trujillo was to do voluntary work in an orphanage. Jurgen had made contacts many months ago in the States with an American guy who knew of voluntary work needed in the area of Esperanza, Trujillo. So for months, we had been mailing 'Darlin' (the owner) re how our services could be of need. We spent our first couple of nights in a fabulous family run hostel “Residencial Munay Wasi”. The Dueña was slightly neurotic and wanted to practice her English with us at all times. She welcomed us to Trujillo by making us a few Pisco Sours and chatting with her and her family….. After making contact with Darlin who was very pleased to know that we had arrived, we took a taxi to Esperanza - 10 mins away from ... read more

CUSCO We stayed in Cusco for almost 6 days in order to climatise to 3,400 metres above sea level. We figured that at low season, we should find something fairly easy and at a good price, so we didn´t book anything beforehand. Instead, we spent 2+ hrs walking around the city trying to find something with a bit of light and at a good price. At last, a charity run hostel owned by a dutch woman who has helped and transformed various villages in the mountains with her charity work. It was quite pricey but at least our money was going to a good cause i.e. school and hospital renovation plus sanitary developments. It was based in the Artesenian district of San Blas and with a relaxing courtyard and cafe bar, it proved to be a ... read more