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by Chona, order by Date newest first.

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I forgot to upload these photos. Didn't take that many in Medellin...only spent 4 days there and the real attractions of the town are the nightclubs...don't take my camera there! In Bogota I roamed around a lot during the day and was able to take out my camera every once in a while to take some photos...but just like in any big city, I had to keep my camera out of sight so as not to advertise that I am a tourist with a very valuable electronic in my bag! But I did get some great pics of the art on [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
125 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 101 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 21st 2008 | 289 Views | [diary=325696]

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Dowtown Medellin from their fabuous metro train! Love public transit!
Hopped on the metro cable into the suburbs in the hills to catch a view of Medellin at sunset.

By Chona
September 18th 2008
Bungee jump! Ahhhhhhh! South America » Colombia » San Gil
So I left the most extreme adventure for last...bungee jump! Holy s---! I went with another couple travelers from my hostel...an art student from New York and her friend from South Africa who I had actually already befriended a couple weeks back in Parque Tayrona and Cartagena. It was her last day of her 6 month trip and their last day traveling together after being together for a couple of the last few months...so I convinced them to come with me as a last "hurah!" He had already done a jump before in South Africa...a crazy height of 100m...this one in [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
864 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 16 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 19th 2008 | 289 Views | [diary=324826]

Why was I not nervous? Weirdo!
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ok,,,,now i was a little nervous...I have to step where?

So after paragliding the day before and partying with my new paragliding friends all night the night before, I dragged my butt out of bed at 10 am on Friday, barely awake and with a huge "guayaba", andI jumped into a taxi with 2 of my friends from the night before and off we went to a waterfall 26 km away to go rapelling! I had never been...and of course neither had they! We arrived to a farm with a restaurant on the side of the road, got out of the car, looked up, and there was the mountainside with a [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
809 Words | 4 Comment(s) | 29 Photo(s) | 1 Video(s)
Published: September 19th 2008 | 192 Views | [diary=324032]

Was not ready for the hike straight up to the top  of the waterfall...still not recoverd from the night of partying just a few hours earlier! Crap! I was TIRED!
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I left Bogota to San Gil so that I could do some paragliding. I wanted to do it in Medellin the week before, but never woke up early enough. So here I came to this small town in the Santander region after a 7 hour bus ride north from Bogota. I arrived in the town...very well kept, active, but not overwhelming. It has a beautiful plaza with a fountain, lots of trees, and benches full of local families, couples, friends, and food vendors. The church is quite old, big, and well maintianed as well. The best part was that I stepped [View Full Entry]

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558 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 63 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 15th 2008 | 150 Views | [diary=323733]

One of our crazy paragliders took over the wheel on our way up!
Fresh!
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Wow! I loved this experience! I got to white water raft just outside of San Gil, Colombia in the Rio Suarez...which at the moment has class 3, 4, and 5 rapids...major white water....and it was my first time! Such an adrenaline rush and mental challenge...along with a serious physical challenge. I don't remember the last time I worked both my mind and body so I went with a new friend from the hostel...another solo backpacker from Montreal...really cool guy. He and I both wanted to go rafting, but didn't think we could go because we didn't have the 4 people required [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
957 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 66 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 15th 2008 | 344 Views | [diary=323657]

Oh no...what did i get myself into...
Practicing first...this is how you sit and hold the oar...
...this is how you jump all to one side to prevent flipping over...

I spent a blissful 4 days and 3 nights in this national park on the northern coast of Colombia....just near the border with Venezuela and outside of the city of Santa Marta. It is an absolutely beautiful place that I enjoyed greatly for so many reasons. It is on the coast just a few hours from Cartagena. I took a 5 am bus from Cartagena to Santa Marta. I was supposed to get off the bus there and then take a taxi to the local bus station to find a buseta to the entrance of the park. Lucky for me, my [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
1519 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 50 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 11th 2008 | 509 Views | [diary=319216]

Thick jungle above! Very hot below!
Watch out for the donkey crossing!
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Here are the photos I took during my peaceful weekend on the island. treated myself to a very nice room at an expensive hotel on the island. Simply beautiful. [View Full Entry]

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29 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 75 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 3rd 2008 | 249 Views | [diary=319188]

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Here are the photos I took of Cartagena 2 weeks ago. The old city is just gorgeous and so romantic. The more modern part of the city is packed full of high rise apartments for wealthy Cartageneros and hotels for wealthy Euro and South American tourists. A very interesting city with an extensive and deep history to the continent. [View Full Entry]

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58 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 97 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 3rd 2008 | 156 Views | [diary=319178]

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Pass through the old wall and into the magical streets of colonial old town
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Hi guys! I am in a fabulous hostel called Casa Kiwi in Medellin with internet right outside my door...too easy! So here are the photos from a while ago when I had to travel for 2 very long and difficult days from Ciudad Bolivar in the far South of Venezuela to Caracas and then to Maracaibo on my way to Colombia. I was so lucky to make some friends on the bus who saved me from a potentially disastrous night in the yucky bus terminal. They were so amazing and took such good care of me...as though I was their little [View Full Entry]

Chona - Sonya Vartanian | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
111 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 17 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 3rd 2008 | 155 Views | [diary=319168]

My hammock was on the top floor...overlooking the town below!
The double decker bus at the Ciudad Bolivar bus terminal...the beginning of my very difficult 2 days of traveling
All the taxis were old chevys just like the car my mom had when I was a kid! ;)

As most of you already know, my desires to travel and experience other places and people are born out of those same desires held by my parents when they were my age. They too fell in love with and traveled extensively throughout Latin America (mostly Mexico, parts of Central America, and Colombia) in the 70´s...a much different time than now. They were in Mexico and Central America for over a year when they arrived in a beautiful colonial , carribean coastal city of Cartagena, Colombia. They fell in love with the city, its people, its culture, and its beauty. So they [View Full Entry]

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901 Words | 4 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 27th 2008 | 171 Views | [diary=316602]




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