Santa Marta and Minca, Colombia We left Caragena and took the bus to Santa Marta. Upon arrival we tried to find a hostal reccomended to us. After an hour roaming the streets and asking locals we were going in circles. Finally we settled on a different hotel, not the nicest place to spend our last night, but good enough - and it had air con! We unwinded and went out for dinner, only to find our friends from Punta Gallinas sitting at a table, so we joined them for some beer and food. Santa Marta was quoted as being a hole, we can agree with that statement. No reason to visit it at all! The next day we hired a cab to take us to Minca. Minca is about 600m up in the Sierra Nevada mountains ... read more

Punta Gallinas, Colombia The day began with Alvaro (our driver) trying to find the remote Wayuu port of Puerto Media Luna (Half Moon Port). It is hardly a port, just one out building and a few boats. From here you can see thee giant port of Puerto Bolivar which is the terminus of the railway which bisects La Guajira province. We boarded into a small boat to get ready for our 3 hour ride to Punta Gallinas, the most remote and northern point of the South American continent. The boat ride began smoothly, but as we reached open waters it became quite uncomfortable, The waves were massive - 5-10 feet! We had to sit on life jackets to keep our arses from getting to sore. I survived the ride, but Rich got sick and barfed on ... read more

Riohacha, Colombia We caught the bus to Riohacha on the side of the road. The bus was a nice air-conditioned ride. The landscaped gradually changed from lush tropical rainforest to barren grasslands. Riohacha is the capital of Colombia's La Guajira province... it is a semi desert landscape and has a small population. Riohacha is nothing much really, just a gateway to the more remote and stunning areas of the province. We arrived and checked into "El Castillio de Mar", literally, the castle by the sea. And it was actually such, but by appearance only. It was also surrounded by chain link fence, which was surprising as Riohacha appears quite safe! We had dinner, bought some supplies for the upcoming adventure to the top of the continent, and have a few beers while we wait to hear ... read more

After a night in Taganga, we caught a but to Tayrona National Park. It runs along the Caribbean sea at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. Upon arrival, we began an hour plus hike (with our massive backpacks) to our campground. The shade of the jungle provided some relief but it was an exhausting hike, especially since we had to constantly avoid donkey pooh!!! (donkey is the only way to bring supplies to the campgrounds and restaurants along the beach fronts). It was rewarding to finally arrive at our camp in Arrecifies. We stayed at Finca El Paraiso which is directly on the beach, although the current is too strong for swimming here. There is a sign informing us that over 100 people have drowned at this beach, so it is best ... read more

Volcano Trail Day 17: San Jose, Costa Rica The final stop on our trip through Central America. (If you want to read all the volcano tour entries, start with the Guatemala one down the page...) Before arriving in San Jose we stopped off in the town of San Ramon where our tour leader Christy lives. We stopped in, checked out the diggs and headed on to San Jose. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica, and is nestled in the central valley in the highlands which makes the temperature quite nice - but it felt downright cold to us, since we were used to the 30+ temperatures! Really, San Jose is just a big city with not much to do or see. I am glad I only had one day here. We went downtown and ... read more