From Cuba we flew into Panama City late on a Sunday afternoon, and a good part of the day was spent in long queues. After getting grilled by an immigration official on our arrival in Havana, we ensured that we got to the airport the specified 3 hours prior to the flight out of there, in case we had a repeat episode. We were greeted with the most disorganised check in process I have experienced. The airline told us that we needed to be there 3 h. ours early, yet they did not have anyone manning the desks for the first hour. By the time that they started checking people in, the queue was over a hundred metres and nearly out the door. We had about 50 people in front us, which took 40 minutes to ... read more

Walking around the streets of Old Havana, it feels like the city has not changed in a long time. The majority of the wonderfully architectured buildings have not seen a coat of paint, let alone any maintenance in decades, whilst the potholed streets have piles of rubble and debris that has fallen from above, and the sound of salsa bands and old men playing domino's echoes from within the hollow buildings. If the street is large enough, then an American Yank Tank from the 50's will roar past full of big Cuban men with their arms firmly planted on the open windows, trying to let in any cool air from the oppressive heat. If it is a small street then expect to see a motorbike with sidecar splutter past, or a bicycle tuk tuk painted in ... read more

Today is a bit of a sad day, not only is it our last day in Medellin, a city that we have grown a great affection for, but it is also our last day of travelling with our big Swiss mate, Luca... After five weeks, including plotting how to get out of Iquitos, sweating buckets on the Caribbean coast, and enjoying the lifestyle in the hills of Colombia, we are saying goodbye. We have travelled with a number of great people on our trip so far, but none for such a period of time and ease. The three of us met at a time in our travels when we were burnt out by months on the road, and tired of being gringo's and the associated baggage that comes with it. Along Mojo's and my travels, we ... read more

In the last blog i mentioned that we were heading out to Palomino, a place that we had heard so many good things about from locals and gringos alike, however, we were a bit disappointed. The collectivo trip out there took us through some beautiful scenery, winding up and down rolling lush jungle mountains, and then skirting alongside Caribbean beaches for a little over 2 hours in a cramped and hot little van. At times buying strange fruits like mamon, something like a grape crossed with a lychee, from vendors on the side of road, and surprisingly not getting stopped by the numerous police checks that dotted the road east to Palomino. Dropped off at the main town, more so a collection of corner stores and houses for the local fisherman, it was either a 20 ... read more

At one of the stops on our boat ride from Iquitos I met Max and Sophie at a coconut vendor. A nice couple from France and Belgium, respectively. Arriving in Leticia, the four of us sweated our way around town trying to locate the hostel that Mojo and I had booked into, eventually tracking it down with the help of some friendly locals. Max and Sophie were flying out of Leticia in 4 days, so were keen to do a jungle tour straight away, starting the next morning. Our mate Luca, who we met in Iquitos was taking the slow boat to Leticia and not arriving for 3 days, so we decided to join Max and Sophie on the tour, getting a discount in the process as we had a group. Despite Max and I staying ... read more