http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/SSA/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from SSA en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:37:06 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:37:06 +0000 Thursday 16.04.09Cuenca is a lovely city though it has nearly half a million of a population it has a quiet hstoric feel about it with its cobblestone streets and beautiful architecture people are polite friendly and are not rushed I felt a lot safer there than in many of the other cosmopolitan cities. The only drawback was the weather it was cold and rainy An early start for my last day i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Basingstoke/blog-392227.html Tuesday 14.04.09After an early at one of the local cafes I hired a bike and went to the thermal baths and the waterfall beside it. I then crossed town to go across the emergency evacuation bridge recently built and travel a little way up the mountain it soon became too steep to cycle so only walked a little way before turning back. I came across a snake in the middle of the road couldn't ide http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-391126.html Sunday 12.04.09Easter Sunday and its like a ghost town in Mariscal new part of Quito all shops and businesses are closed. 'Got a taxi to the Plaza de Torres to buy a ticket for the bull fight later and went on to Plaza Independence lots of people here. Just off the square there was a cultural event starting an Andean music group were playing some traditional music using a variety of pa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-390729.html Friday 10.04.09 continuedOne thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that I came across a line of people along the pavement near the Echovia stop who were busy repairing clothes with old Singer Sewing Machines. I thought they would not be able to repair my shirt torn when I came off the bicycle. Its pure silk and the way it tore made it difficult. However I gave it to one of them and she made a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-389771.html Sunday 5.04.09Rough night on choppy seas the boat rolled a lot but Iwas so tired I had no trouble sleeping. The engine was cut about 200 am and anchor dropped but there was quite a swell so the boat continued to roll. We had breakfast at 700 after which we went across to Espaol Island where we trekked for an hour and a half saw different species of iguanas sea lions lizzards and a wide va http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-389374.html Friday 03.04.09Last night I went out with the group in the hostel in Quito as it their last night there as well many were going into the jungle for 510 weeks environmental project. They were a lively group. We went to a restaurtant where you could eat and drink as much as you like for 12 this included cocktails. I wasnt very hungry as I ate at lunchtime. I tried out a few cocktails margari http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/Santa-Cruz-Island/blog-388591.html Thursday 2.03.09Im still in Quito the best laid plans.... To get a tour to fit into my schedule I had to delay my flight to the Galapagos until tomorrow otherwise I would have a wasted day travelling. As it is with the reschedule I will be picked up from the airport and taken to the boat which I will be on for the next five days visiting the various islands. This means I will be out of cantact http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-387145.html Monday 30.03.09Awoke at 420 afraid that Id oversleep and miss my flight. After a brief breakfast got a taxi to the airport. Was prepared to pay a heavy exit tax at the airport but found that not only was it included in my ticket costs but I wasnt eligible for it so got a refund of 25. Security was very tight at the airport after going through the normal civilian security it was follo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-386755.html Saturday28.03.09Today I planned to go up the fenicular to Cerro Monserrate one of the steep hills surrounding Bogata. At over 3000 metres above sea level it offers great panoramic views of the city. On top of the hill there is a beautiful little historic church with a statue of Seor Caido the fallen Christ to which is attributed many miracles. The path from the top of the fenicular to the c http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-385957.html Thursday 26.03.09 continuedAfter saying my goodbyes to Elsie Milena and Dan at the Calipso Hotel I caught the night bus from Medellin to Bogota. As it wasnt leaving until 845 I had some time to kill at the bus terminal so went and listened to a free live concert of typical Colombian music which was on in the main areas of the station. Friday 27.03.09On the bus and dawn breaking I pulled the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-385533.html Wednesday 25.03.09 continuedI was nearly finished uploading the photos yesterday in the internet cafe when there was a sudden powercut and we were plunged into darkness. It only lasted less than a minute but it seemed ages. I gave up then but managed to edit them this morning. I found a lovely restaurant for lunch tucked away off the main square it was a little oasis with its own courtyard and http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Antioquia/blog-385004.html Tuesday 24.03.'09 continuedMarinella is bustling busy little town one of the oldest in the area of Antioquia centred around a lovely square which is surrounded with historic buildings some dating back to the 18th century. The square is a great meeting place and its always lively with people coming and going or just sitting having a chat or coffee. The weather is slightly cooler here than http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Antioquia/blog-384713.html Friday 20.03.09After my unfortunate introduction to Colombia I found Medellin a beautiful city full of life a great transport system fantastic architecture and plenty of culture. The city is situated in a valley between two mountain ranges and seems to have its own microclimate not as hot or as humid as the north. With a population of over 2.5million and growing it is fast spreading along t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Antioquia/blog-384390.html Wednesday 18.03.09 continuedApologies for the cliffhanger ending yesterday the internet cafe I was doing the blog suddenly emptied and they wanted to close. So the tale continues....With no sign of the drivers assistant who had our tickets and us left stranded in an office in the bus terminal at Riohacha we the 2 Canadians and me thought it was time to get the police involved. We left our l http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-383445.html Monday 16.03.09This has been the first chance I ve had to update the blog in the last few days due to being on the move and events beyond my control read on..........There were only five residents staying in the posada in Merida quiet season. In fact Merida is prolific with hotels and posadas. I made an early start as I wanted to see as much as possible of the area before moving on. The posda http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-383187.html Saturday 14.03.09 continuedBefore boarding the bus at P.La Cruz I decided to browse some of the tech. shops to see if I could get a high capacity card reader as I found that this was causing the problems with uploading the photos. I eventually came across one and bought it. However the transaction took so long I only just made the coach in time for its departure. I also quickly bought a hot che http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Andean/Merida/blog-381996.html Wednesday 11.03.09 continuedHad no luck changing travellers cheques only cash is king here dollars or euros not pounds. The day was turning out to be a waste of time waiting around for Luis to organise a tour which eventually didnt materialise. However Teresa the teacher I met in the Post Office the previous day met up with me and took me for a tour around the town and along the Orin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/North-Eastern/Puerto-la-Cruz/blog-381654.html Monday 9.3.09 continuedSaid my goodbyes to the group at the posada and got a taxi to the bus station. However it was difficult to get one to Tucupito poor timetable and many changes. So I shared a collectivo to Puerto Ordaz and another from there to Tucupito. Chose the Hotel Amacuro there much to my later regret ..... noisy smelly lumpy bed and no natural light However it was central and http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/North-Eastern/blog-380820.html Thursday 5th MarchApologies for the lack of photos in the last blog had difficulty uploading them but hopefully will have better luck with this server. When I left Roys I made my way for the night coach to Ciudad Bolivar the first stop on the route to Angel Falls. My main rucksack went into the luggage compartment. Fortunately I kept my sleeping bag in my day bag as the air conditioning wa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Guayana/La-Gran-Sabana/blog-380213.html Sunday 1st March After Saturday's last minute's rush pack when I squeezed too much into my tightly packed rucksack and double checked that I wasn't forgetting anything the 'just in case' items I headed to Heeathrow at 3.30 am with Jennie still in her dressing gown. Got there in plenty of time as no traffic on the roads and after checkin browsed through Duty Free where I had to bin my straw h http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Capital/Caracas/blog-378799.html