Wednesday 25.03.09 (continued) I was nearly finished uploading the photos yesterday in the internet cafe when there was a sudden power-cut 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 looked like it was formerly someone's house. I had homemade mushroom soup followed by the Plata del Dia (beefsteak, ice with coconut, fried plantain, and salad) with mango juice [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 24.03.'09 (continued) Marinella 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 it´s always lively with people coming and going or just sitting having a chat or coffee. The weather is slightly cooler here than in Medellin - quite high up. I see many of the men either carrying or wearing ponchos - a variety of styles and sizes. The number of others wearing jackets or pullovers [View Full Entry]

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Friday 20.03.09 After 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 the surrounding hillsides. The metro system is all overground, with the part in the city centre elevated. It´s clean, cheap and efficient. I had decided to have a quiet cultural day so looked [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 18.03.09 (continued) Apologies 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 driver´s 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 luggage behind the counter in the office and looked for the police. We split up and I found one but then couldn´t find the girls. I went to the police station [View Full Entry]

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Monday 16.03.09 This 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 posáda manager told me that the teleferico (world famous because of its length) was closed for repairs, so I went down to the main [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 14.03.09 (continued) Before 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 cheese arepa and a drink to have on the coach, as I hadn´t any breakfast. I had booked a seat on the top deck - a window [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 11.03.09 (continued) ´Had 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 didn´t 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 Orinoco. She was a mine of information on the history of the place. We saw the people who live permantly under black plastic sheeting along the river banks, [View Full Entry]

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Monday 9.3.09 (continued) ´Said 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 the people there friendly. ´Had a meal in local restaurant - milanese chicken with chips and salad ... not very Venezuelan but filling. Tuesday 10.3.09 ´ Got little [View Full Entry]

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Thursday 5th March Apologies 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 Roy´s 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 was turned full on and I would not have got to sleep otherwise. It was a nine hour trip but I slept through my stop and ended up in [View Full Entry]

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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 check-in browsed through Duty Free where I had to bin my straw hat which had already disintegrated in my rucksack. 'Had the usual problems going through security with my replacement hip - they even offered my a separate room [View Full Entry]

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