After arriving in Cusco after a 22 hr bus journey covering probably 300km, from the small one horse town in the Andes that I decided we should go to, we were exhausted to say the least. We were slightly anxious about our trip to Cuzco as it is the ´gringo´capital of South America and ever since the beginning of this trip we had never considered that we would be able to do Machu Picchu due to the extortionate prices they charge. We had envisaged a town where we would be hassled every single moment and where we would meet only the rich, self important traveller who came because they just had to experience Machu Picchu because anybody who is cool ticks that box. We can now say that at the very least we were pleasantly surpised, ... read more

Well, as we bid farewell to the hot and humid tropics of the Amazon Basin and moved inland the scenery of Peru changed dramatically. On our bus journey from Tarapoto to Chachapoyas I was barely able to stop taking photos of what appeared to be awesome landscapes, but in fact turned out to be essentially the same shot of a mountain with clouds surrounding the very top, and although spectacular first hand the views just didn´t translate so well to our cheap point and click digital camera. My over zealousness meant that Jules had to spend at least an hour deleting many of the 120 photos of said hills and much to my chagrin and attempts to convince her that all the photos taken from a quick moving bus were of equal validity and high quality, ... read more

After the Colombia vs Bolivia game we spent a few more days in Bogota saying goodbye to our friend John who we had been travelling with for almost 6 weeks, sharing similar problems with parting with Colombia. So after a big weekend and recovery in the best hostel either of us have ever stayed in we headed to the coffee region for some fresh air and relaxation once again. We arrived in a suitably small pretty town called Salento where we ambled around for a few days, eating the local speciality of trout in various forms and experienced an unexpectedly arduous walk in Valley Cocura. This trip involved walking solidly uphill at 3200mtrs for over an hour, the dfficulty of which we are both attributing to the altitude rather than any lack of fitness on either ... read more

After hitting up Medellin we headed in to the countryside for some fresh air, relaxation and sporting activities. San Gil was first on the list to provide us with our requirements, and proved very successful although less relaxation than we had expected given that we arrived for the town 320th birthday fiesta weekend. The normally sleepy town of San Gil was especially busy the weekend we arrived with an influx of Colombians ever ready for a fiesta no matter whether they are from the town celebrating it or not. The fiesta itself was well organised and a good laugh apart from the selection of drinks which as can be the case in Colombia was mainly ´Aguadiente´, a Sambuca type of drink, which the locals enjoy drinking directly from the bottle (definately an acquired taste). This being ... read more

When you come down the hill into Taganga in the highly cramped and small colectivo, the view over the bay is indeed a beautiful one. A small fishing village situated between large imposing hills near the big and not too pleasant city of Santa Marta whose only real claim to fame that we could fathom is that it boasts the legendary Carlos Valderama as its mayor. Taganga on first appearance seems pleasant enough, but certainly has its drawbacks. The beach for example is gritty and normally covered in some kind of litter and occasionally dog muck, there are too many tourists for such a small town and the wind can reach up to levels that must be bordering on a hurricane, and that is all ok as long as there isn´t an electricity failure which there ... read more