kickass

After saying our good byes to Santa Marta and Katrym, we sat course towards Cartagena our last stop in South America. Cartagena is a beautiful colonial city and a place I coulda woulda shoulda spent more time, but we had a date with a captain to take us over the sea to Panama only days after our arrival. There's said amongst backpackers to do some serious research towards which captain you choose to go with. And I could not agree more! We were able to meet up with him and see his boat before we decided to go with him, which is all very good. But, there is a diffence between 15 min. as a guest and potential customer while still anchored, and sitting in the "crossfire" when the captain is all stressed out mid-sea! The ... read more

The company to go with is "Magic Tours" No doubt about it, at least we had a fantastic trip! We got picked up at our hostel and three hours later we were dropped off in the Sierra Nevada. Our 5 days hike was about to start. At the pickup Thomas said to me that he didn't like our guide Jesus, because he seemed to be a fat little lazy slacker. All this because his lack of a firm handshake! Yes, it really matters. But, sometimes appearances are deceptive. We had a good group with good "walkers", but the round ball of a guide had a hidden talent. he didn't say much, but he could really lead the way! When we met our first group of people on their way back, they told us not to take ... read more

We crossed the border on the 18th, but we are really fed up with the big cities. All we tend to do is hang around at the mall. Which isn't why we went traveling. We're spoiled, I know that.. But there are limits to how many ruins, buildings and museums you can actually see and still find interesting after seeing heaps of them! So, we stayed only a couple of days in Cali before we decided to head inland to the Zona Cafetera and a place called Salento. This is a fantastic area with lush green vegetation, and the reason is RAIN. Yes, it rains a lot there! Or at least it did when we visited. But, if that is what it takes for it to be such a beautiful place - so be it! We ... read more

Apparently there are so many things to do in Ecuador, and a really good country for those who are in search of the more old school backpacking. With this I mean, really interested in secluded areas where you are one of the very few "gringos". Of course this depends on where you go, and when.. Because of the previous riots we decided to stay away from the big cities, and since we also wanted to dedicate our stay here to surf, we headed for the coast where there's little else to do - Canoa. We had read about a good place on TripAdvisor called Sundown Inn, It's not recommendable! Well, it depends on what you want to do though. if you're only reason for going to this surf-mecca for learning spanish, then it might be ok. ... read more

Huacachina is an oasis, literally. We were so excited about this, specially since we've never been to a real oasis before. The thing is though, it lies only 5 km (or so) outside of Ica and the paved roads goes right next to it. But, nevertheless it feels like you really are in the middle of the desert. It has a very nice surrounding, it's quiet and there are different options to keep you occupied during the day. We decided to jump straight into what we wanted to do there. So, first we went on a Pisco-tasting tour at a local winery. The Pisco wine, spirits and so on are famous throughout whole Peru. The guide we had, was actually a little bit more interested in practicing his English than telling us about the wine production. ... read more

Arequipa is a very beautiful city, colonial style. And, the weather is good! Our first night we stayed at "The Point", not recommended if you wanna see something of the city, and not just party. It lies quite a distance from the center. We moved out immediately the next morning and found a cosy place called "Hostal Santa Catalina", and paid only 40 soles for a "matrimonial" with bathroom and tv!! Wow, was this heaven after some of the dorms we've slept in.. They even had a rooftop terrace. Anyways, the guys at the reception are also really eager to help you with booking tours. We've had some bad experiences with some of our agencies, so we wanted to do our own research this time. We decided to do the 3 day Colca Canyon trekking with ... read more

We felt like we had to leave Rurre after spending almost two weeks there, so we caught a flight back up to La Paz. Yes, that's right.. Well, it was with a little cessna which was quite interesting! We met up with some people in La Paz for the weekend, three Danes we befriended at the "pampered" tour and the cheeky chap Graham we had met in Sucre (with all his wonderful friends from Cochabamba).. Further on from La Paz we headed for Copacabana near Lake Titicaca and "Isla del Sol", said to be the origin of the whole Inka culture. We must admit to be a bit disappointed of the whole tourist thing going on in this city. "Of, course it is" you may say. But, the problem is that everyone tries to make money ... read more

There is really not much to say about this tour, besides there was a lot of animals to see!! Also, they are not afraid of people. This because there are about 6 boats arriving to this area every day. I.e a lot of tourists!!! We stayed at a prime facility (compared to on Mogli tours) with beds indoors, showers, toilets, even a bar! I believe the pictures will speak for themselves, and this was indeed a good tour for seeing a bunch of animals. For those wondering about why some of us are holding the anaconda, it's because we had no repellent or sunscreen on.... read more