3rd October- 19th october Coming back to my much loved, intoxicating, liver-damaging cuzco was bound to be dangerous. The cheesy nightlife haunts of mama africa, mythology, and uptown were indeed beckoning each night i dared to say- ¨no, tonight i will not go out...i will not drink. i will take it easy!¨ By the end of my travels here, i came to realise that i had spent a total of almost a month in cuzco! When i was here in june, i was laid waste with patying with the friends that i had made along the way. This time i was [View Full Entry]

---

---

27th September- 29th October The Idyllic town of Banos is situated in one of the lushest green valleys that i´ve come across, and shouldered nearby by a volcano, which has erupted twice in the last few months, sending people running! i heard that if the eruption was big enough, then you have about 4 minutes to get across the other side of a bordering river! and the scarry thing is, they can never predict when this will happen! the volcano is almost always mildly active and you can see the red flames in the dark of night. stayed in a very [View Full Entry]

---

---

24th- 25th: busing it from salento-armenia-popayan- ipiales- colombian/ecuador border 25th- border- Tulcan- Quito 25th-27th- Quito. I WENT TO JAIL!!!!! 27th-29th Banos (refer to next entry) 29th september-1st october- busing it Banos-Guayaquil- ecuador/peru border - Piura - Lima 1st-3rd October Lima i thought this would be an appropriate heading to the piece....will explain soon! let me just say...i will never complain about long flights or 10 hour bus trips! i have been to hell! almost 60hours of buses in 5 days! ahhhhh!!! having finally left my beloved Colombia, i dreaded to [View Full Entry]

---

---

22nd september- 24th september Driving into Salento on that very early morning bus (am really getting used to sleeping on those overnight buses!), was definitely an eye opening bus ride- couldn´t help but keep my eyes opened and glued to the amazing scenery along the way- lush green majestic mountains with the sun rising ever so slowly to reveal the full splendour of the land. I stayed in a hostel called ¨The Plantation Hostel¨, crashed immediately, and woke to explore the town. Its a small town, centered around The main plaza. People greet you kindly and are polite in a way [View Full Entry]

---

---

16th september- 21st september coming back to Bogota was an experience of mixed feelings- a)Unfortunately, it was filled with the burdens of a large city. a place where you have to catch up on all those errands that can only be done in large cities! and for me, it was also finding a new camera (those of you that know me know that i am not normally an impulsive shoppper, so this was hard!), and failing miserable to repair my videocamera (yes problems with all forms of photography!)- the repairer took 4 days to finally tell me that he couldnt do [View Full Entry]

---

---

15th september-16th sptember Arriving in Villa De Leyva, was like stepping back in time, of what i can only imagine Colombia once looked like before modern planning. Stayed in a cosy hostel "hostel colonial", and mesmerised by the town, i went for my camera at which point i realised that it was missing. The only time my bag with camera had left me was when i headed to the bathroom on the bus... that was when the thieves must have taken it!! Surprisingly, have learnt to be quite chilled on holidays, so the experience didn´t deter me too much...and i manage [View Full Entry]

---

---

8th september- 13th september Back in Taganga always felt great. I grew to love this place- there was just an awesome vibe about this place! Each time i came to leave, something would hold me back! Definitely alot of fond memories of this small, otherwise unremarkable, fishing town. The days were largely spent chilling, either on the beach or in the hostel (casa de felipe). Sunset watching became a favourite past time- each sunset different to the next, and almost always spectacular! I cant write about Taganga without mentioning ¨Kelly´s Juices¨-by far the best juices i have tried i [View Full Entry]

---

---

5th September -8th September: Tayrona national Park Tayrona national Park, a little gem of paradise just off the northern Colombian coast of the Carribean. Blessed with crystal turquoise waters, it was a perfect escape from the days of strenuous exercise on the lost city trek! I caught a boat out to the bays with our small troup that remained from the trek...plus a few added extras. Arriving in the bay of Cabo San Juan was like stepping into a postcard image! beautiful calm carribean waters, whitish sand, tropical palm trees hanging over the beach, bordered by large beautiful boulders of [View Full Entry]

---

---

27th August- 29th August: Taganga 29th August- 3rd september: The Lost City We made our way to the fishing town of Taganga, staying at a hostel called ¨casa de felipe¨which just had the collest vibe...but more about that in 2 entries. From here we booked the Lost city tour! CUIDAD PERDIDA- THE LOST CITY! (literal translation). this was definitely one of my highlights in Colombia! and i love Colombia!!! Let me just say i could not describe to you the feeling i got walking through the tropical forest whilst rain was storming down on us...then looking up at the rain through [View Full Entry]

---

---

22nd august- 27th August Arriving in Cartagena from Medellin was like hitting a heat wave!!! it was sudden, sweat drenching humidity! After the coldness of Bolivia and Peru, this was a welcomed and yet unwelcomed change. No sooner would i have a shower,that i would step out and return to immediate sweat, feeling like i need another shower! i found myself sleeping for long periods because of the depressive heat, sleeping below the fan full blast (finally deciding to find an airconditioned room!), and drinking gallons of water that passed out through my sweat rather than through my kidney! [View Full Entry]

---

---