Cristobal Colon may well have picked the best of the bunch of Latin American countries to name after himself, as Colombia is absolutely amazing. I´m tempted to leave it at that really, as this isn´t going to be a blog of derring do and swashbuckling adventure. We´ve been sat on our respective asses (it´s more comfortable that way round) for the last two weeks, with little to occupy ourselves except Spanish school and lazing about in the heat... However Colombia deserves a little lyrical waxing. Having spent the last few weeks heading north, we´ve now reached the top, and we´ve had [View Full Entry]

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For the many friends worried about us being kidnapped, don´t worry! We are not being held hostage! We landed Friday morning in Cartagena as planned, checked into our hotel in Bocagrande and got some breakfast. I had forgotten about all the different kinds of exotic juices they have in central and south america and Colombia is no different. My new favorite is mora (blackberry). That morning, I had mora con leche, kind of like a blackberry milkshake. There is also mora ice cream and juice. Yummy! Next, we hit the beach. Bocagrande is like a third world Miami Beach. Take the [View Full Entry]

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Eens even kijken. Terwijl Joost zich ligt op te fokken omdat hij geen Youtube kan kijken (een echte junk) ga ik maar eens een update erop gooien. Het is iets van 30 graden buiten, maar ik ben natuurlijk weer verbrand. Dus even schuilen voor de zon. Het vervelende is dat het alweer twee weken geleden is eer ik de laatste update erop gooide, en er daardoor teveel verteld zou moeten worden om alles te omvatten. Het makkelijkste is om dan maar gewoon niets te tikken, maar daar ga ik niet mee wegkomen, dus dan maar een paar dingen eruit vissen. De [View Full Entry]

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CARTAGENA Yvonne was still not feeling well, and the busride didn´t help. The airconditioning made us feel freezing cold again. We had sleep with our coats covering our heads. We stayed in Casa Viena, a basic hostel in somewhat rough street near the colonial old center of Cartagena (10 mi walk). It is a beautiful city, but very touristy. Loads of (American) cruise boats stop here, so no it´s a lot more expensive than the rest of Colombia. The high humidity didn´t do Yvonne´s cough and breathing much good. We made the best of it though and explored the streets as [View Full Entry]

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The last week or so of my time in South America was spent on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in Santa Marta, Taganga and Cartagena. I have included all three in a single blog as I got lazy towards the end of the trip and I didn't do too much on any one day. It could have been a result of the warm and humid climate that makes you constantly sweat; or simply the fact that I had travelled the entire length of the continent in under three months. This last fact would not impress the travel snobs who believe you [View Full Entry]

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Having recently returned from a Caribbean cruise aboard the excellent ship Celebrity Constellation, I came to the conclusion that the Caribbean is actually rather short of interesting places to visit. The weather is great in the early part of the year, and there are many superb locations for diving, snorkelling or just sitting on the many beaches, but there is a lack of interesting towns. Cartagena in Colombia is a major exception to this and is well worth a visit: it is actually a sizeable city with a population of around a million but the most interesting part for the traveller [View Full Entry]

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A noticeable change in topography occured not long after the border, as we moved into the outskirts of the Canaima national park area, before stopping at our spectacular campsite, Salto Kama, nestled next to a 40m waterfall with a plethora of biting insects. There was little time to enjoy the falls however as we all mucked in (with a couple of notable exceptions - the usual suspects slinking off when work needs doing!) for a final truck and tent clean. A fantastic dinner of steak and mash later with caesar salad and peaches and cream, we went to the bar to [View Full Entry]

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And a bit left over for a bag of chips.... Under the cover of nightfall, me and me dear brain, reunited once again where I left him at the airport in Bogota made haste for Lima. There are times I guess over the last month where he would have come in handy...my grasp of the spanish language seems to have gone to pot without him...I think he feels the same way however, after getting a few nice ladies phone numbers realised that without his owners chisled and finely sculpted body he is just in fact a brain and really does look [View Full Entry]

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Well needless to say it´s been an adventures few weeks. San Jose was a lot different than I remember it from 8 years ago. A lot more cosmopolitan. Did some good shopping and some good wandering. But after a few days, started to get the beach urge again. Made my way to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side. It is amazing just how different the Caribbean is from the Pacific, visually and culturally. Stayed at this cool but very crowded hostel called rocking J´s. It´s only tents and hammaks and they packed the people in. I think it has space for [View Full Entry]

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Moi! Tanaan paasin vihdoin kuivalle maalle, tosin askeleet ovat hieman hatarat, pari paivaa menee varmaan totutellessa. 3 viikon Linnanmaki-reissu oli....kokemus. Alunperinhan matkan piti alkaa Bilbaosta, mutta kyseinen purtilo ei sitten lopulta lahtenyt ollenkaan, joten suuntasin Italiaan, Genovaan, josta hyppasin toiseen laivaan. Reitti oli: Genova-Marseille-Guadaloupe-Dominikaaninen tasavalta-Kolombia. Yleensa satamassa ei ollut vuorokautta enempaa aikaa tutustua kaupunkiin, Rio Hainassa, Dominikaaneissa en lopulta ehtinyt maihin ollenkaan. Alus oli vajaa parisataa metria pitka MS LICORNE, lastina kontteja. Yritin udella mita kaikkea kuskasimme, mutta edes kapteeni ei sisaltoa tarkemmin tiennyt. Sanoi vaan, etta on parempikin ettet tieda, tosin laivan, joka seilasi Liberian lipun alla, kotisatamana Monrovia, omisti [View Full Entry]

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