Colombia was one big surprise.
After hearing all the terrible, horrifying stories about Colombia from the Venezuelans and Brazilians, we prepared ourselves to drive through Colombia in as little time as possible. We were pretty excited to leave Venezuela and Chavez behind, but were also worried about what would happen to us in this country that has such a bad name, and which is so full of criminals, drugs and guerillas. Well, as we should know by now, not everything you see on the TV news, or hear from the mouths of people who have never left their own country, is always true.
Colombia surprised us first with its excellent roads, then with its unspoilt, super-clean beaches, beautiful mountains and lakes, colonial towns, and its intriguing history of pre-hispanic civilizations and profound wealth of ancient, breath-taking, golden works of art from this time of the Indians. This country really has got the best of everything, and because it is not that big, it's possible to see so many different amazing things in a short space of time.
The irony of this country is that once we entered Colombia we haven't felt this safe since starting our trip through
Hoover and the GangA close call with the engine screws (again) forced us to stop at this tiny town on the way to Bogota, where Hoover the mechanic and his friends kept us smiling. He told us that his mother liked the br
... [more]South America. Security is on every street corner in the big cities, and the smaller towns are basically crime-less. Whilst it's true that dangerous guerillas are still around (even though more than 80% have disarmed), they are in such remote, hard-to-reach places that you really need to be looking for trouble to find it.
But the greatest thing of all about this fantastic place has to be the people! We thought no-one could beat Brazilian's fun, hospitality and care, but the Colombians are serious competition. It is hard not to feel good just being around them. And it isn't just the way they treated us -by seriously going out of their way to help with even the smallest of things - but also the way they are to eachother and their attitude to life. Anywhere we went we met friendly people who were just enjoying their lives. It seems they live each day as if it was going to be their last. Perhaps they learnt this in the era of Pablo Escobar, whose name they are still trying to forget. Whatever the reason, there is definitely lots to learn from them.
Take our word for it, you can
Dead MeatWe were advised (somewhat falsely) by the Colombian Embassy in Venezuela to drive without stopping through the first 300km in Colombia (due to dangerous assualts and possibly guerilla encounters), so
... [more]certainly believe Garcia Marquez when he said "five Colombians in a room invariably turns into a party!"
Odometer at start: 33 900 km
Odometer now: 46 846 km
PyroOur first camping experience in South America.We Set up our really mini tent and cooked the first meal on our mini stove, which Tom is trying to light here.
Holy Smokes!No, this was not Tom's work! Apparently an electricity fault got this fire started at this small village by the beach. Whilst the locals were doing their best to control the fire, the tourists were ju
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Colonial CartagenaFull of hispanic architecture and magic made us feel we
were walking in the streets of Madrid.
Zipaquira Salt CathedralThe only cathedral in the world made entirely of salt. It used to be a salt mine and the workers decided to make it into a place where they could pray. It is 160m underground at its deepest point and
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Salt CathedralOur new Colombian friend Jenifer that we met in Zipaquira and joined us in our travels for a while.
Tamales!Typical Colombian food - rice and chicken cooked in banana leaves.
Oro!The famous museum of gold in Bogota. We have never seen so much gold in our
lives - over 40 000 beautifully created pieces made by the precolombian indians, but still probably only a small fraction c
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2 Comments -
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Send Private Messagehey Tom, I finally understand why you call it Life is Beautiful. Not because it's smooth and easy and comfy but throughout all the nice-to-weird experiences you have put in your effort and let your eyes opened to new horizons (including the cocaine business). Geez I'm in a philosophical mood tonight.
Great blogging guys, a real eye opener. The coke lab was a classic.. and must really suck to have your folks name you hoover! Take care, Aj
Colombia's Flag
Map of Colombia