When Daniela (the receptionist fro Vilcabamba with who I had climbed Solomaco) arrived in Quito and asked me whether I would like to join her on a trip to Colombia, it did not take her much to persuade me, as after 4 months in Ecuador I did not mind a break from the country. The trip started with a number of difficulties: somebody had advised me that I could leave from Quito´s Northern Ofelia terminal rather than from the main Terminal Terrestre. However, it was not a good idea, as there are only regional buses leaving from there, and it took [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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more words to be added about my last long bus journey in latin america on my 11 month travels. [View Full Entry]

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We bused to a little town close to the boarder of Ecuador and Colombia and caught a taxi to the boarder. We got the stamps on both sides and caught a taxi to Ipales. We immediately got a mini bus that was leaving for Pasto. We traveled through beautiful countryside, steep hills with huge gorges. We think the bus driver was trying to commit suicide, he was passing on blind corners but actually preferred double yellow lines on the top of blind hills. Sometimes we were left gasping, knowing that if we went over the edge, it would be the end. [View Full Entry]

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