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Background: Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.

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By CheekyPee
August 18th 2006

Say Hello To My Little Friend!

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

A Day without Blood is like a Day without Sunshine
Let's kidnap some rebels and see how THEY like it...

Hello, me again. I feel that today, as our numbers continue to grow, perhaps I should start by welcoming all new bloggers from across the world into the family. Worthy of special mention must be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, although I can't deny feeling a hint of jealousy; I have to make do with writing mundane entries about cleaning sand from my orifices and embarrassingly located mosquito bites and I won't have some bearded fundamentalist pissing on my chips with all his talk of exercising his fundamental right as a sovereign nation to cruise into the [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Taganga, near Santa Marta

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Short cab journey up the coast to Taganga which is an amazing little place a great beach set in this little bay, checked into Hotel Casa Blanca and our room is right on the beach,an amazing view of the sea surrounded by mountains with a great balcony and a hammock....Staright down the beach for a game of footie with the locals ended up playing for hours until Gower hurt his leg..Soft tissue damage I think, still these kids had the skills to pay the bills and I got totally shown up on the showboating front by a 12 yr old girls...Never [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Santa Marta

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Decided to take a cab up the coast, we were going to get the bus but it took 5 hrs and was about 2 quid, cab however was air conditioned, took about 2 and a half hrs and cost about 8 quid..No contest really. This place is a proper Colombian holiday resort so well busy and of course nobody can speak English. Got a hotel called Casa Familiar which if my Espanol is getting any better must translate to "cockroach ridden 5hithole", only a dollar a night though so mushn´t grumble as the boy lard would say....decided right away one night [View Full Entry]

By pink mona
July 2nd 2006

there°s a scorpion in my bedroom.......

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

the scorpion found in my bedroom
will I ever be able to sleep again in this bedroom????

This will be a short entry, but I just felt like sharing this with all of you guys, as it doesn°t happen every day to find a scorpion in your bedroom...I just got home tonight and let me tell you I live in a nice area in El Rodadero, a nice house, not in the middle of the jungle.. well, anyhow there it was.... in the middle of the room, staying still...as I turned on the light it probably felt something and run for cover under my backpack which was lying around on the floor...I am not the neatest girl [View Full Entry]

By Hayley
June 25th 2006

Finding the Lost City

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida

The Lost City

We arrived in Santa Marta with the knowledge that we weren't covered by our travel insurance as the FCO advises against travelling here.. so certain that if we were going to break a leg it would be here!! Luckily we didn't. We also got our first look and dip in the Caribbean sea!! But we did decide to trek for 6 days through the jungle to find the remote, hidden and recently found.....Cuidad Perdida (Lost City). We again, were not covered by insurance, especially for kidnapping as it was here where our government thinks we would be most at risk, mostly [View Full Entry]

By lasobrevivencia
June 22nd 2006

Off to the beaches yeeh!

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Our Camp Site
The Hamocks Were Actually Really Comfy!

So from the beautifull area of cartagena were i could just stay for so long cause its just so pretty but nop its time to head off so me and my nice little Isreali friend Tammy headed off to Santa Marta on the crazy arse colectivo ha ha the buses are so cool here its crazy there like there own magical world or something it was so funny a man got on and handed a cake to an old lady and never said a word and she did nothing eaither just held it, then when she got off she passed it [View Full Entry]

Beks Looking For Her Purse In The Pond Ha Ha

By Debsfudge
June 17th 2006

"Are you the (coca) farmer"?

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida

Kogi Indians

Not content with lounging around on the beach at Taganga and diving, we decide that it is time to visit Cuidad Perdida the "lost city". Travel to this region is not recommended by the Foreign and Commonwealth office back in good old Blighty due to a kidnapping incident back in 2003. So we decide to go. It takes 3 days in, 2 nights in the lost city, and 2 days out. Day 1 begins with our driver getting arrested for some minor traffic offence. The cop delights in teaching him a lesson by making him unload all of the roof luggage, [View Full Entry]

By Debsfudge
June 9th 2006

The Border Fox

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

We arrived at The Venezuelan City of Maricaibo at 7am after a sleepless 8 hours on the bus. Within a couple of mins of getting our baggage, a predatory Por Puesto driver has apprehended the group while I was searching for caffeine, and an intense confusing haggling for the border crossing begins. We end up in a battered A - team van with luggage on the roof, Yeppe, the very tall Dane has to ride shotgun with the driver. One of the elderly passengers does not have his ID with him so the driver has to pay his bribes past the [View Full Entry]

By pink mona
June 7th 2006

my working place

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

me and my kids
though the most spoiled kids on earth, every single one having their personal driver, nanny , maid and some even bodyguard, i simply adored them!!!

Colegio Bilingue de Santa Marta is said to be one of the best private schools in Santa Marta. And it probably is. The teaching staff has less than 40 teachers, about 7-8 of them gringos, the school is pretty small, but nice, a real nice envirnoment, with excellent working conditions. You can find here the kids of some of the most powerful and richest men in the country, sons and daughters of senators, politicians. Most of them, if not all, are spoiled brats and when I say that I say it with no hard feelings....a total lack of discipline hunts the [View Full Entry]

By pink mona
June 6th 2006

just a bit of rain

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

cafe del parque
santa marta, a nice cafe in open air

a bit of rain... more or less 20 minutes... turned the streets into rivers..the city under water... unbelievable, but unfortunately, true.I will let the pics speak for themselves, my short visit to señora Ofelia at La Sierra Hotel on the beach....more pics soon... [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » South America » Colombia » Santa Marta