Blogs from Santander, Colombia, South America - page 3

Walking through the little pueblo of Barichara, nested in the Santander area, I had to redefine my conception of tranquility. Until now, I would find peace & quiet in remote natural areas or exploring the underwater world, but Barichara had this very same effect on me. With little more than 4000 inhabitants, Barichara remains a tiny town but one that has understood that protecting its architectural & cultural heritage was the way forward when it comes to attract tourists. So here I was, rooming Barichara cobbled stones alleys, amazed at every corner by the combination of white washed facades with linear dash of colors at the base, stone works and just as colorful wooden doors & windows frame. The town is quite hilly which add an extra once of charm to it. Mid day and after ... read more

Barichara, an inspiring place given its stone buildings dating from the end of the XVII century and its well-preserved and totally simillar houses, which make you go back to colonial times to experience life as it was lived some centuries ago… I couldn’t help but think of Perouge in France; although the latter is more of the Middle Ages, reminiscing all these old ages became like a search of a feeling for being there if you know what I mean. Declared a national monument in 1978, thanks to its representative buildings with colonial architecture style from the times of the Spanish conquest, no wonder why many people state that there is not a favourite time to visit the village as Barichara is beautiful all year longñ in fact, they go so far to call it the ... read more

We spent about 5 days visiting two other Pro Aves lodges in Colombia - El Dorado and Cerulea. At El Dorado we were met by a lovely English couple - Roger and Annie who are looking after the lodge until late spring next year. We spent a couple of days exploring the walking trails around the reserve, spotting tarantulas, frogs, owls and other important birds along the way. From one side of the lodge you see the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada, from the other you see the Caribbean coast line. The second lodge we visited was 2 flights and a long jeep ride away in Satander near a town called Bucamaranga (well 4/5 hours away) but was equally spectacular and again, we spent some time exploring the forest and trails around the reserve. ... read more

Now it's already two years, that I'm on my journey - wow what a long time! So many great experiences - not easy to express in words ... so I made a video once again, to let you participate in just a few moments of this second year (because of problems with accessing the file in humyo, you will now have to download it): 2 Jahre / 2 years / 2 años By the way, the song I used is one of my favourits, because it descripes pretty much my life within a big part of the last year and how I felt, before I came to San Gil. For everyone, who want's to know more: Sänger: Manu Chao Album: Clandestino Song: Desaparecido Me llaman el desaparecido Cuando llega ya se ha ido Volando vengo, volando ... read more

After the rum and coke ridden hostels of the coast I was keen to get out of the backpacker scene and into peoples' houses. I was feeling jaded when I arrived in Colombia: six months of travelling was gradually ebbing away my energy. I easily found a CS host in my next stop, Bucaramanga. I stayed with Andres and his girlfriend Marta, who were very helpful and informative. I found that Bucaramanga doesn't have too much by way of regular sightseeing, which was just as well as I wasn't that way inclined. I preferred instead to soak in the culture, which my hosts dutifully obliged. They gave me detailed advice on surrounding attractions, Youtube tutorials on Colombian music, and walking tours of the city. I discovered that the city is surprisingly big at over 1.5 million ... read more