Blogs from Colombia, South America

http://www.sidetracked.co.uk/edition-05/colombia.php... read more

So. After the hard work of trekking up a mountain, I was ready for beaching, relaxing and some partying. Therefore, as soon as we arrived back to our hostel (The Dreamer, Santa Marta - thoroughly recommended!) and reunited with the lovely Sara Mansi, the 4 of us booked ourselves onto something called a "Chiva bus" for a night of, um, bussing?? A shower, a nap, a Cuba Libra and we were good to go. However, the first glimpse of this bus brought memories of LAST year's Easter trip and boat sinkage flooding back... a wee beaten up, wooden affair with the seats all taken out and, in their place, some poles and ropes for the "passengers" to dance around whilst parading through the town. It was hilarious. We were driven around (successfully) for 2 hours, thrown ... read more

Last weekend was a 'puente', which is basically one of many long weekends here as everybody was given the Monday off work. A group of 8 of us rented a finca, which is a basic villa outside of the city and is something many Bogotáns have for weekend retreats, especially as land in the countryside here is cheap. It was in a place called Guatavita, which is a large lake in the mountains about an hour and a half outside of the city. It was pretty stunning as you can see below, and is unbelievably similar to somewhere like Lake Windermere. The finca itself was a very basic, with only just electricity to have light, but definitely no TV or computers! We were in an extremely remote area, surrounded by nothing but fields and the occasional ... read more

"Killing the innocent with indifference" Amensty international is an global movement that promotes awarness of human rights, they provide real life examples and even provides a place to get involved if a person belives. This article outlined how a maybe innocent man was excuted. Columibia University is re opening this case to provethe man's innocence. Carlos Deluna was accused for the murder of a gas station attendent in 1989. he was given the penalty after it was reinstated in 1976. University of Coumbia researches are trying to prove that he is infact onnocent and did nit murder the gas station attendent.... read more

In the seven weeks we've spent in Colombia - on its idyllic beaches, in its cloud-shrouded forests and on its nutty buses - we've both fallen in love with this beautiful, raucous, colourful, overwhelmingly welcoming country. It's extraordinary to think that barely a couple of decades ago, many Colombians were effective prisoners in their cities and towns, unable to venture out into their own country, gripped as it was by violent guerilla warfare, drug murders and kidnapping - it makes the heart-warming welcome you receive as a foreigner in Colombia all the more touching. As with any country, of course, Colombia certainly has its fair share of quirks... Fruit v. Stodge - who will win? It would be a fib to say that South America provides the kind of refined culinary wonders you might get, say, ... read more

Day 212 Thursday 10th May We had an early breakfast and were at the hotel reception for the 9.00am Coffee Tour which was done by Tim the owner of the hostel and for the past 3 and half years the proud owner of a coffee farm. The farm was well on the decline when they brought it but is now slowly improving, with them implementing many new things e.g. worm farm for organic fertiliser, solar panels and water management making the farm more self-sufficient. The talk on the coffee production was very interesting and we learnt a lot and even thought of buying his neighbours farm for a split second a shame it is overpriced this is a beautiful part of the world. We learnt about some of the different types of coffee and ... read more

Our final stop in Colombia is the region surrounding the small town of San Agustin, in the departamento of Huila in the far southwest of the country and only a few hours away from Ecuador. Located in the mountains of the Macizo Colombianowhere the spine of the Andes divides into the three Colombian cordilleras, San Agustin itself is not much to look at but is surrounded by some of the most splendid scenery in Colombia. The hills and valleys surrounding the modern town of San Agustin were home, some five thousand years ago, to a highly developed pre-columbian civilisation also known by the name of San Agustin. While much about the San Agustin people remains shrouded in mystery, the countryside for miles around is scattered with dozens of tombs and distinctive funerary statues which have made ... read more