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Colombia Travel Blogs

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 Pendo does South America
July 20th 2008

A big city, a walled city, a lost city and the beach

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Colombian buddies
Fabian and Andreas, my Colombian friends who pulled out all stops to show me around Bogota. The alcoholic beverage featured here is a fermented corn delicacy called Chicha.

Well the good times have continued to roll here in Colombia - it is quickly catching up to Argentina in the race to become my favourite country in South America! After a great couple of weeks of volunteering it was back to travelling.....first stop was Bogota, the big city capital. Here I was lucky enough to have a friend introduce me to two Colombians, Andreas and Fabian, who quickly took me under their wing and put in a huge effort to make sure I had a great time in Bogota. This mostly involved feeding me every alcoholic beverage ever invented/drank/thought about [View Full Entry]

By Bense
July 20th 2008

3rd Happiest country in the world

South America » Colombia » Bogota

Street in Bogota

The plane in LAX broke. There was a 3 hour delay after the electrics stopped working on the plane!!! We got given dinner in the Airport where i sat with 2 Ozzies and a Colombian girl. She was crackers and the Ozzies were off to 2 seperate weddings (one in Quito, Ecuado and the other in Bogota). The colomboan girl was my saving grace. When the plane landed (remember I dont speak Spanish) I was picking my bags up (brand new bag now is sporting a fabulous rip in the bottom!) Nathalia (colombian) said that it would be "fine" her dad [View Full Entry]

By mjist
July 18th 2008

Cartagena

South America » Colombia » Cartagena

Cartagena Church
This church was just down the end of the street from the hostel, and had a lovely little plaza out the front.

I know it is a big call, but I've come to the conclusion, after a month of pondering and reminiscing, that out of all the cities in South America, Cartagena is my favourite. After getting in rather late the first night, because I couldn't get a direct bus from Santa Marta, I realised that I didn't have much energy. To be brutally honest, even, I spent most of my time in Cartagena doing absolutely nothing, as I woke up late and would have a mid afternoon nap to pass the time. Being on the Carribean, I found Cartagena awfully humid and [View Full Entry]

By ucfspanish
July 17th 2008

An airport janitor flirts with me in Cucuta, Colombia

South America » Colombia

I was waiting for my plane departure in the small airport of Cucuta, Colombia. The airport is so small that I was the only one in line to check my bags, pass through security and now I sat with only a handful of people in the lobby. I sat towards the back of the second floor lobby and looked out to my right. Half the building was an open air veranda so I could see the lush Andes mountains in the distance and feel the cool breeze. I sat and philosophized about life and anything that popped into my head. I [View Full Entry]

By tomandclaire
July 17th 2008

Bogota ta ta to Cartagena na na

South America » Colombia » Cartagena

Day 84 Because if all the delays we didnt get into Bogota until about 5 in the eve. Went to El cafecito which was unfortunatley renamed El Cafeshito in Colombia. Didn´t live up to the Ecuadorian standards and was in a bad spot and it was pretty dead. Had food and caught up on naps after all the travels ready to go somewhere better the next day Day 85 Moved to Platypus, right in the middle of town and much better. Spent the day cruising Bogota, bit of shopping and tried to sort out the perennial cashflow issues. Tried to enjoy [View Full Entry]

By Cstine
July 17th 2008

los calles

South America » Colombia » Medellin

Wednesdays at the foundation are slower because the kids have clases de valores throughout the day. During some down-time, I had somewhat of an awakening. I have constantly been thinking about how these children need motivation to come to class, behave well, and learn some English. My state of my mind was on a grand scale, thinking that the kids need to see new places, understand that there are opportunities, and hear success stories about children who used to live at the foundation (not stories like Marisol gets murdered while back out on the streets). Suddenly, FINALLY, I thought about [View Full Entry]

By BGC
July 16th 2008

Colombia!

South America » Colombia » Medellin

tayrona park

Colombia! Last year when a group of travelers I met told me I had to go to Colombia I let out a small laugh and said something like, "What for? To sample the coffee and get kidnapped"? "No", they said, "You really need to go to Colombia". "All right, whatever" I said, "Next year I'll go to Colombia". And boy am I glad I came, after being here for nearly four weeks I'm not to sure where to start; how about with one of the most beautiful national parks I have been to. Parque Nacional Tayrona The Caribbean coast of Colombia [View Full Entry]

By Cstine
July 13th 2008

game box, a meseum, and santa fe

South America » Colombia » Medellin

some of the girls
waiting for the game box to open

Picture time again! The pictures of the children are at that place I had mentioned in my last blog, the game box. The pictures of artwork, that I took until I got yelled at, are of some of my favorite paintings at the Museo de Antioquia. The museum was alright, nothing to go crazy about. The first floor was all really boring and old portraits. I have never seen so many portraits in one section of a museum and I quickly left. After that there was a lot of old, very religious works. The more modern stuff was more interesting to [View Full Entry]

By ISAACDIAZ007
July 12th 2008

AGRADECIMIENTOS

South America » Colombia » Cali

AGRADEZCO A DIOS TODOPODEROSO POR PRESTARME LA VIDA , A MIS PADRES POR TRAERME AL MUNDO , A HEIDI Y ALVARO POR EDUCARME, A MIS HERMANOS POR HACER EL ESFUERZO DE ENTENDERME. A JOHANNA POR SER LA MUJER QUE ES , A MI ASESOR Y MI GRAN AMIGO MILTON OBED POR ENSEÑARME A SER PRACTICO , EL VALOR DEL DINERO Y DARME TANTAS LECCIONES DE VIDA. A MIS AMIGOS DE SIEMPRE MACKENXI , ROBINSON Y ENRIQUE .POR MAS DE DIEZ AÑOS SIENDO HERMANOS , LOS LLEVO EN EL CORAZON. A DIEGO Y TODA SU FAMILIA POR SU AMISTAD INCONDICIONAL DE TANTOS [View Full Entry]

By Cstine
July 11th 2008

lessons, laughter, and the legend of the clouds

South America » Colombia » Medellin

I have the better part of a week to talk about, so I will go through and describe some of the more important highlights... Funny Story: My first story still makes me laugh out loud as I am walking down the street by myself and thinking about it. An important thing to keep in mind as I tell this story is that the students we are teaching hardly know ANY words in English. OK? VERY few. To begin: Sascha and I were leading a lesson with 4 or 5 of the older kids while Ari took a few of them elsewhere. [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » South America » Colombia