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Blogs from Colombia, South America - page 2
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February 24th 2013
Hello! It is our last day in South America! 2 and a half weeks ago we flew into Bogota (Colombia). We arrived in the sinister darkened streets of La Candaleria (the old town) where policemen with ferocious looking dogs punctuated every corner and the smell of weed hung thick in the air. Feeling tired, overwhelmed and a little unsafe (after hearing several accounts from people in our hostel of muggings at gun point!) we hurried out for some dinner and then retreated to the hostel for an early night. The next morning we stepped out into the sunlight and La Candaleria was transformed into a harmless and beautiful area of the city colourful and interesting and with a distinctly bohemien vibe. We spent a relaxed day in Bogota, the feeling of danger distinctly receding! The Following ... read more
February 19th 2013
I want to and have to start writing about Colombia before i start to forget(oh how could i forget it anyway) The best year of my life,the life that i had longed for started on January 31st of 2012 You may wonder,why Colombia? As we all know,it is supposed to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world,it's stuck with drug trafficking,violence,kidnapp,corruption etcetc.From what we read in newspaper it's quite a fucked up country.My friends still can't figure out why i went there(India either) and they didn't even know where it is and thought i went to the Columbia University in US. That's a long story to tell.My major in university is Spanish,so it's normal to go abroad in third year and practice the language and normal people choose Spain,well i was one of ... read more
February 17th 2013
From Bogota we made it to the Caribbean coast. Santa Marta was our first port of call and that's about all I can say about this town. There's little wrong with Santa Marta, but then there's very little worth going there for. There's the obligatory street vendors which do some good food and it's chilled enough for you to wander the streets supping a cool, refreshing beer. But the beach is not particularly clean and it's next to the busy port. There's a couple of decent restaurants, Lulo did great lunches and we had amazing coconunt lemonades at Tierra Negra (probaby the best non-alcoholic drink ever invented). We just used it as a base for doing the things we really wanted to do. THe first stop was Tirona National Park. It is amazing here as the ... read more
Please don’t molest me and other concerns.
Published: February 18th 2013South America » Colombia » San Andres » Melgar
February 16th 2013
Have you ever had a dream where you pooped your pants that was so real that you woke up and checked your pants? Me neither. I was told we are true barranquilleros now that we leave during Carnival rather than stay and enjoy the festivities.* We jaunted off to San Andres, a Colombian island that is between Costa Rica and Jamaica (see map). Barranquilla being Barranquilla, the airport was madness when we left. In order to get everyone in the Carnival mood they had a free all you can drink party at our boarding gate with dance troupes and bands. Now I’m no TSA agent, but that just makes sense. We went and spent the night in an awesome fishing lodge in Medellin before flying to San Andres in the morning. We flew this new discount ... read more
February 13th 2013
Kolumbija je zemlja velikih rasnih razlika. Izgleda kao da se ceo svet sjatio ovde da napravi najveću mešavinu lica raznih boja i karakteristika. Od crnaca, preko plavih, onih koji bi lako mogli da prođu kao Srbi, Francuzi, Španci, sve do vrlo egzotičnih lica koji nas podsećaju na Maje i Inke, na južnoameričke domoroce. I dalje pokušavam da dokučim identitet svih tih ljudi koji izgledaju tako različito, a svi se identifikuju istom zemljom i u sebi nose isti, jak ponos. Prošlost svoju ne znaju. Svesni su svog izgleda, ali ni ne razmišljaju o genima. Špance nikako ne vole, vide ih kao nekoga ko je došao, sve opljačkao, iskoristio, tlačio ljude, a zatim pobegao ostavljajući pustoš i tugu. To jako osećanje postoji u svima njima i dan danas i ako podsećaju likom na Špance, mogu čak i da ... read more
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Licht in de duisternis
Published: March 1st 2013South America » Colombia » Sucre » Golfo de Morrosquillo
February 13th 2013
Een moeilijke keuze : Carnaval of de Golf? Tussen Santa Marta en Cartagena, hebben we even halte gehouden in Barranquilla. Terwijl we door de straten reden konden we de voorbereidingen zien van de 2de grootste carnaval van Zuid-Amerika (zie url=https://www.google.be/search?q=barranquilla+carnival&hl=nl&client=firefox-a&tbo=u&rls=org.mozilla:nl:official&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=0gIcUYTqCIq29QTMlIG4Dg&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=510hier enkele sfeerfoto's op het web). De koorts was duidelijk aan 't stijgen, en de ritmische muziek werd uitgeschreeuwd door megaboxen door de hele stad. De verleiding was dan ook groot om dit in onze trip in te plannen, ware het niet dat je in deze periode je accommodatie voor de volle 4 dagen minimum moet boeken – tegen torenhoge prijzen – en dit m... read more
February 9th 2013
Before I start today’s blog I thought I should advise readers of how we work at this end. I write the blog which Norma then reads and edits. The editor is also the photographer. Myself and the editor have been having a difference of opinion over one of the local products to northern South America – The arepa, is a type of corn bread. They sell them everywhere here. Personally I think they are disgusting. I will describe one to you. They are about the size of a pitta bread but one weighs about as much as a whole packet of pitta’s. They are an obnoxious yellow / amber colour and if you break one open it is filled with a ghastly sweet and sickly cream cheese like goo that smells like gone off yoghurt. If ... read more
February 9th 2013
• Donderdag 07/02/13: Vandaag vliegen we van het zuiden naar de Caraïbische kust, meer bepaald naar Santa Marta. Daar worden wij opgewacht en naar het verborgen Taironaka, aan de Don Diego-rivier gebracht. Wij verblijven er in een ruime 'cabaña'. Het concept is er wel op gericht je zoveel mogelijk comfort te bieden, maar de realiteit is beduidend soberder... Zonnepaneeltjes zorgen voor karig licht en er is maar beperkt elektriciteit van het net. Geen internet en zeer onbetrouwbaar telefoonbereik. Hier lijkt het op dat, als je 'eco' wilt leven, heel wat zult moeten opgeven. Taironaka (niet te verwarren met het nabijgelegen 'PNN Tayrona') is eigenlijk een archeologische site van de Tairona-indianen, een zeer ontwikkelde beschaving. Zij leefden op de noordelijke flanken van de ber... read more
February 9th 2013
After a day or 2 of rest in Santa Marta, I headed to Barranquilla for Carnaval with my travel companions Elaine and Paul. Barranquilla is not only Shakira's hometown but it is THE place to go for Carnaval in Colombia. It lasts four days from the Saturday until Tuesday (Mardi Gras). As it is not normally a tourist destination, there are not many hostels and they are booked out well in advance. Elaine had managed to get 3 places in a hostel on the Friday night so we headed to Barranquilla, its only about 2 hours by bus from Santa Marta. At the bus station we asked how much a taxi would be to the hostel and we were advised COP 30,000 (10 or 11 pounds) which seemed extortionate but it was metered so was the ... read more
February 6th 2013
• Maandag 04/02/13 : De rit van San Augustin naar Popayán voert ons van de 'Cordillera Oriental' naar de 'Cordillera Central', via het 'Parque National Natural Puracé'. Menig bord waarschuwt ons onderweg voor overstekende tapirs, helaas we mochten het genoegen niet hebben een te mogen zien. Aangename rit van 4 uur door mooie landschappen. Popayán, gesticht in 1537, bleef eeuwenlang de hoofdstad van Zuid-Colombia, tot deze rol werd overgenomen door Calí. Het koloniaal centrum van de stad is gekend voor zijn witgekalkte gevels (op enkele kerken na), waaraan het de bijnaam 'de Witte Stad' te danken heeft. Er heerst er een geanimeerde en sympathieke sfeer, wat ons laat besluiten een dagje langer te blijven en onze voorziene side-trip naar San Cipriano te skippen. We hebben immers sinds ons vertrek uit de Llanos, al 4 van de ... read more
