Blogs from Colombia, South America - page 262

I don’t need to start this blog claiming that Colombia is the new Peru or Costa Rica. An unexplored, undiscovered tourist mecca, with glorious mountains, beaches, rainforests and happening cities, blah, blah, blah. All of those things are true except for the unexplored and undiscovered parts. Colombia is already discovered and is very popular. The idea of it being a terrifyingly dangerous country with kidnappers, murderers and cocaine traffickers on every corner, is very outdated. The number of tourists here testifies to that fact. True, there are areas that you shouldn’t visit, but given the size of this country it would be difficult to end up there by mistake. According to some book I read, Colombia is the size of France, Spain and Portugal combined. Being from Britain and now living in Costa Rica, to me, ... read more

Was fuer ein unerwartetes S-Amerika Finale in Kolumbien Soeben haben wir noch die Laender fuer unsere S-Amerika Reise ausgewaehlt, und schon ist die Zeit gekommen, wo es nach 6 Monaten Abschied nehmen heisst :-( Vom Ende der Welt "Feuerland" bis an die Spitze Kolumbiens haben wir uns hochgewagt und jede Menge toller Abenteuer erlebt. Die letzten Wochen verbrachten wir in Ecuador und Kolumbien, wobei Kolumbien eigentlich nicht auf unserem Plan stand .... aaahhh, welchem Plan???? .... aber Aufgrund vieler Empfehlungen haben wir es in unserer Route aufgenommen. Nun zurueck nach Ecuador .... Von Banos aus, sind wir Richtung Norden nach Latacunga gefahren, welches eine Ausgangsstadt fuer den hochgelegenen Quilotoa Loop ist, wo man noch abgelegene Anden Doerfchen vorfindet. Es war an der Zeit, die im Rucksack ganz unten verstauten dicken Pullis wieder auszupacken, da... read more

I forgot to upload these photos. Didn't take that many in Medellin...only spent 4 days there and the real attractions of the town are the nightclubs...don't take my camera there! In Bogota I roamed around a lot during the day and was able to take out my camera every once in a while to take some photos...but just like in any big city, I had to keep my camera out of sight so as not to advertise that I am a tourist with a very valuable electronic in my bag! But I did get some great pics of the art on display in Bogota...both in the museums and on the street. I really enjoyed Bogota...all except for the cold! ... read more

Hey everyone!! Sorry its been ages since my last blog but things have been a bit crazy recently! OK.... here are the bits i was in too much of a rush to put in the last blog about the Lost City as well as the other photos! :o) History lesson... :o) ..... Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) is one of the largest pre-Colombian towns discovered in the Americas. It was built between the 11-14 centuries. When the Spaniards invaded the Tayronas (the local people who lived in the "Tyrona" region) were completely wiped out - they were either killed, died from diseases the Spaniards brought with them or they fled into the mountains! So their settlements disappeared under tropical vegetation for many centuries until it was accidentally discovered in 1975 by guaqueros (robbers of pre-Colombian tombs). The ... read more

Hi All, We just returned to Bogota after one of our most memorable weeks, travelling through various cities within Colombia. It’s difficult to know where exactly to begin with this entry; the experiences we shared with other travelers this past week were complex and beautiful. We met up with a few couples from England and Australia, and a few solo travelers from California, South Africa, Spain and Israel. Our week began embarking on yet another bus from Bogota to the city of Tunja. Tunja is riddled with gorgeous 16th century churches and museums depicting Tunja’s history. We visited a few of the churches and took a tour of the Founders house which still exists. The founder is the only founder in Colombia who after conquering Tunja chose to reside there instead of returning to Spain. All ... read more