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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 pink mona
August 15th 2006

GLOBAL VILLAGE

South America » Colombia » Medellin

GLOBAL VILLAGE

GLOBAL VILLAGE CAME AND WENT...but the memories remain..it was an AIESEC event sponsored by EAFIT and on EAFIT premises...15 countries, with flags, food, laptop presentations, books, leaflets, pictures, press, cameras, reporters.....and of course, representatives of 15 different countries!Germany, New Zealand, Romania, Mexico, Colombia, England,South Coreea...it was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I wanted to do something typical Romanian ...traditional dish...but what? SARMALE? well...Romanians will know what I am talking about, but most of the others no and besides I lack any cooking skills [View Full Entry]

By mars3
August 7th 2006

hot sexy SALSA

South America » Colombia » Cali

me tarzan in jungle pool!

4th August- 7th August CALI...possibly the world´s capital of salsa!!! as soon as i step off the bus i feel the humidity of the place...a warmth that ive been longing throughout my cold adventures through Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador! We stayed at hostel Iguana- run by a friendly swiss guy who fell in love with a Columbian woman and decided to spend the rest of his life in this tropical wonderland! rumoured to have the best looking women in Columbia, it was not surprising to find our hostel filled with guys! The city itself was nothing special. sightseeing was completed in [View Full Entry]

By mars3
August 3rd 2006

Ancient sites, coccaine, and coffee...Columbia!

South America » Colombia » San Agustin

can you hear it speaking...what is it saying...
IM HUNGRY!

1st August- 3rd August Finally crossing into Columbia had come too soon! strange to realise that i have been travelling for 5 months already! my longest travels so far! It was the journey from hell!!! Quito- border (Tulcan): 6 hours border crossing (1 bus, 2 taxis): 2 hours Ipiales- Papayan (8 hours) waited 4 hours for connecting bus papayan- San Augustin (8 hours)- on the worst bus ride ever! bumpy as hell, and having to sit in the aisle as seats were sold out!!! arrrggghhh!!!! San Augustin was nothing special as a town, but lay as a base to discover the [View Full Entry]

By CheekyPee
July 26th 2006

Cock-A-Doodle Don't

South America » Colombia » Cordoba » Isla Fuerte

Midgets in Mango's
Little people everywhere! It's like being back in Bolivia! Now GET back to school!

So, back to Medellin. So much for just staying another night. I made it out a week later. Can't remember if I said but unless you take advantage of the Monday/Tuesday window's relative calm, you just accept you'll be there for another week. Rather amusingly, all the caners who'd arrived there long before I first did were not only still there but were so sick of the excess that they'd cleaned their acts right up. They were jogging and swimming like nobody's business so each afternoon I'd join them and actually started getting my arse in shape. And each evening I'd [View Full Entry]

By Chirimoya
July 20th 2006

Country #4: Colombia

South America » Colombia

Hi everyone, We haven´t been doing too many noteworthy things in the past few days, mostly just riding in buses, but we just had to write in the blog because we´ve made it to Colombia. We crossed the border earlier today after a 5 hour bus ride from Quito, Ecuador, and we´re still very near to the border. We won´t really get to see much of the country of Colombia, but we´ve got the passport stamp!! We will start heading toward the beaches of northern Peru tomorrow probably, and cross the equator (maybe stop and take some pictures, though we already [View Full Entry]

By Debsfudge
July 20th 2006

Dusk till Dawn in Southern Colombia

South America » Colombia » Popayan

Statue, San Agustin
The Town squares in this area are all decorated with these. Better than a politician methinks.

As evening approaches,we say our goodbyes to the friendly bunch in the Bogota hotel and get a taxi to the bus station. The Colombian dirty weekenders are awestruck by our plans to get a night bus through FARC controlled southern Colombia and exclaim how dangerous it is; Terrioristas "bang, bang", they say... "Irlanda, bang bang", I offer in return..."You IRA?", they say. "No claro!" I reply, and make a hasty exit and our journey back into the boonies begins. The bus station is very busy but not populated with the vermin one would imagine. We drink a quart of rum and [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Bogota

South America » Colombia » Bogota

Bogota, Colombia 10 or so hr flight over to Colombia and then a good 2 hrs going through passport control, don´t get many tourists here so was expecting a long wait but got trough really no trouble and got the stamp I was after... Took a cab from the airport over to our Hotel in North Bogota called Hotel Patio Amarillo, first impression was a bit mixed as excited to finally be there but also saw what people had been going on about as I´d never seen so much police before, they are literally everywhere and all with bi big machine [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Cartagena

South America » Colombia » Cartagena

An hours flight up the country and what a difference, hit by the heat as soon as we stepped off the plane...we´d gone from 16 in Bogota to 32 up here...Proper little paradise, palm trees everywhere..You know the score.... Had a hotel called Tres Banderas which is built in the old part of the city which is within a huge wall built in the 15th century to keep out all the English Pirates, but they let us in...GArrrrr! Hotel was amazing, outside our room was a waterfall with banana and orange trees...Gower was pleased about the banana trees as he could [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Santa Marta

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Decided to take a cab up the coast, we were going to get the bus but it took 5 hrs and was about 2 quid, cab however was air conditioned, took about 2 and a half hrs and cost about 8 quid..No contest really. This place is a proper Colombian holiday resort so well busy and of course nobody can speak English. Got a hotel called Casa Familiar which if my Espanol is getting any better must translate to "cockroach ridden 5hithole", only a dollar a night though so mushn´t grumble as the boy lard would say....decided right away one night [View Full Entry]

By The Yak
July 12th 2006

Taganga, near Santa Marta

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta

Short cab journey up the coast to Taganga which is an amazing little place a great beach set in this little bay, checked into Hotel Casa Blanca and our room is right on the beach,an amazing view of the sea surrounded by mountains with a great balcony and a hammock....Staright down the beach for a game of footie with the locals ended up playing for hours until Gower hurt his leg..Soft tissue damage I think, still these kids had the skills to pay the bills and I got totally shown up on the showboating front by a 12 yr old girls...Never [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » South America » Colombia