Day 113 -115 Catch quick flight to Bogota and meet our friendly hostel owner Antonio (from Spain) who explains his car is new and then proceeds to get lost several times in Bogota before we finally reach our hostel. We call Rigo and we meet up and he shows us the Zona Rosa area that we are staying in, which is basically full of shopping malls and posh bars and restaurants. We spend most of the late afternoon/evening in a bar which does fantastic martinis and amazing food, having a lovely time chatting away. We are keen to do the bike tour which everyone has raved about, and so we set the alarm early with a plan to leave the hostel by 9.15 to make the tour at 10.30. A series of mishaps including, being told ... read more

Day 108 After catching a taxi to the bus station we are soon speeding our way to Manizales. However one bad thing about Colombia is the roads, especially in the mountain areas where they are very steep and windy. This combined with the previous night’s entertainment, and a drver that thinks he is Schumacher, means that I am concentrating very hard on not being sick. As my face turns a sickly green and I take deep breaths, Em offers her dry bag for a tactical chunder but luckily I manage to compose myself. 4 hours later we arrive in Manizales where we are childishly delighted to find that the transport from the bus station to the town is a cable car - surely the best way to travel? Hostel is great with a fantastic view over ... read more

Day 102 Back to Dreamers to dump our big bags – and we are greeted like old friends (we nickname it Cheers hostel). Bump into Peta and Nick, who have just done the lost city trek and feel a bit relieved not to have done it too... all sounds a bit like hard work to me! We stock up on supplies and catch the local bus to a bus stop called Rancho Roger (we hope this isn’t some sort of weird joke). We spot the sign for the surf place and head up the road to the beach, and then walk through a track which cuts through a forest of palm trees, marvelling at how lovely and quiet and undeveloped it is. Colin, the Canadian, greets us, we choose our bedroom for the night (a small ... read more

Day 90 We are quickly learning that in Colombia things cost twice as much and take twice as long as expected... so our 3 hour trip to Santa Marta takes 6 hours and costs double what we were told by our hotel. Other passengers in the minivan are business people, and they get pretty irate about being late for meetings and have a fight with the driver, which is such an awkward moment that I get the giggles, especially when the drives threatens to stop and let everyone off. Oh and the 6 hour trip does not include a stop for the toilet... When we arrive at the oasis that is the dreamer hostel we are just so glad... the lovely owner ushers us inside where we are greeted by a lovely pool, onsite Italian restaurant ... read more

Day 82 Bleary eyed we set off on our trip to Manaus (we have to get up at 5am). The plane is on time and our airport pick up is waiting... We are tired and have a wander to the Teatro Amazonias, a beautiful theatre built during the rubber boom, and have a quick tour. Then we head to possibly the most frustrating supermarket in the world (we queue for 1 hour to pay even though there was only 8 people in front of us). We have some snacks at the hostel and have an early night to prepare for the adventure the next day. Day 83 Again no problems with the planes and we arrive in Tefe airport, where we are picked up and taken to the port and wait for our boat transfer to ... read more