SteveAndEllie

After 4 and 1/2 months, 7 different countries, and more than 10 days on a bus (yes really!) our Great Adventure is done.  We have seen mind- blowingly beautiful landscapes, swum in 3 different seas, walked ancient paths and seen ridiculous opulence on one side of the street and crippling poverty on the other. South America is a pretty special place. We have (apart from a few sketchy interludes- see new Rio blog), loved every minute. As for a favourite country (this is what everyone asks) we can't choose. But what we can tell you  what the highlights have been.  In no particular order: 1. Ilha Grande, Brazil 2. Iguazu falls, Brazil/Argentina 3. Mendoza, Argentina (Bikes and Wines!)  4. El Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia 5. Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia 6. THE INCA TRAIL! Peru 7. The Galapagos Islands, ... read more

We left Taganga and continued along the coast to the city of Cartagena. The journey took us through some of the areas badly effected by the flooding that is currently happening in Columbia. We saw peoples homes with water flowing through. Locals had made makeshift roadblocks from which they were begging for a few coins from the passing traffic. It was an incredibly sad sight to see. However, we were a little enheartened to see children playing in and enjoying their new watery predicament.  On arriving in Cartagena we were instantly struck by how beautiful it is. Incredibly well preserved colonial style buildings sit inside the huge city walls which tower over the Caribbean sea. It makes for a wonderful view and means it is a lovely place to while away a few days. And that's ... read more

Everyone we've spoken to who is Columbian or has visited Columbia recently has enquired to check that we will be visiting this pretty little colonial town. Having seen a wealth of them through the continent this was little draw. However it was on our route north to the Caribbean coast and we needed to break the journey somewhere.  We arrived in the town with its cobbled streets and white walled, terracotta roofed buildings. We were struck by just how beautiful it is. They are no modern looking buildings in the town, anywhere. Even the bus station is in the colonial style and blends in beautifully. We spent 2 days exploring the narrow streets and lively court yards filled with shops, restaurants and bars. We climbed the hills behind town to enjoy the vista, looking out over ... read more

Medellin was never in our travel plan, with our initial vision of Colombia (our final destination) involving beaches and little else. However, after talking to other travellers we realised that there was alot more to this country and that we should really use our 3 remaining weeks to do it some justice! So... after a flight from Ecuador (an overland border crossing is not advised), we arrived to a rainy Medellin. We were surprised when boarded a taxi to discover a TV, but a little less surprised when we were serenaded by the dulcit tones of Shakira. Hilarious... we'd only been in the country for 5 minutes. We would love to say that we chose our first Columbian destination for it´s history or beauty but infact it was the cheap airfare that pulled us in! It ... read more

We had high hopes for this trip, we have many friends who've been and loved it, meaning that we had built it up to be one of the highlights of our grand adventure. It didn't disappoint. The Galapagos are amazing. Every island is different, with it's own variety of flora and fauna. On one island you see thousands of different types of birds, on another it's Iguana, on another it's seals, on another it's cacti, and on all of them it's sealions! They are everywhere! On the first day on getting very exciting at seeing a mother and baby Sealion our guide said 'don't bother with them, tomorrow you'll be tripping over them!', and he was right! But we loved them, even if they do smell, and believe us they do! Our trip here has been ... read more