Blogs from Bogota, Colombia, South America - page 50

Our expectations surpassed ten-fold, we ended our three week journey through Ecuador with an overland border crossing to Colombia. Yes Mom, Colombia. Colombia is a country that was not even on our radar when left the States last September, but conversations with fellow backpackers convinced us that we had to see Colombia. To most Americans ( who, let´s face it, are not the most adventurous people), Colombia is a place to avoid. But why? I guess most people think of cocaine cartels and FARC guerillas, both of which are not nearly as prominent as they were 20 years ago. Apparently President Uribe has made Colombia much safer. That said, a lot of Colombians (those who aren´t rich) still hate his guts. As we write this blog, Colombia has been in negotiations with the U.S. to work ... read more

Lots of reasons to visit most places. Bogota, Colombia happens to be the home of Julia's Father and his family. Holden had never been, but was excited to visit for sure. Saw a fair amount of the city and managed to acclimate to the altitude by the time it came to depart for Cartagena. Vistited Winter 2006.... read more

After our time spent there, we were all more than ready to leave Venezuela and head for the much anticipated Colombia. Having already changed as much currency on the black market upon entry to Venezuela, we had already increased our spending power there (getting nearly double the "official" rate), however we were duly shafted upon leaving, emphasized by their substantial hike (300%!!!) in departure tax for exiting the country. Furthermore, with the current bleak state of the Mighty Dollar, no-one would accept them for love nor money, posing some probs to those who had only enough currency for the supposed exit fee. Thankfully Billy, Jude and myself had enough currency to feed an army so were able to sort the others out, although trying to explain to our Japanese contingent, Takuya that the exchange would NOT ... read more

Moi! Niinkuin varmaat useimmat ovat kuulleet, niin taalla Kolumbiassa armeija paasti paivilta yhden FARC guerilla-joukon ykkoshepuista. Muuten ihan hyva homma, mutta kun se tapahtui Ecuadorin puolella, ilman etta Ecuador oli tietoinen asiasta, niin nyt on pienta poliittista vaantoa naapurusten valilla, mutta eikohan ne siita rauhoitu ja paasta mut vaihtamaan maata muutaman viikon paasta. Toistaiseksi ei ole kiire rajoille.. Kaikkialla Bogotaa lukuunottamatta on ollut tosi kuuma, reilut 30 astetta jokapaikassa. Tanaan tanne paakaupunkiin saavuttaessa, ei sitten enaa tarvinnutkaan aurinkovoiteita levitella, kaupunki on n. 2650m meren pinnasta, joten varsinkin oisin on hieman kalsa. Mutta palataanpa alkuun.. Cartagena: mukava paikka, tykastyin kovasti hostelliini, varsinkin sen henkilokuntaan, soittelivat viela eilenkin, etta kaikki on kunnossa. Hostellin lisaksi muistoihin jai vis... read more

I'm sorry I haven't updated this in nearly a month. So much goes on, that its hard to sit down and just organize my thoughts and write them into a coherent narrative. But let me try... As a school, we traveled out of the mountains and into the rainforest. It was a little worrisome at first, as we were traveling into paramilitary area. Not exactly FARC ground, but really close. We arrived at our location safely and had three days playing at a resort. Well, it called itself a resort....it was really the most amassed collection of insects and creepy-crawlies I've ever seen. There were bugs everywhere. At night, you had to seek shelter or you would become one big mosquito bite. One of our fellow teachers had over 250 bites...we counted! I was 'lucky' enough ... read more