Blogs from Sogamoso, Cartagena, Colombia, South America

After reading so much about the picturesque, multicoloured colonial buildings lining the narrow streets of the old town of Cartagena, we were excited to take a look for ourselves. We arrived in the old town after driving through one of the many arches which are cut into the huge city wall. The wall is decorated with hundreds of cannons which were once used to stave off unwelcome invaders in the 1600's. Once we had managed to battle with the rather rude staff of the hostel we were staying in, we got settled in then set off for a walk around the city. After a quick wander around town and a bite to eat we were back at the hostel to get showered and dressed in preparation for a couple of sundowners at the famous Cafe del ... read more

the most beautiful colonial city in the americas... read more

From Bogota we made it to the Caribbean coast. Santa Marta was our first port of call and that's about all I can say about this town. There's little wrong with Santa Marta, but then there's very little worth going there for. There's the obligatory street vendors which do some good food and it's chilled enough for you to wander the streets supping a cool, refreshing beer. But the beach is not particularly clean and it's next to the busy port. There's a couple of decent restaurants, Lulo did great lunches and we had amazing coconunt lemonades at Tierra Negra (probaby the best non-alcoholic drink ever invented). We just used it as a base for doing the things we really wanted to do. THe first stop was Tirona National Park. It is amazing here as the ... read more

Kate arrived in Cartegena a few hours after i did and checked into the hostel. The whole district was without water and would be for the next 16 hours we were told, so still smelly but blending in with the other back packers, we met up with Pete and wandered around the city until it got dark. We ate street food and drank from snow cones, it was idyllic. unfortunately, the water hadn't yet been restored when we got back to the hostel so we went to bed on the relaxed promise of showers in the morning.... very Caribbean!! Eeeeeasy!! Sunday - 4 November - Still no water this morning so, today Pete, Kate and I took a trip to the Volcan de Lodo El Totumo a mud volcano 50kms northeast of Cartegena. We, I acting ... read more

Colombia – Jeff Arrivng in Colombia obviously comes with some reservations based on what has been reported in the media about the country for the past fifteen years. Drug cartels, guerilla soldiers (The FARC), kidnappings, etc. As we traveled, it was also a place that topped most South America travelers’ list as a favorite country in the continent. Erin and I were both nervous and excited to experience Colombia with all of the conflicting information. Our arrival city, Cartagena, is a large city full of Spanish colonial history and arguably the principal location for Colombian tourism. As our boat pulled in we passed by the old castle like fortresses that guarded the city hundreds of years ago. It did not take long for us to realize how hot Cartagena was after we had docked the boat. ... read more