Blogs from Magdalena, Colombia, South America - page 4

As you can see, my desire to write and start a new venture grows by the minute, and that I can´t drag myself away from this keyboard, as a result, I feel like writing and telling you about some of my latest destinations. This time, I will tell you about a beautiful coastal city, Santamarta, that is located at only 2 hours from Cartagena. Santamarta tiene tren pero no tiene tranvía As a song by Los Wawanco goes: "Santa marta, Santamarta tiene tren, Santamarta tiene tren pero no tiene tranvía" it definitely reflects the reality of the city's old times, Santamarta has a train but no railway to ride on. I guess it also refers to the fact that Santamarta, being a capital a capital city, is not well developed as it ... read more

Cue the theme music. Strap on your bullwhip and best jungle clothes as Ann and Gordon attempt to emulate Indiana and make it to the lost city of the Tayrona people. Making it there was fine, getting back was a little trickier, but more on that later. Firstly what is Ciudad Perdida and who were the Tayrona.....yep time again for a little history lesson. Colombia has a number of diverse indigenous populations. The Tayrona were one such population who inhabited the Sierra Nevada de Santa Martha which is the mountain range in the North East of the country on the Caribbean Coast. The Tayrona's built their main urban centre at what is now known as Ciudad Perdida (translated as Lost City) on the Northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Martha. The city was occupied ... read more

I very nearly didn´t get into Colombia. Justo and I traveled from Maracay in Venezuela, overnight to Maracaibo and when we were nearly in Maracaibo I went to get my toothbrush out of my bag and discovered that it had been gone through and my passport, driving licence, credit card and some dollars were missing (everything was in one of those silly waist-pouches which are uncomfortable to carry around). I wasn't that worried about myself but Justo really wanted to go to a Cumbia festival in a place called El Banco in Colombia and without my passport it would delay matters. We arrived in Maracaibo and I went to search the empty bus incase the little waist bag had been discarded or anything. Horrible bus driver didn´t want to let me on the bus, so I ... read more

5th September -8th September: Tayrona national Park Tayrona national Park, a little gem of paradise just off the northern Colombian coast of the Carribean. Blessed with crystal turquoise waters, it was a perfect escape from the days of strenuous exercise on the lost city trek! I caught a boat out to the bays with our small troup that remained from the trek...plus a few added extras. Arriving in the bay of Cabo San Juan was like stepping into a postcard image! beautiful calm carribean waters, whitish sand, tropical palm trees hanging over the beach, bordered by large beautiful boulders of rocks as though god himself landscaped the bay! We staked our hammocks, and descended on the beaches for much needed sun and relaxation! One day would merge into the next. Days became lost with little to ... read more