Blogs from Ciudad Perdida, Santa Marta, Colombia, South America - page 2

Sandwiched either side of my visa run to Venezuela, I was able to first visit the rugged interior in and around Bogota and then travel along Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The stint around Bogota saw me visit some smaller towns which were hugely enjoyable and once again showed why Colombia has been the country I have enjoyed most on my travels so far. Places like San Gil and Villa de Leyva have the potential to become household names as the popularity of Colombia increases, given their natural beauty, variety of activities and relative proximity to the capital Bogota. In fact if I was to dish out sage investment advice, it would be that starting up a top notch hostel in either of those two spots would be a sound choice…expect that someone has got there first and ... read more

Obviously, before leaving Colombia I had to do something epic. Apart from one week in Semana Santa, I had only had long weekends to tour aroudn the country, so I deliberately finished all my commitments 2 weeks before my departure date, and decided that I wasn't going to leave the country with even one peso left - which is exactly what happened! Even before I went to Colombia, I knew that the main thing I wanted to do was to go on the 5 day hike to reach the Colombian Machu Pichu, an ancient Tayronan city descovered only in the 1970s and only accessible still by foot. I flew to Santa Marta, and from there met the guide who I had booked. At least that was the plan. In reality, obviously, Avianca (national airline) had lost ... read more

'Ciudad Perdida' bedeutet vergessene Stadt und dieses von dem Urvolk Tayrona im Jahr 300 v.Chr. gegründete Handels- und Politikzentrum liegt nun verlassen, aber gut erhalten in Mitten der Sierra Nevada an der karibischen Küste Kolumbiens. Nachdem die Spanier einfielen war das Volk umkämpft und von Seuchen befallen. Die wenigen Überlebenden flüchteten in umliegenende Gebiete, die Stadt wurde verlassen und vergessen. Die Tour dorthin ist nicht einfach und zudem ziemlich teuer. Aber es hat sich gelohnt!!! Für uns hieß es also die wichtigen sieben Sachen zu packen und für 5Tage in den Dschungel zu gehen um eben diese Stadt zu 'suchen'. Unsere Truppe (zwei Ecuadorianer und zwei Israelis und wir) wird von Miguel angeführt. Er, sein Bruder und seine Cousine haben die folgenden Tage für unser Wohl gesorgt und über Stock und Stein geholfen. Die Familie der ... read more

Day 182 Tuesday 10th April Day one of the trek to Ciudad Perdida, trekking is a love/hate relationship and this one will be no different. The day did not start well when we went to pay the hotel bill our cards appeared not to work but after a few phone calls to the manager the lady discovered she was pressing a wrong key on the machine so after 10 minutes of worry it was all sorted out and we ran out the door. We had to meet at the Hotel Miramar where Guias-Baquianos Tours operates from at 9.00am, the group is small only two other people. The group is a Korean lady who has been working in Colombia for 12 months named Gina and a French man Tibo and two guides Luis Sr. and ... read more

I left Cartagena in the morning to go to Santa Marta. After the ride to the bus station, I decided to take the more luxurious bus for 25000COP as I was told the chicken type was 22000COP, so I figured for so little difference, it was worth getting the extra speed and comfort. As always, the air conditioning was on full blast and the temperature on the bus was definitely not high enough. Even with my fleece on, I was freezing and there was even a guy (another tourist) who was wearing his wholly hat. When we stopped for 10 minutes half way, I asked the driver if he could turn it down but he said he wasn't allowed and suggested I sat at the front as it would be warmer. That's what I did - ... read more