Blogs from Santa Marta, Colombia, South America - page 7

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South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida February 6th 2013

Hola amigos I havent had time to write in ages due to remote locations or staying in hostels where the internet has too many people using it and a bit patchy as a result. I spent 3 nights in San Gil. As it is the adventure capital of Colombia, I went caving to Cueva Las Vacas, the Cows Cave. So called because they only discovered it when cows got stuck in there, at least I think that is right. Anyway, I dont feel the need to go caving anymore, at one point we had to go underwater for a few seconds to go through to the main part of the cave and that was enough adventure sports for me. On Tuesdays the hostel hosts "Tejo Tuesdays". Tejo is a traditional game where 2kg weights are thrown ... read more
Botanical Gardens, San Gil
Parrots
Tejo

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida January 10th 2013

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
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South America » Colombia » Santa Marta December 7th 2012

Geo: 11.2508, -74.2061Kom fra Bogota før 1200. Her er det varmt. Rundt 30 grader. Santa Marta er full av liv. Biler som tuter, markeder og fullt av folk. Som i alle byer i Latin Amerika. Folk er vennlige og det er billig her.Vi hadde en god fiskemiddag til kr. 30,-.. Med drikke.Som Camilla kan se av bildene, har jeg kjøpt nye klær. Enda ikke hørt fra flyselskapet. Klær her er også billig.Lørdag dro vi på egenhånd til Tyrona Ntl. park, Et regnskogområde ved kysten, 1 times kjøring unna. Vi sto opp kl. 0615, og dro etter en god frokost. Dette er en perle på jord. Jungel og eventyrstrender. Vi startet å gå fra hovedinngangen på veien. Heldigvis stoppet en bil og tok oss med. 7 km i varmen hadde nok slått oss ut, selv om vi ... read more
På vei til Tyrona
Ved inngangen til parken
Jeg er klar i nye klær

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta November 12th 2012

In the city of Santa Marta, on Colombia's Carribean coast, you can find all of the modern conveniences that we in the Western world have come to expect: bars, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, etc. Add to this the Carribean sea, some lovely old colonial architechture, churches, and paradisiacal beaches and lost ruins all within the nearby vicinity, and you have yourself a pretty decent backpacker destination. But if you look beyond the sun-kissed plazas and the tourist track, you will see that the city of Santa Marta has economic poverty as well as geographical riches within its vicinity. If you venture beyond the city centre and go to a district of the city misleadingly named "Oasis" then you will find the perfect example of the poverty and deprivation that plagues many of Santa Marta's residents. Past ... read more
Walking to Mariposas
In class
In class

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta November 12th 2012

On the 5th October I headed back to Bogotá to meet Phil who was visiting for 11 days. I met him at the airport (which was to become an all-too-familiar place for me), where unfortunately he also had the same problem that I did when I first arrived in the country, and was unable to withdraw any money. It just so happened that another British traveller (who he had met on the flight) had exactly the same problem with her bank card. (As you can't get Colombian pesos anywhere in England this meant that neither of them had any local currency at all - not a terribly pleasant start to any trip). So I was able to get my charitable thang on and pay for the taxi ride for all three of us and ensure that ... read more
Paragliding in San Gil
Phil and I outside the Terrocotta House
The Cavalry

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida November 6th 2012

We arrived into santa marta with avianca who for a flight costing 40 quid and is ten times better than ryanair and this is south america. It was a very small airport we came into and both bags arrived this time which was a bonus and the customs point in the airport was pretty much non existent! We arrived at the dreamer hostel and it has been a really good point since we have been here...being lazy booking all the tours through the hostel. The next day was the start of the tour to ciudad perdida and in our group consisting of 4 germans, 3 americans, 1 dutch, 3 french and the 2 of us. This turned out to be a tough old hike across the jungle with lots of ups and downs and it was ... read more

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta September 29th 2012

Eftir kuldan í Bógota flugum vid i hitan í Santa Marta og skelltum okkur í eitt gott veikindafrí. Fyrst ákvad Eyrún ad vera veik og eftir tvo daga thegar hún vard hress fékk ég leyfi til ad taka vid henni. Vid nádum thó einum degi a milli veikindana thar sem vid vorum bædi hress og skelltum okkur í bátsferd til Playa Blanca og Eyrún fekk ad synda í sjónum og vörka tanid. Annars var bara slappad af i hengirúmi og okkur látid lida vel. Eftir nokkra daga í Santa Marta skelltum vid okkur, med fedgum fra Miami sem vid hittum a hostelinu, til lítid sjávarthorp sem var rétt hjá og heitir thad Taganga. Fyrsta daginn skeltum vid okkur a ströndina ad snorkla og liggja og sóla okkur. Eyrún var ekki alveg ad finna sig í snorklinu ... read more
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South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Palomino September 14th 2012

Blame it on my Disney land experience of Cartagena but as I made my way along the Caribbean coast toward Venezuela, I was definitely in the mood for a more remote, tourist free type of experience. Palomino, a tiny undiscovered gem along the Caribbean coast was simply perfect, pristine beach, intense agate blue sea, fishermen and breathtaking view of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain from the beach. I can only be grateful that the locals met in Santa Marta shared this tip with me…What else, well, this is still off the road for most tourists so there was barely anyone and no infrastructure as such other than hammock and a few bungalows! Life sweet life… The “getting there” part Surprisingly easy! One would expect that this type of place be a hard one to get to ... read more
An interesting way to use the fishing boat!
Cooking time!
La Sirena

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida August 29th 2012

'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
durch bahnbrechende Flüsse
unzählige glitschige Stufen
Riesenbäume

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Ciudad Perdida July 31st 2012

There were two reasons that I slowly made my way north over the course of the year from the striking scenery of Patagonia to the sultry heat of Colombia: Firstly, each and every backpacker whom I have met in my two journeys through South America has spoken so effusively to me about the friendliness of Colombian people; secondly, to trek to ‘The Lost City’, known as Ciudad Perdida, located in the tropical jungle close to the coastline where the Colombian sands are lapped by the waters of the Caribbean Sea. Ciudad Perdida was only rediscovered in 1973 by a local from nearby Santa Marta (which is, incidentally, where the liberator Simon Bolivar took his last breath – I actually visited the room in which he spent his final days and ultimately died, with the room containing ... read more
One of many stops to cool off with a swim in the river.
Typical scenery along the trail.
One of the many river crossings.




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