Blogs from Colombia, South America - page 281

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

Although I think it's fairly empty saber rattling from a head of state with some real domestic problems on his hands hoping to distract his masses I won't let it stop me from personally declaring war on both Venezuela and Ecuador. If you've ever played Risk with me you know that's something to be slightly inconvenienced by. You know how awesome snow days are? What's even better is a Violent Transportation Strike Day. When the snows roll in you hope, but I had no hope of a free day until at like 8 at night I got a phone call telling me I didn't have to work. It was the best thing ever. Oh and the bus drivers are angry about something, who knows. I spent the day getting a massage. I hate it when people ... read more

Moi! Tanaan paasin vihdoin kuivalle maalle, tosin askeleet ovat hieman hatarat, pari paivaa menee varmaan totutellessa. 3 viikon Linnanmaki-reissu oli....kokemus. Alunperinhan matkan piti alkaa Bilbaosta, mutta kyseinen purtilo ei sitten lopulta lahtenyt ollenkaan, joten suuntasin Italiaan, Genovaan, josta hyppasin toiseen laivaan. Reitti oli: Genova-Marseille-Guadaloupe-Dominikaaninen tasavalta-Kolombia. Yleensa satamassa ei ollut vuorokautta enempaa aikaa tutustua kaupunkiin, Rio Hainassa, Dominikaaneissa en lopulta ehtinyt maihin ollenkaan. Alus oli vajaa parisataa metria pitka MS LICORNE, lastina kontteja. Yritin udella mita kaikkea kuskasimme, mutta edes kapteeni ei sisaltoa tarkemmin tiennyt. Sanoi vaan, etta on parempikin ettet tieda, tosin laivan, joka seilasi Liberian lipun alla, kotisatamana Monrovia, omisti saksalaiset, tarkoitti hieman turvallisempaa reissua. Saksalais... read more

So we entered South America via the war torn, crime ridden, drug capital of the world where if the paramilitaries, drug cartels or left wing guerrillas don´t kill you then the fer-de-lance snakes surely will. Or so people would think. The reality is that we found Colombia to be one of the friendliest, most welcoming countries we have been to, where people will cross the street to help you catch a taxi, tell you exactly how much to pay and feel extremely happy that you want to visit their country. We started our colombia trip with Cartagena, the beautiful colonial city made famous by the film Romancing the Stone. Nice park, Big balconies, cobbled streets, lovely. Then we headed up the caribbean coast to Taganga, a small caribbean fishing village with nice beaches and some big ... read more

Is what the bus driver yelled on way there at every stop. It was quite amusing the first 50 times, then you just have to tune out, especially if you're sitting at the front of the bus. This was one of the places that we have booked in advance by getting an apartment. This is located in the neighbourhood of El Cabrero. We were promised a one bed and one pull out sofa bed, however upon arrival sure enough it was just a regular sofa. Now since I am not a midget and I don't feel like curling up like a pretzel every night just to fit on the couch, alternate arrangements have to be made at $80/night if memory serves right. So I ended up getting my own apartment. We looked at Bocagrande, but the ... read more