Blogs from Colombia, South America - page 3

Kronológia Egy óra késéssel indult a gépünk Isztambulba, de ez simán belefért, mert több mint 8 óra volt a csatlakozásig. Elképesztően nagy és gyönyörű az isztambuli reptér. Éjfél után érkeztünk és reggel 9-kor indultunk tovább, így ott aludtunk fotelben és a földön. Nem volt pihentető… Az Isztambul-Bogota járat nagy volt ugyan, de sokkal retróbb, mint amivel Budapestről mentünk. Akkora szerencsénk volt, hogy az amúgy teltházas gépen csak mellettünk volt egy üres hely, így kényelmesebbem fértünk el. Hosszú volt az út, majdnem 14 óra. Kétszer kaptunk kaját, ami könnyen felejthető volt. Szerencsére továbbra is jól tudok aludni repülőn is… Ami izgalmas volt, hogy volt a gép elején egy kamera, így végig lehetett nézni a fel- és le-szállást a monitoron. Az egész utat végig lehetett, de az nem volt izgalmas mert jobbára felhőt lehetett látni. Leszállás után kb ... read more

Sport is much better than war, Indeed, therefore, I intend to say it loudly and clearly, the football world cup is a mega event that brings glory to each participating team. For the host country, it means the arrival of thousands of tourists flocking to their busy streets, sharing festive feelings of unity and resilience. For us, televiewers, the world at this time, comes to a standstill, as we cheer our favourite team and watch the most skillful players become big worldwide stars. It's such a worldwide test for them, ¡God bless them! I have cherished so many memories from this tournament: stadiums, sticker collections, players, national anthems, and the like, that’s why, today, I want to combine some facts of the past world cups with another passion, and that is TRAVEL. El deporte es mucho ... read more

In Search of Juan Valdez After the hustle and bustle of Bogota, it was time for something completely different…a trip to the countryside to embrace the flora, fauna and famous coffee of Columbia. This beautiful nation offers an endless supply of birds, butterflies, flowers and trees. In Colombia, you will see things you cannot see other places as this is one of the most diverse countries out there. Think we might be exaggerating just a bit…well…try these statistics on for size. For a nation about the size of Portugal, Spain and France combined, Colombia has over 1800 species of birds, 470 species of mammals, 520 species of reptiles and more than 750 species of amphibians. And to boot, 10 percent of the world’s plant species grow here as well. That….is impressive. And then of course, there ... read more

(Day 112 on the road) The area south of Medellin is coffee country. My flight from Cartagena put me right in the thick of it, in the city of Pereira. And thus I spent the next few weeks exploring the region, starting with some beautiful hot springs near the village of Santa Rosa de Cabal, before moving on to the hot springs near Manizales. Now, Manizales is one of those second-rate Colombia’s cities which most people have probably never heard of. But they are one of Colombia’s cities I have seen that have incorporated cable cars into their public transport system. It is ingenious really: As Manizales lies in pretty hilly terrain, the bus terminal is located not near the city center, but at the bottom of a hill, right next to a cable car station. ... read more

(Day 56 on the road) It’s been roughly a month since I arrived in Colombia, so now seems like a good time for a first recap. And to say it upfront, it has been a pretty good month indeed! After a two-hour flight (and a 3 ½ hour wait at the completely understaffed Colombian immigration), Medellin with its 2,5 million inhabitants was my first port of call. And despite of what image the city has as the former base of the infamous Pablo Escobar and its drug cartel, these days I found it to be an inspiring and forward-looking city. Gone are the days when Time Magazine called it “The Most Dangerous City in the World”, complete with its gang wars and the highest murder rate in the world. Nowadays, the whole city seemed to brim ... read more