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Published: April 26th 2016
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Columbia...... Bogota 2300 meters above sea level, so it takes a couple of days for you to adjust to the altitude. Bogota was totally great but tourist and visitors unable to go many areas in the city, mainly because of crime. People in the city are so proud of their town and are so impressed when you say that you had a great time. Although travel to other parts of the country is probably only safe via plane. We hope to return to Columbia in a couple of months to Cartagena and the national park.
So Bogota such a large city the same as most, a huge university city. The mountains that surround Bogota are green and fertile. This time of year we experienced three to four seasons in one day like Melbourne. We needed warm light weight jackets sunglasses and hats, umbrellas for the thunder storms which come in afternoons. No metro lines but Metro buses which ran frequently. Modern Bogota is as any busy city, shopping malls high rise buildings. And the Candelaria which is the old part of the city, where the bohemian live and were you will find historic buildings and museums, gallery's. We spent most
of our days wandering around this area. Observing day to day life, eating local cuisine and also street food.and checking out gallery's and the art gallery of Fernando Bottero who was and painter and sculptor and painted only voluptuous people, we loved them and along with his own art also had a great private collection Picasso, Degas,Salvador Dali, Henry Moore.
The streets of Bogota have plenty of police, the citizens of this city are resolved to stamping out crime. So explosives, sniffer dogs, attack dogs and drug dogs guard the streets, so we felt very safe. But you still have to be on the look out for pick pockets.
We were quite sad to fly out of Bogota instead of using local busses and the chance to see more of the country by bus.
Flying to Quito in Ecuador and once again up to 2850 meters above sea level, it's getting harder each time we raise up into the sky. You feel like you have a brick strapped on to your chest, more so when your climbing hills and lying on your back while sleeping, I found quite strange. Super impressed with Quito and city of churches
so beautiful the alters guilted with gold and very ornate.
The city surrounded by mountains and lush fertile land and forests. Ecuador people very friendly, and helpful. We found great food to eat apart for the beans rice and meats which is the staple diet form North America down wards which differs and with different vegetables and sauces, the bbq meats and cheeses were such a treat with corn and potatoes.
After a few days we headed by bus to Guayaquil around eight hours, the journey was spectacular rising higher above sea levelon the journey before coming down to nearly sea level. Through green country side and such amazing farming, in which steep fields on the sides on sheer hill sides were used.And all farmed by hand and beasts. Locals waving to us and stopping to eat at small rural villages, plates loaded with Pork and Goats cheese and corn so delicious, local dogs waiting around for tit bits to fall off your plate. Meeting these rural people was a real treat they make you feel so welcome, they understand that your bringing money to their villages and are interested in you, as you are in them. Its
no trouble if you want more food if your not full they just fill up your plate again. One old lady took a liking to Glen and gave him a pigs ear, which he quite liked too.
Arriving at Guayaquil at around 6pm for a few days before heading to Peru, we had been their about 30 minutes Glen was in reception and I was using the bathroom when every thing started shaking. I wasn't really sure if I was feeling dizzy but at that moment I realized what was happening, it was an earthquak. The shaking continued to get worse and the toilet was shaking me right off. I heard Glen coming into the room which was pitch black shouting for me to hurry out. We ran down the stairs and out onto the street. The hotel was only three floors and we were on the second floor. I was thinking I would be safe in the bathroom as in the northern parts of Australia bathrooms are build with a cyclone code so it's the safest part of the home........ We sat in the dark in the street for hours listening to the sirens and police cars. The
young people from our hotel telling us that buildings in the inner city had been evacuated and some of the overpasses above the roads in Guayaquil had collapsed and crushed people in their cars.
Electricity was restored and we were able to settle and get a little sleep. The next day as we drove into the city we found the concrete fly overs had indeed crash down onto the roads, apartments building had been evacuated because of huge cracks in them lots of debris fallen off buildings. None of the historic buildings had been affected which was amazing.
Guayaquil had been very lucky to escape with so little damage, no doubt the structural damage will see buildings torn down but the loss of life's was small comparing to the small villages on the coast of Ecuador were hundreds lost their life's and the hurt were being evacuated to Guayaquil.
We left Guayaquil the next day, we had stayed close to the bus station as too walk and catch the bus into the main bus station. When crossing the pedestrian bridge Glen said to cross to the other side, but I couldn't understand why? when the bus stop
was in the middle of the road. But he insisted and said we had to cross to the other side because we were going to the other way. And guess what the Airport SURPRISE!!!! We were not going to Peru just quite yet we were off to the Galápagos Islands. Happy Birthday, we had supposedly decided it was just too expensive and although sad we had agreed that we wouldn't go to the Galápagos. Well Glen just decided to surprise me."Wow amazing very excited,
"We have just spent seven remarkable days in these islands what an amazing place it is, we have snorkelled with some amazing creatures and observed much more.......... Sea Lions, Turtles, Ray's, Sharks, Giant Tortoises, Blue Footed Boobys, Flamingos, Iguanas........ Swam in some beautiful lagoons and gorges and also out in the deep ocean. We met some lovely people also. The sweetest Mengqi from China who is traveling solo through central and south Americas before she starts University in Manchester UK hopefully when we meet again she will have a accent like me, we taught her how to say "Good Day Mate", like a Australian and, "Don't be such a Sheila". She loved trying out the
lingo when meeting people. Also Sapna who was born in India, but lives in the Uk. We spent the evenings swapping storeys of each other adventures, travelling ideas and routes and places to go and not to go. Making friends with so many travellers.
What a great place, layed back and chilled no matter what island you stayed on.
But Mengqi was just a lovely girl, she was one of our kids and hung out with most days and evenings. Her favourite saying was "living on a shoe string" she haggled over the price of everything including dinner. She was priceless and such a good girl. We will miss her but hopefully catch up with her here and there as she is taking the same route on the way south.
So today we said our goodbyes left the Galápagos and returned to Guayaquil, and in the morning we head by bus to Peru.And the start of the Inca trail
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