I took a bus from Santa Ana to Cartagena for the final stop in my Colombian coastal adventure and ended up in the worst hostel I have ever experienced. It was a shocker! It as in Getsemani which is where the African slaves used to live! Maybe the hostel was doing its best to give us the full historical experience as we had no windows and beds a dog would probably turn its nose up at. Anyway, I have some suspicious bites that are still giving me hell. Continue reading
Category Archives: Colombia
Cartagena de Indias
Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest
Santa Marta, Tayrona & Taganga
After returning from The Lost City I spent a night in a new hostel called: The Drop Bear! How amusing! The drop bear is a mythical Australian creature which is like a vicous koala and has the habit of dropping down on people’s heads. When we used to camp in the karri forrests, the loud explosive sounds caused by self pruning branches crashing to the ground, were attributed to drop bears! I remember being particularly frightened of the damn things! So I was quite amused to find a hostel of this name. Continue reading
Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest
The Lost City: Ciudad Perdida
Arriving in Santa Marta on News Years Eve after an overnight bus from San Gil, I foolishly booked the trek to The Lost City for the next day, resulting in me beginning the trek with a major New Years Day hangover! After the initial pain of walking up very steep inclines in tropical heat, sweating more than I ever thought possible, I grew to appreciate my decision. Continue reading
Filed under ADVENTURES, Colombia, Places of historical interest
Barichara & Guane
From San Gil I took a 40 minute bus ride to Barichara, a beautiful little colonial town that was declared a national monument in 1978. Whilst on the bus, another example of amazing Colombian hospitality occurred. Continue reading
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Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest
Chicamocha Canyon: Colombia
The Chicomocha Canyon in the Santander region is very large, covering over 43000 hectares and is 2km deep – deeper than the Grand Canyon. It is a striking landscape with the Chicomocha River flowing between the two steep sides. It has a 6.3 km cable car which runs right across the canyon, making it one of the longest cable car rides in the world. Continue reading
Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest
Vélez – a small town in Santander, Colombia
My first stop on my journey to explore the north of Colombia, was Vélez in the district of Santander, where I was very fortunate to spend two wonderful days as a guest of Carmenza and her family. She grew up in Velez and her father and many relatives still live there. It is an interesting little town where people still ride their horses to the pub and cattle are traded in the centre of town. Continue reading
Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest
Cajica, Sopo & Parque Jaime Duque
I was very fortunate to be invited by Carmenza (Camilla & Lina’s housekeeper) to visit her family in a small town just 24 km north of Bogota, called Cajica. To get there we took the TransMilenio, Bogota’s bus rapid transport system which is somewhat inadequate for the population here. It is basically 2-4 lanes in the middle of the main highway that serves buses which are either express or stop frequently. Continue reading
Filed under Colombia, Places of historical interest