Bogota - Columbia

Topping off our Columbian adventures, we spent 4 nights in the capital city, Bogota. Once considered an dangerous place and somewhere to avoid, Bogota has cleaned up its act in recent times, and with police presence everywhere, it feels safe, clean and a cool place to be. Its a big modern metropolis with efficient transport, business and historic districts, and really intersting musuems.

We stayed in the old town area called La Candelaria which used to be the centre of Bogota. The area around the Plaza de Bolivar contains graceful architecture of the National Congress, the Presidents House, mayors office, judicial and goverment buildings, neoclassical cathedrals and charming restuarnts serving traditional dishes such as ajiaco which is a delicious chicken stew with corn, capers and 3 types of potato. Another typical Columbian dish is hot chocolate served with a wedge of cheese which i struggle to understand. The idea is that the cheese offsets the sweetness in the chocolate but i´ll take my cheese and chocolate seperately gracias!

As mentioned, Bogota has some world class musuems and we visited the Museo del Oro (Gold Musuem) which features more than 34000 pieces of goldworks from Hispanic cultures in Columbia. Delicate, intricate, and restored with dazzling shine, this was a unique and impressive musuem. Equally unique and impressive, yet for entirely different reasons, was the Museo Historico Policia which details the Columbian police force through the years, including a sizable section on the life and possessions of drug cartel boss and policitican Pablo Esacabar. This musuem is filled with guns, uniforms and police artifacts, and we were guided around by a young ancillary member of the force who explained to us that military service is compulsary for 1 year for Columbian men, and that opportunities are good for those who wish to continue on. This helped to explain the huge police presence of young kids with batons and guns and braces on their teeths, in various policing roles such as musuem guide, traffic police, etc.

We also visited the Botero Musuem, and again enjoyed the works of this prolific Columbian artist who paints, draws and scuplts fat people, fruits and flowers. The musuem is also home to lots of Columbian modern art, plus works by Salvador Dali, Picassio, Renoir and Monet. But of course it wasnt all high culture for us in this happening city! We checked out some reggae, jazz, and live latino bars and resturants, and spent a few nights seeing the sunrise at the hostel and missing breakfast/lunch the next day. We were thankful to roll out of bed one day to find a huge Columbian food exhibition taking place in the plaza, with tonnes of stalls selling things like BBQ meats (cooked on hot stones, directly on the plaza ground), weird juices, sweets, fruits, breads and meats, and with schoool students and music groups in traditional costumes dancing and singing all day, we were suitably entertained and well feed.

We also visited Columbias number 1 tourist attraction - the salt cathedral at Zipaquira, which is about 2 hours outside Bogota. This is a huge labyrinth of underground chapels and tunnels built within the old section of the salt mines. They still mine there today, although in a different area. As you descend into the depleted area, the salt walls are mostly smoothed over and contain carved out crosses everywhere with marble blocks for pray and reference to the stations of the cross. The finale is the cathedral which is massive and eeringly beautiful. The tour was in Spanish so my understanding of the history is a little limited and im unsure if they actually hold mass in there now, or if its just a tourist attraction. Nonetheless, is was a visually fasinating sight.

Jeb tells me i have been typing away for ages, so thats enough out of me for now except to say that we arrived safely in Chile despite some airport hiccups involving customs and seeds inside an Ecuadorian musical instrument. At 4am in the morning, we were lucky enough to escape a $800 US fine, and reminded ourself that we are now travelling in the world of planes and not buses, and searches exist and are thorough. Anyways, more on Chile later.

Parque Tayrona, and Villa de Leyva - Columbia

Parque Tayrona is a national park at the north point of Columbia, encompassing ocean and land. After scuba diving in one small area, we set off to spend a couple of nights in the national park which is accessed via 2 local buses and a near 2 hour hike to the campsite after paying the park fees. Dealing with intense humidity and an outraegous amount of Deet to protect from mosquitoes and midgie bites, plus the added bonus of carrying kilos of water and supplies, we were hoping this would be worthy adenture. It proceeded to surpass our expectations.

The jungle trails were home to scores of big blue crabs on the route in, and we saw a huge yellowish green snake scramble across the forest floor in front of us. Reaching the coast, palm trees towered all around and the deep bays were accompanied with massive boulders making the scene beautifully picturesque. It really was like stepping on the set off a film clip, something like Castaway with Tom Hanks maybe but with more class.

The days were spent tanning and drinking rum with our lovely Irish amiga Jules who we´ve travelled with for the last few weeks. We slept in hammocks in an open cabana perched on the top of a hill, looking straight out to the ocean and feeling the wind blow us to sleep. The seas were quite rough on the second night and it was a little cold but damp with so much humidity. Probably not the kind of bed you would want for more than a couple of nights, but a cool experience.

Trudging back to civilasation, Jeb and i needed to make our way south as our trip is nearing an end and we apparently have flights to catch. Reality check?!! But no stress yet, we hit the highway in another overnight bus (or 3 actually), and eventually made it to the sweepìng countryside and colonial town of Villa De Leyva. We stayed in a great guesthouse with backyards and fireplaces and more hammocks, and enjoyed the peacfulness. Yesterday we took bikes out for the day and explored the region including the El Fossil which is a reasonably complete fossil of a 120 million year old marine reptile called the Kronosaurus. Next we visited the Muisa Observatory (El Infiernito) which dates from the early centuries and is series of phallic looking structures (actually to be clear, they were simply big stone penises, no confusion there). There are 30 or so of them, spread out around the park about 9m apart, and were used by the indigeous people to tell the seasons. Cruising along on our bikes, we passed a cool Terracotta house, but with a huge storm beginning to drop down on us, we hightailed it back to town only to get caught in the downpour. We got soaked to the bone, but thankfully managed to dry off by the fireplace all night. A remarkable feat itself seeing the wood was soaked, but that has never stopped Jeb before. With many beers for a new friend in the hostels birthday and a late start this morning, we unfortunately didnt get to fully explore the architecture and cobbletsone quaintness that this place has to offer. 4 hours on the bus today and a broken down taxi, puts us in Bogota right now, the capital of Columbia and our last destination in this country before a flight to Chile in 4 days time.

Taganga - Columbia

So now we are really on holidays! After months of hiking up mountains, down canyons, day long bike rides, and moving places every 2-3 days, we have arrived at the beach town of Taganga, where the hardest decisions we face are what unknown fruits we will combine in our juices. The sun beams down everyday, the water is torquise and the alcohol is flowing. Further to the several juices everyday, we have been enjoying small cups of tinto (sweetened black coffee) in the afternoons served directly to you on the beach, plus many cold showers (there is only one tap in the shower anyway, and is more just like a pipe sticking out of the wall than a shower head - this is the norm in northern columbia, and also unfortunately in other parts of Sth America where it is not so sweltering hot and not so well received). We have also been lazying about on a yellow lilo, floating about in the water and getting a nice tan too. Oh and of course, eating the freshest of fish straight from the ocean, and its delicious.

Today we stepped out of this lazy lifestyle that we are getting rather used to, and went snorkelling and scuba diving. Neither Jeb or i have dived before so we did what they call a mini course which consists of 2 dives at a maximum depth of 12m. Once we became adjusted to the apparatus and the concept of breathing underwater, we had a fantastic time checking out the stunning coral reefs, superbly coloured fish, octopus, and marine life. It astounding to think that so much of this planet is underwater and unexplored. It really is an amzing world of its own down there.

Tommorrow we are heading back to Santa Marta (which is also a beachside town, 20 mins away with more faciltities and people but little to do) and from there, we will take a bus and jeep into the national park of Tayrona where we will probably do much of the same above, with the added bonus of sleeping in hammocks for a couple of days. Ahhhh....

Cartagena - Columbia

Colonial balconies spilling with colourful bouganvillas and sunny arctitecture, Cartagena is what they describe as the jewel of the Carribean. As rightly so, as it is a beautiful city which has retained true authenticity and style, not sold out by tourism. Well not yet, or at least not in some areas such as the old town where we are staying. I like that its still quite rough around the edges, which can contrast with the restored feel of the centre and especially so with the modern, fancy area with its huge designer beachfront apartments and restaurants which are increasingly springing up here. Having only seen this from the bus, we are more than happy mixing it up with the mostly black locals and making new street friends such as Jebs favourite, Mario Brother, who loves a chat on the corner at any time of the day.

Its really stinking hot and humid here as you may expect, and reminds me of a cross of places like Fiji and Vietnam, with the smells of fruit and sweat, and the oppressive heat and open local life. Speaking of fruit, we are in produce heaven here, and we buy fruit and drinks from vendors all day, every day. Fresh lime drinks, sweet strawberries and mangoes, huge avocadoes and things we dont even know. Also small sweet coffee known as tinto to give us that morning kick.

The city was very important to the Spanish as its a port town and cruically located, and therefore was prone to invasion back in the 15th century and onwards. The Spanish built a huge fort on the city edge, and walled the city with cannons which are all still in place. It has character and history and some say a sense of historical romance.

Today we had one of the most unique experiences i have ever had. We went to an active volcano and bathed in the mud inside. Its quite small, only about 35m high to climb inside, and then down a ladder into the thickest mud you can imagine. You can hardly move yourself and have to get pulled and pushed through the den by locals who massage you whilst you reap the rewards of the 51 minerals contained in the mud. There is no ground, and a bizzare feeling of weightless. Every inch of our body was covered and my skin now feels exfoliated and soft like no product could ever do. Climbing out is a challenge not to slip and you then get washed by ladies in the river (everything for tips of course). Next up, a swim and lunch on the beach, freshly caught fish, fried plaintains, coconut rice. The ocean water here is warm and only refreshing to a degree. We have taken to cooling down by drinking lots of rum which is the common carribean drink.

There is a dog fight outside right now which is rare as dogs in Sth america are everywhere but mostly quite placid and ignore you. Kinda scary sounding. Tommorrow we are travelling another 4 hours along the coast and this really will be the furthest north we will go for a week of lazing about on the beach.

Medellin - Columbia

Medellin could be anywhere in the world. Its a big livable city, really really clean, modern, an excellent Metro line running through the city, wide roads, garbage bins, big supermarkets, nice restuarants. Not quite what you expect from Columbia.

Being here on a weekend, we hit the Zona Rosa area which is the nightlife district centred around a few blocks. There are heaps of big, open bars with funky comfortable styling, nice furniture, 3 for 1 cocktails and a happy vibrancy of locals. It reminded me of several cool Sydney areas mixed together, but with a style all of its own.

With mild hangovers the next day, we made our way into the city centre to check out the Botero sculptures in the plaza and the Musuem. Fernando Botero is a internationally renowned, Medellin- born sculptor and painter, a figurative artist who depicts people and objects with exaggerated proportions. Everything is fat and bulbous and often comical but with precision and colour and flair. His sculptures are huge and line the plaza, and his paintings use oils, canvas, and pencil and with nearly 100 donations to the mususem, fill a complete floor.

Yesterday was a public holiday here, not sure what for but everything was closed and we did nothing except drink more cocktails and play cards. But we made up for it today and went paragliding! Soaring through the sky like a bird, we had amazing views of the city. Medellin is a particularly popular place for gliding due to the thermal currents here, and we had perfect flying weather. It was really relaxing and peaceful, and a great experience.

Tonitgh we are taking an overnight bus to Cartagena. Its only 13 hours and will take us almost as far north as we are going. I have to say though, we are getting a little over bus travel, and hopefully we will sleep most of the way.

Cail and Salento - Columbia

So far we are loving Columbia. Guerilla warfare of recent years is no longer a common threat in most areas, and due to a huge amount of money spent by the government, the police presence is strong and combat ready and very visible. This has pushed the guerillas further into the jungle, making the country accessible to travellers. Army and police walk the streets everywhere in groups with weapons slung over their shoulders, making things seem safer rather than scary.

Added to this, Columbia is generally a really clean, hygienic, organised country with the friendliest people who will go out of their way to assist travellers and be helpful. The weather is hot, facilties are good and its not over-run with tourists. We are glad we changed out plans to come here.

We spent 2 nights in Cali, Columbia´s third largest city which is centred around a river and the Avenue Sexta which splits the city in half. Its a big city with big buildings, big banks, big roads. Cali is not necessarily beautiful, nor does it have many sites to check out, but its hot and sultry and vibrant and is the home to salsa music. So when in Rome/Columbia...i learnt to salsa. Sexta Ave is lined with large clubs and discoteques and salsateques and whilst Tuesday is the quiet night in town, we hit the busiest club where lots of young Columbian men and women were on the dancefloor. With a few Aguadientes under my belt (the main drink around here, it´s similar to Sambucca but not quite as potent and drunk as a shot with salt and lime), i was encourgaged on to the dancefloor with 2 Columbian guys from the hostel. We danced to salsa and also merengue which is a 2-step style dance and much easier. As they told me, everywhere dances here. This is what you do when you got out, and its the means for being social with the opposite sex. I cant say i was great at salsa, but it was a fun night til the music changed and loud techno music belted out and a crazy funny strip show thing for the ladies occured which is all apprently very common.

Whilst in Cali, we visited the Zoologica or simply Zoo, which was really well laid out and maintained in lovely grounds and featured lots of pumas and big cats, plus the whole gammet of zoo animals including even kangaroos. It was a really nice day til we reaslied we had been bitten by invisible midgies again and were now in for a few days of excricuating itchiness.

We hit the road again, heading for the Zona Cafetera region and a small town called Salento. We stayed in a great hostel on an old restored coffee plantatation and realxed for 3 days in the tranquil setting. The landscape in this region is beautiful and there are rolling green hills reminiscent of Scotland or somewhere, plus lovely farmhouses and green trees everywhere. We walked through the coffee plantation and were explained the processes involved, and also saw the many blackberry and banana plantations interwined between coffee plants. And of course we drank loads of delicious coffee which we have been lacking throughout our Sth American sojourn so far. As is often the way, the best local products get exported and until now, our caffiene addiction has been quenched by instant coffee or bad tea. So we rejoiced and drank it up.

Salento is a cool little town with a spacious main plaza with a few restuarants and bars and arty shops around it, and 1 main street. The style is colourful and like a Western saloon. The local characters in this story wear gum boots and somberos for working in the plantations. There are 2 billard bars, and also a venue for playing a game called Tejo. The game is played undercover and involves throwing a metal disk or puck along a kind of playing alley. You aim for a clay pit where there are pieces of gunpowder in the middle which explode when you hit it and is the ultimate score. For those who know our Sunday Games in the Park days, its similar to Bocci Golf, but with gunpowder and a similar amount of disregard for safety. With unspoken experience in this kind of game, the locals were suitably impressed at Jebs aim and ability to hit the gunpowder.

Just outside Salento, we set of for a hike through the Valley Cocora and witnessed the huge wax plam trees scattered throughout a stunning area of farming and hillsides. The wax palms are unique to this region and grow to about 70m and are now protected. The hike ventured out of open surrounds, and into a beautiful, lush rainforest trail and ended up at a house where we were served coffee by the owners and watched the hummingbirds flitter all around us. They are super fast birds and taking a picture was a challenge but you could get so close to them as they drank from the bird feeders filled with panela syrup water, which Columnians also substitute for sugar in coffee and a straight hot drink too. We rode back in the jeep which serves as a kinda of bus, but obviosuly with alot less seats and Jeb gladly snatched up seat on the roof making for a thrilling ride.

Off next to the town of Medellin, Pablo Escabor territory.

Quito and Otavalo - Ecuador. Popayan - Columbia

I left you last in Quito and it seems im falling behind in my writing as we have now crossed another border and are in Columbia...but more on that later. I want to give Ecuador the space it deserves, for it really was a beauiful country and we wish we could have stayed longer. Apparently you cant do everything, but i am still in denial of this.

Ecuador seems to be doing quite well economically in South American terms. The country is more developed and has better instrascture than Bolivia and Peru in particular. The roads are finished, and there is less litter and rubble on highways indicating a level of education and government expendition in such areas. Ecuadorians are proud of their ecological diversity and fertile landscapes which produce some of the juicest fruits and healty foods that we have eaten so far. In fact, we have given the title of ´Best Food´to Ecuador, with particular mention to their fantastic cheap breakfasts. We have also given the title of ´Fastest Drivers´ to the bus drivers as we have risked our lives around many speedy bends and turns in this country.

Of note in Ecuador, was the amount of Americans travelling here as a result of obvious political ties with the States. There was lots of students studying in the excellent Spanish schools, and retirees looking to buy property. Ecuador changed its national currency to the US dollar in about 2000, apparently with a lot of local resistence. Nonetheless, it went ahead and it is a likely reason for the American travellers. Another Americanism, was the streets and hostels and shop wordings in English. Not often, but certain words such as ´happy´and ´fast food´and general store...which we have not seen anywhere else.

So a quick rundown on our recent happenings....we spent 3 days in the capital Quito which is a nice city, entirely sprawling with buildings which we took in from the city´s cable car called TeleferiQo. Unfortunately, when we got to the top (4100m) , we were above the cloud line and it was a white out. So we got back inside the cable car and took in the urban junglle landscape on the way back down. We checked out a snake musuem which was filled with snakes mostly native to Ecuador, and we also walked around the entire Old Town section which narrow streets and a preseverd antiquated feel. Like most South American cities, the city sites and planning revolves around churches which are usually stunning exmaples of architecture blending Spanish and indigenous styles. The most striking church in Quito is called Voto Nacional and we climbed right ùp the top of this church to the bell towers (and rang the bells, not sure if you´re supposed to but who could resist!) and the basicilas towers which has grafitti and very little fencing and in other coutries would be major puclic liability. Very cool views and quite strange to have such free reign in a church.

The next day, we set off on public transport (they have a really efficient electric bus system called the Trole making it easy to get around Quito) to the Equator. At the hemispheric line (Mitad del Mundo) there is a huge monument marking the designated spot (which is actually incorrect by about 250km since the inception of the GPS system). We took photos and then skipped across to the Museo Solar Inti Nan which is now the actual equator line and a very intersting musuem. We jumped back and forth from the north to the south and were shown fasinating tricks on the line. For example, water has no centrigual force at the Equator and so it flushes straight down rather than in a circular motion. We balanced an egg on a nail head and got a certificate for it, and we also played around with out weight and balance as you apparently weigh 2.2% at the equator and have less resistence to gravity. On the actual line of 0¨00´00, its really difficulty to stop someone pulling your arms and hands apart. Also, walking in a straight line is incredibly difficult with no direct magnetic pull.

Next day we left Quito for the northern highlans and an area called Otavalo which is the largest markets in South America. Its starts to crank up early on Saturday morning and it was really quite overwhelming. The Otavalenos have steadfastly maintained their indigenous roots, and the traders and local folk wear their tradiotional dress all the time. It consists of long dark skirts for the ladies, with trimmings and delicate, frilly blouses, gold chains in the repitive neck fashion of African women, and often a floppy, folded hat. The men wear white baggy trousers with navy ponchos, and together they make a stylish and elegant impression. We had been waiting til now to buy things (well, sort of...we have definitely acquired things along the way!), so we shopped til we dropped and now have an extra bag of things to carry around. Well Jeb does anyway!

I mentioned we are changed our flights and are now spending nearly a month in Columbia, which is where we are now. Yesterday we spent all day on the bus, crossed borders (which again was really simple and we have had no problems at all so far), and ended up in the town of Popayan, Columbia last night. This town is beautiful. All the buildings are white and even inside the church is white. Due to many earthquakes, it has been mostly rebuilt and restored since 1983, making it very clean and tidy and breathable. There are no tight, polluted streets or high rise buildings, the climate is pleasant and the people are really modern. We have already started to see more black people which will continue as we go north and is a result of African slave labour in the caribbean area. We are moving on to the city of Cali this afternoon, so i better go eat some something....ciao