* Ecuador and Colombia 2003
Ecuador is a small country but a joy to travel through since the buses are for such short distances. In a day you can travel from its coast through the sierras and arrive in the heart of the jungle. Especially in the south it seems like the whole country is a jungle with occassional towns or cities every few hours along the road.
The infrastructure is more modern with better roads and more development than Peru or Bolivia. The weather is warmer- the hills are much more verdant and it is very Americanized. Since it uses the American dollar, its also more expensive than most latin American countries.
I started in a village (Vilcabamba) bordering a national park in the mountains with an attractive very green country side. It's famous for it's inhabitants living longer lives (90 plus yrs). 2 km out of the village there are a few great hotels with great food a pool/jacuzi/turkish baths etc... It was a great place to spend a few days relaxing from my already stressful life.
A couple hours north lies Cuenca the most beautiful city I have seen in weeks. Nice bulidings, streets, plazas, and grandesque 15th century churches. Besides it's colonial setting its filled with a lot of nice little cafes, bars and is full of students. After relaxing a few days in the city I went back to the coast.
Montanitas is a small coastal village with a bohemian feel to it.It's had many surfers and travelers. It had a good surf break, plenty parties and bonfires on the beach, but not to much else.
My last stop before Quito was Banos- a touristy place frequented for it's hot thermal baths and proximity the the jungle. Went to the famous indian market of Otavalo which I think is overated . I had a great time in Quito the old part is pleasant and I liked the visit to the equater (or just under it).
We stayed in the modern part on a small strip called (by some) gringolandia. It is just a few streets of bars, clubs, restaurants, hostels, internet cafes and a lot of tourists. I discovered this great mongolian buffet and a few nice clubs. Tomorrow I leave for Colombia a place I am excited and scared to go to, but I know I will enjoy it. Salsa in Cali, colonial Cartagena and carrabian beaches. Not to mention a place with very few tourists.
Colombia was a really amazing time. Some of the most interesting people I met were other (Hardcore) travelers that had the balls to come to Colombia. The locals are the freindliest people I have met in South America ( aside from brasil). The fact that there are so few tourists makes it easy to meet travelers as there is usually only one place they all stay, and you continously bump into the same people as there maybee only 30-40 people backbackers in all colombia. It also keeps Colombia pure and more interesting.
Colombia has both a Pacific and Carrabian coast with world class diving, colonial towns, jungle, desert, amazingly beautiful countryside-( full of verdant mountains valleys and hills) and several vibrant modern cites with great music and nightlife.
Aside from the bloody struggle between Farc guerillas, paramiltitary and the miliary for control over Colombia it´s a beautiful place to visit. It´s intimidating to travel overland as it can be dangerous and seeing so many armed soildiers and checkpoints takes some getting used too.
Initally at the border we had problems entering the country without an exit return ticket. After several trips to and from the border we were able to bribe a bus station company to rent us a false return ticket to enter and get our passports stamped.
Our fist stop was a little colonial town with all white buildings (Popyan). Colonial towns are everywhere in South America. Usually well preserved with spanish style architexture, white and bright vivid colors, narrow cobblestone streets, monumental churches, and attractive plazas.
Most City's are unattractive, poorly built and have little structure, appeal or development. Then there are several large modern metropolis's much like in the 1st world. On occassion you will come across beautiful coastal fishing villages or a remote towns in a scenic mountain setting. I've always liked the colonial towns most.
Afterwards I spent some time in Cali a modern city famous for it´s freindly people, salsa as well as for being home of the drug cartel (the worlds capitol of cocaine traffic). Next I went to Medillin also a vibrant modern city with a really nice metro. We drank a lot of aguardiente (like a white sambuca or anis) a local favorite.
Cali, Meddillin and Bogota have some fantastic nightlife, and a large amount of very attractive women. Not to mention the Gold museum is said to be one of the worlds most impressive displays.
Bogota in the center can be unsafe. In the 4 days, 10 people from my hostel got robbed, All within blocks from where I was staying. Either I am lucky or my travel experience is paying off. I slao spent a few days with some locals I met through a friend which was cool.
Venezeula
I crossed in to Merida for a week ( the border was terrible). Within one hour we eperienced 7 checkpoints. The first - Me and a german had to get off the bus and have our bags searched but at the the 2nd search/checkpoint (20 min later) we were escorted to a private room with 5 armed soildiers and asked for a money as so we coulld be remembered. We paid and went on our way only to be stoped again 10 min later by the police. We got off the bus and this time they told the bus driver to leave without us and after being searched thourghly we had walk to the bus station several miles away.
Finally we arrrived in Merida . A nice student town with a very friendly atmosphere. I met a lot of people and went out almost every night. It is famous for having the worlds highest cable car( unfortunatly it was closed for repairs). It is the cheapest, safest place in Venezeula and it was a hard place to leave. I met 3 local girls who took me into the valley where I got to experiment with local marmalades alcohols and fresh trout.
Colombia
Going back to the border was just as complicated except I was expecting it this time. 3 searches, 1 private room and a toal of 16 checkpoints in less than 2 hours.
Santa Marta was hot and not what I expected. I think people use it as a base to go to the ruins of the lost city (in the jungle), Tangana - (a small town that is a scubadiving centre )and the national parque Tayrona.
On the way our bus got stopped in the middle of a Gun fight. I don't know between who, but several soldiers and guys with automatic rifles were shooting at each other. Straight out of a movie! Saw a few dead on the ground 20m away and then a military trooper jumped on our bus, took a look and told us to leave quickly. And so we went. It took a few minutes to register all that was going on.
I spent some days in Tayrona- 1hr north of Santa Marta. It´s one of the most beautiful beaches on Colombian carrabian coast. It has the highest coastal mountain ranges in the world filled with jungle rainforest that meets palm trees and white sandy secluded beaches.
We slept in hammac's on the beach in absolute silence except for the sea breeze and the crashing waves. We lived on cans of tuna, olives and cocunuts - that we struggled with ( having only a pocket knife to open them with).
A few weeks later 12 backpackers were kidnapped from Tayrona (same camp).
From there I went to Cartagena the beautiful colonial city where I am now. I will go to a beach called playa Blanca before looking for a sailboat or cargo ship to panama next week.
The infrastructure is more modern with better roads and more development than Peru or Bolivia. The weather is warmer- the hills are much more verdant and it is very Americanized. Since it uses the American dollar, its also more expensive than most latin American countries.
I started in a village (Vilcabamba) bordering a national park in the mountains with an attractive very green country side. It's famous for it's inhabitants living longer lives (90 plus yrs). 2 km out of the village there are a few great hotels with great food a pool/jacuzi/turkish baths etc... It was a great place to spend a few days relaxing from my already stressful life.
A couple hours north lies Cuenca the most beautiful city I have seen in weeks. Nice bulidings, streets, plazas, and grandesque 15th century churches. Besides it's colonial setting its filled with a lot of nice little cafes, bars and is full of students. After relaxing a few days in the city I went back to the coast.
Montanitas is a small coastal village with a bohemian feel to it.It's had many surfers and travelers. It had a good surf break, plenty parties and bonfires on the beach, but not to much else.
My last stop before Quito was Banos- a touristy place frequented for it's hot thermal baths and proximity the the jungle. Went to the famous indian market of Otavalo which I think is overated . I had a great time in Quito the old part is pleasant and I liked the visit to the equater (or just under it).
We stayed in the modern part on a small strip called (by some) gringolandia. It is just a few streets of bars, clubs, restaurants, hostels, internet cafes and a lot of tourists. I discovered this great mongolian buffet and a few nice clubs. Tomorrow I leave for Colombia a place I am excited and scared to go to, but I know I will enjoy it. Salsa in Cali, colonial Cartagena and carrabian beaches. Not to mention a place with very few tourists.
Colombia was a really amazing time. Some of the most interesting people I met were other (Hardcore) travelers that had the balls to come to Colombia. The locals are the freindliest people I have met in South America ( aside from brasil). The fact that there are so few tourists makes it easy to meet travelers as there is usually only one place they all stay, and you continously bump into the same people as there maybee only 30-40 people backbackers in all colombia. It also keeps Colombia pure and more interesting.
Colombia has both a Pacific and Carrabian coast with world class diving, colonial towns, jungle, desert, amazingly beautiful countryside-( full of verdant mountains valleys and hills) and several vibrant modern cites with great music and nightlife.
Aside from the bloody struggle between Farc guerillas, paramiltitary and the miliary for control over Colombia it´s a beautiful place to visit. It´s intimidating to travel overland as it can be dangerous and seeing so many armed soildiers and checkpoints takes some getting used too.
Initally at the border we had problems entering the country without an exit return ticket. After several trips to and from the border we were able to bribe a bus station company to rent us a false return ticket to enter and get our passports stamped.
Our fist stop was a little colonial town with all white buildings (Popyan). Colonial towns are everywhere in South America. Usually well preserved with spanish style architexture, white and bright vivid colors, narrow cobblestone streets, monumental churches, and attractive plazas.
Most City's are unattractive, poorly built and have little structure, appeal or development. Then there are several large modern metropolis's much like in the 1st world. On occassion you will come across beautiful coastal fishing villages or a remote towns in a scenic mountain setting. I've always liked the colonial towns most.Afterwards I spent some time in Cali a modern city famous for it´s freindly people, salsa as well as for being home of the drug cartel (the worlds capitol of cocaine traffic). Next I went to Medillin also a vibrant modern city with a really nice metro. We drank a lot of aguardiente (like a white sambuca or anis) a local favorite.
Cali, Meddillin and Bogota have some fantastic nightlife, and a large amount of very attractive women. Not to mention the Gold museum is said to be one of the worlds most impressive displays.
Bogota in the center can be unsafe. In the 4 days, 10 people from my hostel got robbed, All within blocks from where I was staying. Either I am lucky or my travel experience is paying off. I slao spent a few days with some locals I met through a friend which was cool.
Venezeula
I crossed in to Merida for a week ( the border was terrible). Within one hour we eperienced 7 checkpoints. The first - Me and a german had to get off the bus and have our bags searched but at the the 2nd search/checkpoint (20 min later) we were escorted to a private room with 5 armed soildiers and asked for a money as so we coulld be remembered. We paid and went on our way only to be stoped again 10 min later by the police. We got off the bus and this time they told the bus driver to leave without us and after being searched thourghly we had walk to the bus station several miles away.
Finally we arrrived in Merida . A nice student town with a very friendly atmosphere. I met a lot of people and went out almost every night. It is famous for having the worlds highest cable car( unfortunatly it was closed for repairs). It is the cheapest, safest place in Venezeula and it was a hard place to leave. I met 3 local girls who took me into the valley where I got to experiment with local marmalades alcohols and fresh trout.
Colombia
Going back to the border was just as complicated except I was expecting it this time. 3 searches, 1 private room and a toal of 16 checkpoints in less than 2 hours.
Santa Marta was hot and not what I expected. I think people use it as a base to go to the ruins of the lost city (in the jungle), Tangana - (a small town that is a scubadiving centre )and the national parque Tayrona.
On the way our bus got stopped in the middle of a Gun fight. I don't know between who, but several soldiers and guys with automatic rifles were shooting at each other. Straight out of a movie! Saw a few dead on the ground 20m away and then a military trooper jumped on our bus, took a look and told us to leave quickly. And so we went. It took a few minutes to register all that was going on.
I spent some days in Tayrona- 1hr north of Santa Marta. It´s one of the most beautiful beaches on Colombian carrabian coast. It has the highest coastal mountain ranges in the world filled with jungle rainforest that meets palm trees and white sandy secluded beaches.
We slept in hammac's on the beach in absolute silence except for the sea breeze and the crashing waves. We lived on cans of tuna, olives and cocunuts - that we struggled with ( having only a pocket knife to open them with).
A few weeks later 12 backpackers were kidnapped from Tayrona (same camp).
From there I went to Cartagena the beautiful colonial city where I am now. I will go to a beach called playa Blanca before looking for a sailboat or cargo ship to panama next week.
posted by Marco at
11:11 am
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