I'm up in Costa Rica now. My friends have an apartment here in San Jose. One big bonus is that I don't spend much money here. One thing that I found refreshing was flying on an aircraft that didn't cross the post 911 freaked out paranoia zone. It was a lot easier getting on the plane than it was to go to a soccer game in Bogota. The police who searched me didn't have the long serious faces that you see in north america. They were enjoying their work, smiling, even dancing a bit when they had time.
I'm not really sure where I am going to go from here. There is a lot of serious flooding in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and it's hard to find out where I can go. I have also experienced 3 earthquakes in the 4 days I have been here. The first was as soon as I got of the plane.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Heading back north
The bus ride from San Augistin to Popayan was slow and bumpy. It sure was beautiful though. It was total wildernes through the most diverse forest I have seen. There were many different odd looking trees in mountainous terrain. It was rebel territory. There were no houses driveways or even paths visible. The night before a bus was robbed on this route. The bandits were found dead in a nearby town square the next morning. I didn´t know any of this until I was on the bus.
Popayan is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. There are many majestic buildings that are all white. The people dress well and there seems to be a lot of money here. Colombia by far has the most beautiful cities and towns of any country I have visited. Having beautiful cities seems far more important here than feeding the poor.
We only spent a couple of days in Cali, sugar city. Cali is a little dangerous I am told. It has a bit of a bad ass look. I wish I could have snapped a picture of a security guard siting on a chair in an empty street in the middle of the night with a shotgun on his lap. He was hunched like he was sleeping but it was hard to tell because he had sunglasses on.
Police, army, and security guards get a lot of respect in Colombia. I haven´t seen anything like it anywhere else. If I have to ask directions, I go to someone with a gun. One thing I like about them is that if they don´t know something, the will say that they don´t know. Most Colombians will give you an answer no matter if they know or not. I think the police get respect because they are so helpful. I´ve seen them help people with car trouble, clearing fallen trees from the road and just being good guys. They don´t carry the judge and jury attitude that I see from the police in Canada. Sometimes when I ask directions, they are happy to walk me a block or two in the right direction and talk a little. Even when I get searched for weapons (usually at check points on the highway) it is usually followed by a thank you and a common Colombian phrase,¨moi a marvle¨
Sugar is huge in Cali. The fields seem to go on for ever. I saw many semi trucks pulling four full sized trailers full of sugar cane. Quite the contrast to the horses used in San Augustin for the same purpose.
Now, we are in Medillin. Medillin looks more like a north american city with it´s modern tall builings, it´s metro that is 20m high in places and complex intersections and elevated roads. What makes it better than north american cities is the vast market area. There are lots of streets only open to pedestrians and they are full. It is absolutely mind boggling the number of stores. Most are in 3 or 4 story buildings and are very small you don´t actually go in the stores, you stand in the halls and tell them what you want. There is also a mall in the area that looks like a majestic church, probably 10 stories high.
The design of the upscale malls in Colombia is really something. Each one is unique. One I was in yesterday had a tree that was probably 30 meters high yet it was still under a roof. The tree had to be there before the mall because trees like that need hundreds of years to grow.
Next we are of to Cartagena. It is like a Spanish Quebec city only much older. From there I will fly to Panama.
Popayan is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. There are many majestic buildings that are all white. The people dress well and there seems to be a lot of money here. Colombia by far has the most beautiful cities and towns of any country I have visited. Having beautiful cities seems far more important here than feeding the poor.
We only spent a couple of days in Cali, sugar city. Cali is a little dangerous I am told. It has a bit of a bad ass look. I wish I could have snapped a picture of a security guard siting on a chair in an empty street in the middle of the night with a shotgun on his lap. He was hunched like he was sleeping but it was hard to tell because he had sunglasses on.
Police, army, and security guards get a lot of respect in Colombia. I haven´t seen anything like it anywhere else. If I have to ask directions, I go to someone with a gun. One thing I like about them is that if they don´t know something, the will say that they don´t know. Most Colombians will give you an answer no matter if they know or not. I think the police get respect because they are so helpful. I´ve seen them help people with car trouble, clearing fallen trees from the road and just being good guys. They don´t carry the judge and jury attitude that I see from the police in Canada. Sometimes when I ask directions, they are happy to walk me a block or two in the right direction and talk a little. Even when I get searched for weapons (usually at check points on the highway) it is usually followed by a thank you and a common Colombian phrase,¨moi a marvle¨
Sugar is huge in Cali. The fields seem to go on for ever. I saw many semi trucks pulling four full sized trailers full of sugar cane. Quite the contrast to the horses used in San Augustin for the same purpose.
Now, we are in Medillin. Medillin looks more like a north american city with it´s modern tall builings, it´s metro that is 20m high in places and complex intersections and elevated roads. What makes it better than north american cities is the vast market area. There are lots of streets only open to pedestrians and they are full. It is absolutely mind boggling the number of stores. Most are in 3 or 4 story buildings and are very small you don´t actually go in the stores, you stand in the halls and tell them what you want. There is also a mall in the area that looks like a majestic church, probably 10 stories high.
The design of the upscale malls in Colombia is really something. Each one is unique. One I was in yesterday had a tree that was probably 30 meters high yet it was still under a roof. The tree had to be there before the mall because trees like that need hundreds of years to grow.
Next we are of to Cartagena. It is like a Spanish Quebec city only much older. From there I will fly to Panama.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Bingo Dancing Cockfights
The part of Colombia I am in now has the most ancient history. There are tombs and stautues that date back 2000 years. The past few days have been spendt near San Andres. It´s a beautiful region in the mountains where the people are almost entirly indiginous. The most remarkable thing here is that there are no police or military. The only real economy is agriculture.
The first day we wandered aroundthe hills, going into tombs that are dated back to about 7AD. Some of them were in excellent shape. That night, we went to the cock fights. It was the place to be on a Saturday night, about 3km from town. It was really a family house that turned the living room into a dance hall and sold drinks from the bedroom. The backyard hd the cockfighting ring. In the rafters the roosters were pearched, one leg tied up. Sometimes the a rooster would slide the rope close to another and a fight would break out above. There were a lot of kids there, some taking bets. I bought a roster for $10 but it ended up in the kitchen. It really was some party. I met a lot of outgoing people.
The next night was the Indiginous festival. I´d guess there were about 1500 people there, most were treated to a free trip to San Andres via chivas. Chivas are kind of like school buses only they have huge tires and are a little wider. People They are usually colurful but still look mean - like monster buses. Often there are more people on the roof and hanging off the sides than inside. The most remarkable thing is that the drivers tend to be careful. On the way into town, we got the seat to the left of the driver (5 people to the right.)
I really liked the festival because there were about 20 different vendors of beef on a stick. The bingo was something. One of the prizes was 3 cows. 2 people won. I´d hate to be te cow in the middle. Indiginous people here are really short. I was the only gringo and towered over everyone.
The first day we wandered aroundthe hills, going into tombs that are dated back to about 7AD. Some of them were in excellent shape. That night, we went to the cock fights. It was the place to be on a Saturday night, about 3km from town. It was really a family house that turned the living room into a dance hall and sold drinks from the bedroom. The backyard hd the cockfighting ring. In the rafters the roosters were pearched, one leg tied up. Sometimes the a rooster would slide the rope close to another and a fight would break out above. There were a lot of kids there, some taking bets. I bought a roster for $10 but it ended up in the kitchen. It really was some party. I met a lot of outgoing people.
The next night was the Indiginous festival. I´d guess there were about 1500 people there, most were treated to a free trip to San Andres via chivas. Chivas are kind of like school buses only they have huge tires and are a little wider. People They are usually colurful but still look mean - like monster buses. Often there are more people on the roof and hanging off the sides than inside. The most remarkable thing is that the drivers tend to be careful. On the way into town, we got the seat to the left of the driver (5 people to the right.)
I really liked the festival because there were about 20 different vendors of beef on a stick. The bingo was something. One of the prizes was 3 cows. 2 people won. I´d hate to be te cow in the middle. Indiginous people here are really short. I was the only gringo and towered over everyone.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Heading South
Before heading south, we went to a small city called Zipaquira, just north of Bogota. We visited a church here that is in a salt mine. The church was huge and dim. It was unique in that the floors, roof and walls are all salt. It also had the largest cross in the world that is located within a church.
Now we are south of Bogota, in a town called Plata. Yesterday we went to a hot springs that was very remote and natural. Our cab driver had to take a few runs at some of the hills to climb the loose gravel. The drive and the walk were ideal. It reminded me of going to Lussier hot springs but much less people. It really felt special to be in a place so seldom visited. It´s possible that I was the first foreigner.
Next we will be going to San Augastin and Popayan.
Now we are south of Bogota, in a town called Plata. Yesterday we went to a hot springs that was very remote and natural. Our cab driver had to take a few runs at some of the hills to climb the loose gravel. The drive and the walk were ideal. It reminded me of going to Lussier hot springs but much less people. It really felt special to be in a place so seldom visited. It´s possible that I was the first foreigner.
Next we will be going to San Augastin and Popayan.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Colombian Observations
Bogota sure has been fun this time around. I went to a rock concert yesterday with about 6 different bands and maybe about 30000 people. We went with someone we met near Tyrona Park who lives here and Jenny´s Aunt who is just a year older than her. It´s a good thing I didn´t wear a belt because the police made people take them off and throw them in a pile. The bonus was when you leave, you can jump into a pile of people looking for a belt that fits. It looked like a big pack of wolves feasting on a carcas.
This country is a lot different than most people think. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a great deal of national pride. There are lots of flag waving citizens and a lot of shirts and hats with national colours. I´ve had a couple of Colombians tell me that Colombia is paradise.
The word Gringo is used more liberaly here. Not that peopel call me gringo, but in Nicaragua only Americans are called gringos. Jenny told me that to her mom, a gringo is someone who doesn´t speak spanish. To her, a gringo could come from China, Africa or Pakistan.
One thing that has surprised me as well is how often I see a Canadian movie or TV program here. "The Terry Fox Story" gets played over and over. There are also a lot of YTV programs and a couple of kids cartoons. There are way more programs for children here as there are a lot more children.
One cultural difference that one must be aware of here is that if you ask somene something, they will give you an answer even if they don´t know. This is true in central america too.
A lot of people from Canada would think that the service here is bad. I used to think that but now that I know how to use it I have found it to be better in some ways. If you want something, give the waiter a shout - he isn´t going to check on you. If you want somehting that isn´t in on the menu or a pack of smokes they will go to a store or other resturant and get it for you most of the time. If you want service out of the resturant such as on the beach, that can always be done.
The sevice in stores can be a little pushy. I went shoe shopping a couple of days ago. First, there were people on the street getting in my face, telling me which store to go in. One guy had a mic and amp and was right in my face, talking into the mic and his voice was coming form somewhere else. When I would pick out a show I like and tell them my size, most of the time they would come back with 3 pairs of shoes in my size but none were like the one I wanted. Some of them would almost cry when I left the store without buting anything.
Having made these generalizations, you must realise that this is a huge and diverse country. Because in the past, it was dangerous to travel, the diversity is greater than that of other countries. The diversity of Colombia is one key thing that makes it such a great country to travel. It´s not just the people - Colombia has more different kinds of plants and animals for it´s size than any other country in the world.
This country is a lot different than most people think. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a great deal of national pride. There are lots of flag waving citizens and a lot of shirts and hats with national colours. I´ve had a couple of Colombians tell me that Colombia is paradise.
The word Gringo is used more liberaly here. Not that peopel call me gringo, but in Nicaragua only Americans are called gringos. Jenny told me that to her mom, a gringo is someone who doesn´t speak spanish. To her, a gringo could come from China, Africa or Pakistan.
One thing that has surprised me as well is how often I see a Canadian movie or TV program here. "The Terry Fox Story" gets played over and over. There are also a lot of YTV programs and a couple of kids cartoons. There are way more programs for children here as there are a lot more children.
One cultural difference that one must be aware of here is that if you ask somene something, they will give you an answer even if they don´t know. This is true in central america too.
A lot of people from Canada would think that the service here is bad. I used to think that but now that I know how to use it I have found it to be better in some ways. If you want something, give the waiter a shout - he isn´t going to check on you. If you want somehting that isn´t in on the menu or a pack of smokes they will go to a store or other resturant and get it for you most of the time. If you want service out of the resturant such as on the beach, that can always be done.
The sevice in stores can be a little pushy. I went shoe shopping a couple of days ago. First, there were people on the street getting in my face, telling me which store to go in. One guy had a mic and amp and was right in my face, talking into the mic and his voice was coming form somewhere else. When I would pick out a show I like and tell them my size, most of the time they would come back with 3 pairs of shoes in my size but none were like the one I wanted. Some of them would almost cry when I left the store without buting anything.
Having made these generalizations, you must realise that this is a huge and diverse country. Because in the past, it was dangerous to travel, the diversity is greater than that of other countries. The diversity of Colombia is one key thing that makes it such a great country to travel. It´s not just the people - Colombia has more different kinds of plants and animals for it´s size than any other country in the world.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Villa de Leyva to Bogota
After Villa de Leyva, we went to a hotel about 1 hour away recomended to us. It was in a really remote area. We took a collectivo for about 45 min and then had to walk a while. There weren´t even any cars on the roads to hitch a ride. It sure was a peacful place with lots of waterfalls and beautiful veiws of the valley.
After that, we went to Tunja. Tunja is a universtity town and they are usually pretty fun but we couldn´t think of a good reason to stay so we continued on to Bogota.
I needed to return to Bogota to get an extension on my visa. It was pretty easy to get an extra 60 days. I got fingerprinted by a computer that I had never seen before. You put your hands on glasss and it takes detailed pictures of your prints.
After taking care of the visa, we went to a soccer game between Colombia and Paraguay. The security was like nothing I had ever seen. There were two extra perimiter fences around the stadium. We had to show our tickets and get searched at both and a 3rd time to enter. Each time we got a lecture about how we aren´t to take pictures with my camera. There must have been more than 250 police in and out of the stadium. The international games are much safer than the league games because everybody favours the same team. I don´t know if they step up security for league games. In the news on TV, after showing the hightlights of a League game, they always say,"And it´s always the same stary after", and then show people thowing bottles at each other and fighting.
The fans were lounder an hour before the game started with the stadium about 1/5 full than Ihave heard at any sporting event in Canada. Colombia won with a little luck.
I´ve been enjoying Bogota. The first time I had some bad luck picking resturants and explored the same area. I´ve found some fantastic resturants and can get a stellar meal for under $10. One place that I like to go for lunch really has top notch food for $3.50 including salad, fruit, soup, drink, and 4-5 things for the main course. There is also a area in the north called Zona Rosa. It´s very much like Old Strathcona in Edmonton but it´s at least 20 times the size. It has endless trendy bars, nice resturants and a couple of malls that are more than a little too pricey for me.
Next we are headed south. I´m not sure where. No time to spell check!
After that, we went to Tunja. Tunja is a universtity town and they are usually pretty fun but we couldn´t think of a good reason to stay so we continued on to Bogota.
I needed to return to Bogota to get an extension on my visa. It was pretty easy to get an extra 60 days. I got fingerprinted by a computer that I had never seen before. You put your hands on glasss and it takes detailed pictures of your prints.
After taking care of the visa, we went to a soccer game between Colombia and Paraguay. The security was like nothing I had ever seen. There were two extra perimiter fences around the stadium. We had to show our tickets and get searched at both and a 3rd time to enter. Each time we got a lecture about how we aren´t to take pictures with my camera. There must have been more than 250 police in and out of the stadium. The international games are much safer than the league games because everybody favours the same team. I don´t know if they step up security for league games. In the news on TV, after showing the hightlights of a League game, they always say,"And it´s always the same stary after", and then show people thowing bottles at each other and fighting.
The fans were lounder an hour before the game started with the stadium about 1/5 full than Ihave heard at any sporting event in Canada. Colombia won with a little luck.
I´ve been enjoying Bogota. The first time I had some bad luck picking resturants and explored the same area. I´ve found some fantastic resturants and can get a stellar meal for under $10. One place that I like to go for lunch really has top notch food for $3.50 including salad, fruit, soup, drink, and 4-5 things for the main course. There is also a area in the north called Zona Rosa. It´s very much like Old Strathcona in Edmonton but it´s at least 20 times the size. It has endless trendy bars, nice resturants and a couple of malls that are more than a little too pricey for me.
Next we are headed south. I´m not sure where. No time to spell check!
Friday, September 07, 2007
Trouble with photos
If anyone wants to see more photos, they are on facebook. I´m having trouble uploading photos on blogger. www.facebook.com
Search for me by name.
Search for me by name.
Towns North of Bogota
The mountains north of Bogota couldn´t be much better for me. The bus rides can be a little scary but if you tune that out, the views are amazing. The mountains are all lush and green with vegetation, but they are much bigger than the rockies in Canada.
San Gill was a real highlight. Rafting was really fun for me although I lost my hat that I have had for over ten years. I was also deep in river water than I have ever been. Jeniffer had a wilder ride. I didn´t think much of it at first when she told me she was under for a while but then I remembered that she was about 150 feet up river when I finally surfaced. She made 3 or 4 revolutions in a hole that knocked everyone out of the raft. It was a really nice trip because the waves were huge but always were followed by calm water.
We also went rappelling. My guide was about 6 or 7 years old. The decent wasn´t as much of a highlight as the simple beauty of the area. After that, we went spelunking. Not far into the cave, we had to go under water for about 3 meters to get to the next chamber. It was really scary because the guide went first and there was no way to know if he was trapped or not. We also had to crawl on our bellies for about 10 meters which was difficult.
Once really cool thing about these day trips is that they all cost about $12. I can´t take my own canoe down a river for that in Canada.
The towns we have visited since San Gill have been really amazing. They haven´t changed much for hundreds of years. They remind me of the Sergio Leone westerns. There is no such thing as building here, only restoring.
I have about 10 days to get to Bogota to buy an extension on my visa. I should have asked for more time when I entered but after my ordeal returning to Canada last time, I just wanted to put my head down and get in the country. In reality entering Colombia is easier than getting into a bar in Canada.
I´m really surprised at how safe I feel here. This part of Colombia feels every bit as safe as Canada. In this town, Villa de Leyva many of the locals will will say,¨Good afternoon, welcome to Villa de Leyva¨ I would say that it is safer than Banff.
San Gill was a real highlight. Rafting was really fun for me although I lost my hat that I have had for over ten years. I was also deep in river water than I have ever been. Jeniffer had a wilder ride. I didn´t think much of it at first when she told me she was under for a while but then I remembered that she was about 150 feet up river when I finally surfaced. She made 3 or 4 revolutions in a hole that knocked everyone out of the raft. It was a really nice trip because the waves were huge but always were followed by calm water.
We also went rappelling. My guide was about 6 or 7 years old. The decent wasn´t as much of a highlight as the simple beauty of the area. After that, we went spelunking. Not far into the cave, we had to go under water for about 3 meters to get to the next chamber. It was really scary because the guide went first and there was no way to know if he was trapped or not. We also had to crawl on our bellies for about 10 meters which was difficult.
Once really cool thing about these day trips is that they all cost about $12. I can´t take my own canoe down a river for that in Canada.
The towns we have visited since San Gill have been really amazing. They haven´t changed much for hundreds of years. They remind me of the Sergio Leone westerns. There is no such thing as building here, only restoring.
I have about 10 days to get to Bogota to buy an extension on my visa. I should have asked for more time when I entered but after my ordeal returning to Canada last time, I just wanted to put my head down and get in the country. In reality entering Colombia is easier than getting into a bar in Canada.
I´m really surprised at how safe I feel here. This part of Colombia feels every bit as safe as Canada. In this town, Villa de Leyva many of the locals will will say,¨Good afternoon, welcome to Villa de Leyva¨ I would say that it is safer than Banff.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Infermo
We spent a few days at a friend of Jenny´s in a town called La Paz near Santa Marta. The town was known for processing cocaine and apparently there was a gang hiding from the police somewhere in the area. Despite that, it has a very relaxed, peaceful feeling about it.
I had enough of the coastal heat, so we headed for Bucaramango, a city of about 500000. The plan was to check it out for a day and head to some smaller towns and parks. I got sick - really sick. ´Today, I can say that I am 90% better but it has been a hard week. I don´t know how I could have got through this without Jenny. I might have needed to stay in the hospital. Basically I had a fever and a lot of pain in my whole body.
Today, I´m so happy to be better and moving on. This city is ok, but does not have the magic I have come to expect from Colombian cities.
I had enough of the coastal heat, so we headed for Bucaramango, a city of about 500000. The plan was to check it out for a day and head to some smaller towns and parks. I got sick - really sick. ´Today, I can say that I am 90% better but it has been a hard week. I don´t know how I could have got through this without Jenny. I might have needed to stay in the hospital. Basically I had a fever and a lot of pain in my whole body.
Today, I´m so happy to be better and moving on. This city is ok, but does not have the magic I have come to expect from Colombian cities.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Santa Marta and More
So now I´ve met 4 people who live in Banff. At the same time I have only met 3 Canadians including the Banffites. I met a few folks from town when in Tyrona National park. One of them just missed her boss as Josh had moved on two days earlier. Tyrona Park really is something special. It was a real slog to get into though. By law, everything must be brought in but foot, horse or donkey. It makes Banff National Park look like West Edmonton Mall.
You can rent a room in some places for $70-150 but most people go with a $5 Hammock. There isn´t a lot to do in the park other than hike and swim. Jenny spent most of her time cooking. She found a lot of food and a pot. Any other tools she needed were crafted out plastic water containers.
It´s amazing how much more busy it is in the park than when I was here two years ago. The tourist from Israel probably outnumber all the other international tourists put together.
I can´t remember the name of the beach we went to a couple of nights ago but it was a really nice spot. We didn´t arrive until about 10pm but it was a good time. The beach was quite large with small groups of 5 - 10 people, most with a band. Often there were more people in the band than were listening and dancing. It was a really cool scene. The music was usually fantastic. One of the more popular songs is about spending all of your money on hookers, drugs and rum and not having any money for food or God in the morning.
I went to see a couple of dentists for the first time in years. I was expecting to need $1000 in work at the most. I was quoted $2500 by one and $7500 by another. I guess I won´t have money for food or God either. I will probably get the work done in Medellin. We will just travel around until we find a nice place to hang for a month because the work has to be done in different stages. I know that it would be more like $15000 in Canada.
I´m not sure where we will go next. Jenny has some family business to take care of for a couple of days. We will probably head into the mountains as I have had enough of the heat.
You can rent a room in some places for $70-150 but most people go with a $5 Hammock. There isn´t a lot to do in the park other than hike and swim. Jenny spent most of her time cooking. She found a lot of food and a pot. Any other tools she needed were crafted out plastic water containers.
It´s amazing how much more busy it is in the park than when I was here two years ago. The tourist from Israel probably outnumber all the other international tourists put together.
I can´t remember the name of the beach we went to a couple of nights ago but it was a really nice spot. We didn´t arrive until about 10pm but it was a good time. The beach was quite large with small groups of 5 - 10 people, most with a band. Often there were more people in the band than were listening and dancing. It was a really cool scene. The music was usually fantastic. One of the more popular songs is about spending all of your money on hookers, drugs and rum and not having any money for food or God in the morning.
I went to see a couple of dentists for the first time in years. I was expecting to need $1000 in work at the most. I was quoted $2500 by one and $7500 by another. I guess I won´t have money for food or God either. I will probably get the work done in Medellin. We will just travel around until we find a nice place to hang for a month because the work has to be done in different stages. I know that it would be more like $15000 in Canada.
I´m not sure where we will go next. Jenny has some family business to take care of for a couple of days. We will probably head into the mountains as I have had enough of the heat.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Back to Caribean Paridise
Bogota was a little boring so I decided to see my frined, Jen after she emailed me that she was traveling to see her parents. I stayed with her perents and then her brother in a anther town on the beach. Now, we are near Santa Marta, a town that just celibreated it´s 400th birthday.
We´have been staying in a smaller town close to Santa Marta called Taganga. We found a really nice hotel. The plan was to stay there one night but it´s been 4 now. Taganga is the best beach town I have yet to find. It is very relaxed, dry and beautiful. It´s set in a deep bay and the waves are very small making it very safe. The people are so relaxed that the government doesn´t send any police. To not see police in a Colombian town is unheard of until now.
It´s really good trveling with jenny. She gets way better prices than I would alone and cooks a lot so I don´t end up paying more than I would if I was alone.
I knew that my firend Josh was somewhere in Latin America because he had to leave banff to renew his visa. What a surprise when I left the room of my hotel in Taganga to see him hanging out in the room next to me. It seems like an impossible coincidence.
I´m going to some beches without electricity now so you won´t hear from me in some time. This must be the safest most peaceful place in latin america. Don´t ever listen to the governments travel warnings they don´t know shit.
We´have been staying in a smaller town close to Santa Marta called Taganga. We found a really nice hotel. The plan was to stay there one night but it´s been 4 now. Taganga is the best beach town I have yet to find. It is very relaxed, dry and beautiful. It´s set in a deep bay and the waves are very small making it very safe. The people are so relaxed that the government doesn´t send any police. To not see police in a Colombian town is unheard of until now.
It´s really good trveling with jenny. She gets way better prices than I would alone and cooks a lot so I don´t end up paying more than I would if I was alone.
I knew that my firend Josh was somewhere in Latin America because he had to leave banff to renew his visa. What a surprise when I left the room of my hotel in Taganga to see him hanging out in the room next to me. It seems like an impossible coincidence.
I´m going to some beches without electricity now so you won´t hear from me in some time. This must be the safest most peaceful place in latin america. Don´t ever listen to the governments travel warnings they don´t know shit.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Free at last in Bogota
So far things have been uneventful. All that I have done is a little shopping. One thing I found interesting was to see the news about RCMP pepper spraying and tasering Chilean soccer players. The Colombia news made it look quite similar to the conflicts in this country.
I was worried about the prices here in Bogota but my hotel is about $15 a night and it´s in a much safer part of town than what I am used to. In fact central Bogota seems to be one of the most peaceful places I have been so far.
I just ate at a fish restaurant and when the owner saw me picking bones out of my soup, he brought me two friend fish, vegetables, rice and friend banana. People here are so nice.
I don´t know what I will do next. The weather is so nice after that hot spell in Banff. I enjoy being chilly at night. The Caribbean coast is seing lows of no less than 25.
I was worried about the prices here in Bogota but my hotel is about $15 a night and it´s in a much safer part of town than what I am used to. In fact central Bogota seems to be one of the most peaceful places I have been so far.
I just ate at a fish restaurant and when the owner saw me picking bones out of my soup, he brought me two friend fish, vegetables, rice and friend banana. People here are so nice.
I don´t know what I will do next. The weather is so nice after that hot spell in Banff. I enjoy being chilly at night. The Caribbean coast is seing lows of no less than 25.
Monday, April 23, 2007
153 Kilo Cocaine Bust in Nicaragua
A banana truck got in an accident, spilling bananas and 153 kilos of cocaine that was hidden under the bananas.
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