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Friday, September 07, 2007
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
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