January 21-23, 2008
Days 845-847
When I left Santa Marta, I took a bus along the coast to Cartagena, a big city with the same sweltering climate. Many backpackers had raved to me about the city's old fortress, so I checked it out on my first day. As soon as I… Read More »
January 19-20, 2008
Days 843-844
I decided to stick around Santa Marta to watch the Packers game, and what a waste that turned out to be. Not only did they lose, but I sustained an injury to my hand when I was cheering and it came into contact with a spinning metal ceiling fan.… Read More »
January 16-18, 2008
Days 840-842
After finishing my scuba diving coursework, I needed a few days to relax. I went with Samantha, a girl from Bogotá who was on vacation visiting her brother in Santa Marta, to Tayrona National Park. It was only an hour from Santa Marta, but only had… Read More »
January 9-15, 2008
Days 833-839
I started my PADI open water diving course with Gretel, an Australian who had been traveling for the last seven years, doing various jobs around the world. Teaching English in Japan and Ecuador, doing office work in Canada and England, and being a dive instructor in… Read More »
January 5-8, 2008
Days 829-832
Santa Marta was full. It was high season, so Colombians and foreigners alike were vacationing in the sun. I couldn't find any hotels with vacancies, so I slept in the hallway of a hostel for the first two nights. There wasn't a lot of touristy stuff to see in… Read More »
January 4, 2008
Day 828
There were no buses going to the border with Colombia, so I shared a taxi with a Venezuelan family on vacation. The taxi was a 1974 Chevy Malibu beast that immediately put the song "Stick Shifts and Safety Belts" into my head. The driver and the dad got to… Read More »
December 11-14, 2007
Day 804-807
I stayed at Eduardo's place again for a few days in Bucaramanga. I finally got to see his famed gallery of native artwork lots of exact copies of ancient pottery, statues, gold jewelery, and even a red… Read More »
December 9-10, 2007
Days 802-803
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 6-7
I started my bus trip back to Bucaramanga, but met a girl named Rosita who invited me to visit her family in a small town called Tipacoque. It sounded like an interesting side trip, so I went along and… Read More »
December 8, 2007
Day 801
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 5
I was up at dawn again and started walking as soon as possible to avoid the daily bad afternoon weather. Today, however, was cloudy and rainy from the beginning. At one point, the freezing rain was driving so hard into my face… Read More »
December 7, 2007
Day 800
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 4
I got up at first light today and left the relative comfort of my tent for the freezing cold conditions outside. Last night's rain turned into a sheet of ice that covered the fly of my tent this morning, and I had… Read More »
