My travels through Colombia.

The Early Milk Truck

December 6, 2007
Day 799

El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 3

Everyone I talked to yesterday, including the park ranger, the refuge owner, and the owner of my hotel told me that the milk truck left at 5:30 in the morning, and could drop me off near the refuge. I began looking for… Read More »

Guican, One Day Late

December 5, 2007
Day 798

El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 2

I took the first bus out of Soata this morning at 7:00 AM. It was another terrific journey as we went higher and higher to the point where I caught my first glimpse of snow in Colombia. But the trip felt a… Read More »

Trouble on the Road

December 4, 2007
Day 797

El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 1

I was up early this morning and got a taxi to the bus station in time to catch the 6:00 AM bus to Malaga. It was a long ride over beautiful terrain where we constantly headed up and down the area's peaks… Read More »

My Worst Illness Yet

November 30-December 3, 2007
Day 793-796

Eduardo, ever the Renaissance man, informed me that he was taking classes in poetry at the local university. I went with him to a recital, and was subsequently forced to read a poem to everyone in Spanish in which I didn't understand half the words. During the recital… Read More »

The J Peterman of Colombia

November 29, 2007
Day 792

My next destination after adventurous San Gil was Bucaramanga, set near the Andes on the way to Venezuela. There wasn't much there in the way of tourism, but Manisha, the Indian girl I met in Manizales, recommended that I meet a friend of hers who lived in B-town. Ana… Read More »

Rule Number Two: Don't Drown

November 28, 2007
Day 791

The adventure activity of the day today was rafting. I met up with a couple of Aussies named Adam and Nick that I met yesterday on the waterfall, and we headed out in a van to the Suarez River near San Gil. On the way, we… Read More »

Rule Number One: Don't Fall

November 27, 2007
Day 790

Besides being my failed gateway to Cocuy National Park, San Gil is quickly becoming known as the adventure capital of Colombia. The region's natural surroundings have given birth to a whole host of adventure sports, and I figured my visit wouldn't be complete without trying something fun.

I went… Read More »

The Instant Gratification Mail System of Colombia

November 26, 2007
Day 789

Back in Villa de Leyva, I spent a day buying presents for Christmas with the intention of sending them home right away. Last year most of my presents from French Guiana got stolen en route to the USA, and I really wanted to avoid repeating the bad experience. Villa… Read More »

Another Colonial Town

November 23-25, 2007
Days 786-788

It took me a whole day to get to Villa de Leyva on a series of buses from Bogotá. It still is difficult for me to get over how much time is wasted on transportation to seemingly close places in South America. Villa de Leyva was a small colonial… Read More »

Trendy Museums, Parks, and Hills

November 21-22, 2007
Days 784-785

I went to the Gold Museum only to find out that they were closed for remodeling. That was tough for me because it was my main reason for staying in Bogotá. I found out that they had moved some of their collection to another location, but when I went… Read More »